Packing for overseas...like they have never heard of babies...

We have been traveling now for a year and a half but only the past two months have we been officially on the move. First Spain, now South Africa. We are lucky in that my husband's company ships one box for us wherever we go. Because my husbands sailing team is filled with young families- the big curiosity is: What did everyone put in their box?

Myself, being an overzealous type A personality- put one or more of everything. One Tylenol (paracetamol) and one of every other medicine a baby could ever need for every ailment that could come up. I also put in a few of everything required for our meals- bottles, plates, fork, knifes, spoon, cups, bowl, etc etc. And then the rest- one pair of scissors, one tape, one suntan lotion, one towel, one set of swimming floaters, and more- seriously one of everything.

Currently we are on our 2nd of 9 stops and all of the families pretty much agree- we don't even need what was in the ever so precious box. Reality check for me: other countries have children too! I have pulled out some of the stuff but of the 20+ books, we probably could get by with like 4 and by the way- it is fun to buy books and toys from other countries.

So if you are traveling abroad- first- take a deep breath. Almost everything (including the brands that you like) are found overseas. Economies of scale don't stop at the U.S. border. Unless you are doing some crazy cool trip to an exotic place that doesn't sell anything- then you are probably going to find what you need when you arrive. Of course we don't want to buy everything twice so we use our reusables- bottles and plates etc etc. But it is the "just in case" stuff that you may want to go without. Fortunately or unfortunately- Babies R Us has spread it's wings.

So tonight I am packing my box for Singapore and leaving it half empty. The local homeless shelter can use my "just in case" stuff today!

Home Sweet Home... in the bathroom?

Our energetic daughter is not really one for just calmly going to sleep in mom’s arms. In fact we can’t even put her to sleep if we are in the room. So on our resent 12 day trip along the Garden Route in South Africa we found a special place for her in all of our hotels- the bathroom. Her small crib fit perfectly in them all. The last bathroom was so big we were actually moving it around to decide where to put it.

The bathroom worked for her, and us. We often had to put a bit of padding around the crib and under to soften the sleeping and the escaping. I am pretty sure all of the cleaners along the way thought we were crazy. We would have used the closet but it was too small! Parents have to do whats necessary sometimes!

Has your little one slept in any creative places?

Movin' into the toddler seat- kind of

Our crazy 1.6 year old is struggling to stay put in the highchair these days, because she thinks she is 16 years old instead. She is much happier sitting at the table in a normal seat but the pint size nutter can't even see over the table. So I have found this nifty little folding toddler seat from JANE Baby Products. It comes with a removable tray (which I only use at home) and I just slide the little seat in the bottom of our stroller and we head out. Here in Spain, many of the restaurants don't have highchairs anyway- so it is not really an option. So far this has worked very well, and she thinks it is cool to sit in, in our hotel room. The seat is called the JANE MOVE HIGHCHAIR with Carrying Bag. Here is a picture. I couldn't easily find their website but it seems to be sold in a lot of places...

Baby Sitters in Foreign Countries

We are currently on mainland Spain living in a hotel for 4 weeks- it's actually going pretty well and we have our routine down now. I thought the adjustment from our home in the Canary Islands to here may be a problem but our little girl didn't even see it on her radar. So here we are and quite happy to be in a place of plentiful food products!

Because my husbands job requires some evening social activities- we are always trying to figure out how to get local babysitters. We are not required to go to events- but hey, they are fun and who doesn't like to go out once in awhile. I know the babysitting services can work but I would just prefer to have a recommendation from someone who actually has used the service. I usually ask around to some of the local people that are working with my husbands sailing team to see if they are interested or know someone good. But it is not easy. So far I have been lucky but things will get tougher as the language barrier becomes a problem. Next stop- South Africa....

If you have thoughts or recommendations on finding childcare overseas- send them our way...