Latest / Cristy M. Diaz Podcast Conversations from the Heart / Traveling Overseas With a Toddler with Lizzy Chiappy

Transcript

Traveling Overseas With a Toddler with Lizzy Chiappy · Cristy M. Diaz Podcast Conversations from the Heart

0:00
Good morning everybody. Happy Monday and
0:02
welcome to another edition of Mamas in
0:04
Miami where together we're navigating
0:05
parenthood with fierce love and
0:07
unwavering solidarity. Happy Monday
0:10
everybody. We made it another week. I am
0:12
going to be inviting our co-founder
0:15
Lizzy Chappie Diaz back into our feed
0:18
this week. We're so excited. She went on
0:20
vacation and she's here to tell us all
0:22
about it. We can't wait to hear how it
0:25
went with her and her baby on flight.
0:28
So, let's invite her in and get right
0:31
down to
0:39
business. Whenever you're ready, Lizzy,
0:42
we're here.
0:46
Hi.
0:48
Good morning. Welcome back. Yes, I am
0:52
back and I'm happy to be back. How are
0:54
you doing? Good. I bet you nobody's
0:56
happier than Willie.
1:01
Yes. Yes. He is finally back to
1:04
schedule, back into his routine and uh
1:08
and happy to be home. He's definitely
1:10
happy to be home. Well, we're so glad
1:12
you had a time. I know you've been
1:14
looking forward to this overseas trip
1:16
quite some time and we are ready to hear
1:20
all about it. True or false, Lizzy?
1:22
Because I never did it myself. I was
1:25
always thinking at the very beginning of
1:29
my kids childhood that maybe it wasn't
1:32
the right time to go to Europe with two
1:34
little ones in diapers. And then
1:37
thinking back after the fact, I thought,
1:39
"Oh, maybe it was easier because they're
1:41
babies. They don't know any better. They
1:43
don't need to be entertained. They don't
1:44
talk back to you." So, you're here to
1:46
settle the score for us. Is it easier or
1:49
harder to go with a little one to
1:51
Europe?
1:53
I think you just
1:56
froze. Lizzy, you
1:59
there? Liz Lizzy, can you hear us?
2:03
You're frozen, my
2:07
friend. Let's wait a minute to see if
2:10
Lizzy comes back. Would you like us to
2:13
reinvite you,
2:15
Lizzy? For those of you joining us for
2:17
the first time today, we are talking to
2:19
our co-founder, Lizzie Chappie Diaz, and
2:22
she took her first overseas trip with
2:24
her baby boy, Willie, who's just over a
2:26
year old. And she's about to tell us if
2:28
it's easier or harder to travel with a
2:35
baby. You there, Lizzy?
2:43
He's back. All right, I'm back.
2:46
I'm back. I'm like, what happened? No
2:49
worries. So, you we cut off right when
2:51
you were about to tell us which one's
2:52
better, to travel with or without a baby
2:55
when they're this little overseas.
2:56
What's the verdict? Well, I traveled
3:00
specifically with an 18-month-old who
3:02
was already full-blown walking and
3:04
active. And I will say that is not for
3:07
me. So for me it did not work out but I
3:11
I'm very clear as to why it didn't work
3:14
out. Um and I will say that I have a
3:19
friend who took a trip a month before
3:22
me. Yes, her son is so he's her son is
3:26
two months older than my son, but if you
3:28
do like the calculation of like when
3:29
they took their trip and they took our
3:30
trip and we took our trip, they're
3:32
basically a month apart. Okay. Um,
3:35
obviously we know when they're little
3:37
those months make a big difference. Um,
3:40
so I think that also is a thing that I
3:44
will say when before they're mobile is
3:46
probably best. Um, I will also say like
3:50
so there's a bunch of factors as to why
3:52
our trip did not work out the way we
3:54
wanted. First and foremost, something
3:57
that was completely out of my control
3:58
that no parent can control is he started
4:01
the trip sick. He was teething hard, had
4:05
a slight fever, and a bad cough. So,
4:09
anyone that has gone through that, you
4:11
already know that that throws everything
4:13
off. It throws their sleeping off, it
4:14
throws their mood off, and it throws
4:16
their eating off, right? So, it was like
4:19
a trifecta already from the get-go. Um,
4:22
that just didn't lend itself to success.
4:25
Uh
4:26
second, just because your baby can
4:29
travel on your lap for free until two
4:32
years old does not mean that they
4:35
should.
4:37
Ah so on the way there he was on our lap
4:41
which is what made the honestly if he
4:43
had his own seat the flight there would
4:45
have been fine because on the way there
4:48
you know you schedule the flight in the
4:49
afternoon or at night and then they
4:51
sleep for most of the time. So we only
4:54
really had to entertain him for, you
4:56
know, a few hours, but then he passed
4:58
out. But the thing is that he passed out
4:59
and he didn't have his own seat. So he
5:01
like sprawled himself across like three
5:03
of us, you know, like my husband,
5:05
myself, and my mother-in-law.
5:07
Stud. Yes. So So we didn't sleep. And
5:11
then he
5:12
truthfully didn't have the mo best sleep
5:15
because he's not super comfortable.
5:17
That's like not the best call, right?
5:18
So, as soon as we landed in Madrid, um I
5:21
told my husband, I was like, "I'm not
5:22
doing this on the way back. Book him a
5:23
flight. Uh book him a seat." And so,
5:25
with Miles, we got him a seat on the way
5:27
back. And now, of course, if you are
5:29
trying to make a trip happen because you
5:32
have something that you need to make it
5:34
to abroad somewhere, and this is the
5:35
only way financially you can do it, do
5:38
it. Of course. Just know what you're
5:40
signing up for. Uh and just know that
5:42
the flight won't be enjoyable um if they
5:45
don't have their own seat, to be honest.
5:47
Um because even if they do go to sleep,
5:49
you're still, you know, holding them and
5:51
they're no longer baby baby. Like my b
5:53
my kid's pretty big for an 18-month-old,
5:55
you know. Uh and then the next factor
6:00
was um you know, it was such an this I
6:03
so I had a wedding to go to and I knew I
6:06
knew that I would need babysitting for
6:07
the wedding. So I invited the three
6:09
grandparents that are in our lives to
6:11
come with us. And um you needed all
6:14
three of them. Well, I decided to make
6:16
it a family trip and you know and the I
6:19
knew the three of them would love to be
6:20
a part of the the whole experience and
6:24
um and so my dad offered to do all the
6:28
planning of the trip and I was and that
6:31
sounded lovely, right? Like who doesn't
6:32
want someone to just plan everything for
6:34
you, right? Um, but the thing is is that
6:38
no one is going to have uh the awareness
6:41
and the looking out of like what's
6:43
really appropriate for a baby and what's
6:46
really appropriate for everyone and all
6:48
the moving parts. So, I really truly
6:50
needed to be involved in every single
6:52
detail because basically we had too much
6:54
planned. It was too many moving parts.
6:58
We did we started in northern Spain and
7:00
the way northern Spain works is, you
7:02
know, you don't really spend too much
7:04
time in any one spot. you do you like
7:05
you like stay in one spot and then you
7:07
do a lot of day trips like you drive an
7:09
hour or so here an hour or so there and
7:12
you do that kind of stuff. Um, and by
7:16
the time of I mean between the first
7:18
plane ride, then we had a six-hour
7:19
layover, then another plane ride to get
7:21
to northern Spain. Between that, then
7:23
putting him in a car seat, putting him
7:25
in a stroller because he's still while
7:27
he's walks, he's not walking where he
7:30
can like walk miles and miles like he's
7:32
not to that point yet either. He's
7:34
little, you know? So, between being
7:36
strapped and all the things, he was just
7:37
over it. It was just too much, you know.
7:39
Um he's an active, fully active, fully
7:43
highly energetic little boy right now
7:46
and um and he's in that transition
7:48
period of becoming a toddler, but yet
7:50
still very much a baby. And so it was
7:53
just um he didn't want to be contained
7:55
anymore. He we needed to find ways to
7:58
expend his energy. So like the way the
7:59
trip was set up just wasn't conducive to
8:01
allowing him to do that so much. And um
8:04
and then of course you know battling him
8:06
being sick the time change him
8:09
acclimating to that uh it was just it
8:12
was a lot. And so then obviously if it's
8:13
a lot on him then it becomes a lot on
8:15
the parents and we were we were beat to
8:17
two days into the
8:19
trip and it's a 16- day trip we still
8:22
have a long way to go. So, so far you're
8:26
saying landed you realized if it's
8:30
possible in any way, shape or form to
8:33
give your child the extra seat even if
8:37
they are under the age of two, it's
8:39
worth the spend. And you're also
8:43
recommending that the parent be involved
8:45
in the entire process of the itinerary
8:47
because at the end of the day, parent
8:49
knows kids schedule the best. And maybe
8:53
ao was not privy to Willy's schedule
8:58
and planned way too much. Planned way
9:00
too much. And you also got to know like
9:02
so this I'm not even mad at my dad
9:04
because this is all my fault. I know I
9:05
know how he travels as well. And him and
9:07
my mom like they they get a lot done on
9:09
their trips, you know, and um and I and
9:12
I I should have known better. And so uh
9:15
that's like, you know, I take full
9:16
accountability for that. But yes,
9:17
especially on long flights, I still feel
9:19
like, you know, like we had a couple
9:21
hour flights here and there because we
9:23
had multiple stops in our trip. And so
9:25
an hour flight on your lap, not a big
9:27
deal. Maybe a couple hour flight, not a
9:29
big deal. But an eight hour flight for
9:32
sure. The seat was this and then Yes. or
9:34
an afternoon flight? Afternoon flight.
9:38
So he kind of went straight into his
9:40
sleep schedule on the plane. Like you
9:42
entertain him. Yeah. Not straight into
9:44
it. It could have been a little bit of a
9:46
later flight. We left at like 3
9:48
something and I I thought it was a
9:50
five-some flight. I think even later
9:51
would be even better. Okay. Um but it
9:55
was definitely the flight over there
9:57
would have been a non-issue if he just
9:58
had his own seat. Okay. Yeah. Then
10:02
getting over there, um it was just too
10:05
many moving parts. We had too many
10:08
stops, too many moving parts. Uh we
10:10
stayed in a hotel. If you've also
10:12
traveled to Europe, you know that like
10:13
even if you're staying in the best hotel
10:15
in an upgraded room, they're still
10:17
really small. So, um, we actually
10:20
traveled something that I do want to
10:22
recommend. So, if they're if you're
10:24
going to be in a hotel situation and
10:25
they're in your room with you, we, uh, a
10:27
friend of mine let me something called a
10:29
slumber pod. And it's basically like
10:31
I'll call it like a tent that you put
10:33
over the pack and play. And it's like a
10:36
blackout kind of tent situation, but it
10:38
also is very breathable obviously, so
10:40
ventilation. And it comes with a pocket,
10:42
so like if you want to put a baby
10:43
monitor, you can. You can still put the
10:45
white noise machine in there. And what
10:47
was great about that is like, so Europe
10:49
in the summer, by the way, the sun
10:50
doesn't go down till like 9:30 p.m. So,
10:54
and you can't guarantee that anywhere
10:55
you're going is going to have like
10:57
blackout shades. And but besides even
10:59
the light factor, I don't know about if
11:02
you your experience if you've ever put
11:03
your kid in the same room as you, it's
11:05
like if they wake up, they stand up in
11:07
that pack and play and they're staring
11:09
you right in the eye like, "Come get me.
11:11
I see you. Hi, Mom and Dad. Come get me.
11:14
Why haven't you gotten me
11:16
yet?" So, what was nice about that
11:19
slumber pod is it gave, you know, it
11:21
cocooned him first of all, which helped
11:23
him sleep because it was a blackout
11:24
situation, so like light wasn't an
11:26
issue. and then be amazing. And since
11:30
he's also blacked out, like he doesn't
11:32
sense our movement in the room and it
11:33
gave, you know, him cocooned him and
11:35
gave us some privacy, you know, so that
11:37
we could still move about. Is it like
11:40
one of these round things that also
11:41
don't let the kids get out of the gona?
11:44
It would be very hard hard for him to
11:46
get out, but I guess you could say it's
11:48
one of those things, too. Yes. And it
11:50
was easy to put together. Super easy to
11:51
put together. Side note, we have a
11:54
difference of age in kids of like 10, 11
11:57
years, right? So, I have a 12-year-old
11:59
and a 10-year-old and we when we brought
12:03
them home from the hospital, we were in
12:05
between apartments. We brought our son
12:07
home to a one-bedroom apartment and he
12:08
was with us for 5 months in our room. I
12:11
never bothered buying a bassinet. I
12:13
bought a pack and play, but that pack
12:14
and play ended up working out because we
12:16
took that pack and play everywhere and
12:17
it was always his kuna and he didn't
12:20
have to adjust to a new bed, a new
12:22
setting. But my son started crawling out
12:25
of the pack and play very quickly
12:27
because he was such a big baby and I
12:29
always wanted something to contain him.
12:31
So I would put my kids in sleep sacks so
12:34
that they couldn't lift their legs over
12:35
the edge. So, would this cocoon allow
12:38
them to stay in the the una or the
12:41
packing plate? Yeah, totally. They
12:43
wouldn't I don't I I mean, I'm sure kids
12:45
can figure it out, but it would
12:47
definitely deter them a little bit more,
12:48
I would believe. Yes. Called the slumber
12:50
pod. Slumber pod. We're not advertising.
12:54
We're not promoting a slumber pod, but
12:57
Lizzie used it and it works, folks.
12:59
Yeah. Slumber pod doesn't even know I
13:00
exist. So, yeah, this is not an ad
13:02
whatsoever.
13:06
But it was great. It was great for the
13:08
hotel for the hotel settings. And we
13:09
didn't we didn't travel with the pack
13:11
and play. Honestly, every hotel had like
13:13
a their own version of a pack and play
13:15
that was easy to borrow and was set up
13:16
and I had a non-issue with that. I just
13:18
brought my own sheet. I brought his
13:20
little loveies and stuff that he likes
13:22
to sleep with and his blanket and and
13:24
that's it. And um parents out there way
13:27
back
13:29
when because my mom used to do this to
13:32
us. We can't sleep without blackout to
13:34
this day. Me and my two brothers. My mom
13:37
when we would move into a home or there
13:39
was like a place where we needed to
13:42
extinguish light in the room. My mom
13:44
used to have aluminum foil and used to
13:46
tape it to the windows to run out. Um,
13:50
so if you can't travel with a pod,
13:53
travel with a aluminum foil. Yeah, I
13:57
will suggest the pod though. It was
13:58
pretty great. No. And um and then want a
14:03
pod for me right now for me to travel
14:07
because I hate rooms that don't have
14:08
blackouts.
14:12
That might be a fun a funny invention to
14:14
come up with. And um great. And so what
14:19
happened? That's a great hack. Yeah. And
14:22
then my other tip, so like what I would
14:24
do, so like the perks of staying in a
14:25
hotel is like when it came time for the
14:27
breakfast buffet in the morning is I um
14:31
I would load up the the lunch box that I
14:33
traveled with on the plane to have like
14:34
snacks for him, I like brought, you
14:36
know, reusable silicone containers. And
14:39
every morning in the in the um buffet, I
14:42
would stock up on snacks to make sure I
14:44
had snacks on me um throughout the day
14:48
because, you know, once the kids are
14:49
hungry, they're hungry. And the
14:52
restaurants in Europe take forever. They
14:54
take forever and ever to serve and you
14:57
you know, so I I came loaded. I would
14:59
cut up fruit from the buffet. I would
15:01
grab yogurts from the buffet, you know,
15:04
a piece of bread. Um whatever I thought
15:06
he would eat and nibble on, I brought it
15:08
with me. You need to So, I kind of had
15:11
called Lizzie over the weekend because I
15:12
was dying to know how it went on her
15:14
trip. I was so excited for her, but you
15:16
got to tell everybody what Willie did to
15:18
you with his favorite breakfast food.
15:20
So, then here's the other thing that you
15:22
can't plan for and that you just have to
15:23
be like ready. He all of a sudden was
15:26
not into eggs and eggs is like our go-to
15:29
for breakfast and I knew I could count
15:30
on eggs in every buffet and he was but
15:33
he just was not interested. So, we had
15:35
to get really creative. And this kid
15:36
lived off of milk, yogurt, and fruit on
15:39
this trip. He even lost weight. I
15:40
started to feel like a bad mom, like
15:42
nutritionally depleting my son. But he
15:44
just like was not interested. And let me
15:46
tell you that food was the least of my
15:48
concerns on this trip because we he eats
15:50
everything. We've exposed him to a bunch
15:52
of things. We've taken him to
15:53
restaurants here. He's eaten off our
15:55
plate and it's been a non-issue. But I
15:57
guess traveling over there and the way
15:59
they prepare things and cook things that
16:00
he the I guess the flavoring was either
16:02
too strong or it was just off and he was
16:04
just not about it. So we couldn't like
16:07
things that I thought for sure I would
16:08
get him to eat. He just was not eating.
16:12
And um and also like we're I'm used to
16:15
feeding him a lot of vegetables and the
16:17
Spanish don't do vegetables.
16:20
they don't do
16:22
vegetables and so that was also a
16:25
challenge you know and so um but
16:28
thankfully you know like once you find
16:30
the what they will eat we just I mean
16:32
I've loaded up on yogurts thankfully
16:35
every buffet had kiwi he loves kiwi I
16:38
mandarins oranges banana like all of all
16:41
of that you know and he was drinking
16:43
milk like we I just I had to surrender
16:46
and I was like okay he's going to he's
16:47
literally went back to like drinking
16:48
milk as much as almost like he a a baby
16:50
again, like baby baby. But I was like,
16:52
whatever. He likes it. It's making him
16:54
happy. It's filling him. It's, you know,
16:56
it has nutrition. It's we're going to
16:57
we're going to go with it. So, I feel
16:59
like also in traveling, you just have to
17:01
like surrender and just like make things
17:04
happen, you know, and got to you got to
17:05
meet them where they're at and just like
17:07
make it happen. And so we finally just
17:09
got to the point too once we landed in
17:11
Madrid and once all of like the like the
17:14
many stops and stuff like that was over
17:16
with in Madrid. The beautiful part there
17:18
was we were going to be there for 6 days
17:20
so we could like be consistent which was
17:22
nice and also we stayed in an Airbnb
17:25
like apartment which was like a four
17:27
bedroomedroom 3 and a half bath. And I
17:29
have to say while a hotel has its perks
17:32
because of the breakfast buffet you have
17:34
the concierge that you can ask lots of
17:36
questions. you can easily order the milk
17:38
through room service. You have it for
17:39
night, you have it for morning. What I
17:41
liked about the Airbnb was that he had
17:43
his own room. Uh, and then then we had a
17:46
common area where we could hang out. I
17:49
also like that you have a legit like
17:50
fridge and freezer situation. So like
17:53
now instead of asking Buffet every
17:55
morning for like a bag of ice to keep
17:57
his items cold in the lunch box, now I
17:59
could just freeze my freezer packs that
18:00
I traveled with. Um, it was easy to just
18:03
go to a market, have stuff there, make
18:05
breakfast there. Uh, finally when we
18:08
could cook eggs ourself, we did get him
18:10
to eat them a little bit. It was still a
18:12
struggle, but like it was a better that
18:14
we were cooking them ourselves now,
18:16
keeping them plain and simple. And then
18:18
it's also easy because, you know, if you
18:20
leave with food from a restaurant, you
18:23
can store it. You can have you have a
18:25
stove top now. You can heat it back up
18:27
to feed him. It just made it easier in
18:30
that sense. and just having more room
18:32
and more space and also that you know a
18:35
washer we could wash clothes huge and um
18:40
and just somewhere where he can like
18:42
roam around inside because sometimes I
18:46
mean the weather was spectacular if I
18:48
had to recommend traveling to Europe the
18:50
beginning of June the weather was
18:51
amazing but there was a couple of rainy
18:54
moments and it was nice that we could be
18:56
inside somewhere where we had space
18:58
instead of like a really small hotel
18:59
room Right. So, I want to give the
19:02
perspective of an older child with a
19:04
couple things you just touched up on. I
19:07
discovered when my kids were three and
19:11
two that the best way for me to visit
19:14
Disney was not to stay on property. It
19:16
was always to stay right outside
19:17
property. We would drive to Orlando and
19:20
once we got to Orlando, we would find
19:22
the closest supermarket. We would load
19:24
up on all their breakfast items because
19:26
breakfast in Disney is always so
19:28
expensive. and we started renting
19:30
Airbnbs or at least a room with a
19:33
kitchenette. And it was so clutch for me
19:36
to have at that time. I was still
19:38
cleaning bottles. So I would take a
19:40
little bottle of Palm Olive, the brush
19:43
for the Dr. Brown bottles because that's
19:45
what we were using at the time. And
19:47
breakfast was made and then I would fill
19:49
up a lunchbox snacks for the rest of the
19:51
day because you know Disney snacks are
19:53
also expensive and that's how we would
19:55
get get around. We also realized how
19:57
important it was. By the way, we should
19:59
do another podcast just on traveling to
20:02
Disney. We immed learned how much better
20:05
it was to travel to the park in our own
20:09
car because at the end of the night, the
20:12
Montreal, the bus, all of that was great
20:14
for us, but we would take the sleeping
20:17
kids out of the stroller, have to close
20:19
the stroller, hold the sleeping kids,
20:22
hold the stroller. I mean, it was just
20:24
so much easier to walk the distance to
20:27
the parking lot, put the kids in the car
20:28
in the car seat, put them back in the
20:31
stroller, and then stroll them right
20:32
into that Airbnb. Yep. That so important
20:35
for us when we And to this day, my kids
20:38
are 12 and 10. If we find a way to have
20:41
a room with a kitchenette, we always do
20:44
it. And they already know we bring
20:45
breakfast or we buy breakfast wherever
20:47
we land and we stock the fridge. Yep.
20:50
Always. And so I really I really
20:52
appreciated the Airbnb for for that, you
20:54
know. It was just nice to have a landing
20:57
place and um and for him to have his own
21:00
room was just even better than the
21:02
Slumber Pod situation cuz we didn't have
21:04
to use the Slumber Pod then and then he
21:05
just had his own room and and it was
21:08
perfect, you know, cuz everyone then had
21:09
their own space, everyone could operate,
21:11
hang out, we would have dinner, we'd
21:13
watch TV, whatever, and we could be in
21:15
and out of the apartment if we needed to
21:17
and it was and it was great. So, I
21:19
definitely recommend that. And um and
21:22
the food. Let me touch up on the food
21:24
also because when we spoke on Saturday,
21:27
you reminded me of something I had done
21:29
the first time I took my kids overseas.
21:31
Their first overseas trip was last year
21:33
to Italy. I knew Italy wasn't going to
21:36
be a problem because it's pizza, pasta,
21:38
and ice cream. But we're taking our kids
21:40
now to Spain for Thanksgiving, and my
21:43
kids are picky eaters. And once they're
21:46
in a tight spot, they'll begrudgingly
21:48
eat the food, but it's almost like you
21:50
have to force them. So, you know what I
21:52
did yesterday, thinking of you and what
21:53
had happened with Willie, we took them
21:55
to a Spanish restaurant for lunch after
21:57
church. Nice. And I told them, I go,
21:59
"From now on, we're going to go every
22:01
two to three weeks, and I want you guys
22:03
to start tasting things from the menu
22:05
because I can't have you lose weight
22:07
like Willie did in Spain when we go for
22:10
Thanksgiving." So yesterday I'm like,
22:12
"Okay, in Spain, here's what you can
22:15
expect. Ham, cheese, bread. I've got one
22:19
that doesn't eat cheese. I've got one
22:20
that doesn't eat ham. I have one that
22:22
only eats octopus, believe it or not. I
22:24
mean, he's going to be fine. He's
22:24
probably going to eat a t a day. Like
22:26
worried about him, but the other one."
22:29
So, we're going to start doing that
22:30
every three weeks. And it's also a
22:31
parent. If you guys know that you're
22:34
taking a trip to somewhere different
22:36
than the day-to-day that your kids are
22:38
used to, start exposing them to foods.
22:41
Yeah. And
22:43
um and so then our last stop, by the
22:46
way, was Monorca for a wedding I had.
22:48
Thankfully, the two grandmothers so
22:50
because at this point, so then this is
22:52
the other thing too to be prepared about
22:54
is like I could have had an army of
22:56
grandparents with me and it wouldn't
22:58
have mattered. my my son was so thrown
23:01
off and especially since he started off
23:02
sick that all he wanted was us
23:05
specifically my husband. So it was hard
23:08
to have like any reprieve and break
23:11
because he just wanted us and uh so
23:13
something I if you if you are able to we
23:16
were like thinking about it and like we
23:18
truly would bring like the nanny the
23:20
next time because the nanny is the only
23:23
other person that's like his constant of
23:25
every day besides us and also like it's
23:28
like you know you travel with
23:30
grandparents but like it's their
23:31
vacation too, right? you know, like
23:34
unless you're like paying their way and
23:35
like something like that, but it's, you
23:37
know, they each paid their own way and
23:39
it's their vacation too and you know, so
23:41
it was like a little bit of like we had
23:44
envisioned what it would look like to
23:45
have the help and we thought it would
23:46
look a little different and it turned
23:48
out to be it just changed, you know, uh
23:51
in the Airbnb they were able to help us
23:53
out more since we're all now in one
23:54
place together, you know, like they
23:56
would one of them would wake up with him
23:58
and the other one would like make his
24:00
breakfast and and stuff like that, you
24:01
know. So that was like a little bit more
24:03
helpful. And then when we got to Minorca
24:04
for the wedding, the whole reason of
24:05
this trip, the two grandmothers did uh
24:08
step in and they were like, you know,
24:09
we'll take him completely so you guys
24:11
can enjoy the wedding. So that was like
24:12
a nice little break for them to for him
24:15
to not be in our room, you know. And I
24:17
have to say I was very thankful like all
24:19
of Spain, especially northern Spain, had
24:22
amazing playgrounds. I was definitely
24:24
impressed. Like incredible playgrounds
24:26
that we visited all of them. So, it was
24:29
great to also take him to something that
24:32
he could enjoy and do. And we just kind
24:34
of like, you know, other parents haven't
24:36
felt like they needed to do that, but
24:37
for whatever reason, we felt like we
24:39
did. We felt like we needed to like give
24:41
him a little bit of a taste of like what
24:42
he's used to and his like normal
24:43
schedule. So, we visited playgrounds.
24:45
But luckily, it was like so beautiful
24:47
and uh the weather was great that it
24:49
wasn't like so bad to do that, you know,
24:51
and just like take him to experience
24:52
different playgrounds and do different
24:54
things and that was like a nice
24:55
experience. And um on the way back, he
24:59
did have I will say another contraption.
25:02
And I know that like I know that some
25:04
when you travel with kids, you have to
25:05
like put a limit on like how much crap
25:07
you bring, right? It's like how many
25:09
contraptions and little things are we
25:11
going to bring to like for this one tiny
25:14
person? But I have to say like it's
25:17
almost worth it so that you have like a
25:18
better experience, you know? Like
25:20
there's just certain things. So, like
25:21
something that someone else lent us,
25:24
which we couldn't use on the way there
25:26
cuz he didn't have his own seat. But for
25:27
the way back, it was almost like this
25:29
little like bed that you blow up that
25:32
was super easy to blow up that you put
25:34
in their seat so that they can lie
25:36
horizontal and they can literally be
25:38
super comfortable once they do sleep.
25:41
Let me tell you that was amazing because
25:44
even with his own seat once he fell
25:46
asleep he we would have still had to
25:49
prop him up against us like he wouldn't
25:51
have slept comfortably and he I don't
25:54
think he would have taken his like his
25:56
nap the way he usually would have if we
25:58
didn't have this bed. It was super easy
26:00
to assemble and even once he woke up
26:04
because it kind of like since it's think
26:06
of it like a almost like a pool float if
26:08
you want if you will it elevated him up
26:11
so it was like almost even more
26:13
comfortable for him you know and he
26:15
could even like touch the screen that
26:16
was on the seat in front of him so it
26:18
was like I highly recommend it too and
26:20
it didn't take up too much space it was
26:22
on the carry-on you know and um I
26:24
definitely recommended that like if we
26:26
had had that on the way over our flight
26:28
over a nonissue Our flight back was
26:32
absolutely terrible only because the
26:34
flight schedule, it was a 10:00 a.m.
26:36
flight. So basically the flight took
26:38
over his entire day schedule. So he did
26:40
nap like he does, but only 2 hours in an
26:43
8 and 1 half hour flight. And the rest
26:44
of the flight he was incredibly hyper.
26:47
And it made me almost feel like it was
26:49
cruel to have an 18-month-old uh
26:52
energyfilled boy on such a long flight.
26:55
He was just like besides himself and he
26:58
was he didn't cry or scream but he was
27:00
just so hyper and bouncing around
27:02
everywhere and so my husband and I so
27:04
that the people around us didn't go
27:06
crazy on us had to be super engaged and
27:10
involved in it and um and it was
27:13
exhausting and so I think that that
27:15
flight home solidified that we won't do
27:17
this again with an 18-month-old.
27:20
Um, but truthfully, so like if you had
27:22
to ask me because here's here's the
27:24
facts that won't change. The two facts
27:27
were I had a wedding I didn't want to
27:28
miss of a very dear friend. And the
27:31
second main fact is that and even after
27:33
my experience I still feel the same. I
27:35
didn't want to leave I wasn't ready to
27:37
leave my 18-month-old behind so far away
27:40
and be so far away. So, if you had to
27:43
ask me, knowing everything I know now,
27:46
and if I had to rebook this trip, what I
27:48
would have done was just flown straight
27:51
to Monorca where the wedding was, got an
27:54
Airbnb, probably a house, brought the
27:57
nanny, still invited the grandparents,
27:58
but brought the nanny, been with them
28:01
for 3 days, let them get acclimated, get
28:04
them set up, have everything figured
28:06
out, then gone, stayed in Monorca, but
28:09
gone to stay on property for the wedding
28:11
like my friend had invited me to, but I
28:13
turned her down because I was with
28:15
traveling with the grandparents. Stayed
28:16
on property, been fully present for all
28:18
the wedding stuff, been there, enjoyed
28:20
it, come back to the Airbnb, be there
28:22
maybe another couple days, and head home
28:27
and I left my kids at home.
28:32
As he gets older, I will. I just still
28:35
It's my first. It's my first. He's 18
28:38
months. I was like, I can't get to him
28:40
super fast. Of course. So, I totally
28:44
get and this is exactly why we're doing
28:47
this podcast to get different opinions
28:49
because everybody's different. Nobody
28:51
nobody's journey is the same. I will
28:54
tell everybody on this podcast openly
28:56
and honestly that my first child, I left
28:59
him to sleep at my mom's house when he
29:01
was seven days old because I was so
29:04
exhausted, you guys. I could I hadn't
29:07
slept and I was, you know, I he was born
29:10
I think around nine something at night.
29:12
They gave him to me at midnight. He went
29:14
straight to my room. I mean, I hadn't
29:15
slept in I don't know how many days. And
29:17
I have no shame in leaving my kids with
29:19
the grandparents because at the end of
29:20
the day, my sanity is that I need to be
29:23
rested, too. Yeah. But and don't get me
29:26
or my children and I miss them dearly,
29:28
but I'm the kind that will leave them
29:30
behind. You're the kind that maybe now
29:33
you leave you leave. I leave them
29:35
behind. I I He spends a lot of nights
29:37
and weekends, full weekends at the
29:39
grandparents house all the time. It was
29:41
just the distance. The distance. I get
29:42
it. The distance and the length of time
29:44
because I'm also someone that I was
29:46
like, I'm not going to fly all the way
29:47
to Europe to be there for just a weekend
29:49
to fly back cuz that's even hard on me.
29:51
Like forget about the baby, too. Like
29:52
even adults, like that flight doesn't
29:54
number on us, too. The time change
29:56
doesn't number on us. Jet lag doesn't
29:58
number on us, you know? So, I was like,
29:59
I'm not going to do that to myself
30:01
either, you know? So, but don't you feel
30:03
like you need a vacation from your
30:04
vacation now? Thousand%. I couldn't even
30:06
go I didn't really even go back to work.
30:08
I mean, I stayed active on the back end
30:10
this past week, but they I had to sub
30:12
out all my classes. I was like, I need
30:13
to recover. I was like, I need to see my
30:15
my neck is a mess. My back is a mess. I
30:18
was like, I need to see my my healers. I
30:20
need to recover and adjust back into
30:23
because then we had to all adjust back
30:25
to the time change, right? You know,
30:28
which was also a task, too. Tell
30:30
everybody what Willie did when he got
30:32
home. Oh, he ate eggs,
30:34
[Music]
30:36
like normal. And like he hadn't been
30:38
rejecting them for two weeks straight.
30:39
Like, no big deal. Oh, and then as we're
30:42
heading up to our apartment in the
30:43
elevator, he started clapping like, "Oh,
30:45
finally. Finally, you people bring me
30:47
back home."
30:53
So all in all and I feel like you know
30:55
we went we got to go on a dinner by the
30:57
way in Madrid with another couple uh
31:01
it's the teacher the teachers for me in
31:03
my studio and her husband and her
31:04
husband said something that sat with me
31:07
and has still stuck with me. He said
31:10
every parent needs to go through this
31:12
though. He's like, "Even if you didn't
31:14
go through it now and you like waited to
31:16
travel with him until he was five, you
31:18
still would have gone through this."
31:20
He's like, "Every parent has to go on
31:22
that trip where it's like just an ass
31:24
whip and you figure a lot out. You
31:26
figure out your kid. You learn a lot."
31:29
And um and and so he's like, "That's it.
31:32
From here on out, it will never be this
31:34
bad again." And I was like, you know,
31:36
that's so true. Every trip is a learning
31:39
curve. And guess what? the next time you
31:42
take a trip, he's going to be a little
31:44
bit older and things are going to shift.
31:46
I can tell you now looking back with my
31:48
12 and 10 year old. The Airbnb worked.
31:53
The the driving to Disney and not taking
31:56
the damn bus and the Montreal worked. I
31:59
could tell you right now that's what you
32:01
did. Somebody saying, "Love you, Lizzy.
32:02
You did it."
32:05
Yes, I did it.
32:07
I can tell you now
32:09
that my how to eat because I and let me
32:13
tell you something. I'm not against like
32:15
I already thought about it in the back
32:17
of my head. My my in-laws and my parents
32:19
are and not my parents. My in-laws and
32:21
my husband will probably kill me. But if
32:22
my kids don't go eating for like 48
32:25
hours while they're there, I'm fully
32:27
prepared to pull into a McDonald, right?
32:30
Because I'm not going to ruin my trip
32:33
because they're not eating. Oh yeah. No,
32:36
I had to surrender to a lot of things
32:37
that I usually wouldn't do here at all
32:39
when I'm home, but like I just I had to
32:41
surrender, you know, and just be like,
32:43
you know, like crocettas are the things
32:45
that get to the table the fastest. Do I
32:47
do I want him to eat fried food? No. But
32:50
is it is he hungry? Do I need to put
32:52
something in his mouth? Yes. It's all
32:54
about adaptability, right? And trial and
32:57
error. Yes. Absolutely. And um and I
33:02
will say, you know, and you make the
33:03
best of it. The weather was spectacular.
33:05
We ate great food. We enjoyed good wine.
33:08
I even the beer over there even tastes
33:10
different. It's like I'm not even a beer
33:11
drinker. It was great. And my husband
33:13
and I, our marriage is stronger than
33:15
ever. I mean, we had many laughs. We had
33:18
meals on the bathroom floor of our hotel
33:20
room um some nights. And um but it's
33:23
it's memories that will last a lifetime.
33:26
And we're stronger than ever. and and we
33:29
learned a lot and it is what it is.
33:31
That's the only thing that matters and
33:33
the only thing that counts is that you
33:35
look back at these memories and you
33:37
laugh. And I've got plenty of them with
33:40
my husband, too. And I mean, I don't
33:44
want anybody to think that I leave my
33:46
kids behind everywhere I go.
33:49
But definitely another conversation for
33:52
another day is that I really truly also
33:54
believe that it's very important to have
33:55
a time with your significant other. And
33:58
I am all about traveling with my kids. I
34:01
am all about exposing my kids to the
34:02
world. But I'm very clear also that my
34:05
husband and I were a partnership first
34:08
and that we need time together. This
34:10
will definitely be another conversation
34:12
we have because my parents were big on
34:13
this too and I have a lot to say about
34:15
it. Also, I would love to have that
34:16
conversation with you. As a matter of
34:18
fact, my husband and I are planning for
34:20
our 15th wedding anniversary. Um, a very
34:22
big trip that I have been planning since
34:25
I was recovering in. But like that's the
34:26
other thing, you guys, with my spinal
34:28
surgery. My husband had to get me out of
34:30
this room recuperating quickly because
34:33
I've planned way too many trips since
34:35
I've been idle.
34:37
I love it. I'm so ready to get out there
34:39
and see the world. But we're planning a
34:42
very, very big trip uh next year and
34:44
we're going to be gone for a good time.
34:47
And I'm going to miss the kids like
34:49
crazy, but we got to do it. You got to
34:51
do it. Got to do it. Well, Li, final
34:56
verdict. Will you take Lily to Europe or
35:01
overse trip in the next three years?
35:05
Probably not.
35:11
Well, all the time we have for today. Um
35:15
we're extinguish the fire on our virtual
35:18
little tribe meeting here. Um we are now
35:21
adjourned. Yes. Thank you for sharing
35:23
with us today your experiences. Of
35:26
course. Always. I'll always be honest,
35:28
brutally honest and straightforward.
35:30
Give it give it to you how it is. Yeah,
35:32
me too. And again, here's the thing. I
35:35
like I said about my friend that
35:36
traveled. They had a great time. Their
35:39
son surprised them, did all the things
35:41
that they he need they needed him to do
35:44
to have a great trip. And everyone's
35:46
experience is always going to be
35:47
different. Don't be hard on yourself. It
35:48
just it is what it is. Same thing goes
35:51
for you, Lizzie. Who knows if he was
35:52
just off because he wasn't feeling well
35:54
also. Oh, totally. For sure. For sure.
35:57
Yeah. 100%. Going to be a different
36:00
experience. Yes. All right, everyone. I
36:03
hope you have a great week, everybody.
36:05
Keep that coffee strong and your sanity
36:07
intact. Have a good week, everyone. Bye
36:10
bye.
36:13
[Music]