Vacation!

We are preparing for our first out-of-the-country (not counting US) vacation. This is also our first time to fly with a baby. We are going to the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. Part of the island is under Netherlands Antilles (where we're staying) and part of the island is under France.

We were originally looking at itravel2000.com for booking our vacation. I think their website is the best in terms of interface and search options. We also tried calling their number, the agent I talked to was okay, not extra helpful but knowledgeable enough. We've decided to go to the Dominican Republic since Cuba (visa issues) and Mexico (H1N1) were out of our choices. Last minute, we talked to the pedia and found out that baby needed to take anti-malaria medication for DR. I got scared so we decided to look at a vacation in Turks and Caicos. We went to a Flight Centre shop and the agent suggested St. Maarten, which was a bit cheaper than TC. We researched online and it seemed like a nice place... so our vacation, after a month of indecisiveness is finally booked!

Now the planning starts.. We need to buy some stuff for baby --> sunscreen, sandals, maybe a hat, diapers for swimming, umbrella stroller, a travel highchair, summer clothes.... and what will I do with his potty training? Lately, he has been regressing. The days that he doesn't poop in his potty, he poops every 3 hours in small amounts. Not good. Maybe I can make him poop in the real toilet? Anyway, what else do we need for the trip and the beach??

I'm hoping baby food isn't too expensive on the island (I'm still waiting to hear back from the resort on this) so I don't have to bring 25 jars of baby food.

Moms out there: any tips and suggestions for our travel?

Movies for Mommies

Yesterday, hubby and I tried watching a movie in a Movies for Mommies theatre. Iron Man 2 was showing so it was good motivation to go. We went to the one at Promenade Mall -- Mondays at 1pm is the schedule.

So we got there, we bought our tickets at their booth right outside the theatre, they gave us a lot of fliers/coupons (which I haven't really browsed through yet). I also signed up for the mailing list and a raffle for mommy friendly shoes. The brand is NAOT I think.. (I used the flier earlier to wrap baby's poopy diaper so I won't be able to read it anymore LOL) They also gave us a jar of baby food.

When we got inside, it's just a normal theatre but there's a change table at the back with wipes and diapers. The strollers are parked in front. There were about 7 babies with moms.. about 3 dads with the moms (including my hubby), and a grandma. Before the movie, they called my name because I won a baby book! (someone else won the shoes)

Good thing there was a change table because about 30 minutes into the movie, baby pooped. The lights were dimmed but not completely out so it was okay. The sound was also softer than in a normal theatre so baby was able to sleep the last 30 minutes.

It was a good experience, I highly recommend it! :)

Sitting up

I've been really delinquent in updating this blog lately.. we're in vacation mode since hubby is between work and school right now.

Anyway, so I left baby in crib this afternoon.. I placed him on his back and when I looked again after a couple of minutes, he was sitting up! This is the first time he has ever sat up by himself (without me putting him in that position). yey! He did it again several times after.