Last week, my partner and I flew to New York for a wedding. And we got to spend a day wandering around NYC. I had somehow never been (like HOW!?) - and it was so fun to explore. Traveling with a baby is new to us, because we had our first kiddo right during the pandemic - so we are in a learning currrveee.

There are a few things that we wish we would have done differently on this trip, and I thought I’d share so hopefully you can avoid our mistakes.

Traveling with a baby; things we’d do differently:

We would CHECK OUR BAGS. Before we had kids, we traveled almost exclusively with carry-on bags. You could find us galavanting around Europe for 2 weeks living out of backpacks. We are light packers. But with kids? It was just a lot to lug around the airport, and not have our hands very free. And if you have a baby, you KNOW that you want your hands free 😅

dad holding baby in a plane on trip from Austin to New York City

We would BRING A STROLLER. We didn’t bring our stroller because there was one waiting for us at our destination, but man we missed it in the airport. I would probably never again fly without a stroller to get to/from your gate. Plus it would have been nice to have a place for him to rest out of our arms. We did bring a blanket for the floor (forever unclean) and let him stretch his legs.

We would BRING SNACKS FOR US. We brought everything we needed for the baby, but we often didn’t have time to grab a snack or water for ourselves while rushing around. Next time I will pack an empty water bottle for me to fill in the airport and extra snacks. Traveling with a Baby IS harder work than traveling solo, so refueling yourself becomes extra important.

A few things we were glad we did?

Brought a neck pillow; we could use it as a makeshift boppy in the plane for naps and feeds.
Brought a Paci clip; our little one doesn’t use the Paci much at home but he loved it in the plane. It helped his ears adjust.
Got diapers and wipes THERE. Our friend ran to the store and picked us up diapers before we arrived so we didn’t have to pack too many; they take up SO much room.
Brought a portable sound machine; these are LIFESAVERS while traveling with a baby.
Brought a portable black out curtain; so helpful for naps in strange environments for baby.

There were definitely a lot of little hiccups and frustrations along the way but over all we loved traveling with a baby, and can’t wait to bring our toddler along on the next trip. We think it’s super silly to say you can’t travel once you have kids. It’s a different pace and your expectations have to change - but your lives don’t stop when you have kids. Plus look how happy H was to see the world!!! ^ haha

If you want to see more from our trip, come see me on TikTok!

I'm gonna let you in on a little secret that I never really posted about before.

I didn't really enjoy being a photographer very much. 🤭

Feels really vulnerable to write it out that bluntly, because I wrestled with myself over it for years. But that's the truth of the matter. I did some sort of photography, either full time or part time, for 10 years. And there were definitely like parts about it that I really did love, don't get me wrong. But I kept trying to make it a successful career. And it kept feeling so forced.

And I never really understood why… until I was forced to stop.

Back in 2019 I was I unexpectedly lost my coaching job. And I decided to go full time into my photography as a result. I was eight weeks pregnant & everything was scary. But I'm a risk taker, and I had a gut feeling that it was time to run my own business! This was something I had dreamed of doing since I was a teenager. So I did.

I went all in. And while I booked the shoots that I needed to book, and made the incoming I needed to make…. everything felt forced and I couldn’t figure out why.

It felt like I had my hands over my ears, tuning my own voice out, because photography is a thing that made me feel safe. It was an industry that I knew. And so I charged forward.

Fast forward to 2021… I had a baby at the height of the pandemic, had serious health issues as a result of that pregnancy, and was now trying to run a photography business while taking care of a toddler with no help (because thanks, COVID).

And I got burned the fuck out.

More burnt out that I've ever experienced in my life. I was to the point where, like, I couldn't even work. So everything that I had been building towards for the last two years came to a screeching halt. And I was forced to ask myself what do I actually want? And I finally started listening to myself…to my desires. I had to look myself in the mirror, take a deep breath, and be honest about the fact that I didn't want to be a photographer.

I wanted to run my own business. But I didn't want to be a photographer.

I started asking myself what were aspects of the business that I really truly loved. And all of it had to do with admin and marketing system. Hell… I came home from a photography workshop once, and all I thought about was systems! How to make things efficient, how to use automations, how to use my time well. IF THAT WASN’T A SIGN I WAS MEANT TO BE A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT 😅

So I started to put together a virtual assistant business SERVING photographers (instead of BEING a photographer), everything started clicking. It was nothing like I ever experienced as a photography business owner. Everything was full of ease. I had content ideas for days. I knew exactly what I wanted things to look like.

And that's the point of all this:I wish I would have saved myself a lot of time by leaning into my desire. I wish I would have known your desire IS your superpower.

As business owners it's so crucial to not just the $$$ success of our business, but the long the sustainability of our of our business, to ENJOY our freaking lives.

We deserve to have a business that brings joy. Obviously every business is also going to bring stress, but our business just should overall make our lives better. Otherwise, there's literally no point.

I wish I would have saved myself so much time and struggle by just being honest with myself about what I really desired. And for you… it probably isn't a leap from photography. I see that enjoyment from so many of my clients that was missing for me. But it might be time to evaluate your niche, or your ideal client, or your price point, or your work/life balance…or whatever it is.

You will do yourself a huge favor by starting first with what you desire, instead of what you should do. Your desire is your superpower. Let your business come from your heart. Lead with desire.

(A good book that talks about this concept is The Desire Map by Danielle LaPorte)