Vague plans

Hi there

My partner and I are planning on having a kid soon, and then taking off to ramble around the globe for a good few years, picking up teaching jobs and generally bumming around.

If we go ahead with this, we plan on leaving when possible baby is about 6 months old.

Has anyone out there done anything similar? Is 6 months too young?

Any advice / thoughts etc would be great

thanks

Six months is not too young. Just make sure that you go to a place where good medical care is available and also make sure that you have adequate health insurance. I've travelled, but not lived in one place, with my daughter since she was 5 months old.

Thanks guys - all that info has been great. Most people look at me in horror when I tell them about my plans! Good luck for the future, and happy travelling!

Sarah

Something that will make your life as a parent much easier is to breastfeed.
www.lalecheleague.org<BR>There are Groups all over the world in over 60 countries.

Best of luck and congrats!
cheers from Ruth, a La Leche League Leader in Guangzhou China

6 months works well- they aren't independently mobile yet!
Don't worry about people's looks of horror if you can come back to each on of their objections, then you can be confident for yourself! 2 thoughts- be kind to yourself as a parent- you may not want to keep on the move etc if you haven't slept for days etc. And think about your families sense of place- where will "home" be- think ahead to a 5 year old who may have a different sense of where or what "home" is- this isn't necessarily a bad thing, just something for you to consider.
Em

Hi

thanks for that! I come from a family that moved every year or so and have the idea that that makes families stronger, as you always have to rely on each other. Let's hope that works out! An interesting thought though - it hadn't occured to me.

I've pasted in a reply I got earlier which was also really useful, but got erased from the site!

Thanks

Sarah

Read a book called the continuum concept by jean liedloff. We read it
while I was pregnant with our son (nearly five now) and raised him using
these methods (as much as we could anyway -- we weren't pedantic about
it). We carried him a lot, slept with him in our bed and I breast fed
on demand for two years. As a result, travelling with him was a piece of
cake. I started travelling with him when he was 4 months old and it was
never stressful (well rarely) and we never had to make extra
arrangements for him for sleeping etc. Also, he slept anywhere (still does) was
laid back and flexible (still is). I'm having number two now so will
know before long whether these methods really helped or if we just got
lucky.

Good luck.

Being on the move means that "home is where the heart is" is a bit more than a twee concept. Pre schooling is the time to go. Multiple children makes a difference (3 children, 2 hands, full heart!) Treat the travel like a sailing trip, not a motor boat- the analogy works! By the rime you do hit school, your kids will have a very different perspective on things Yes it is challenging, but where would we be if we never took a challenge (stuck in the 'burbs somewhere!) and to delay things because of children is making a decision in itself! Do take the health thing pretty seriously though (apologies- for all I know you are a pedeatrician!) littlies can get really sick really quick, and having the back up of insurance is essential, having someone fall ill even with insurance can be pretty stressful (also see Ruth Cracknell Journey to Venice) I'm not saying that to put you off, we all have to keep ourselves informed is all!
Em