My husband and I were DINKs who traveled constantly. I thought having a baby might stop us, but I was wrong.

In my early 30s, I was surviving the quintessential DINK (dual-income, nary kids) lifestyle. My partner and I had established careers, nary children, and PTO to burn.

During 1 12-month period, we averaged taking a travel each different month. We went hiking successful Acadia National Park and Arizona. We rented a location pinch a excavation and went biking astir Sanibel Island successful Florida. We explored Joshua Tree National Park, attempted a 14er successful Colorado, and visited 4 different nationalist parks successful Washington State.

My hubby and I were ever connected the aforesaid page astir wanting a child, eventually, but I was worried that having a family would bring our adventurous manner to a screeching halt. Luckily, I was wrong.

I thought having a kid would extremity our adventures

Before trying to get pregnant, I planned a past hurrah for america arsenic a childless couple. We road-tripped astir Mexico, exploring ancient Mayan ruins, swimming successful cenotes, and sipping various permutations of agave beverages.

I sewage pregnant a fewer months later.

Once I was expecting, I worried that my owed day was an expiration day for freedom. Fortunate that my nausea and fatigue during gestation were mild, I squeezed successful 2 much hiking trips. I went to the Canadian Rockies, Zion, and Bryce Canyon.

The week earlier I gave birth, I joined my hubby for meal pinch a group of his colleagues. One of the women astatine the meal was the mother of a toddler. She looked maine dormant successful the oculus and said, "Enjoy this, because you're ne'er going retired to eat again." I wanted to judge that my lifestyle wouldn't beryllium complete because I had a baby, but present was different mother saying precisely what I was acrophobic to hear.

There were different possibilities

Thankfully, I had different parenting domiciled models who showed maine differently. My ain mom traveled astir Europe pinch maine the summertime earlier I turned 1. I person family friends who moved internationally pinch two young kids and recreation aggregate times a year. Personally knowing group who traveled pinch kids opened my mind to the anticipation that I could do it too.

We brought our boy connected his first hike erstwhile he was 3 weeks old. In the first year, he visited family successful Atlanta, hiked successful Oregon, saw the leaves changing successful New England, spent Christmas successful Belgium, and played successful soil dunes pinch his uncle successful Saudi Arabia. He took 9 flights earlier he turned 2 years old.

Some things decidedly did alteration aft having a kid

The first fewer months of being a mom pinch a newborn were intense. I was sleep-deprived for the first twelvemonth aft my boy was born. My days of sleeping successful person disappeared, astatine slightest successful this play of my life wherever my boy gets up astir daybreak.

We recreation arsenic overmuch arsenic we ever have, but there's a batch much baggage, successful the shape of a car spot and babe hiking backpacks. While we don't travel a strict schedule, my hubby and I still person to facet successful mounting speech clip for our boy to return a nap while we're traveling.

While our family is still dual-income, we decidedly announcement the quality successful paying $2,600 a period for our son's daycare, which is astir the aforesaid arsenic our rent. We spell retired to eat arsenic a family, but dedicate 1 nighttime a period to a day nighttime astatine a fancy edifice arsenic a couple.

Having a kid has made individual clip overmuch harder to travel by, but my hubby and I support each different successful having clip to do individual activities erstwhile aliases doubly a week. Parenting tin beryllium costly and tiring, but I wouldn't waste and acquisition it for anything. Seeing my boy admit quality and beryllium energized by caller experiences, people, and places is much rewarding than I ever expected.