Travel Archives - 300 Sandwiches
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This Father’s Day, I’ll Honor My Father by Going Fishing
Fri, 16 Jun 2023 10:43:47 +0000
When I was a toddler, my dad invested in some property on a lake about two hours from our daily lives in suburban Chicago. My dad was an accountant, but also loved fishing, hunting and the great outdoors. He wore suits and leather shoes during the week and swapped them for flannel shirts and Wranglers as […]
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When I was a toddler, my dad invested in some property on a lake about two hours from our daily lives in suburban Chicago. My dad was an accountant, but also loved fishing, hunting and the great outdoors. He wore suits and leather shoes during the week and swapped them for flannel shirts and Wranglers as he packed his duffel bag and loaded up our blue Jeep Wagoneer with provisions.
Weekends at the lake included barbecuing, collecting bugs and turtles and swimming in a wading pool in the backyard while my mom sat in a lawn chair and drank Tab while we waited for dad to come back from fishing with the neighbors. We spent many birthdays at that house, and made lifelong friends with the locals.
The lake behind our house was a figure 8 shaped lake large enough to fish, swim and drive a pontoon boat around for an afternoon cruise. It was also where my dad and I spent many of our milestone moments together. When I was 8, he taught me to swim in that lake, making me paddle from our dock to the floating raft parked some distance away. In the winter, he ice fished, and I learned to ice skate. He taught me how to fish, including how to bait my own hook and how to cast properly. One night at sunset, I snagged a catfish that almost pulled me off the dock. My dad cheered as he helped me pull it in, cigarette dangling from his mouth as we lifted the fish out of the water. “Stephie! You did it!” he said proudly. It snapped the line a second later, and swam off, becoming a tale of family folklore that dad and I would retell frequently.
As I got older, my interest changed—I wanted to go to malls, play sports at school and focus on my school friends and getting into a top university—and I spent less time at the lake house. When I graduated college and moved to New York to embark on my fast-paced big city journalism career, my parents retired to the lake house.
A few years into retirement, my father was diagnosed with cancer. In between chemo treatments, on good sunny days, we went to the lake to troll around, listening to bullfrogs, enjoying the trees swaying in the breeze, reflecting on a life well lived, a family formed and loved at that lake.
After my dad’s funeral, my husband’s family and mine gathered at our house to support my mom. After dinner and many drinks we all meandered down to the lake, to take in the view, to pay respects, to scatter some of the flowers that people had brought to the service in memoriam of my father. The lake was a glass mirror, reflecting the colors of the trees and the pinkish summer sky dancing off its surface. The sounds of frogs chirping and rabbits charging through the brush were all too familiar. It was as if the joy of my dad’s soul was surrounding us all as we stood on the pier.
I hadn’t been back to that lake in since my dad’s passing nine years ago. I wasn’t strong enough to go, still grieving my dad’s loss and too upset to spend time there. This weekend, I returned, with my daughter and husband.
It was surreal to see my daughter walking down the hill, through the yard I once walked with my dad. Her sparkly purple jacket glistening in the sunshine, matching the spark in her voice and she questioned daddy about what type of fish we could catch. It was like looking at myself 40 years earlier.
My daughter walked onto the boat and grabbed her pole from my husband and eagerly learned how to fish. She reeled her line in and cast it out in an arch about ten feet from the boat. She kept practicing. Soon enough, her casts became smoother and longer.
Just before we called it a night, my daughter caught a nibble. Her father helped her reel it in, and there it was, the most perfect bluegill in the entire lake.
It was as if my father was standing next to us, watching the entire scene, smoking a cigarette and sipping a beer, celebrating the moment with us.
My daughter looks like my father, expressive eyes, wide smile. That night, I felt he had transcended within her. If not at least he was there to witness a great core memory.
We went out to that lake every night while we were home to watch my daughter fish. Her smile, wide and goofy just my dad’s. I promised to come back to this lake more often, at least while my daughter is still young, before she too gets distracted by adolescence. It’s my tribute to my father, the outdoorsman, on Father’s Day, the reason why we have a lake house in the first place, and the spark within myself and my daughter that loves and appreciate getting out and casting a long line into still waters.
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Crafting an Endless Summer
/crafting-endless-summer/
Tue, 22 Aug 2017 02:57:11 +0000
It’s been a good three months. It’s been warm. Sunny. Heck, we even had an eclipse. We’ve had plenty of adventures with our little Q. She and I took our first mommy and me plane trip to see my mom in the Midwest. She met her aunt and cousins in Chicago. We went to Turks […]
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It’s been a good three months. It’s been warm. Sunny. Heck, we even had an eclipse. We’ve had plenty of adventures with our little Q. She and I took our first mommy and me plane trip to see my mom in the Midwest. She met her aunt and cousins in Chicago. We went to Turks and Caicos and Q swam in the ocean for the first time (she only dipped her toes in when we were in the Dominican Republic). We went to the Central Park Zoo, and I even bought Q to work with me one day.
Aside from the travels, we’ve also hit other milestones—she’s now eating baby food, and even eating some solids. She’s got 8 teeth. She’s babbling on with dadadaddada and babbbabba and bththhhththth and geeeeee! E and I celebrated our second anniversary, and we lived through a small remodel project in our apartment.
We have lived our best life this summer. And we don’t want it to end. Labor Day may signal a back to school type feeling for some, but as long as the weather is warm, we will be wearing flip-flops and white pants, drinking rose and enjoying every last drop of summer. Here’s our plan for keeping that seasonal glow right on through September:
—Keep drinking rose. Not making the switch to red wine until the temperature hits 60 degrees.
—Make cobblers. I haven’t made one yet this year, and August is the best time to find peaches, plums and stone fruit in season. I’m going to stock up, and freeze what I can for a few cobblers and tarts in the next few weeks.
—Beach trips. The beaches will be packed the next few weeks, but after Labor Day, many will retreat back to the city. For many, September means hurricane season. For E, it’s also prime kite season. So we’ll be making a few trips out to the beach so he can get some time on the water.
—Morning coffee dates. When the weather turned nice, we would take Q for a walk together by the Brooklyn waterfront, and grab coffee and a treat and sit with her in the sun. That tradition will continue well into the fall, even if our coffee order switched from iced to hot.
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The 300 Summer Survival Kit
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Fri, 23 Jun 2017 11:23:24 +0000
Yes, it includes overnight oats. Finally, summer is upon us. This one is going to be more special than ever, and that’s coming after a string of kick ass summers in recent years. How ever could I top the summer of 2015, which brought the publication of the 300 Sandwiches book, our wedding and the honeymoon […]
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Yes, it includes overnight oats.
Finally, summer is upon us. This one is going to be more special than ever, and that’s coming after a string of kick ass summers in recent years. How ever could I top the summer of 2015, which brought the publication of the 300 Sandwiches book, our wedding and the honeymoon of a lifetime?
This summer will also be the first summer with baby. Summer of Q! Let the adventure begin.
Before the official start of the season, we had time to do a dry run of all of the products, food and funstuffs that will carry us through the next few months. From picnic blankets to rose, herewith is the list of things that the three of us won’t be able to do without.
Wine delivery service. Why I haven’t just ordered a case of Rose already is beyond me. Instead, I’m buying bottles in pairs every few days for dinners al fresco and the occasional . When I run out, I go to Drizly.com and restock. They can deliver to my house within an hour, which means I have rose in hand before our grill can come to the proper temperature to grill out.
Beach tent. This beach tent is a portable shaded safe house on the beach when the sun is blaring down. It has UPF 50+ protectant fabric and has screened in windows so to give you a view and a cool breeze from outside. It’s big enough for two adults to lay out comfortably, so Q has plenty of room to play and crawl around and still feel the warm ocean breezes on her chubby cheeks.
Baby sunblock: I am hyper concerned about what goes on my baby’s skin. Q was too young to use traditional baby sunblock in January when we were in the Dominican Republic, so I simply used pure zinc block and wiped it off when we came inside, per my doctor’s recommendation. I cycled through a bunch of baby sunblock brands since, but Badger sunscreen is also zinc based and made of organic ingredients. One of my mommy friends uses it for her child, so I picked up some for Q.
Baby sunblock hats. Gotta keep Q’s big dome protected. (Really, she has a big head, it consistently measures in the 75 to 90 percentile range). This one is still one of my favorites, and it has an adjustable toggle strap so the hat grows with your growing baby.
Nylon picnic blanket. We live near the Brooklyn waterfront, and have already spent a few summer Fridays with some rose and snacks while taking in the sunset as it cuts behind our view of downtown New York , the East River and the Statue of Liberty. I love a good picnic blanket with a nylon waterproof backing, and this one from H&M is so cute. I stashed it in Q’s stroller so we could use it during afternoon outings, too.
Plastic spray bottles. During a rooftop barbecue a few weeks ago, the afternoon sun blazed so hot we set up the beach tent under an umbrella to create a shady area for the kids. To keep them even cooler, we used spray bottles to gently mist the babies with water. That made the difference between uncomfortable, dehydrated kiddos and happy sun tots. It’s like carrying a portable sprinkler at your finger tips.
Overnight oats. During the summer, I want to get out of the house as fast as possible to enjoy the awesome summer weather. Instead of making a lengthy breakfast, overnight oats are our favorite grab and go morning meal. E and I are pushing each other to come up with different tasty combinations each day. We prep overnight oats the night before, and grab a bowl with coffee for instant breakfast. I’m enjoying the ol’ standby of banana (sliced), coconut flakes, chocolate shavings, cinnamon and almond milk. E is a chocolate protein powder, coffee, maple syrup, almond milk kinda guy.
Go to summer sandwich: Nothing says summer like sandwich #23, the tomato and feta cheese open faced sandwich. Fresh heirloom tomatoes, crisp herbs, chopped garlic. Makes me want to head to a farmstead in the country immediately.
(I didn’t get paid for any of this. I just love what I love and wanted to share.)
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How to Get a Passport for a Baby
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Mon, 15 May 2017 11:47:54 +0000
The first thing E wanted to get Q once she was born was not a Mamaroo rocker or designer clothes. It was a passport. The gift of travel is the best thing you can give a person of any age. For a baby, it’s even more special. Little ones are never too little to start learning […]
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The first thing E wanted to get Q once she was born was not a Mamaroo rocker or designer clothes. It was a passport.
The gift of travel is the best thing you can give a person of any age. For a baby, it’s even more special. Little ones are never too little to start learning about the world, and the adventures they have observing life outside of their pack n’ plays are memories they’ll have for a lifetime, not matter how young they are.
My husband planned our daughter’s first international vacation as soon as she entered this world. We spent the last month of my maternity leave abroad, a somewhat growing trend as The New York Post wrote about this weekend. As such, out little girl needed a passport. The process was as tedious as expected, but E and I got one for our baby within two weeks. Rules for getting a child a passport are printed on the State Department’s website, but a number of my friends have recently asked me about my experience.
Below, I’m sharing some tips to getting a passport for a baby and how to make the process less hectic. The big surprise: the hard part was not the paperwork, it was getting an appropriate photograph of a squirmy, wiggly, confused newborn. Tips on getting that elusive photo are below.
Go in person to the post office or passport agency to apply. If there’s an issue with your paperwork or photo, it will be easier to correct on site or within arm’s reach than waiting for the agency to receive your documents and mail them back. And, if applicable, both parents should go together with the child to apply. Passport offices need consent from both parents to issue the passport, and both parent’s attendance at the application site automatically conveys that.
You’ll need your passport and original birth certificate for the child. We also brought her social security card as a backup form of ID.
It can take up to eight weeks to get a passport. Pay extra to have it expedited. E and I got ours within two weeks. It’s worth every penny to shave off processing time.
GETTING THE APPROPRIATE PHOTO IS CRUCIAL. I can’t stress how important this is. E and I had to go back to the passport office several times because we could not get an approved photo for Q. According to the website, the child needed to be photographed on a white or off-white plain background and face the camera with their eyes wide open, ears and neck showing, and dressed in street clothing, all in a 2X2 photo. Do you know how hard it is to get an 8 week old to sit still long enough to get a photo that hits those qualifications? Damn near impossible. I took nearly 300 shots on my iPhone trying to get the right image! Here’s how you can get the photo in much less time:
Dress your baby in clothes visible from the chest up. If your child appears naked, the passport office will not accept it (E and I were sent home the first time because of this). A regular white onesie is fine so long as it’s visible in the 2×2 photo.
Place your baby on her back on a white fitted sheet in her crib or on a flat surface. Fitted sheets will stay smooth and prevent shadows from forming on the background or on the baby’s face.
Some people also recommend placing a sheet over a car seat and taking a photo of your baby while sitting in the seat. I found it cast too many shadows on the photo, but it could be worth a shot.
Make sure the child’s neck is visible in the photo, even if this means shooting from slightly above their sight line so their gaze goes upward. But remember, the child must be looking directly forward, and both ears must be showing in the photo. This is harder to capture for a newborn whose head can be larger than their body than you think.
Take more than one photo with you to the passport office and let them give you guidance on which photo to use. After two unsuccessful attempts, E and I took a dozen options with us to the third meeting and showed them all to the passport agent. Finally, we found an image that would suffice.
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The Jerkiest of Jerk Chicken
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Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:04:35 +0000
When E and I were in the Dominican Republic last month, we did our fair share of island-inspired cooking. We whipped up shrimp curry a few times, paella with spiny lobster (which you could find down there simply by swimming out a few yards from shore), and pasta with fresh local vegetables. Our favorite dish was a […]
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When E and I were in the Dominican Republic last month, we did our fair share of island-inspired cooking. We whipped up shrimp curry a few times, paella with spiny lobster (which you could find down there simply by swimming out a few yards from shore), and pasta with fresh local vegetables. Our favorite dish was a jerk chicken recipe that we continue to make in our Brooklyn kitchen.
I like to call this dish the Jerkiest of Jerk Chicken because of how we came to love this meal. E and I went through a lot as new parents down in the DR. One thing we had to battle were bugs. When you’re in the tropics, bugs are everywhere. Small ones, big ones, hungry ones, poisonous ones. It’s why you probably shouldn’t have a newborn outside after dark.
But on the second night we were in the DR, E suggest we go to this restaurant with an open air thatched roof near the river. I had many reservations, but baby and I went anyway. At the end of dinner, I noticed that a long bug had crawled onto the sweater I wrapped around my legs to keep away mosquitos. I flicked it off of me and squealed. So did the table next to me. And the restaurant manager. Turns out it was a centipede. I was furious. So much so that I told E I was leaving the next day and called Jet Blue to change my tickets. I decided to stay after some begging and a good night’s sleep.
This jerk chicken recipe, which comes from Nakisha Brunson from the popular, oh so cool style blog Urban Bush Babes, is the bomb diggity. It’s hot or mild depending on what peppers and how many you use. The allspice and nutmeg and brown sugar and onion make for a delicious rich sweet flavor. The first time we made it, we omitted the OJ because we forgot to buy some at the store, and we found the marinade sticks to the chicken better. But the traditional recipe version also works swimmingly.
After E found this recipe, he asked me if I was going to name a sandwich with this jerk chicken after him. “You know, because I was the biggest jerk of all in bringing you down here.” No dear, you were just a jerk for bringing me to that open air bug infested restaurant at night. But I forgive you.
We’ve since cooked this recipe a bunch of times and used it for sandwiches, for rice bowls, and for salads. It’s super delicious and flavorful, and the chicken comes out juicy and well marinated. Leave the chicken sit overnight in the marinade for best results.
THE JERKIEST OF JERK CHICKEN
5 scallions
5 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons ground allspice
4-5 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2-4 scotch bonnet peppers (note, I used 4 and my chicken was spicy! Proceed with caution! Taste as you go.)
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup vinegar
1 onion
1/2 cup orange juice
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 lime, squeezed
Combine all into a blender, and pulse until smooth. Coat chicken with marinade. Let sit for at least two hours, or up to overnight.
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Things I Learned While Traveling with a Newborn, Part 3
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Wed, 01 Feb 2017 13:11:23 +0000
We made it. Four weeks in the Caribbean. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sad to leave. (GASP! SHOCK! “Didn’t you make me switch flights back three weeks ago?!” says husband.) Overall, traveling with a newborn was easier than I teed it up for. The baby loved her time by the beach—she went in the […]
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We made it. Four weeks in the Caribbean. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sad to leave. (GASP! SHOCK! “Didn’t you make me switch flights back three weeks ago?!” says husband.)
Overall, traveling with a newborn was easier than I teed it up for. The baby loved her time by the beach—she went in the ocean for the first time, and the sun has given her skin a hint of color (but not too much, as we still kept her covered or in the shade, and put a bit of zinc oxide on the exposed parts). She’s eating well. Her baby acne has cleared up. And not only is she smiling every day, she gave me her first laugh the other day, to which I teared up with happiness.
Traveling with a newborn is so doable, so long as you plan ahead and know how to handle any emergencies. But it’s also about going with the flow, and giving yourself room to adjust to change. Its hard to do that as a new parent, and extremely hard to do it as a new parent in a foreign country. But it’s possible. And so rewarding.
Here’s what I learned in the last few weeks of the trip:
Panicking does nothing. Duh, right? But I did it anyway. “The baby’s breathing weird!”–I thought she had pneumonia (she wasn’t, and she didn’t). “There’s a bump on her foot, what is that?” (nothing). I got bit by three mosquitos– “I must have dengue fever!” (nope.) I didn’t stop relaxing until E’s mom joined us for the third week of the trip. It was as if having parental supervision for not only the baby but myself gave me permission to chill. With someone around to confirm that I was doing a good job of parenting, I had exponentially more fun. I got exponentially fewer mosquito bites, too.
A&D ointment saves everything. The combination of Caribbean heat and newborn drool created moist skin folds around Q’s neck and diaper area. Common, but those red, shiny marks made me cringe. I had used A&D regularly to her bum to avoid diaper rashes and on any sore skin patches of my own, but I applied some to her irritated neck and leg folds, and it cleared the rash up within hours. I went through two tubes of A&D in two weeks. Other parents also swear by Aquaphor as the same cure all for such skin issues. We also used Desitin on the rough patches towards the end of the trip, which also worked like a charm. It glides on a bit chalky and stays on the body for at least two days, but it does successful dry out those moist folds so the rashes clear up. Cornstarch is also helpful.
Harry Belafonte does, too. We sang songs from his “The Essential Harry Belafonte album“–“Jamaica Farewell,” “Angelina,” “Hold ’em Joe,”–to Q in the morning, during diaper changes, feedings and just to dance around the apartment. If you want to soothe a crying baby, this album surely does the trick. Island inspired tunes about love and travel make for great singalongs.
The most obvious tricks for parenting are not obvious at all to new parents. When E’s mom came to visit us halfway through the trip, she not only talked us off of the ledge from thinking our child had pneumonia, but also helped us navigate beach life with Q easier. For example, we brought our car seat down to Cabarete, but only used it in transport from the airport to the apartment. “Why don’t you put Q in the car seat to sit next to you at the beach?” suggested the wise grandmother. Made total sense–Q happily took several beach naps in that car seat, which was more comfortable than a towel draped across our laps. She also relaxed next to us during dinner in the seat while I rocked her back and forth with my foot. It lulled her to sleep before we cleared the dishes. Grandmothers know everything.
You never know who you’re inspiring with your presence. While I was panicking over feedings, bugs, mosquitos and other challenges, there were women looking longingly at E and I , smiling politely. There was one woman who was staying in our apartment complex, a beautiful blonde women with perfect hair and an athletic build, who looked like she had fully acclimated to her expat Dominican lifestyle. She always had a beach chair and sliced up pineapple out in front of our complex each day. A few days before we left, she introduced herself when E and I were taking pictures of the baby. “I really admire you two for taking this time with your baby in such a beautiful place. I wish I would have done the same with my three kids, who are all in university now. You all are doing parenting right.” If only she would have seen me panicking about pneumonia a week or two earlier.
This is the best idea my husband ever had. I spent the last month of my maternity leave on the beach in a sunny locale instead of in cold, snowy New York. I had uninterrupted quality time with the most important people in my life. I got a tan. I ran on the beach. I made jerk chicken. And I stared at my baby for hours in bed while listening to the ocean and not police sirens or construction workers. I am so glad E convinced me to do this trip. We’re already planning our next family adventure—Q’s passport needs more stamps, you know.
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Things I Learned While Traveling With a Newborn, Part 2
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Mon, 23 Jan 2017 14:22:30 +0000
Somehow, we survived week one of our first vacation traveling with a newborn without hurting the baby, or ourselves. We arrived in the Dominican Republic with baby and bags, and set up camp quickly after a massive shopping trip at La Sirena (their local super store, like Wal-Mart). But our marriage was tested like never before under the […]
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Somehow, we survived week one of our first vacation traveling with a newborn without hurting the baby, or ourselves. We arrived in the Dominican Republic with baby and bags, and set up camp quickly after a massive shopping trip at La Sirena (their local super store, like Wal-Mart). But our marriage was tested like never before under the pressure of the unknown. I threatened to go home twice after a scary run in with a centipede at a restaurant E suggested we have dinner al fresco, and an even scarier choking incident after a feeding with Q –I actually contacted JetBlue to switch our tickets home 6 days after the second scare. But after several frantic calls to my mother in Michigan, another to the local doctors on call, and a chance encounter with another first time mother from Germany, we stuck it out through week two. Sunshine, wind and many fruity beverages later, our little family is settling into our island life. Here are a few more lessons learned from the adventure:
Look around for other children. If they can survive where you are, so will your child.
“Is where you’re going good for children?” some asked. Cabarete, located on the north coast of the Dominican Republic, is a family mecca. Aside from local kids that seemed quite happy here, other fair skinned families have relocated from other countries. It’s a big kite surf destination, and since I last visited, there have been several large resorts and condominium development constructed on the beach, all occupied with families of all ages. I watched kids frolic on the beach daily and run in and out of surf shops and beach side restaurants. It reminded me that if these young’ns can survive down there with smiles on their face and not even a sunburn to complain about, then my little Q would be just fine.
Locals have just as much unsolicited parenting advice as your neighbors back at home.
In New York, I took Q out almost every day after she was 6 weeks old for short walks around our neighborhood. Since it was winter, I bundled her up in her Bundle Me inside her stroller and she was warmer than I was in my J. Crew wool jacket. But often in Cabarete, people looked at me in panic about having my 2 month old outside. Apparently there’s a thing here where most people don’t take their kids out for the first 40 days of life. Q arrived here on day 58. “Is that okay?” they’d ask. “Should she be out like that?” “So small.” Maybe they thought Q was smaller than she was. Our housekeeper told us most people keep them inside because there’s a lot of wind and sun, which can bother little babies. Makes sense. But we kept her covered under hats, sunscreen, lightweight blankets or wraps while outside. The only thing harming my child was your fear of the outdoors, mis amigos.
Call the local doctors at your location, just for peace of mind.
We SHOULD have done this on day one. We forgot—until that scary choking incident. We knew there was a brand new medical center located ten minutes from where we were staying, and an urgent care clinic a 6 minute walk away. But when Q started screaming bloody murder, a cry so loud and strong that she actually stopped breathing and turned red for longer than a millisecond, we panicked. My mind went blank as I smacked Q on her back until her airway cleared and she returned to her normal shade. “SHALL I CALL A DOCTOR!?!?” E frantically offered. But we realized then that we didn’t have the medic’s number in our phones, and we didn’t know exactly where the urgent care clinic was on the main road. We rectified both issues immediately: we put the number of the main medical center, urgent care and a pediatrician in the next town in our Favorites list in our phones to access quickly, and figured out how to dial 911 in Cabarete (ahem, you dial 9-1-1, just like at home). The next morning, we walked to the urgent care center and introduced ourselves and Q to the staff. We felt relieved that medical staff knew exactly who we were should we need to call for help.
Book an apartment with the amenities of home, versus a sleek luxury hotel (or at least ask ahead to verify the room’s amenities).
E and I had all of the fixings of home–microwave, full sized stove, refrigerator, pots, pans, sharp knives–by renting an apartment. It felt just like our Brooklyn place, except with a better view. But there was a luxury hotel in the middle of the bay that we would go to to have lunch and sit by the pool. Thinking the amenities must be just as great inside the hotel, we booked a room for a few nights. But when we saw the room only had a small kitchenette and did not include a microwave or mini stovetop to heat or sterilize bottles, we ended up staying back at our apartment. There’s $300 we won’t see again. Lesson learned–call ahead to check the hotel amenities before you book.
Your child will adapt much faster than you will. They like routine, but they don’t care what that routine is, so long as it’s consistent. You want to change formula? Change the place she sleeps from her crib at home to a pack n play on the road? Fine. Just keep feeding and nap time at the same time each day.
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Things I Learned While Traveling With a Newborn, Part 1
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Tue, 17 Jan 2017 13:35:58 +0000
Just a few weeks into parenthood, E wanted to take Q and I on a trip so we could spend a month of unobstructed quality family time together. Many thought we were crazy to take our little one out of the country before my maternity leave was up. “She’s so small!” “What about her ears […]
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Just a few weeks into parenthood, E wanted to take Q and I on a trip so we could spend a month of unobstructed quality family time together. Many thought we were crazy to take our little one out of the country before my maternity leave was up. “She’s so small!” “What about her ears popping on the plane?” “How will you manage?”
I had the same reservations as the naysayers. I didn’t want to go on an extended Caribbean vacation while Q was so young either. For me, there was no place I’d rather be besides cuddled up with my baby girl in my cozy bed at home. But E could not bear a dreary cold January in New York, “ordering Seamless every day, or going to the grocery store, cooking food and passing out.”
“You could spend the last month of your maternity leave on the beach in the warm sun, and Q could see the ocean for the first time, ” E argued. We’d rent a condo on the beach with all of the amenities of home, cook fresh seafood dinners on our patio, go surfing (E), and do yoga (me). We’d watch sunsets over the ocean and lull Q to sleep to the sound of the waves. It sounded idyllic. But I foresaw catastrophe.
My biggest fear about traveling with a newborn was how the baby would do. Would she scream the entire flight, upsetting our fellow frequent fliers, or would I be using the airplane bathroom, a known cess pool of germs, as my private changing room, locking out other passengers? Would she be bitten by a mosquito, or a spider, or worse? Would she get sick while down there, and how would we find a doctor if so?
I consulted no less than 6 American pediatricians and nurses at my hospital about the trip, and all of them said it was fine to go. Q got her first round of shots and a clean bill of health to travel. Despite the medical approval, the new parent in me was still nervous. Finally after weeks of terse discussions, several trips to the post office to get the baby’s passport and booking tickets at midnight in a huff, we took off.
I’ve realized most of my fears, while justified, have not come to fruition. We’ve enjoyed quality time together with the baby on the beach. We wake up every morning with her smiling at us as the ocean laps at the sand underneath our balcony. We drink freshly squeezed fruit juices at the local crepe place next door or at the FreshFresh cafe up the road. We take late afternoon walks on the beach with Q in a baby sling, her head and body covered in UV protective gear. I admit, it’s better than being snowed in in Brooklyn.
Preparation of our beach condo with all of the baby goods we had at home and taking precautions when going outside have helped. But there have been other challenges beyond my scariest, new parent dreams. It’s these challenges and fears that may keep some new parents close to home during a newborn’s first months in the world. But if you want to travel, there’s no reason not to with a baby.
Here’s what I learned from planning our trip to the Caribbean with my darling Q:
Don’t listen to other people’s fear:
People will tell you not to do anything that they’re not already doing. I caught grief from many of my mommy friends who thought I was nuts to agree to this trip, and I told myself I shouldn’t go because of the backlash. But what am I going to do, stay home forever? In the end, I prepared as much as I could, got on the plane, and prayed Q would stay healthy during the trip (or at least the flight down).
Flying on planes with baby is easier than pitched. The baby slept most of the way, only waking once for a bottle. Her ears bothered her only enough to flinch quietly during takeoff and landing, but never waking her from her nap. She needed a change, but I could only do that after we landed since the captain had the seatbelt sign on most of the 3 hour flight because of slight turbulence. No one even knew she was even on the flight!
Getting a passport for a newborn is challenging.
It will take three weeks, most of that eaten up by actually getting the photo right, since the Passport Control center is very specific about how babies are photographed. It took three different visits to the post office to complete her application, but we got the thing within 10 days. More on that in a separate post.
Don’t bring everything…
You don’t need five baby carriers, a stroller, and every single onesie that baby owns. We brought one baby sling, and then fashioned another out of a large piece of fabric we bought in town. We left the stroller behind since we would be on the beach most of the time, but brought a car seat (had to get her to the airport somehow). And for clothes, I brought a stack of white onesies and anything that was for babies 0-3 months, since she’d outgrow anything smaller by the time we got home. I left the fancy dresses and frilly outfits behind, which are just a pain to clean and dress the baby in on the beach.
But these Dr. Brown’s sterilization bags are a godsend, so bring ’em.
I have the Dr. Brown sterilizer on my kitchen countertop, but for travel, the disposable sterilizer bags are awesome. You stuff bottles, breast pump parts and pacifiers into these microwaveable bags with a little water, and they come out germ free. You can also reuse each bag up to 20 times. One box of 5 get you 100 uses.
Now, I’m far from an expert on parenting. And I’m still navigating traveling with a newborn–I haven’t yet driven alone with the baby in the backseat further than 20 minutes! So, I’d love to hear from you parents on your best tips while traveling with a baby. What parenting hacks must we know when away from home with child? Leave a comment below or on our Facebook page. And please, just leave tips that have worked for you. No judgements, no lectures. We parents have enough fraying our nerves already.
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Tips on Traveling While Pregnant
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Mon, 12 Sep 2016 10:41:31 +0000
Pregnancy did not keep me from traveling wherever I wanted. My last trip while pregnant was to San Francisco around Labor Day. At 31 weeks pregnant, and 9 weeks away from my due date, my doctor said I was good to go for the flight, but the cutoff for air travel was generally 32 weeks […]
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Pregnancy did not keep me from traveling wherever I wanted. My last trip while pregnant was to San Francisco around Labor Day. At 31 weeks pregnant, and 9 weeks away from my due date, my doctor said I was good to go for the flight, but the cutoff for air travel was generally 32 weeks for most healthy patients carrying one child.
The general rule of thumb is that the second trimester is the best trimester for traveling while pregnant. It’s the magical time between 14 weeks and 28 weeks pregnant that you feel the best— morning sickness has generally subsided, you get a rush of energy after your body adjusts to the hormonal changes going on inside, and your belly isn’t too big at that point to be uncomfortable, so your mobility is still pretty good.
During my second trimester, E and I took a babymoon to the south of Spain. We drove from Seville to Tarifa to Malaga to Gibraltar, and enjoyed plates of tapas, beach time, and walks around museums. I felt great throughout the entire trip—the only thing that plagued me was ravenous hunger. I was a regular at this little crepe place in old Tarifa every morning because I woke up every morning starving!
This summer, we took some weekend trips here and there to see friends by the beach. All were relaxing and none too strenuous, so long as we stopped for the restroom every two hours or so and had snacks in the car. Our glove compartment stays stocked with trail mix, Starbursts, fig bars and M&Ms.
After 28 weeks, it’s not impossible to travel, but it’s certainly different. Your belly is bigger, so you need more space when sitting. Your back hurts, so it’s hard to get comfortable in a plane or car seat. You’re still hungry and thirsty, so you need to stop and eat frequently. And, of course, you need to use the bathroom more frequently because you have a baby pushing on your uterus. For the SF trip, I had to endure a nearly 6 hour flight in economy (not even economy plus as I was flying leading up to a holiday weekend and there were NO SEATS!) while carrying 25 extra pounds. It wasn’t the most comfortable trip, but I made it.
No matter if flying or driving while traveling and pregnant, there were a few key things that kept me sane and happy. Here’s some survival tips about traveling while pregnant:
—BOOK AN AISLE SEAT: A must for flying, no matter if in business class or coach. You will have to get up and walk around every hour or so, not only to use the restroom, but to keep the circulation going in your legs. Pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of blood clots, and walking around helps reduce that risk.
—DRINK TONS OF WATER, BUT NOT ON THE PLANE: What I mean is, buy a liter of water in the terminal, and sip that during your flight. Water on planes is known to have higher levels of bacteria, according to some insiders. When the flight attendants come around with the beverage cart, order juice—but get it without the ice, as that’s probably made from the same recycled water.
—BUY FOOD AND SNACKS AHEAD OF TIME: There likely won’t be a filling enough—or tasty enough— meal on the plane, so plan ahead. I bought nuts, chips, bars and sandwiches on all of my flights, though when flying to SF I only ate half of my chicken sandwich (and threw the entire sandwich away on my way back. See, told you I’ve been weird about sandwiches during this pregnancy). But at least I had food—on my flight to SF, the stewardesses didn’t even offer me nuts! If you’re driving, always keep snacks in your glove compartment. Hunger inevitably strikes when you’re stuck in traffic and miles away from the next rest stop.
—WEAR COMPRESSION SOCKS: They’re good for the circulation. Also helps prevents blood clots.
—LET OTHER PEOPLE DRIVE WHEN POSSIBLE: I got lost so many times driving in San Francisco once I landed (that Waze app just doesn’t work, people. Google Maps works much better). The next day, I had someone else drive my car. It helped me have a stress free commute, plus my hands were now free to reach for snacks along the way.
—ASK FOR EXTRA PILLOWS FROM THE CONCIERGE FOR YOUR HOTEL ROOM: There are never enough pillows on the bed no matter where you’re staying, and when you’re pregnant, you need more pillows to prop between your knees and around your back and belly while you sleep. Ask the front desk to stock extra pillows in your room when you check in. You’ll need as restful a sleep as possible after a day of travel.
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Leaves Are Changing. Time for Fall Road Trips.
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Tue, 13 Oct 2015 12:55:16 +0000