In December 2012, Elizabeth was born, thankfully at Portsmouth hospital - its a long story but it easily could have ended up being on Wotan!
The first reaction from most people was the inevitable question, 'are you still going to live on the boat and sail around the world?' some with much more vigour and surprise, others with a more congenial and polite enquiring tone. Our answer was always the same, 'yes, we planned to live on a boat, we planned to have a baby and we still plan to sail around the world'. I'm not sure if it was the fact that there was a family of five with three kids in the marina, on a mid-river and no walk-ashore pontoon, the numerous blogs we had read from fellow sailors with children and babies or just shear bloody mindedness? I really couldn't see what the big deal was.
Truth be known, even though I sometimes joke to the contrary, what we have found is that babies are fairly easy going and mostly fit in with whatever they are accustomed to. People have been having babies in varying situations for centuries. Sure, it wasn't going to be the easiest thing, it wasn't going to be plain sailing all the way, but I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be some kind of 24/7 hell either. Things usually have a way of working themselves out, or rather I'm just the kind of person who finds a way of working things out, so I wasn't too worried.
Sleeping on boats - and as Wotan was at that time, with only an electric fan heater for emergencies and a diesel heater which we didn't run all night - can be cold in winter. Sleeping with us made sense, it kept her warm and safe and as she was much higher up than us (near our heads) she was at little/no risk of suffocation or squashing . I breastfed for the first 12 months so it also made night feeds a lot easier.
Sometimes daytime nap times just happened like this...
Or this...
The safe centre cockpit was also great for summer time, we even had paddling pools/buckets out there. Generally when outside and not underway we have just implemented a stay in the cockpit rule, when underway life jackets and being clipped on are a must for baby and adult. Our choice of lifejacket since birth has been the Baltic Bambi.
Baths were in the sink, boiling the kettle for hot water and pumping in cold.
Fed, loved, warm, safe - that's all we need and all baby needs. Being on a boat doesn't change that.
The first reaction from most people was the inevitable question, 'are you still going to live on the boat and sail around the world?' some with much more vigour and surprise, others with a more congenial and polite enquiring tone. Our answer was always the same, 'yes, we planned to live on a boat, we planned to have a baby and we still plan to sail around the world'. I'm not sure if it was the fact that there was a family of five with three kids in the marina, on a mid-river and no walk-ashore pontoon, the numerous blogs we had read from fellow sailors with children and babies or just shear bloody mindedness? I really couldn't see what the big deal was.
Truth be known, even though I sometimes joke to the contrary, what we have found is that babies are fairly easy going and mostly fit in with whatever they are accustomed to. People have been having babies in varying situations for centuries. Sure, it wasn't going to be the easiest thing, it wasn't going to be plain sailing all the way, but I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be some kind of 24/7 hell either. Things usually have a way of working themselves out, or rather I'm just the kind of person who finds a way of working things out, so I wasn't too worried.
Sleeping arrangements
Space was at a premium in Wotan, Duncan and I slept in the v-berth and that's also where new baby would need to sleep. The good thing about boat beds is that they are usually enclosed on one or more sides, so no risk of baby falling out of the side of the bed when co-sleeping with parents. Our v-berth, with the triangular insert was wider at the head/shoulder end than most double/king size beds. On one side we arranged a space for baby, with a fleece mat over the bed sheets, a cot bumper around the walls to protect from bumps against the sides and for added cosiness, a mobile hanging from the window latch above and a separate fleecy blanket. I provided the final side to the sleeping space, preventing baby from falling out of the entry way to the v-berth bed. Or, before I got into bed a barrier of pillows. A leecloth was planned for when she was mobile, but we moved boat before we needed to fit it.
Sleeping on boats - and as Wotan was at that time, with only an electric fan heater for emergencies and a diesel heater which we didn't run all night - can be cold in winter. Sleeping with us made sense, it kept her warm and safe and as she was much higher up than us (near our heads) she was at little/no risk of suffocation or squashing . I breastfed for the first 12 months so it also made night feeds a lot easier.
Sometimes daytime nap times just happened like this...
Or this...
Travel arrangements
Getting on and off the boat with a baby, also having just had a C-section and having nowhere to store a buggy meant that the only viable option for baby transport was a baby carrier. Initially I used the Close Caboo, which is a stretchy carrier, and an all important rain cover for the wonderful UK weather. Later we progressed to a Ergo baby, which is a soft structured buckle carrier, by far my favourite carrier ever.Other arrangements
Play space was limited on Wotan, but there was still plenty of opportunity. With everything, including the sleeping, we had to keep an eye out at all times - but isn't that what you should do anyway, house or not, don't take your eye off the baby!
The safe centre cockpit was also great for summer time, we even had paddling pools/buckets out there. Generally when outside and not underway we have just implemented a stay in the cockpit rule, when underway life jackets and being clipped on are a must for baby and adult. Our choice of lifejacket since birth has been the Baltic Bambi.
Baths were in the sink, boiling the kettle for hot water and pumping in cold.
Fed, loved, warm, safe - that's all we need and all baby needs. Being on a boat doesn't change that.