As is our way, we overdid it. Our awesome nanny makes baby food for FDR in big batches (Annabel Karmel is a great resource) and freezes it.
We had* a styrofoam cooler and super duper freezer ice that we used to transport frozen breast milk back from the States when we brought FDR home. We figured we'd fill it with enough food for 10 days and we wouldn't have to feed him store bought baby food.
Well, it sort of worked. The super duper freezer ice is supposed to keep things frozen for three days. By the time we got to Turks & Caicos, it was right around 72 hours after we packed and sealed the cooler. Also, the super duper freezer ice can maybe be reused once.
The little pouches tear and then leak. So his food made it, still cold but slightly thawed.
We probably would have been fine with store bought food. But we had all his homemade frozen stuff, and groceries on the island are insanely expensive. Not that FDR is drinking beer yet, but to give you a frame reference, a 6 pack of Corona at the grocery store cost $19.
Milk-wise, he's still on formula and has graduated to "night time" milk which has a little cereal in it so is heavier, which supposedly helps him fall/stay asleep.
*Had the cooler because we threw it - and the super duper freezer ice - away as soon as we got to our rented house.
Sunday, December 29, 2013
Friday, December 27, 2013
Bienvenidos a Miami
FDR is the first grandchild on my side of the family since my nephew was born in 2007, so he has been much fêted since he was born. My parents and sister all live on the west coast and don't get to see him often, so my sister proposed that Tom, FDR, and I travel there
to see them over Christmas.
Our reaction was, if we're going to take a 10 hour flight with a seven-month-old, it's not going to be from London to the Pacific Northwest in December. After a relatively brief negotiation, we settled on the Caribbean, specifically Turks & Caicos. We had to be routed via Miami so decided to stop off in Miami for a day to help ease the jet lag (as if, more on that later).
We cashed in a bunch of miles on American Airlines and went business class for the London-Miami leg. We didn't get a seat for FDR but the nice thing about this was there was room for him to lie down in the airplane bassinet (which, at 7 months old, he barely fit in):
I do have to say, before we actually got on the plane, AA was totally disorganized in terms of what they had in terms of a bassinet for him - the phone agent said something different than the check-in counter agent, who said something different than the gate agent, who was also
wrong. As you can tell, this bassinet is on the ground because apparently in business class, there aren't the necessary hooks or whatever.
He did sleep okay on the plane. We tried to keep him to the schedule of eating every four hours. He had his "night time" bottle at 7:30pm, or 5 hours into the flight, and then another bottle at 11:30pm his time / 4:30pm Miami time in our attempt to get him on the new time
zone.
The poor guy was so tired by the time we got to the hotel room (8pm local time so 1am his time), he was shaking.
to see them over Christmas.
Our reaction was, if we're going to take a 10 hour flight with a seven-month-old, it's not going to be from London to the Pacific Northwest in December. After a relatively brief negotiation, we settled on the Caribbean, specifically Turks & Caicos. We had to be routed via Miami so decided to stop off in Miami for a day to help ease the jet lag (as if, more on that later).
We cashed in a bunch of miles on American Airlines and went business class for the London-Miami leg. We didn't get a seat for FDR but the nice thing about this was there was room for him to lie down in the airplane bassinet (which, at 7 months old, he barely fit in):
Have you ever seen a flying snowman?
I do have to say, before we actually got on the plane, AA was totally disorganized in terms of what they had in terms of a bassinet for him - the phone agent said something different than the check-in counter agent, who said something different than the gate agent, who was also
wrong. As you can tell, this bassinet is on the ground because apparently in business class, there aren't the necessary hooks or whatever.
He did sleep okay on the plane. We tried to keep him to the schedule of eating every four hours. He had his "night time" bottle at 7:30pm, or 5 hours into the flight, and then another bottle at 11:30pm his time / 4:30pm Miami time in our attempt to get him on the new time
zone.
The poor guy was so tired by the time we got to the hotel room (8pm local time so 1am his time), he was shaking.
Fontainebleau - good and bad
We cashed in a bunch of Tom's Amex points and stayed at the Fontainebleau, a sprawling hotel complex in "North Beach". You can see my detailed thoughts on the place on the link, but the short version is this:
The good -
Our room was very big and had a good size balcony. There was a kitchenette (sink, mini fridge) that was perfect for our baby food and bottle washing needs. And the service from the staff was for the most part excellent.
The bad -
However, the pool scene is that awful Vegas-style chaos where people get up at 7am to claim pool chairs by leaving a hat or magazine on them, and by noon the place is a total mob scene. Not relaxing at all. We decided this was too much to deal with with jet lagged daddies and baby, and since I'm a member of Soho House, we spent our one full day at Soho Beach House which just happens to be right next door to the hotel. Even if you're not a member, it's a good (if pricey) option for a hotel.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Paris again!
Tom's family came to visit us in London over Thanksgiving so we decided to cap that by going to Paris. FDR's cousins loved hanging out with him. So lucky FDR has been to Paris twice before his first birthday!
So, you may ask, did we learn anything from our last trip to Paris with him? Well, yes and no.
Yes - got a bigger room at the Westin. Had to zero out our Starwood balance to do so, but it was totally worth it. We had a junior suite, basically two tiny rooms instead of one tiny room. This allowed us to put FDR to bed (he did better in the hotel crib this time) and stay up in the
other half of the room.
No - took the Bugaboo and forgot the baby carrier again.
Yes - left the Bugaboo case at home and just folded the stroller (in two parts) in the luggage area. Doable on the Eurostar. I wouldn't recommend this if flying.
No - attempted the Metro, with our stroller plus another one that one of FDR's cousins needed. Oh boy. Have I mentioned that taking a stroller on the Paris Metro is not a great idea? The station we entered actually did have a gate, with a helpful button to call an attendant to open it for you. Unfortunately, the attendants were too busy having coffee behind a glass partition to open the gate for us. So, with the help of a French family, we passed the stroller over the turnstile and then carried the various babies through. I think one of the other moms thought we were asking to kidnap her baby. At our destination, the exit gate was too narrow for our Bugaboo, so we had to take it apart and again rely on the kinds of French strangers. Say what you like about the French or Parisians, but the Metro workers aside, they seemed to be delightful. Maybe take the bus instead.
Yes - boat ride on the Seine again. A good way to keep track of 4 kids ranging in age from 6 months to 9 years.
No - taking FDR up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The family wanted to go up, naturally, but it's not like FDR cared! You can get most of the way up via elevator (buy tickets well in advance!), but the final stage is stairs, which meant taking the stroller apart again and hoisting it up in two parts. Stupid decision.
So, you may ask, did we learn anything from our last trip to Paris with him? Well, yes and no.
Yes - got a bigger room at the Westin. Had to zero out our Starwood balance to do so, but it was totally worth it. We had a junior suite, basically two tiny rooms instead of one tiny room. This allowed us to put FDR to bed (he did better in the hotel crib this time) and stay up in the
other half of the room.
No - took the Bugaboo and forgot the baby carrier again.
Yes - left the Bugaboo case at home and just folded the stroller (in two parts) in the luggage area. Doable on the Eurostar. I wouldn't recommend this if flying.
No - attempted the Metro, with our stroller plus another one that one of FDR's cousins needed. Oh boy. Have I mentioned that taking a stroller on the Paris Metro is not a great idea? The station we entered actually did have a gate, with a helpful button to call an attendant to open it for you. Unfortunately, the attendants were too busy having coffee behind a glass partition to open the gate for us. So, with the help of a French family, we passed the stroller over the turnstile and then carried the various babies through. I think one of the other moms thought we were asking to kidnap her baby. At our destination, the exit gate was too narrow for our Bugaboo, so we had to take it apart and again rely on the kinds of French strangers. Say what you like about the French or Parisians, but the Metro workers aside, they seemed to be delightful. Maybe take the bus instead.
Yes - boat ride on the Seine again. A good way to keep track of 4 kids ranging in age from 6 months to 9 years.
No - taking FDR up to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The family wanted to go up, naturally, but it's not like FDR cared! You can get most of the way up via elevator (buy tickets well in advance!), but the final stage is stairs, which meant taking the stroller apart again and hoisting it up in two parts. Stupid decision.
FDR with his cousins
FDR wondering what her smile means
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