Meet Esmé:
At 17 months old, Esmé already has quite a few stamps in her passport. That's because, when she was only 10 weeks old, she boarded a plane with her parents to explore Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. Her mother, Karen Edwards, is a nurse, and was able to take the trip thanks to Britain’s National Health Service, which offers a 52-week paid maternity leave to new mothers, The Daily Mail reports. Her father, Shaun Bayes, quit his job in order to accompany them. The couple sold their car and rented out their home in London to help cover the costs.
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The family’s year-long world tour featured stops in 10 countries, including Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Amazingly, they did it with just one backpack.
She told The Daily Mail that “everyone thought we were completely nuts” to take an infant backpacking around the world. And while there were some challenges, she also noted that the hardest part is keeping Esmé entertained now that the family is home in England.
“Esmé hasn't lived somewhere for a long period of time, because we were always moving around hotels and rooms.”
But Esmé won’t be in one place for much longer — the family is already planning to hit the road again, this time going to Thailand, Cambodia, and New Zealand. We have a feeling Esmé may need a few more pages in her passport.