This baby visited 23 countries in just 11 months

By Ben Barry via SWNS

Meet "the world's most well-traveled baby" - who has visited 23 countries in just 11 months during his mum's maternity leave.

Little Atlas Montgomery set off on his European adventure when he was just six weeks old.

Now 11 months, he's been traveling around Europe in a campervan with his parents while mum Becs Lewis, 29, originally from Rotherham, South Yorkshire, is on maternity leave.

Along with dad Will Montgomery, 31, they set off from their hometown, Queenstown, South Island, New Zealand, in October 2022.

After visiting Singapore for three days they jetted to the UK where little Atlas met his mum's side of the family for the first time.

The tot, who will turn one at the end of August, learned to crawl in Switzerland, got his first tooth in Norway and started eating solid foods in France.

Their family has just left Sweden and is currently traveling back to the UK to sell their van before flying to their final destination - Greece next month.

When Becs' maternity leave is over in early November, she will return to her job as a retail manager.

Brit Becs said: "I went traveling in New Zealand in 2016 and started to work towards my residency there.

"I said once I got it, I would come back to do a European road trip.

"A year before I got my residency, I met Will.

"We decided we would get a puppy but I got pregnant, and it spiralled from there.

"It never occurred to me that you could travel with a baby. It seemed so unrealistic, but it is not that hard.

"It has been amazing - you can see every bit of his growth. It's great being able to travel just the three of us."

Becs gave birth to 5lb 5oz Atlas on Aug. 31, 2022, at 11:28 p.m. at the Invercargill Hospital, Invercargill, New Zealand.

Both parents worked hard to save up to sustain them on their travels when they discovered Becs was pregnant with Atlas.

When he was born, Will took a sabbatical from his job as a retail manager.

They ended their tenancy in their rented home and sold all but five boxes of their belongings, which now sit in Will's parents' garage.

The first stop six weeks later was Singapore so Atlas could spend some time with his uncle - Will's brother - Fraser Montgomery, 38, who lives there.

The pair then traveled to Chesterfield, in the UK, where they bought a Fiat Ducato van for £11k while staying with Becs’ dad in Rotherham nearby.

An unusual stop on a tourist’s typical journey, Becs said this was the first time her family had met baby Atlas – so it became one of their most memorable stops.

From there, they traveled to France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium and have just finished up in Sweden to return to the UK.

As a condition of their visas they have to return to the UK every three months - before flying back out to pick up where they left off.

Other countries visited on their adventure include Italy, San Marino, Switzerland, Litchenstein, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, Czechia, Denmark and Norway.

In their motorhome, Becs and Will sleep in a bed above the cab while Atlas sleeps in a travel cot tent with a mattress inside, which folds away during the day.

Becs said they have plenty of space - with ten storage cupboards under seats, a wet room with a shower, sink and toilet, and two fold-away table areas.

Becs said: "We haven't faced any major challenges as of yet.

"There were a few issues with Atlas' vaccinations as he was so young.

"He had his first vaccinations in New Zealand then we had to transfer them to England.

"Traveling, in general, can be quite difficult. I have traveled individually and now as a family.

"It's great but it has been a different experience. I consider safety a lot more now.

'The pace of travel is a lot slower than it would have been when I was 18."

Becs got statutory maternity pay for the first six months after having Atlas, which they saved up to use for gas to fuel their van on their travels, but now she is on unpaid leave.

With neither of them working while they travel, they rely on money they saved up before they set off – opting to live cheaply to stretch their budget.

In each stop they spend around £3 a day on food – with the exception of going for one meal out in each destination to sample local cuisines.

Becs added: “We’ve stuck to one meal out per destination – apart from in Italy, where we went a bit mad for all the amazing food!"

Becs admits that her family was very skeptical of them traveling around Europe with a newborn baby.

Becs said it made them second-guess themselves and wonder if they were being selfish – but they decided to take the plunge.

She said: "Mad was a word that came up a lot. We were pretty lucky that our families supported us, but they were skeptical.

"Nobody was outwardly rude but small comments like 'you're braver than me' by many built to us almost canceling the trip.

"Recently we have been receiving a lot of comments saying how lucky Atlas is to have this experience.

"It proves to me that you should always do what's best for your family - despite people's experiences."

Becs is using her Instagram page - @boredbabyabroad - as a diary to show Atlas when he is old admitting it's an "adventure he will never remember".

Becs said: "It has been an amazing journey - you can see his development come on so well.

"His teeth came through the other day in Norway, he learned how to crawl in Switzerland - it is great being able to do this with the three of us.

"Atlas has been to 23 countries so far and it will be 25 by the time we finish.

"Next we are going back to England and then we are going to go to Greece.

"It will be exciting for him to look at all the cool stuff he has done when he is older."

Becs said their favorite country to visit was Luxembourg due to its hiking trails.

She said: "Luxembourg was a surprise as we weren't meant to go there but as we were driving through, we thought we would stop and spent a week there.

"We loved Italy because of its culture and all the history, and the French Alps were incredible."

But as a typical Brit, one thing she is missing is “a good fish and chips” - because they “just don’t do it the same” abroad.

Ironically, despite being from the UK, their biggest challenge on their huge European tour has been… the weather.

Becs said: “There was an occasion where our diesel heater broke.

"We had to wrap Atlas up so tight to keep him warm enough through the night."

Against the odds they have been able to prove that you can successfully travel with a baby in tow – and people who were previously skeptical have taken back their words.

Becs said: “I do feel quite proud of us – to be able to get messages saying ‘I’ll eat my words, you’ve pulled it off’ is great.

“One of our biggest challenges was worrying what other people would think.

“We weren’t doing anything to prove a point, but we feel proud to show it is possible.”

List of countries:

• Austria
• Sweden
• Norway
• Croatia
• Slovenia
• San Marino
• Italy
• Lichtenstein
• Switzerland
• Denmark
• Czech Republic
• Poland
• Netherlands
• Luxembourg
• Germany
• France
• Northern Ireland
• Ireland
• Wales
• Scotland
• England
• Singapore
• New Zealand

Five tips for flying with a baby:

Make sure you take a front pack to carry your baby in for the plane as it gives your arms a rest from constantly holding baby when they don’t have their own seat.

You can request a bassinet seat on a plane with extra legroom and a baby bed on the wall in front of you for long-haul flights with most airlines.

Feed the baby during takeoffs and landings so they’re swallowing, to keep the pressure from building in their ears.

For most airlines, they’ll let you check your baggage when you first arrive but keep your pram with you until you get to the gate so you don’t have to carry little one round the airport.

Don’t take as much as you think you need – we took so much stuff and haven’t used half of it.

Five tips on van life with a baby:

1) Space is not your friend - make a safe play space. “We bought a cot side and we make up the double bed for him to play on next to the window and get a large picnic blanket so they can play outside when possible.”

2) Safety precautions – have a fire alarm, co2 alarm, and fire extinguisher. We use a razor strop to attach both car doors so if someone manages to unlock the door they can’t open it.

3) You need a good chair. “We use Mamas and Papas baby snug - but I’ve seen those mini camping chairs with the table attached and they look good too!”

4) Have a space friendly equipment, including a fold down bath, fold down pram, space friendly cot etc.

5) Work longer drives around nap times!

Dos

1) If your baby is on formula, research if you can get it in the countries you’re going to otherwise stock up. You may need to do this earlier on as most supermarkets don’t like you to buy more than two at a time.

2) If you’re going to a hot country, buy a handheld fan, ideally one that will wrap around your pram.

3) Research places beforehand, to see if they are infant/pram friendly

4) If you’re sleeping in free locations, by the road/car parks, it can be noisy - use a white noise machine to block other noises out

Don'ts

1) Don’t over pack! Bring a few stimulating toys, place them by the window, they have the changing surroundings to keep them occupied.

2) Don’t get an uncomfortable nappy bag, this things going be on your shoulders all the time!

3) Don’t be afraid to get out there with a baby! Everyone has been super nice and helpful even when there is a language barrier. You’ll always find someone to help, having a baby is a superpower

4) Don’t let other people’s expectations of parenthood hinder your dreams! We’re all different.