You may have noticed that I’ve been a little quiet on the blog and social media front lately which is very unlike me. Usually, as soon as I wake up in the morning I’m thinking about what dreamy photo I can share on Instagram or where my next blog post will take my readers to. I’m constantly editing photos, replying to comments, reading other blogs and getting plenty of inspiration from other people’s travels. But lately there has been something else that has been keeping me occupied which is the reason for my quietness and lack of sharing.
Constant tiredness, nausea, backache, searching through hundreds of different types of cots and prams, and simply planning for the future now seem to take up my every waking second. Yep, that’s right, we’ve got a little mini adventurer on the way who will be joining us in March 2017!
Neither of us could be any happier with this news (apart from quite possibly my mum) and we can’t wait to bring our little one into the world.
We’re expecting a little girl (we’re both too impatient and I’m too much of a planner to wait until the birth to find out) so I’m currently daydreaming up a perfectly pink travel/Disney themed nursery – although I’m trying not to stereotype too much but she did get rather active when I played her some Disney songs last week!
Even though I’m already just over half way through the pregnancy it still doesn’t seem real to me and I don’t think it will until she’s actually here.
Before you start thinking oh god this is going to turn into a mummy blog all about the first time baby sat up and the first time Mr Ayla changed baby’s smelly nappy (which I’m sure would actually be a pretty hilarious post), I can assure you that the blog will not be going in this direction. Mrs Ayla’s Adventures has always been, and will always be, a way for me to share our travel tales with you and this will not be changing. We will just have an extra little one along for the adventure! To keep the theme going perhaps she’ll be known on the blog as Little Miss Ayla!
If you’re one of those people who assume that just because we’re having a baby it means we have to stop travelling then you don’t know me very well. I can’t wait to start exploring as a family and to show this incredible world to our little girl. We will still be travelling as much as we possibly can like so many other travellers and bloggers with children that I know. Obviously we won’t be going on any long extended trips or hiking the Inca Trail or volunteering with lions any time soon, but there are still so many places that are accessible to travellers with babies and I will be taking lots of inspiration from other bloggers who travel just as much, if not more, with their little ones.
Can you spot the little baby bump?
We’ve also still been travelling as much as we can before our little girl comes along and so far we have had four babymoons – some abroad, some more local – with another babymoon planned over the New Year. We spent a weekend in Winchester and another weekend in Copenhagen at the beginning of the pregnancy where I will admit that I wasn’t quite as energetic and enthusiastic as I usually am on our travels due to all those early pregnancy woes. But these easy short breaks were the perfect getaways and Mr Ayla has been the most wonderful husband taking care of me and not even letting me carry a light day bag (although an extra back massage or two wouldn’t go amiss!). Our next trip was to the Turkish Coast where, despite the heat and foreign food, some much needed relaxation and pampering came at just the right time.
Last week we spent a few days enjoying the autumn weather in the cute little village of Rye and along the East Sussex coast which was so lovely after finally getting some of my energy (and appetite) back.
We’ve had 13 years of amazing adventures together but I’m sure this is going to be our biggest adventure yet and we absolutely cannot wait!
Do you have a little one that you’ve explored the world with? If you have any suggestions for ideal places to visit with our mini adventurer let me know in the comments below or at:
Mama Ayla's Adventures 
LOVE LOVE LOVE this post!! I think Little Miss Ayla should get her very own little travel blog as well!! Like a spin off! I’m excited beyond words (and I’m putting pen to paper in saying that I’m am more than happy to babysit and help out whenever you need!) Can’t wait to meet her – and where have you guys planned for May?!
Haha maybe when she gets a bit older she can write her own travel tips for kids blog! (Aka travelling with an annoying mum who makes me do everything and eat all these strange local foods!!) Careful, you may regret saying you’ll babysit 😉 It’s just somewhere in Essex for a couple of nights for a friend’s wedding so hopefully won’t be too difficult for our first break 🙂
I’m so, so excited to see your next chapter of adventurings lovely!
Aww thank you Emma! I’m crossing all my fingers and toes that she’ll love travelling the world as much as we do!
Genetically she has no chance not to!!
Congratulations, how exciting! May will be a great time for your first adventure, you’ll have got the hang of those first few befuddling weeks where you’re like EEK there’s a new human in the house but they’re small enough that they just sleep most of the time and they’re a total doddle to carry about. We went to Lanzarote for a little break when the Sprog was 3 months and it was the easiest baby break. Now he’s running all about the plane, it’s a bit tougher!
Thanks hun – I’ll be coming to you for all your baby travel tips in that case! Glad to hear you took your little one away so soon and that it was so easy. May just get some more trips planned in now so that we’re all prepared and ready to go when she’s here 🙂
Congratulations!! I’m so excited for you two!!
Thanks so much Angie! 🙂
How exciting, Ayla! When is your baby due?
She’s due 12 March so not long to go now at all once Christmas is out of the way!
Such an exciting news, Ayla, congratulations to both of you! I’m sure you will make amazing parents 🙂 xoxo, nano | http://www.travelwithnanob.com
Aww thank you lovely. We’re very excited to bring our little one into the world 🙂
Yay! All the excitement!
So happy to hear that you’ll be carrying on travelling with your little one too. As you know, we travel loads with our mini-explorer so it’ll be fab to have a potential travel buddy in Little Miss Ayla. Congrats again guys! ❤
Of course we’ll still be travelling Char and I know that you completely understand! Maybe Nova can give her some tips on how to hope with travel mad parents haha! 🙂
Yes I agree, NOBODY could be happier than me, the delighted grandmum to be 🙂
Haha I thought as much!
Congratulations !!!
Thank you Anita! 🙂
Congrats!!:)
Thank you!
Congratulations Ayla how exciting!!
Thank you hun! 🙂
Congratulations, you must be so excited!
Shakira / Shakira Sacks
Thank you Shakira! Extremely excited 🙂
Ohhh I finally had the time to read this post, and I love it!! I’m so excited for you both. Don’t worry, I would never think that you would turn the blog into a mummy blog or that you would stop traveling… from the past almost 3 years reading your posts, I can say I know you well as a traveler and brunch lover 😀 I wish we could meet more often, it was sooo lovely to see you in London again this year! Next time you will have Little Miss Ayla along, and I can’t wait to meet her!
Brunch lover indeed! I’m hoping to visit Germany some time soon – seems like a good place to take Little Miss Ayla – so we may come and pay Auntie Allane a visit 🙂
Huge congratulations lovely! What an exciting time indeed! I can’t wait to hear about all your new adventures with Little Miss Ayla! 🙂
Thank you lovely! Very excited to have some totally new adventures with her 🙂
oh wow congratulations
Thanks Andy!
lovely
🙂