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Touring with a Baby!
Is touring with baby difficult? Of course. Is it easier than we thought? Definitely! Yet, it's ever-changing... just like a baby's supercharged development.
Is touring with baby difficult?
Of course.
Is it easier than we thought?
Definitely!
Yet, it's ever-changing... just like a baby's supercharged development.
From when we got pregnant, we’ve been thinking and praying about this moment. Touring with a baby. We started out with a game plan knowing that literally, anything could and would happen.
THE GAME PLAN
Prayer + Timing Pre-Concert Naps + Feeding before a concert to keep him happy + Baby Wearing to sleep during a concert = Possible Game Plan.
Back up plan = If Ezra has needs during the concert I tap Eric to let him know I'm out back for a bit with the squish. If all else fails, figure out another game plan.
THE REALITY
It pretty much went the way of the game plan for the first little while, until Ezra decided that the car was a good place to fill his nappy rather than napping. So, with that we had to create a second back up plan: If all else fails, pray that God will provide an appropriate babysitter to sit with Ezra in the front seats.
He did! God always provides and looks after His children. As a friend reminded me, as much as we love our children, God loves them even more.
Anyone whose had a baby will testify to, plans constantly change with a baby and will continue to change as he grows and develops. So, we tried above all else to be flexible for him, while keeping somewhat of a routine no matter where we were to create stability. And of course, give him a ton of love!
Honestly, it turned out pretty good. Ezra did so well. I loved wearing him during concerts! And we’re so thankful to the people who looked after Ezra. He’s a very social baby and he adapts well to change (so far). His behaviour was actually about the same as when we were at home. We were amazed by him and are so thankful.
The biggest things I struggled with on tour with a baby was baby sleep and adult interaction.
I got far too obsessed with baby sleep. Trying to make sure Ezra had enough sleep each day and that his naps were timed close enough so he’d be happy or asleep for concerts became an unfortunate second nature to me. I got a little bit too obsessed with it... Did he ever get upset? Yes, of course. He’s a baby. But he was happy and he got a good amount of sleep most days.
I also struggled with missing the adult interaction before and after concerts; hearing testimonies and stories from people we met. I couldn’t have that interaction (sometimes I was able if a friend was looking after Ezra) because Ezra needed me. And that’s okay. Motherhood, especially of young children, is often described as a lonely season of life. But that’s what it is. A season. From the beginning I’ve been trying hard to keep my mind on the positive, to enjoy every minute, every stage, and to not “look forward” to the next. It's not always easy. Babies will be babies. But I've found it's so important to live in this season because it will be gone before we know it.
Overall, it was and is a joy. Amazing to both be back at being a musicianary on the road and to share this life with Ezra. It was phenomenal to see God, once again, provide not just what we needed, but beyond what we had hoped for.
- Monique
Day off at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, USA
Watch what it's like to tour with a baby on our weekly vlogs!
2016 - A Season of Surprises
Hello everyone,
I guess we'll start off with the most exciting news of 2016. We're expecting our first baby early April 2017. Oh and it's a boy! If you follow us on social media or are on our email list then this may be old news. We wanted to let you know about this massive change that's happening in our lives. We are growing in excitement about this baby boy as we get closer to April and especially now that he's actually kicking around at 28 weeks.
We'll be honest, the timing of the baby news was a surprise as we were in the middle of planning a massive music ministry tour to Europe and USA for the first half of 2017. It was going to be an epic tour and we had been asked to come to Norway for a conference. Let's just say it was all just very exciting! We had dreams of going all around USA and Europe and then we found out we were pregnant... A flux of emotions followed... we like to joke that we went through the 5 stages of grief, yet at the same time having a little smile on our faces. With this big change in our lives we have faith that, as with other unexpected changes in life (like having to move to a new rental home last week), this also is in God's plan. And we are happy to rest in His plan and postpone our tour to Europe and USA until after we've adjusted to our little third wheel hehe.
One of the big questions and challenges we'll face is: "What will it be like touring with a baby?" Perhaps we will hire a nanny or a babysitter in different towns. Perhaps a lucky person will come on the road with us and get the bonus of travel with the catch of looking after our baby during concerts and sound checks. Maybe the baby will be strapped to Monique during a concert in one of those Baby Bjorn thingys or we may even ask a nice little old lady to hold the baby in the front row. The point is, this is something we'll figure out. But you know what? The cool thing with having a job like we do is that we'll get to spend heaps of time with our baby. Concerts and setup only go for 2-4 hours and the rest of the time we will have free for our kid. One thing is for sure we've decided to wait until the baby's here and figure out what type of personality he has before making those types of decisions. We feel called to continue doing music ministry and many people have said to us that doing the baby thing with ministry is easier than it seems. This has come from those that have been doing music ministry for years with kids. That being said we're not super keen to create a family band though. If the kids want to sing with us eventually than sure, but we're not going to encourage it.
So 2016 has been a season of changes. After the craziness that was 2015 with the Everlasting album production, release and 6 month tour in Australia, UK and Europe, we decided to take a bit more of a 'rest year' for 2016. We enjoyed touring throughout Australia to take 32 concerts and Messages through word & song. For 2017 we are planning to be touring locally around where we live near Melbourne through January to March. We feel blessed to live in Australia where the Government gives parental leave payments, which will help when our baby boy comes along. With this we will be taking a short period of maternity leave to adjust and in the second half of 2017 our dream is to do a big tour somewhere... we'll keep you posted. If you are interested in booking us for a concert, church service or conference for 2017, please give us an email to start chatting about possibilities.
We hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a beautiful beginning to 2017. Thank you again everyone for your warm support, friendship and prayers. We know that we couldn't do this without you all and we appreciate the continual support.
Love and blessings,
Eric & Monique
2016 Tour Vlogs