About

I’m a mom with four children under the age of six (6, 4, 1.5, and newborn). I travel internationally for work frequently, which takes me- and usually my youngest babe- to many different corners of the world, sometimes for two weeks at a time, others for months.

My husband and I are currently based in Lusaka, Zambia for my husband’s work. We take one annual trip to the U.S. to visit family, and one to India to visit my husband’s family, and also try to travel in Africa close to “home” for fun. Veda, Surya, and Sahana each took their first international trip along with mom for her work whenjess sahana 1 they were 6 weeks old, Veda to Paraguay, Surya to Haiti,and Sahana on a tour of Kenya, Cambodia, and Myanmar.

When my husband and I decided to introduce our first little one to the work/ travel equation, we decided we would simply bring her along and see how it goes.  At first it was a bit daunting, not knowing exactly how baby + airplane rides + developing countries would get along.  It turns out, it’s not so bad, although it took some practice and learning from mistakes to figure out the right balance of baby travel harmony.

fam 17I’ve learned a lot about traveling internationally with babies and young children in developing countries, as well as traveling pregnant throughout five pregnancies now, and our youngest two babies were born in Cape Town, South Africa. I love to share my experiences with other families.  I hope that this blog might help other moms and dads embarking on travel with baby, whether it be a trip to Nairobi, Bombay, Paris, or New York.

I am not a medical doctor or expert of any kind; I am just a mom with experience traveling internationally to developing countries while pregnant and with an infant/ toddler/ kid.  I personally find that breastfeeding, cloth diapering, and the Dr. Sears attachment parenting approach works best for us [most of the time] on our journey.  That means I do my best to ensure I am emotionally and physically connecting with my baby, and that I respond to the unique needs of my baby, and not to a schedule or clock.  This works really well for me and my family, and I find it is especially compatible with international travel, which requires flexibility, adaptation, and mutual understanding with my child. kids 3Our focus is to provide baby with an emotionally secure, love-filled home-base (wherever we are or are traveling to), and maximize everyone’s happiness, comfort, and convenience on our journeys.  I welcome comments and discussion to posts on different approaches and styles of doing things that have worked well for other families, too!

Check out my travel photography website, Atethemis Photographic Art.

Check out my international development work website, Atethemis, Inc. International Development.


7 thoughts on “About”

  • Your site is very well designed. I love the artwork, The font is easy to read. It is well organized, with an easy flow. MORE IMPORTANTLY,THE CONTENT IS EXCEPTIONAL. You seem to address everything, I think. You are confident yet you have a light air about the communication – fresh, honest, direct, with the ability to try an approach, but recalculate if it’s not the right fit. You keep it real, and humorous. What I read in all of this is AUTHENTICITY. Being flexible, willing to learn from what works, as well as from what doesn’t – that truly helps. What helped me was the knowledge I only had one shot at doing my best. What scared me was that I only had one shot at doing my best.

  • I love your blog and your stories are amazing. I find you are truly authentic. My husband and I make at least one international trip a year and usually we leave the children behind w/ the grand parents or only take one and we always feel REALLY BAD. But this year we are planning to travel with both to Africa. I’m kind of nervous since the little one will be 1yr and the oldest one will be 4yrs. Hopefully we will have a fun and safe trip. Thank you for sharing your experience.

    • Hiwot- Thanks for the positive feedback. That’s fantastic you are taking the whole crew along with you to Africa this year! I also hope that you have a fun and safe trip- where exactly in Africa do you plan on going? I’m sure it will be an incredible experience for kids- what an incredible gift you will be giving to them! Happy travels 🙂

  • Just found your blog and can’t wait to read through! I’m 25 weeks pregnant with our first, and am headed to Lebanon & Jordan for 3 weeks to visit my in laws. I think your blog will be an excellent resource as I prepare, and to facilitate our love of travel going forward with little one(s) in tow. Thank you!

    • Dear Harmony,

      Thanks for the note! I wish you a wonderful and healthy pregnancy and birth, and lots of fun travels to come with your little ones! Let me know if you ever want to chat about travels to Lebanon and Jordan with your new little one in tow. Enjoy 🙂

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