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Start Small, but Think Big

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When our son was born, we knew that we wanted to spend my husband’s paternity leave (one month) in Paris. That seemed a little intimidating, so we decided to practice a little first.

For our first trip we spent the night in a resort hotel thirty minutes from home. It seemed a little crazy, but we felt like we needed to practice and we knew that the hotel was close enough that we could just head home if things weren’t going well. It turned out to be a wonderful and relaxing trip, enabling the two of us to connect in a way that we hadn’t since the baby had been born. Things simply weren’t as difficult as we’d anticipated they might be.

A few weeks later, we found ourselves on a plane to New York, headed across the country to enjoy a little time in Manhattan. We were in that new baby phase where it seemed absolutely impossible to get out of the house, into the car, and out to someplace interesting & I felt like a hotel that I could walk out of to eat, explore and shop was just what the doctor ordered. Turns out it was… we saw the museums, dined out some of the city’s best restaurants, and generally had a wonderful time all while the baby slept. When he was awake, we found public spaces to connect and play with him.

By the time we headed to Paris, we were of course still worried about the length of the plane trip, and of course I packed every imaginable baby item (did I think they woudn’t have babies and stores that cater to babies in Paris?!) but we felt much more comfortable.

Today we have several international trips under our belts and each one gets easier (and is accomplished with less luggage) I now feel like there’s nothing that I couldn’t do with the kids (though some trips are better for some ages)

The question isn’t whether I can go to the place I want to visit with my kids, it’s how to make it happen.