Oklahoma City for the Weekend

Last month, over the 4th of July weekend, we went to Oklahoma City. This is not the typical vacation spot but one of my childhood friends lives here. I decided to use 70,000 delta miles (35,000 miles each) to get 2 tickets to OKC. I can never find seats for 25,000 miles using Delta. We had a 1 hour flight to Atlanta and a less than 2 hour flight to OKC. I decided to pay a little extra for economy comfort seats. It was only $19 per flight per person and It was worth it. Having a lap infant who is not a baby anymore can make things a little tight. I will continue to upgrade when possible even when Emma is no longer a lap infant. I have to say that Delta was great!!!! The 4 flights were on time, they let families with small children board first and the seats were comfortable.

Emma did great the whole time at the airports and during the flights. The only problem was that she decided to go #2 in the flight from Atlanta to OKC. 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. There is always an "adventure" happening when traveling with kids. 

My friend and I hadn't seen each other since 2006 so this was a special trip. Since we became mothers, our friendship has grown even stronger. When I couldn't travel for her wedding in 2009, I promised her that I would go meet her first baby. I always assumed she would have babies first. I ended up having a baby before her and it was too complicated for me to visit. Emma, André and I finally packed our bags and traveled to meet Grace, my adopted niece. I fell in love with this little girl. She was happy, smart and full of love. Emma was not too happy with her and she would run away from Grace when she saw her coming. It was funny to watch. We were together to watch the Colombia-Brazil World Cup game. We painted our faces with the Colombian flag, wore our team jerseys, listened to "Ras-Tas-Tas" (the Colombian team song), drank lots of wine, and did a BBQ to celebrate our second Country. We didn't go out too much because Grace and Emma had their naps at different times and it was hard to plan something. My friend and her family will be moving to England this fall. I dont know when I will see them again. I hope that we can stay part of each other's lives no matter how many miles are between us. We love you very much Maria and Grace. I'm really happy that we spent these days together. 

PS: Era gol de Yepes!!!! (Yepes scored a goal that got annulled by the referee and it was a goal!!!!!!) 

Baby Products that Will Make Your Life Easier - Part 1

I wanted to create this list for my friends who will be moms soon. I will show you what I use and why I love it. It is hard for first time moms to know what we really need for the baby. There are too many things to buy and when you are thinking of what you need, you think that you will need everything. The truth is, there is never enough time to use it all. You do what you can and convenience is what you need the most. I will only review the things that I've used. I will make another list of things that are not really that good. I hope that this helps. This is only Part 1 or maybe 3. Don't freak out... These are the Basics.

Pack and Play:
This was where Emma first slept. She never got used to her crib and I was happy to keep her next to me for all the mid night feedings. Get one with the napper. It's perfect for the first weeks. I didn't buy a moses or a bassinet. I'm glad I didn't spend the money because my baby was so big she only used the little napper for 3 weeks. They are cute but you will need the room and the money for other things.

Stroller and Car Seat:

You want to get a "travel system" which means the car seat clips to the stroller. When your baby is falls sleep in the car, you can take the car seat into the stroller and still run your errands or eat out. We used the one from peg perego and I was not impressed with the quality of the stroller. The peg perego car seat was great. I got it because my sister had it for my 3 year old nephew and they love it. Sadly, It was not the same for us. Our stroller was the pliko P4. It is now discontinued. When we tried to claim the warranty, Peg Perego informed us that they don't make this stroller since 2011. You can still buy it but they don't make it so they only sent us a replacement part without instructions. We now use a cheap stroller since we know that it will break I don't want to spend $300 more. We also have 2 other car seats. A cheaper one from Graco as a secondary car seat for my husband's car. It's comfortable for her but it's heavier and hard to carry around. We also have a Brtitax roundabout 55 which is the car seat we use now since December. She can look forward instead of backwards and it made a huge difference with her crankiness in the car. We got it when she was over 20 lbs but this car seat is great and it can be used since they are born (rear facing first).

Pacifier:

We bought different brands and our favoirte is MAM. It's shaped in a way that there is no up or down so Emma can put it in her mouth and it always fits the correct way. I wasn't sure about using pacifiers when she was born. It took one day for the nurse to suggest the pacifier when we were still at the hospital. I heard many things about babies having trouble breastfeeding because of it and thankfully it was not our case. She loved my breasts more than the pacifier but she also used the pacifier. I limit the use for the time she needs to fall asleep or if she is too cranky. It really calms her down! I suggest getting the strap because you will lose too many of them. Each pacifier brand needs it's own strap. 

Bottles:

There are many options. I got the avent bottles because a friend of mine gave me the sterilizer. I have the classic bottle and the natural bottle. The natural bottle is easier to clean because it has less parts. You need bottles even if you are breastfeeding. Moms need a break and that's when pumped milk comes in handy. The bottles from the Medela breast pump are great for storage but the nipples are terrible. I don't recommend them. 

Microwave Bottle Sterilizer:

We still use it every day for 5 minutes at the time in the microwave. The quality is amazing and I love having my baby's bottles clean. Some pediatricians say that you dont need to sterilize but I was not comfortable with only using the brush and soap plus the microwave does the work. A friend of mine uses the electric one and it looks nice but I like mine better (and it's cheaper). I even put the pacifiers and sippy cups in it. By the way, always wash bottles and nipples first. Milk fat will not come out with just water. I used to buy 7th generation baby bottle soap. Now we use 7th generation dish soap for all of us. I got tired of buying 2 different things and it's healthier. 

Breast Pump (Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump On-The-Go Tote):

The Medela breast pump is the one that hospitals use and the one that I used. It was worth every penny. I carried it everywhere! Nobody knows is a breast pump because it looks like a tote. I will write a separate post about breastfeeding and pumping is an important part of it. To be continued.

Diaper Bag

When I was pregnant I spent a long time looking for the perfect baby bag. I wanted something fashionable and there are many options. However, those don't have enough pockets. I looked at the popular Petunia Pickle Bottom bags. My cousin gave me one but I didn't like it because it is too heavy. I decided to get one from Le Sport Sac. I love their designs and they weigh next to nothing. 

Ergo Baby

There are many baby carriers available. The wraps look cute but they look complicated and unsafe for larger babies. I used the baby bjorn for months and I liked it. I decided to get the Ergo baby because Emma was getting too heavy. I wish I had used the Ergo Baby from the beginning. It's comfortable and easy to use. I can use it as a backpack now and I haven't tried yet but I know that I will. Sometimes this is the only way to do laundry and other things around the house while holding your baby. Just imagine having your hands free again!!! 

Bottle warmer

Munchkin is one of my favorite brands. This bottle warmer was a gift and it has been very useful. We still use it. Milk should NOT be heated in the microwave and running hot water takes forever. We used to do that and a friend gave us this warmer when she saw how long it took us to heat up a bottle. Using this bottle warmer makes you a perfectly warm bottle in 2-4 minutes (depending on the amount of milk). 

Drying Rack

After sterilizing the bottles, I always use this drying rack.  The brush and the rack in the picture are from munchkin. 

High Chair

You can use this when they are around 6 months old. I love to give her toys while I do things around the kitchen. She is safe and she loves being around me. 

Boppy Pillow

This is supposed to be to help with beast feeding. I used it for a lot of other things including naps when she was little and helping her "sit" before they can hold their head up. I recommend having 2 covers because many accidents will happen. 

Diaper Geanie

This is the best idea! Another one of my favorite items to gift. It really keeps the odors away!! We buy the cheaper refills from target and the work great. Make sure that you buy the one with the foot pedal. Typically you will only have one hand available to do things. 

This is only part one and I already have many things in my head to add to the list of "basics". One of my best friends created the baby shower list for me. She explained to me why I needed all those things but it took me a while to figure it out. To be continued...

*unless Emma is in the picture, they are from www.babiesrus.com and www.target.com

How to Get From Rural Pennsylvania to Washington DC

As a transportation engineer, I get to read and talk about the different modes of transportation. However, since I live in Florida I mostly use my car to get everywhere. A couple of months ago, I wanted to see some of my friends that live in DC after a work week in rural Pennsylvania. I had a rental car but I didn't want to drive to DC during rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon so I did the following:

I started by driving 2 hours to Baltimore Airport where I had rented the car. From the rental car center I took the shuttle to the main aiport terminal. Then I took the bus to the Amtrak station close to the airport. I took the Amtrak train towards Union Station in DC. I got off at Union Station and dropped off my bags with my friend's husband. (He drove to work that day just for this reason). My friend and I took the subway towards U street to have dinner. We stayed out late with my cousin and other friends. We took a taxi to my friend's place instead of the metro. We slept for 4 hours and then she drove me to DCA airport where I took my early morning flight to Tampa.

I'm not sure if this was the easiest/fastest way to make it to Washington. I love public transportation in the Northeast. I never got lost and it was easy except for the part where I had to carry my luggage and laptop bag everywhere. I wanted to drive to the most northern metro station in Maryland, but returning the rental car at a different location it was going to cost me an additional $300.

I had not been to DC in over 6 years. It was the City where I wanted to live for a long time. Those few hours there reminded me how much I love it. I can't wait to go back and stay longer. During my flight, I took a nap and when I landed in Tampa it was almost Emma's nap time. Andre surprised me by bringing her to the airport. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.  She was standing next to where the airport shuttle arrives. I was so happy to be home and hug my little girl after a week away. 

I drove a car, rode the bus, took the train, a taxi and an airplane just to spend one night in DC. I don't see my friends as often as I would like, so I have to say that it was all worth it. 

My First Ride in a Cessna

Last year I finally updated my college car. I only did it because I needed more room for Emma's car seat and stroller. I didn't want a car payment because all I wanted to do was to travel. Most people made fun of my old car and we called it chalupita. I kept saying that I didn't want a new car, I only wanted a private airplane. I kept joking about this and I never really considered buying one until a few months ago.

In May, I took a business trip to Pennsylvania. One of the engineers in that office owns a Cessna. He offered to give me a ride after work. He toke me and 2 others into his 4-seat airplane. We drove one hour from Harrisburg to the town of Millesburg; where he lived. The flight was less than 20 minutes over rural Pennsylvania. This was my first time seeing the Appalachian mountains and the Susquehanna river. I wanted to stay longer to see the sunset but we had dinner plans and it was time to go. 

I was impressed by the beauty of this State. I fell in love with with the feeling of being in the air looking at the river and the mountains. It was quiet and peaceful, except when someone talked over the microphone. Someday, I want to buy an airplane just like this one. Until then, I will have to find more coworkers or friends that can take me for a ride. Here are some of my favorite pictures of that day. 

I had to take a selfie to remember this moment: 

A Blast from the Past

A few Satudays ago, I had a bachelorette party. The night started with a nice dinner that lasted until midnight. After dinner, we went to a club where we had a table a 2 bottles of vodka waiting for us. The old me, would have said that it was a perfect night out with old friends. The new me says that I had a great time but I was ready to go home at 11:00 PM. I was sleepy and I wanted to take my heels off. Someone asked me what time was my curfew. I told her that I had no curfew but I had an early wake up call. I had 2 drinks and went home by 2:00 AM. The following day, I was exhausted and I started to think about how my life has changed since I became a mother. I could probably talk non stop for 2 hours about it. I felt like the oldest person in the club, even though I saw a few people that were older than me. Most girls were wearing mini skirts and dresses that are too short for my post-baby body. I used to wear things like that A LONG TIME AGO.  They are probably hidden in a corner in my closet. My closet is another subject that I could talk about forever. I'm not going to go there.

In the past year, I discovered that everything looks so easy from the outside. Babies look so cute in pictures and there are so many books to help with everything. However, it's not as easy when you have to do it. Everything that you say you will never do, you will do it because when you can't sleep. You will try everything!!!! Even the "bad ideas". If it works, you will do it again. I was criticized by several people when I started to co-sleep with Emma. Emma was 6 months old and she wanted to nurse all night long. I was beyond exhausted and I moved her to my bed. I laid on my side and I rested and even slept while she nursed. A few months later, one of the moms that criticized me (while she was pregnant) ended up doing the same and it worked. It might be the mother's warm body or just feeling company that makes the baby calm. I was very careful to never use blankets or items that can suffocate your child while he/she is asleep. I was also very careful not to have pillows next to her. Thankfully I was doing this when she was old enough to move. I would have been more nervous about it when she was a newborn because of SIDS.

I sometimes wonder what my life would be like if I didn't have Emma. Would I be traveling non stop? or have a better position at work and working 60 hours a week? Would I still live in Tampa close to my family? I sometimes miss my old life. I got a hint of it that Saturday at the girls night out. It turns out, I don't miss going out or partying all night long. What I miss some days is having some time for me: doing my nails, my hair, getting a tan, going to the gym after work. Yes, I really said going to the gym! As much as I crave some "me time" I would not change any of that for the life that I have now. My family is what makes me happy. I have no regrets from the past or with the stage of my life that I am in. I will never be the same that I was years ago. I'm Emma's mom now and that fills my heart. 

Paid Maternity Leave Coming to the US?

Last week, I read that President Obama is trying to promote paid maternity leave. I support this idea 100% as a mother that had to take non-paid leave to take care of her baby. I had to get back to work when my baby was only 10 weeks old. This was one of the most difficult times of my life. I always wanted to get back to work after having a baby, but it was very sad to be away from her. I came back to work with my breast pump and thanks to a fairly new policy that allows women to pump several times a week, I was not in trouble for taking a 15 minute break every 3 hours. I'm lucky that I have a private office where I could have privacy and I also had a boss that was flexible about it. For those that don't know, the law also allows women to request a clean place to pump. Employers must provide a place other than a bathroom for nursing moms. 

I am amazed to see the amount of negative posts about moms getting paid during maternity leave. Thanks to the Family Medical Leave Act, employers should keep your job (without pay) open for 12 weeks. I only learned about this when it was my turn to stay home. It was tight even after saving and planning for my unpaid leave. It didn't help that my husband lost his job when my daughter was only 2 weeks old. Luckily, I had the short term disability insurance (6 weeks for a natural birth, 8 weeks for a c-section) and that was the only income that I got. Maternity leave is not a nice vacation. It is physical recovery for the mother sometimes from a surgery (c-section).  Don't forget about the newborn that requires constant attention and feeding. Before I was a mom, I thought that while the baby slept I could catch up on my reading. I had no idea what it was like to take care of a baby. 

The United States is the only developed Country that has a non paid maternity leave. Even in "poor" Countries like Colombia women get paid leave. I don't want people live off the system. Most people are afraid of those who will start having babies non stop to get paid leave. I'm sure there is a way to prevent; maybe not allowing new hires to take a paid leave or limit it to one paid leave every few years or even just increase the number of weeks that the short term disability insurance provides. It is hard enough for new moms to worry about how to take care of another person. We should not have to worry about how to pay the rent or take care of our basic needs when all of our time and attention should be given to our baby. I hope that this idea becomes a reality soon and that new moms can benefit from it. 

Weekend Cruise to Bahamas, Day 2

About 8 years ago, I went on a 4 day cruise to the Bahamas and I enjoyed it. However, after coming back I concluded that I would rather spend 4 full days in an island instead of just a few hours in each port. Since my priorities have changed so much, I now consider cruising a great option for traveling with kids. There are many things to do, food options just in case you have a picky eater like my daughter, a child care center (for kids older than 3) and when you get to a port you only need to bring the basics for the day. 

Our plan for the day was to spend the day at the beach at the Atlantis Resort. I had been there before but I wanted to return. My friend had never been there and Emma loves the beach. We paid $10 for the taxi from the port and $69 each (Emma was free) for the beach/hotel access and lunch. Emma absolutely loved the paradise lagoon inside the resort, she didn't want to go anywhere else. I wanted to go to the beach at least to see it but it was almost Emma's nap time and then it was time to go back to the ship. Having a stroller was not easy around the outdoor areas of the hotel; the ramps were far and the elevators sometimes didn't work. This was a relaxing day and I loved every minute.  

Paradise Lagoon

We took a taxi back to the port for $4 per person, we shopped for some souvenirs and rum cake in a store close to the port and headed back to the ship. We decided that we wanted to go to the sit down restaurant that night. The food was good and the service was great. However, the "difficult hour" of the day for a kid is typically around dinner time. I have to confess that thanks to YouTube and Baby Einstein videos I can eat dinner many nights. I had my ipad but with no internet connection I was not fully prepared to keep Emma entertained for that long. She didn't eat anything for dinner except a few pieces of banana. We went to bed early again and this was basically the end of our cruise. The next morning, we woke up in Miami and we needed to be out of our room by 7:00 AM. We stayed a little longer, until around 8:00 AM. On our way back to Tampa, I upgraded to first class for $45 and it was a completely different travel experience. I was exhausted by the time I came home; nonetheless, I was proud of Emma for being such a good traveler and of myself for traveling alone with her.

Weekend Cruise to Nassau Day 1

What does a girl do when her husband can't come on a cruise? She calls a friend (me), and asks her to come. When my friend asked me if I wanted to take her husband's place in a 2 night cruise to Bahamas I said YES. I only had one request: I had to come with Emma. At the time, I had never spent a night away from her. Also, this was the perfect opportunity to start taking long weekend trips with Emma. Emma and I were lucky that my friend had reserved a balcony stateroom in the MSC Divina and we had plenty of room for the 3 of us. Since we went to bed early, it was nice to have a good view from our room. 

We flew from Tampa to Miami on Friday afternoon and the cruise sailed for Bahamas Saturday at around 7:00 PM; just before sunset. As the cruise departed, there was a live latin band playing salsa, merengue and reggaeton. Emma was enjoying the music and she was running around the deck. I was running behind her, trying to eat a slice of pizza as my dinner and enjoying the music. The good thing about her new found energy is that she is sleeping the whole night.  

Sunset over South Beach's skyline

We all went to bed early and our plan was to disembark in Nassau as early as possible. 

Pre-boarding privileges

Last weekend, I took Emma with me and a friend to the Bahamas. It was a short cruise from Miami and I decided that it was easier to fly there. Emma still hates the car seat and our only flight experience last summer was great. I got my plane ticket on American Airlines, packed our bags, checked in the car seat and headed for security feeling like super mom. I managed that part like a pro. I folded the stroller, took my shoes off, made Emma stand next to me while I passed her diaper bag, the stroller, the bin with my shoes, and my camera bag (I know, I shouldn't have). I carried her, walked through the metal detector and collected everything again. I got her bottles tested by a TSA agent (no big deal) and continued to our gate. We ate a quick lunch and she walked the whole terminal. When it was time to board, I was already exhausted. I assumed that we were going to board after first class or worst case after group one. I had a group 3 boarding pass but I didn't really worry about it until it was time to board and nobody called for families. When I approached a gate agent, he informed me that American no longer allowed families to pre-board. He wasn't even nice. I had to wait until half the airplane boarded before we could go in. I had to fold and turn the stroller at the gate which requires both hands, watch that Emma wouldn't run, carry the bags hoping for available overhead space. I'm lucky that Emma now walks and she walked (slowly) towards our seat. The people behind us were not too patient, but a 28 pound toddler is a lot to carry for me these days. It would have been a more complicated situation with an infant. The flight was perfect. Emma loves to fly, she doesn't even cry. The trick is to give her a pacifier or something to drink for her ears. 

I started to check online to see if my good experience with Southwest was only to be expected from Southwest. I contacted AA on Twitter and they responded; at the beginning not very helpful and I finally made my point that they need to improve their service. I hope that they do change this policy. I understand that children that are older don't need help, but those with infants or traveling with a stroller need more time.  I read that Southwest, Delta, jetBlue, Alaska and Virgin still allow families with small children to pre-board. However, American and United do not. I'm planning to use all of our miles on a few flights and stop accumulating them with American. I find it the worst airline of all. Their airplanes are old and their service is not great. I stay loyal only because the milage program is the best. I am a loyal AA member and I am very sad that now that I am a parent I do not get a few more minutes to make the travel experience more comfortable. I didn't know how much work it was to travel with a child. I do not want to stop traveling and from now on, I will have to travel with those airlines who treat families well. Needless to say, I was not looking forward to our return flight. I upgraded to first class on our way back. It was the best $45 that I ever spent. We had leg room and we boarded first. I'm happy to say that Emma and I made it though a long weekend trip alone. She is my travel buddy now and I am SO proud of her.  I will upload pictures from the cruise soon. 

Visiting the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha - Part 2

I only had less than one hour inside the museum before they closed. My favorite part of the building was the ceiling. The collection of art inside is impressive. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to appreciate much of it. One of my coworkers gave me a quick tour around the main galleries and took a few pictures of me. I saw a few persian rugs and several antique jewels that made me want to come back. I hope that there is another trip to Doha in the near future, and this time I will extend my stay at least one day to do some sight seeing. 

West Bay (downtown) can be seen from the back of the museum and also from the outside terrace. 

We watched the sunset from outside of the building and after that it was time to go to dinner. I can't believe that I was able to do so much and also work many hours while I was there. I guess that I have to thank my jet-lag for allowing me to sleep only 3 hours per night. That and lots of coffee can make the days long and productive.