Parents across the board would say that maternity leave is no holiday. But this mum-of-two might beg to differ. Karen Edwards, who works as a nurse in the UK, has ditched the piles of washing for an exciting life on the road with her newborn son, Quinn, three-year-old daughter, Esme, and husband, Shaun.
The family set off from their London home for the grand adventure when baby Quinn was just nine weeks old – he is now four and a half months old. And while some may find it hard to believe, the 33-year-old-mum says globetrotting with a newborn and toddler is less demanding than juggling motherhood and the relentless task of managing a home.
“I try to explain to people … it’s actually easier than being at home because at home you’ve got so much more things to do in just running a household,” she told ABC News.
So far the family has taken in the sights of Spain, Central America and the Pacific Northwest. Karen has partially paid leave for the first nine months and unpaid leave for the final three months of her maternity leave. To help finance the trip, the family has rented out their home. Also, it appears some posts on Karen’s Instagram account, which has amassed an impressive following of almost 100,000 followers, are paid sponsorship deals.
If you wonder how the couple do it, Karen is the first to admit it’s not all plain sailing.
In an Instagram post she said, “We like to keep it real and not sugar coat full time travel with two kids… it is amazing and I wouldn’t change it for the world… But.. we have bad days too of messed up travel schedules, missed buses, lost luggage, crazy toddler tantys and a sick baby in the back arse of no where…
“It’s totally worth it for the endless family time we have together and as a second time new Mum, I’m very grateful to have @travelmaddad [husband Shaun] around every day.”
This is the family’s second trip with a newborn. Karen and Shaun took a similar trip when their daughter Esme was born. In fact, at the tender age of three Esme has already visited 30 countries, while at four months old her little brother has visited seven.
We take our hats off to them.
