Lessons Learned: Traveling with small kids

If you’re a parent you’ve probably learned by now that vacationing with kids is really not a vacation at all. As someone who loves to travel, I was delusional thinking about traveling with Emma before she turned 2. I wanted to take advantage of not paying for her plane ticket. It turns out, I didn't really want to travel. When we did, it was rough and it has taken me almost 3 years to finally get excited about planning a trip. The best part is that I'm happy to pay for her seat. Flights with a lap baby are terrible mostly because economy seats are tiny and we both got hot from having her on top of me the whole time. I still seat her on my lap for short periods of  time but we have room to move with the additional seat. She likes to seat by the window and look out when we take off and land.

I recommend taking a small backpack full of toys,  snacks, crayons, and coloring books. Download a lot of kid friendly Apps that don’t require Internet. Take her favorite toys, but try to only use on the plane the ones that you can wash. Emma loves books and I always try to bring several ones for the trip and hide a few for the flights back. 

One time, she decided to go #2 in a flight from Atlanta to Oklahoma City. Since this was a smaller airplane, they didn't have a changing table in the bathrooms. I had to get creative and change her standing on the toilet seat and hoping that nothing will get out of the diaper. At she she was old enough to stand up. I would want to do this on the bathroom floor. Try to pack extra clothes; not just one set of extra clothes because you will need more than that. We have lots of souvenir PJs for this reason. 

There is always an "adventure" happening when traveling with kids. Flying is never easy, there is so much to pack and check-in (car seat, stroller, bags, food, diapers) that is easy to forget something. You can read about my adventure traveling alone with Emma when she was 15 months here. I always forget something: my charged iPad at home, or the diaper bag in the car to notice only when we got to security, bringing pants for me for 10 days in Colombia, or the stroller at home. We have been lucky and everything works out at the end, but it's stressful while is happening. 

Now that she is older, it is easier to travel and have a normal flight. Plus there are no bottles to sterilize. However, the problem is the food. If it is possible, I try to spend time cooking for her so that the food tastes the same as it does at home. She ate so many apples in Ecuador that she now hates apples. Our last challenge was in Mexico. She didn't want to eat! not even bananas! She is picky and I know it, but the resort where we stayed had many options that she would normally like. She just didn't want to eat. We had some snacks from home and eventually ran out. She drank milk like a new-born. She didn't even want cake for breakfast!!! I never take her to McDonald's, but when I saw one in town I got her a chicken nuggets happy meal and she DEVOURED it. I don't know what is it about that place that kids like it so much.  

We just came back from Washington DC and it went so well that we are traveling again on January 1st. This time it will be just Emma and me going to Charlotte to visit a great friend and meet her baby. She loves airplanes and she now drinks something for her ears instead of using the pacifier. I'm only waiting for her to be potty trained. Traveling is not the same as it was before. We have to take it slower and let her play or go hiking with her on my back. However, we still enjoy it and for us is more than enough when we go to bed before 9:00 PM. 

Salento Part 2 & Valle del Cocora, Colombia

Last year, during thanksgiving week, we went to Colombia. It was Emma's first trip to my home country and my first one in over 3 years. We went to the coffee region for 2 days and I fell in love with my country even more. One of the most popular places in the region is a little town called Salento. You can read about our trip and where we stayed here. The town is beautiful and it is close to a place called Valle del Cocora (Cocora Valley). I always wanted to go and see the wax (cold weather) palms. We went to the town mirador (lookout) the first day and to the Cocora Valley the second day. 

Emma was very good during the whole trip. She didn't want to walk more than 5 minutes and she wanted to be carried ONLY by her mom. I did what every mom would do: take her on my back with the ergo baby. At the time Emma was 31 pounds!!!! The 2,400 meter altitude is OK; except when you are going uphill with a toddler on your back. After a long recovery from a broken leg just a year ago, I felt really proud of myself.  

These are some of my favorite pictures from the mirador in Salento:

We hired a tour guide and he took us to the most wonderful walk. You can rent horses or just walk. We decided to walk to the river and back. We were supposed to go to the palm forest, but I was exhausted from carrying Emma after a long walk and that mean really going up the mountain. We will return when she can walk alone!! These are some of my favorite pictures from the Cocora Valley:

If you ever have a chance to visit the Colombian mountains don't miss these places. The pictures don't really show how beautiful everything is. I can't wait to return to this beautiful place! 

Update 2015, Part 2

I completely forgot about this blog for months!!! The last post was in February!! I got really busy with work and just forgot about writing. I'm happy to say that I finally feel more like myself again. The first year after having Emma I was physically and mentally exhausted. Now I can have some time for ME and that really feels good. I meant to share all the pictures from our family trips. I will upload them slowly.

Emma got very sick several times after starting day care in January. We were at the pediatrician at least once a month. I got her viruses while taking care of her, which resulted in having bronchitis 3 times in 5 months. Kids recover quicker than us. I was sleep deprived during this time because of my sick kid or thanks to my endless cough. Let's just say that we had enough antibiotics this year.

I traveled a lot for work in March and April. In those months I went 3 times to Pennsylvania, once to DC, and one time to the Middle East. I saw snow for the first time in February!! I was extremely busy until May and normal busy after that. I now have to work 3 times a week at another office that is 60 miles away from home. I always wanted to travel for work except that I want to fly not drive.

We took Emma to Disney in May. I never thought that a 2 year old could enjoy it so much, but she did! She keeps asking me to go back and remembers a lot of details. We are going to take her again for her 3rd birthday in January. I used my AA miles to book 3 plane tickets for a family vacation. We spent 5 nights at an all inclusive in Playa del Carmen, Mexico in September. We didn't have internet those days. It was difficult at the beginning, but after the second day I was happy to disconnect. The only problem was to locate Andre if we went different ways for a little bit. We hired a local photographer to take some family pictures. I'm still waiting for the photos. I can't wait to see them!!

I'm failing my goal of visiting one new country every year. Since I am not adding a new country to my list, I started counting Emma's. If it's new for her, I'm happy!! Mexico was her 5th country and she behaves so well on airplanes that people congratulate us all the time. Emma loves to travel and she asks me all the time to go on vacation again. She also gets excited when we drive by the airport thinking we are going somewhere. She still hates long car rides (just like me). We don't have any plans to travel before the end of the year. However, I'm always looking for great deals or low mile tickets.

I will share some of the travel pictures from Colombia, Ecuador, Orlando, Qatar, and Mexico in the next few weeks.

Colombia Trip 2014- Part 1

I'm going to try to catch up with our trips from last year. I have a lot of pictures and stories to share. I've been busy at work and the little time that I have left is to spend it with Emma and André. In 2013, exactly on November 20th, I broke my leg. I had to cancel our family trip to my hometown just one week before traveling. I got a refund in the form of travel vouchers valid for one year. We couldn't decide where to go during the year. At first, I was in crutches and recovering. After I got better André got surgery and had 6 weeks of recovery time. Time just flew last year: we just went back to our original travel plans. We would go to Cali, Colombia for 9 days. 

On thanksgiving day, we started our trip to Colombia. This was going to be Emma's first time there and my first time in over 3 years. I was excited and nervous. It didn't help that right after our vacation I was going to travel for work to the North East.  I literally had to catch a flight from Miami to Pennsylvania.  I had to take a suitcase full of work and winter clothes to Colombia and back to the U.S. 

The first issue we encountered on our way there was that I left Emma's diaper bag in the car. My sister took us to the airport with plenty of time. We got the bags out, the stroller, the kid and went to our gate. When we were putting everything through security, I realized what I had done. I forgot the diaper bag in the back seat. Emma's diaper bag was loaded with diapers, food, antibacterial wipes, regular wipes, 1 set of extra clothes, sweater, bottles, milk, sippy cup, toys and everything I wanted to have during the flight. We called my sister and she drove back to the airport. André went (ran) outside to pick it up. He made it in time to come back inside the gate before it was time to board. I really thought that I was going to have a panic attack. In the mean time I went to look for diapers inside the terminal. I found some but they only sell one size (4) and Emma is a size bigger (5). It was not a huge difference but soon after using the smaller size, her pants got wet. I was lucky to have the diaper bag with us again and our additional set of pants saved the day. I'm so relieved that we had time to spare that day. I don't think that we could have survived without her diaper bag. 

The second mistake I did that morning was that I forgot my iPad loaded with apps and movies for Emma at home. I wanted to charge it until the last second and as a result I completely forgot about it. Emma was addicted to YouTube and watching the wheels on the bus was her favorite past time. We were OK during the first flight which was only 30 minutes and at the airports because I had internet. However during the long flight, there was no wi-if available. We made it with books, coloring books and a few apps that I had in my phone. It was hard but we survived the 3 hour flight without an iPad. 

We finally took a break during our layover and had lunch and a Juan Valdez coffee. If I fly in or out of MIA's D concourse I have to have one. I had to buy souvenir pants for Emma because she got her second pair of pants wet and I had no dry clothes with us. It was a Minnie Mouse PJ with shorts instead of pants. Apparently when you can only find shorts in Miami. At least they we're dry. 

I tried to feed Emma some real food during the long travel day. I got her lunch and dinner at La Carreta, a Cuban restaurant located in MIA. Emma didn't want any of it and she just ate fruits and snacks. When we got to Cali our cousin had dinner ready for us. I had never seen Emma eat her dinner so well like she did that day. She was so happy there. She was excited to see motorcycles. I didn't even know that she knew how to say "moto". The first thing that I ate when we arrived at home was a granadilla. This fruit is sweet and is one of my favorites. A trip to Colombia is not complete without my daily granadilla. We went to bed after midnight exhausted and ready to relax for a few days. 

Salento, Colombia

For several years, I wanted to visit Salento. Not Salento, Italy; Salento, Quindio, Colombia. This is a small town in the middle of the Colombian coffee region located 3 hours away from Cali. It was isolated for a long time and as a result, the traditional architecture was preserved. We finally planned a short trip last December while we were in Cali. It took us almost 4 years to get there. Emma was amazing. She didn't cry or complained except almost at the end. We had to improvise her lunch making a quick stop on the road. Luckily, highways are very interesting in Colombia. You drive through the towns and there many things to look around. She got car sick and as a result we had to continue our trip with the windows down. That was all part of the "adventure". 

I fell in love with Salento and with the beautiful mountains around it. After living in Florida for 15 years, I get very excited to see mountains and green landscapes. We had the typical food lunch: trout and a huge green fried plantain. André loves his tostada as you can see below. 

The best part was having a Colombian coffee right in the middle of the mountains where it's produced. The coffee shop was antique and everyone makes you feel welcome. If you want to go, it's on the left side of the church if you are looking  at it from the town's main square or plaza. The barista has been the same for over 20 years and he has pictures to prove. 

Our hotel was only 2 blocks away from the Main Street (5th) and I would recommended it for anyone who wants to go. It's called Salento Real. It's a new building, but it was built to reflect the typical architecture. The rooms are small but comfortable, and the service was incredible. 

There are 3 big reasons to visit Salento and stay a few days: the town, the mirador (overlook) and visiting the Cocora Valley. I will share lots of pictures to share what we did in 2 days. It was enough time to see what we wanted to see, but sadly 4 hours each way is a long way to go and we were too exhausted. I would recommend staying for 2 nights instead of only one night. 

2015 Update

Every time I want to remember when my life was chaotic I can look at the gaps in this blog. November and December of last year were busy to say the least. We had 2 international family trips and I was working a lot to finish a few reports  and projects before traveling. I also attended a training for work in Pennsylvania that consisted of 2 different trips. I was in and out of the airport a lot during those months. Now we have finally slowed down and after getting sick during our Christmas trip we got back to normal. Emma turned 2 on the 13th and the day after she started to go to a pre school for half a day. Everything was ok besides her crying (and mine) when she had to stay at school. It didn't take more than a week for her to get sick. She got pink eye. I did what every mom would do, run to the doctor. I took her to an after hours pediatrics clinic and she got an eye drop prescription for pink eye that we started right away. The following day her eyes were better and suddenly she had a fever. We had a long night and I woke up every hour to check her temperature. She needed several doses of Advil during the night and I stayed up for hours. The next morning, I called her pediatrician and she got an appointment. It turns out that her pink eye was just one of the symptoms of a very common virus for kids her age. I never even heard the name before. It's called adenovirus. I still have to google the name everytime that I want to remember what she has. We had another rough day and she finally started to feel better yesterday. She is on antibiotics for an ear infection and that comes with a prize as well because her stomach gets sensitive. I'm just thankful that she is eating again and that she is in a much better mood. It might be because she had been at home with my parents for 2 years but I'm not an expert to take care of sick kids and that makes me nervous. I called my mom and my sister all the time to ask them for advise. Emma hates her eye drops 3 times a day and she is drinking apple juice with antibiotics and cough syrup in it. 

After getting something that felt like the flu in Ecuador, I don't feel like planning another vacation. After Emma getting so sick this week, I'm afraid to travel for work and leave her. Basically, I want to stay home for a while. We have plans to go to Orlando and take Emma to Disneyworld for the first time. We also have to move from the place where we live now. We have been house haunting since June and we couldn't find a house that we liked and could afford, so we will rent for another year. 

In honor of her second birthday, André and I planned a photoshoot with us as the photographers. Last time that we paid for one it was a disaster and we did not want to feel like we wasted our money. I'm happy with the results. We went to the University of Tampa campus with balloons on a Saturday morning. It was the perfect setting and the campus was empty. I want to start getting into photography again. I'm hoping that my favorite model starts to cooperate soon. Here are some of my favorite pictures. 

On the road again...

I have less than 4 hours to sleep tonight and I'm so nervous about tomorrow that I can't get any sleep. Emma, André and I  are traveling to Ecuador tomorrow morning. I've never traveled on Christmas Eve. I always travel on Christmas Day and the airports are empty. I wonder how it will be tomorrow. 

We just got back from Colombia 2 weeks ago and I also took a short work trip right after we came back. We finished packing and we are supposed to be asleep. I keep running my to-do lists in my head. I was a mess packing for Colombia and I don't want to do the same for this trip. I have to write a list of things I learned from our last trip with a toddler (the hard way of course). I had too much work before Colombia and I had a normal work load this week so I was able to plan with more time what to pack. I might have over packed as a result of my lack of planning from last month. The good thing is I tend to forget my stuff instead of Emma's. It is easier for me to improvise plus we are trying to potty train her and she uses a lot of pants every day. 

I have tons of pictures to share from our trip to Colombia. Those 10 days are still fresh in my mind. I will enjoy this week off because it will probably be the last one in a while. I'm using all of my personal time off with these 2 vacations in one month. 

Feliz Navidad! :) 

Hola from Cali, Colombia

I'm home. I should just say I'm in my home town. I feel sad to say this, but I feel out of place. Maybe the almost 15 years that I've been living in the US have changed me too much. I feel nostalgic when I say that I'm almost a foreigner in my own land. 

The first thing that we did "wrong" was to sit Emma without a car seat. The airport is outside of the City and the driving speed is higher. She was very excited to see motorcycles. They are everywhere. She is also excited to see taxis and buses. As soon as you drive within City limits, the publicity boards distract you from one add to the next. Ever since we got to the airport it has been like an sensory "explosion". This is something that I used to love and miss. Starting with the huge (single) line at immigration, the very little respect for personal space, the chaotic baggage claim and the welcome parties outside of customs. I really mean it when I say parties! I really thought that someone famous was on the plane. Adding to all of that, we now have a little girl to watch in addition to our bags. Our driver was waiting for us but we couldn't find him. It took us less than 5 minutes to find him but it was already a bit too much. I can just imagine what it would be like for someone who doesn't speak Spanish. 

So many things make me home sick for Colombia that it's hard to decide where my heart belongs. I love the way people treat you, my friends that I've known forever, the food, the tropical fruits, the music everywhere, the convenience of having everything you want delivered to your door, the mountains... I could go on and on. 

When I told Andre that I don't think I can live here again, he was relieved. Not long ago, we said that our goal was to move back to South America. We didn't say if it would be to Quito or Cali or Bogota but we were absolutely sure that we had to move back. Now, I'm not so sure we fit in. 

After this trip, I will have to think about how to balance the person I am today with the one that I want to be. Until that happens I have to say that my real home is where my family is. No matter where we live, as long as I am with them I feel complete. 

Longboat Key, Florida - Day 2

For my birthday, I wanted to get out of town. I've always wanted to stay in Anna Maria Island about one hour south of Tampa. Florida's gulf islands were recently featured on Traveller Magazine and they are becoming more popular. I couldn't find a place in Anna maria but I found one in Longboat Key. This is just a few miles south and it has the same beautiful sand. I'm so happy that we found this place. We want to make it a family tradition. A weekend at the beach. The hotels in the area are not sophisticated and the area has more private condominiums than resorts. Since the snowbirds are not here yet, we felt like it was our own private beach. 

We went to the beach right after breakfast and walked back for lunch. My mom and my sister made my favorite lasagna the day before and it was amazing. This was a big surprise for me. 

After lunch, we returned to the beach. Emma didn't want to nap and I thought that it was going to be a difficult afternoon. Emma wanted to get back and play in the water as soon as we got back. I had extra clothes just in case and we had fun seeing her so happy. I didn't even try to put her bathing suit on again. 

This was definitely one of my best birthdays. I can't wait to return to this beautiful place. The following day we had to be out of the hotel by 11:00 AM. We went towards St. Armands Circle. This used to be one of my favorite places a few years ago. I got lunch for Emma but unfortunately we were not hungry and we decided to drive back and let Emma sleep in the car. Life with kids is planned around their naps. A kid without a nap is not a happy kid except when they are at the beach.

Sunset from Longboat Key, Florida

Last Friday, it was the first time that I watched a sunset from the beach in over 2 years. It was hard to go because Emma is usually eating dinner by 6:00 PM and in bed by 8:00 PM. That night, she ate dinner early that and we headed to the beach. This sunset was special because it was the last sunset before turning 33. I felt like it was a good bye to a good and also difficult year. 

Emma loved the sand and even the cold water. She started to eat the sand and after the air started to feel a little cool we took her out of the water and dressed her with dry clothes. She enjoyed every second. We left right after the sun came down. We had a hotel for 2 nights to celebrate my birthday. Our hotel was right across the street and we couldn't wait to spend the following day on this beautiful beach.