Matty J and Laura Bryne have hit the baby jackpot – they’ve managed to birth themselves a unicorn baby.
Marlie-Mae and her parents are in London for their first ever family holiday and the four-month-old slept the whole way.
“So many people thought we were absolutely mad for taking a four-month-old to Europe, but it’s been one of our favourite trips,” the couple told Mamamia from the UK.
Questions you have when you don’t have kids: Sleep. Post continues after video.
Little Marlie-Mae was so well behaved even the flight attendants couldn’t believe how well she travelled.
“She’s been a little trooper. We’ve definitely lucked out with a unicorn baby,” Laura said.
The lead up to the trip, however, was a little bit less of a dream, and the first time parents think they may have overpacked just a tad.
“We rocked up to the airport with four pieces of luggage. Packing for a baby is wild,” Laura told Mamamia.
“I packed all the essentials – nappies, baby wipes, pram, travel cot, blankets, snot suckers… all the good stuff,” she added.
The next hurdle upon touchdown in a foreign country – with a completely flipped time zone – is sleep, which is hard enough for a fully fledged adult.
Laura and Matty’s advice having just gone through it? “DON’T NAP,” they said.
“Even Marlie was so knackered she made it through the whole night with only one feed,” Laura told Mamamia.
“I think the secret to beating jet lag is thou shalt not nap, and thou shalt not snack on Pringles at one in the morning.”
Laura and Matty met and fell in love on the 2017 season of The Bachelor, they announced their engagement in April of this year, and welcomed little Marlie-Mae in June.
The smitten pair have been treated to their first family holiday by Next Clothing, which has worked out well – because Laura admits she has been able to pack more for Marlie-Mae and less for her knowing she’s got clothing options up her sleeve on the other end.
“It took me almost a week to plan this trip,” she told Mamamia. “Both of us used to be so carefree and fluid with our plans, we’d only book the first few nights of a trip and let the rest of the holiday fall into place. Obviously that approach has gone out of the window now we have a little bub.”
Despite the fact that overseas travel of course throws routine, schedule and sleeping out the window, Matty and Laura are looking at the positives.
“At least we are up nice and early for the breakfast buffet? Silver lining, you know?” said Laura.
It also means they’re out the door and walking pretty early, and have managed to see a lot of the city and explore the sights.
“It’s a juggling act between work and pleasure. We’re lucky enough to be shooting with Next Clothing over here but when we haven’t been working, we’ve tried to cram in as much as possible,” Matty said.
“With a bit of help from jet lag we’re always up at the crack of dawn then there’s lots of walking. Marlie-Mae absolutely loves being pushed around in her pram,” Laura added.
Although the young family are trying to juggle work and pleasure on this trip, they have been pleasantly surprised with how fun travelling with their newborn has actually been.
“Holidays are a little different to how we used to travel but they’re just as enjoyable and way more meaningful,” the couple told Mamamia.
Top Comments
Lucky them! Both of my babies were refluxy, fighting sleep, super alert newborns and it was hell. I wish I had this kind of experience and was able to enjoy it. Why not go to Europe if your child sleeps and feeds like a dream?
Especially if it's a sponsored trip and someone else is paying for it. Grab the chance while you can!
Forgot about that bit - a no brainer!