- Becs and her partner Will loved to travel and had travelled all around NZ together in a campervan
- While on a routine health check, Becs found out she was pregnant
- Rather than put her travel plans on hold, she decided to take her newest traveller along with her for the ride!
- Becs Lewis, 30, Rangiora, NZ shares her story below…
A doctor walked into the room.
I’d come to hospital for a check-up and they’d run tests.
“It says on your notes that you aren’t trying for a baby,” the doctor said.
“That’s right,” I said.
“Well, you’re pregnant,” she said.
I couldn’t believe it. My boyfriend Will, 30, and I had been dating for a year.
We’d travelled around New Zealand together in a campervan and were saving up to go to Europe to do the same.
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It was early 2022, and because of Covid, Will hadn’t been allowed into the hospital with me.
Afterwards, I didn’t know how to tell him and kept bursting into tears.
Finally, the next day, we went on a walk and I sat on a bench.
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted.
“Oh thank God!” Will said, hugging me tight. “I thought you were going to say you were dying!”
We both laughed at that.
“What does this mean for our travels?” I asked later that night.
“Maybe it doesn’t change anything,” Will said. “Surely we can travel with a baby?”
When I met up with my midwife, I asked her what she thought.
“It’s probably the best time to do it,” she said. “When they’re small, babies sleep all the time.”
Every doctor I asked after that said the same thing.
Our baby would have both his or her parents present for a whole year, and the changing environments would be great for their development.
After our 12-week scan I FaceTimed my parents, Martin and Diane, in the UK.
They were thrilled they were going to become grandparents.
“There’s more,” I said nervously. “I want you to respect this next part… Will and I are still going travelling. With the baby.”
Their faces said it all but to their credit they didn’t try to put us off.
Will’s parents Brian and Alison were into the idea straight away. They’d travelled around Australia in a campervan in the 1970s so they knew the joy it could bring.
For the rest of my pregnancy, we worked and saved as much as we could.
In September 2022, baby Atlas was born, named after our love of travel and because Will and I come from opposite ends of the earth.
We hurriedly arranged his passport and immunisations, and when he was six weeks old, we boarded a plane.
Our first stop was Singapore, where Atlas got to meet Will’s brother Fraser.
He had his first swim in the famous Marina Bay Hotel infinity pool.
Then we flew to England to spend some time with my family and buy a campervan.
With a shower, kitchen, and room for a cot, it was a perfect little home.
In January 2023, we crossed the channel to Europe and started our travels.
“This is it!” I said, as Atlas slept peacefully in his car seat.
Whenever we stopped and walked around, we popped Atlas in the baby carrier and he continued to snooze. He was a dream!
One night, in late February, we camped near the Polish border in Germany.
We had just gone to bed when I sat up.
“What’s that smell?” I said.
Will jumped out to check. Turned out, the fuel pipe that connected the diesel to the heater had dropped onto the exhaust and melted.
The van filled up with smoke so we picked Atlas up and raced outside into the cold air.
Once the smoke had cleared, we got back in but had no working heater, so we wrapped Atlas up and kept him tucked in with us for the night.
“Maybe we should head back to England,” I said the next day, a little spooked by the experience. “Wait for the weather to get a bit warmer.”
There, we got the heater fixed, before setting off again, through the Netherlands up to Sweden.
We took it easy, never driving too far in a day and stopping to give Atlas a break whenever he needed one.
Atlas ate his first solid food, a banana, in France. He learnt to crawl in Switzerland, which was so beautiful it was like a fairy tale.
We camped alongside breathtaking fjords in Norway where Atlas got his first tooth.
We followed an app that travellers use to advise others where you can camp for free and this helped us stretch our money out.
When we were out sightseeing, Atlas charmed everyone.
On a bus in Germany, he stared at the man next to him until he got his attention, then he broke out into a grin.
“Wie heißt er?” the man asked.
“I’m sorry, we don’t speak German,” I said apologetically. Most people thought it was great what we were doing.
Having chalked up 24 countries, we celebrated Atlas’s first birthday back in England and then flew home to New Zealand.
Will and Atlas take in the scenery. (Image: Supplied)
Atlas might never remember all the places he went to before he’d even turned one, but we certainly will.
We were present and engaged for our baby’s entire first year and bonded as a family. I highly recommend travelling with a baby. They force you to slow down and take in your surroundings.
I can’t wait to show Atlas the photos when he’s older. It was the adventure of a lifetime.
