Just the three of us… (General)

One of the main benefits of our adventure is having quality time together as a family.

When ‘the boy’ first arrived, my husband (who had recently started a new job), was only able to take a weeks paternity leave, thus prior to leaving the UK quality time together was limited to weekends and the odd holiday.

Over the past few months care of ‘the boy’ has been equally shared.  Pushing the buggy, carrying him in the sling, changing nappies, attending to him in the night when he’s distressed & teething, preparing food, feeding and organising his bottles.  My role as mum has been halved and my other half has got to experience first hand how intense it can sometimes be spending 24/7 with a baby.

Over the past months my hubby has been lucky enough to experience his first steps (which I missed), his first few words and many new actions.

Although we’re together 24/7 and spending the majority of our time in one room can be tough at times, the shared responsibility means that unlike at home, either of us can take a break at a moments notice to write a blog post, take a walk or have a massage. We’re also getting used to making the most of his naptimes. Only yesterday we managed to have an hour-long foot massage together whilst ‘the boy’ slept contentedly in his buggy. Grabbing little snippets of time together as a couple, although far and few between, are really important and cherished.

Proof that we are altogether: Borneo, Thailand and Indonesia

However, although we’re together all the time you would not believe it if you saw our many thousands of photos. The downside of having a hubby who’s a keen photographer is that he’s always behind the camera, rarely in front of it. Unlike other couples or families who hand their camera over to a fellow tourist to take a quick snapshot of the family group, we don’t.  Although not a super flash camera, his SLR doesn’t lend itself to getting passed to a stranger to take a quick shot that will be good enough to make it into the final cut. In fact we have thousands of beautiful photographs to document our trip, but I can count on one hand how many locations we’ve been to and have a family photo to prove it. Not many at all.

Sarah Stone Photography - our favourite family shot

The last time we had some family photos taken that passed my husband’s perfectionist eye was when ‘the boy’ was in his first week of life.  A very talented lady named Sarah Stone came round to the house and took the most beautiful family photographs and some unique baby shots that we will treasure forever. If you’re not familiar with her work then take a look (Sarah Stone Photography).

Sarah Stone Photography - our treasured shots

So the challenge is on. Can we document that we were all in the same place at the same time everyday for the next week? (We’ll take it one step at a time!)

I’ll feedback next week….

Top tip of the day:
Does your baby have a nap schedule that you can utilise to your advantage? As much as we can we’re trying to make the most of our baby’s afternoon sleeps, whether it be a drink in a café, a massage or to catch up on some shut eye ourselves.