Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Baby on Board!

Yep, you read that correctly folks - Scott and I are with child.

You know what this means, right?  We will finally have someone small to hoist up the mast, clean the bilge, and get into all those nooks and crannies that big people like us just can't get into without looking freakish.  This is good, this is real good.

All kidding aside, this is not a joke.  I'm about 13 weeks pregnant and we couldn't be happier.  Scott's already bought the baby a few nautical-themed baby books (and started reading them to my stomach) and we're running through baby names like they are going out of style.  In addition, I am one of those "lucky" pregnant women who seems to have skated through the first trimester without a single pregnancy symptom (morning sickness what?!) and I feel like a million bucks.  Hip, hip, hooray!

So what does this mean for Windtraveler?

Well - there are a few things.   First of all, we will be staying in Grenada a lot longer than we had planned (Scott has work here up until January).  While we were originally thinking of having the baby  in Grenada - we have changed our tune and are going to deliver him/her stateside (I recently got health insurance so we are covered).  There are a number of reasons for this decision - but it was mainly nailed home when I had a rather unpleasant experience with the doctor down here (there are not many choices, unfortunately) and was strongly advised, by a nurse, to give birth in the states if possible.   So we will head back to the US of A in early 2012, have the little monkey in March, and we will stay in Chicago until September when we can resume our beloved cruising lifestyle... with a 6 month old.  Other than that hiatus, we have no plans to stop cruising.  In fact, it's been our dream to raise our family on a boat from day one.  We are both working now and making money, so our cruising kitty is being replenished and we are cruising in the "black" so to speak.

When we return to Rasmus (which will either be in Grenada or Trinidad, we are undecided), we plan to continue island hopping here in the Caribbean, and eventually continue southbound through the Panama Canal.  From there (depending on how the little peanut does on the boat) we'll either cross the Pacific or we'll head over to Baja, Mexico (I have a blind love affair with Baja; never been but the wannabe surfer in me continues to draw me to it) or maybe we'll hit up the San Blas Islands? Who knows?  We're going to play it by ear and fly by the seat of our pants, it's worked so well for us thus far.  We don't commit to things like "plans" very well anyway.  We'll just wait and see how the chips fall.  As long as we're moving, we're happy.

For all of you who are concerned and/or worried about boats and babies together, please don't be.  We've met LOTS of boats with babies on them and, to be honest, boat kids are nothing short of amazing.  My friend, Alicia, of s/v Sarabande (who had her absolutely adorable baby boy in St. Thomas about 9 months ago) had this awesome advice for me:
"Don't listen to the anti-boat-baby flack!  All a baby really needs (for the first 6 months anyway) are two loving parents and a pair of boobs.  It's ridiculous what people have been conned into thinking they 'need' to be good parents!"
So. Very. True.  I love it.  Alicia rocks, and so does her little boy (okay, and her husband Brian is pretty cool too.)

So, SURPRISE!  That's our big news.  It's been hard to keep this from you all for so long!  We are so excited, and hope you are too.  This little peanut is going to be coming in to one heck of a life!

Stick with us, kids, things are about to get real interesting around here!

Love,
Brittany & Scott

25 comments:

Mike Sweeney said...

What a surprise! :)

Congratulations you two... we are very happy for you.

Mike (and Rebecca)

Captain Rizzo said...

Congratulations Scott and Brittany! What great news! You guys will so enjoy parenthood. Blessings to you and your growing family!

Jred said...

YEAH....the cat is FINALLY out of the bag....altough you are miles away, it has been REALLY hard to keep this one a secret!!! CAN. NOT. WAIT!!!!!!!!!! xoxoxo Love, Happy Aunt Julie :-)

Anonymous said...

Congrats to you both! What exciting news!!

Tytti said...

Congrats ! You are going to be wonderful parents! I think sailing teaches things that You need with kids too.

Lisa Hanneman said...

Yeah!!!! You may just be the first sailing/mom blogger.... So excited for more reasons than I can possibly get into. Love you both and that little nugget so much!

Mid-Life Cruising! said...

OMG .. I thought I was reading it wrong! I'm so excited for ya'll! I think it's great to raise a child on a boat.

Your "little monkey" is going to have so many opportunites ... very lucky indeed!

TT said...

SO HAPPY FOR YOU BOTH! This will be a lot of fun. Sometimes I too dream of having a child on the boat but we'll wait for maybe a year or two I think. Will be great to follow your "new" adventures.

NatGeoWannaBe said...

Congrats! We're a few days behind you! We haven't spilled the beans yet so SHHHHH.

Not only is this wonderful for you...it'll give me lots of posts to send to my wife about how she shouldn't worry about little kids on boats!!

Christy said...

Congratulations!! No doubt that kid will have one heck of a life story. Very cool. :)

Neophyte Cruiser said...

Congratulations Brittany and Scott! Great news, great plan, wish all of you the very best. Kids and boats go together, so it should enhance the cruise for all.

peabrain said...

My claim to fame is changing a dirty diaper in V berth in rough seas. See what you can look forward too!!!!

Stephanie Cimon said...

Hi,
Congratulations on the pregnancy! I wish you good health for your family.

I have been looking around your blog today and i love all the information! Definitely one of the best blogs out there. I too am a sailor, i currently race, but i too hope to one day live on sail boat!

thank you for the information, take care,

Stephanie

Evan and Debra said...

Congrats! We just started following your adventures (jealously) in prep for our cast off in a few years. It'll be even more fun to read about how you deal with a kid, regardless of environment. Ours are almost "cooked" (teenagers), so we know we have plenty of laughs and tears coming as we follow your new family!
Again, CONGRATULATIONS!

exranger said...

This is my first post on your blog - CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol.

Kids are the best thing you will ever do in life.

And do...
and do...
and do...

lol

JD said...

Congratulations! What an exciting time!

Team Giddyup said...

Congratulations!

Lindsay said...

I would have to add one thing to what a baby needs...a washing machine. Just kidding. Congratulations!!!

Ankur said...

Love all three of you;) !!!

Neckbone said...

Found your blog about a month ago and read the entire thing in a couple days. Congratulations on the baby!! I'd love to raise my two cruising, but unfortunately, my wife does not feel the same way. Good luck, and I can't wait to read more of your posts.

Biscuit said...

Hi!
Got this link from Taru. We have a 2 year old son joined us for sailing when he was 7 months and crossed the Atlantic when he was 13 months old, in our 27 footer. If you want any tips, feel free to ask us. We have also believed in simplicity and possibilities.
Best of luck! -Marta and Marcus and Fox on S/Y Biscuit, ex. S/Y Mazarin

Anonymous said...

Congrats -- and this may save on formula costs ...
http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/

SV Wondertime said...

Congratulations! We're currently cruising with our 2 and 5 year old daughters...best life EVER!!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations. Don't put off any sailing because of your new addition. My x-wife and I sailed from South Africa accross the atlantic, to Brazil, with our son, who was 15 months old at the time... love you blog, I am a new reader... just stumbled accross it a few days ago.

Anonymous said...

What a great adventure, and that's what life is about!

I take great pride in the fact that almost all of my adult kids (I had a bunch) count boat time as their favorite time.

Your monkey will be one happy 'dult.

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