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View Full Version : Advice for taking 14mo to Mexico?



tylersmama
07-31-2007, 11:33 PM
We are headed to Mexico next week for a wedding with DS who is 14 months. We will be staying at a large all-inclusive resort in Playa del Carmen. This will be our first real vacation with DS, so I'm a little nervous about logistical stuff. The things I'm most worried about are being able to get milk for DS whenever he needs it, finding things he'll eat at every meal, and sharing a room with him (he's a pretty light sleeper). I'm also a little nervous about possibly using the resort's baby-sitting service.

Any BTDT mamas with some practical advice and/or reassurance for me?

kristenk
08-02-2007, 09:03 AM
I don't have any experience taking a little one to Mexico. I thought maybe an inexperienced answer would be better than no answer at all, though!

DH and I went to Cozumel for vacation approx. 9 months before DD was born. :P We stayed one night in Playa del Carmen.

Do you know if you'll have a mini-fridge in your room? That could help. As far as milk goes, I'd probably travel with several packs of the 3-pack Horizon organic milk singles. They don't have to be refrigerated, so they could travel in your checked luggage. They'd also be super portable and easy to cool down if you don't have a mini fridge (you could stick an unopened single in a bucket of ice for rapid cooling). I'd probably also pack a lot of substantial snacks for him that could be used to supplement meals.

As far as sharing a room with him goes, will you be bringing a pack & play or will the resort be providing one? If you're not bringing your own, you might want to bring your own PnP sheet to use (that always made me feel better for some reason!). When traveling with DD when she was little, DH and I discovered that out of sight meant out of mind for her. We'd try to hang a sheet somewhere in the room so that we could see into the pack & play but she couldn't see out of it. We'd usually find a spot for the pnp in the room and then use chair backs or floor lamps to hang the sheet on. Having clothespins helps a little, but it's not necessary. And, of course, since we used some not-so-stable items to hang the sheet, we'd make sure those things were out of reach from the pnp. DD really did fine b/c she basically thought she had her own little room. We turned the light off when she was going to sleep, but she was fine if we turned the light on after she was already asleep.

Hope you have a great trip!

hillview
08-02-2007, 11:53 AM
We took DS (then 18 months or so) and cousin (then 9 months) to mexico. I took some Horizons milk that doesn't need to be kept cold (available at Whole Foods) with us -- 3 9-packs. That came in handy a few times. Used bottled water just to be extra safe. I took cereal and raisins and apple sauce (checked luggage) with me so DS would have snacks in the room. Take extra sun block (hotel had crummy kind).

WRT sleeping we have put DS in a pack and play:
- in a closet (when possible and safe) or even part way in
- right as you enter room (sometimes this is next to bathroom but unless you are pg or otherwise need to get up a lot at night it can work ok) -- dont block the exit in case you need to leave quick
- next to windows with part of curtain around crib to keep it dark

Also when you check in be super sweet to check in person and explain you have a light sleeper and is there a great room that would work etc.

Have a great time!!
/hillary

tylersmama
08-02-2007, 04:59 PM
Thanks for your replies, mamas! I will try to get some of the Horizon milk to take with us. We should have a minibar fridge in the room that I could put them in to keep cold. I've only seen the lowfat milk versions though, do they have a whole milk version? Or does it not really matter since it will only be for a few days?

I like the idea of hanging a sheet. That might work. Or if we're really lucky, we'll have a spot that we can tuck the pnp out of the way of the rest of the room (according to the confirmation, we have a "junior suite"...I'm guessing that just means there's a sitting area or something). We are using the resort's pnp but I was definitely going to take my own sheet.

We will only be gone 4 days, so hopefully I shouldn't need to take TOO much stuff, but I was planning on taking cheerios, bunny crackers, and some baby food veggies. I have some applesauce singles I can pack as well.

Thanks for the ideas, and keep 'em coming! :)

kristenk
08-02-2007, 10:42 PM
Your comment about applesauce singles made me think of applesauce tubes. They're the best thing since sliced bread! Here's a link:

http://www.walnutacres.com/snack_overview.php

hillview
08-02-2007, 11:33 PM
They only have the low fat but for a few days I say no big deal. Better then a screaming baby.

GOOD LUCK!
/hillary

kristenk
08-03-2007, 08:03 AM
Totally forgot to respond to that question! I agree with Hillary. It's just for a few days and I'd rather my little one drink organic low-fat milk than regular milk that I haven't been in control of.

tylersmama
08-17-2007, 02:29 PM
Thanks so much for your advice, mamas! We had a great trip. I took some of the Horizon singles with us, but barely needed them since they had milk available at every meal (once I figured out that I needed to ask for leche fria to get cold milk, not hot!). DS ate ok while we were down there. Breakfast was fine, lunch was usually ok (they had pizza and hot dogs on the buffet), and dinner was pretty hit or miss. We had a little sitting area in our room, and we took the resort crib and put it down there between the blackout curtain and the decorative curtain. It worked pretty well. There was only one nap that we had minor issues with.

We did use a babysitter one night, and it was totally fine. It was actually the girl who had checked us in when we got there and she was really sweet. DS had a great time floating in the pool, but wasn't too sure about the ocean!

Thanks again for your help!

LizzieW
08-20-2007, 06:46 PM
What resort did you stay at? We want to take DD after she's a year old. Thanks!

tylersmama
08-20-2007, 10:57 PM
We stayed at the Riu Palace Mexico in Playa del Carmen. It was nice, although not overly fancy. All-inclusive. They had a Michael Jackson show in the theatre one night that my SIL and I thought was fabulous (although that may have been at least partially due to the tequila! :P). All the employees were super friendly and LOVED DS. He got LOTS of attention!