by Missie Hills | Feb 5, 2017 | International Adventures, South America
After a slow, but nice, uneventful day in Buenos Aires, we were ready see something cool. Jason had this great idea of seeing a bit of Uruguay while we were here. So, we woke up bright and early, hailed a cab to the docks, and caught a boat to Colonia across the Rio de la Plata.
The boat ride was rather basic with nothing too interesting to see. The river we were crossing was so big you couldn’t see land across it. It seemed more like a bay then a river, but who is arguing semantics? Nevertheless, E seemed to enjoy his very first boat trip.
When we arrived in Colonia, we started our day with a short walking tour. We learned about the Portuguese and Spanish influence in the small town. We moved back and forth between centuries old Portuguese cobblestone streets and Spanish cobblestone streets. By the end of the tour we could easily point out which buildings were Portuguese and which were Spanish. We could feel the nice breeze coming off the river and we thought to ourselves, “This is quite nice.”
As the day went on, though, the breeze got less nice, and the air got more stuffy. Before we knew it, the temperature had rose to 102 degrees. We felt every bit of it. Jason and I panted and sweated our ways through the streets. However, E just loved being outside. He looked in awe at the sights, babbled to passing by strangers, and napped from time to time.
We had lunch in a nice restaurant with no air conditioning, ice cream in a cafe with no air conditioning, and beer in a bar with no air conditioning. All the while, E was a champ. Despite the heat, we adored Colonia. It was a wonderful way to spend the day with my family, and an easy way to add another country to E’s passport.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Feb 3, 2017 | International Adventures, South America
After 9 months of pregnancy, 7 months of no sleep, and 10 hours on a redeye flight, my two feet finally stepped on new ground… this time with an extra passenger along for the ride. Our next destination? Buenos Aires.
Awww, so romantic… ohhh, so savvy…. mmmm, so sexy… Wait a minute… Maybe not so much with a baby in tow. I admit, we didn’t really experience Buenos Aires like we should have. There were no romantic steak and wine dinners. There were no relaxing hangouts in cafes. And, most sadly, there were no sexy tango performances to be seen. It just wasn’t going to happen with Ethan in our arms, not if we wanted to maintain some sense of sanity. Instead, we ordered room service and acclimated to the small three hour time change kicking Little E’s butt. We still managed to make it out for a simple steak lunch where we tried the world famous helado (Argentinian ice-cream).
We even found time for a leisurely stroll through the La Recoleta Cemetery full of extremely ornate tombs of famous people we never heard of. Still, it was a photography goldmine.
So, I think that counted as a successful day to start off our South American adventure. Maybe we didn’t experience the heart of Buenos Aires. However, I like to think Little E was still impressed. This, after all, was his very first big adventure. And there was still so much more in store for him.
Until next time,
by Missie Hills | Feb 1, 2017 | Tips and Advice
Yes, I know. We are crazy. I mean, who takes a 7 month old baby to the Patagonia, right? Well, I guess we do. And for no reason really. It was just a spot we picked on the map when trying to decide where our first family adventure would be. Yeah, we were worried. We weren’t really sure how Little E would handle the trip. But we had faith that he would love traveling just as much as his jet-setting parents. So, we packed up as lightly as you can pack with a baby, and made our way down south.
And we were glad we did. Otherwise, it might have been a long time before we saw sights like these.
I will be writing about each place we visited in South America in detail soon. We have many wonderful pictures to share. But for now, I would like to share with you a few things we learned while traveling with an infant.
1. Everyone says don’t take the red eye with a baby. Well, guess what. We took the red eye. And for a 7 month old that sleeps well through the night, this was a good move. He slept nearly the whole flight. Our flight neighbors were pleased.
2. Invest in a good baby carrier. For once, I was happy that Jason has to spend multiple hours of research on any purchase he makes. Because of this research, which normally drives me crazy, he had the perfect carrier for us. A must, after walking many miles with 20 pounds strapped to our chests. We used the “LILLEbaby Complete All Seasons” carrier. Just leave the stroller at home. Unless you feel like it can survive the cobblestone streets, rocky paths, and dirt treks. And even then, just leave the stroller at home.
3. Breastfeeding in South America was pretty easy. I never once felt judged. And no, a cover was not always used. You try covering a wiggly, hungry, cranky, baby in 100 degree weather. Still, I found my hand pump handy during long bus rides when I wanted him safely strapped in his car-seat.
4. Speaking of car-seats, when booking tours, be sure to ask about booking a seat for your little one and the car-seat. Otherwise, you may be rudely kicked off the van when you refuse to hold your child in your lap. Yes I know, Argentinians don’t always use car-seats. But this helicopter mom needs her kid to be safe. Traveling with the car-seat isn’t too much of a pain if you plan ahead. We used the VolkGo Durable car-seat travel bag to keep it cleanly packed up for airport gate checking and locker storage while on excursions.
5. Baby safe sunscreen. Bring it. Even if you think there is no way your child will see that much sun… Bring it. We used Babyganics mineral based sunscreen, 50 spf.
6. Baby food and diapers were pretty easy to buy in every town we visited. However, there are only three flavors of baby food available: mixed fruit, pasta and veggies, and meat. We brought some squeeze pouches with us which turned out to be one of the best moves we made They were amazing to use on the go. E really liked the Happy Baby Organics brand. Also, a pack of cheap baby spoons worked great to use and toss when needed. For this, we got a gold parenting star.
7. Don’t forget a rain jacket for the little one and some good waterproof shoes. You don’t want the rain to keep you locked up inside.
8. Clips that hold paci’s are great for holding other toys as well. Bring a few of them. Unless you like picking toys up off the floor over and over and over and over….
9. The restaurants provide high chairs. Sort of. They are more literally tall, tiny, chairs. No safety belts, no trays, just tall chairs. We loved our travel chair that fit on the back of pretty much any table chair keeping E snugly in place at the table with us. We used the “My Little Seat” infant travel high chair.
10. If your baby is used to a bedtime, you may be in trouble. Flexibility is really needed to avoid those crazy tired breakdowns. You have the time change to tackle first, but then also you have the long days where the sun doesn’t set until 10pm. This can make a normal bedtime challenging. Then again, I am now having to re-train my kid to sleep through the night here at home. So, never mind. Ignore me.
11. Be prepared for meltdowns. They will happen, and you will need to be patient. The baby will feed off your energy. It is tough when everyone is looking at you like you are the worst parent in the world. But remember, they don’t know you. You most likely will never see them again. So breath… and focus on taking care of little one. He will calm down, and your sanity will be restored.
12. Most of all, don’t let your fear of tackling all these obstacle keep you from enjoying your trip. You can still take roads less traveled. You can still see sights unseen. You can still experience new adventures. Even better, you can do it with your family. You created this tiny human. Now let him experience the world with you.
What is the biggest advice you have for traveling parents with young children?
Until next time,
Recent Comments