I didn’t know how I would make it. But I knew I would have to go a year without travel.
I didn’t want to give up my most favourite hobby, but y’know I’m a grown-up and I had grown-up things going on. I was heavily pregnant, then I had a newborn baby, then I was buying a house. All of this was whilst on maternity pay which barely covers basic living expenses, let alone trips abroad.
And I totally preempted it. I crunched the numbers when I was pregnant and figured that travelling was going to go on the back-burner for a while, likely for at least a year. (Y’know, after a cheeky babymoon to The Algarve.) It was part of the masterplan. Operation: grow the F up.
But honestly? I thought I would find a way around it.
I thought I might be invited on a free press trip, and actually I was, but Indi was too young and I wasn’t ready to leave her. (It was a really good one too.)
I thought we might be able to fit in a budget trip to France on the Eurostar or something, but we bought a house a lot quicker than I had planned and the purse strings tightened.
I thought maybe I would make up for the lack of trips abroad with seeing more of the UK, but having a baby is hard and maternity leave is crazy so I only managed two staycations – one to visit my grandparents at the seaside and a weekend in The Cotswolds with Josh and Indi.
But y’know what? I’m fine with how I’ve spent the last year. It was exactly what I needed to be doing with my time, learning the ropes of motherhood and saving for my future. I honestly don’t think I had the mental capacity to add travelling into the mix either to be totally honest.
Am I desperate to get away? I mean, yeah, it would be nice. I miss travelling. But I’m also aware that travelling is going to be a lot more challenging with a baby in tow. I’ve been in no rush to jump on a plane, I wanted it to be the right trip for my family before I went impulse-buying plane tickets on Skyscanner.
But hun… I think it’s time.
I think it’s time to bite the bullet. To experience what it’s like to travel with a baby; the good, the bad and the screaming on planes. I want to get back another part of my identity. The part that lives on exploring somewhere new and writing about my adventures.
I’ve completed level 1 of getting out and about with a baby. I can go out for a whole day with a bag full of nappies and food and milk and be totally ok (something that seems so daunting at first). I’ve completed level 2, I can go for a weekend away without packing the entire house. I can manoeuvre a travel cot and manage a road trip with a baby.
It’s time to level up.
I’m ready to go abroad again. To try out this travel-with-a-baby thing before Indi turns one. To have something to post to Instagram that isn’t just Indi’s milestone photos… #SorryNotSorry.
But the point I wanted to make was that a year without travel is totally doable. It wasn’t actually that bad. If you need to save money for whatever reason, a year without leaving the UK was fine. Less adventures? Sure. But worth it to be able to have the things I have now? Absolutely. The sacrifice was worth it.
I realise it’s not really sacrifice and this is obviously a First World Problems kinda thing to say. But as someone that is passionate about travel, goes on 10-12 trips a year normally and spends all of her spare cash on flights, it seemed like a pretty massive lifestyle change. And it was. But I made it out the other end, lads.
Now, let’s get booking something fun.
*Applies for Indiana’s passport*
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