Our trip to Mexico (tips for traveling with a baby!)

Vacation Tips Collage

We just got back from our glorious Mexico vacation and I couldn’t wait long to share some pictures with you! Mostly though, I want to share my tips for making a vacation with a one year old (or any baby for that matter,) actually feel like a vacation. We had such a wonderful time, it was really bliss, and having Hugo there made it so much better. Seeing the beach is great, seeing it for the first time through the eyes of a little one was better than I could have imagined.

Now there’s no denying that a vacation with a baby is different than a vacation with just grown-ups, but in this case- different was really great.  Anyway- here are my tips:

SunriseMexico

#1- A Room with a View (sunrise from our balcony ^^)

Having a room that overlooked the beach was by far the best choice we made on this trip. With a baby, you can’t really predict how the days/nights will go, and the ability to step out and feel like we were on vacation even in our room was great. Also, we got to relax with a glass of wine out there after Hugo went to sleep at night…plus we pushed his crib onto it for a couple of his naps so we didn’t have to tip toe around the room. Who wouldn’t want to sleep with the ocean in the background?

Balcony Collage

#2- Flexible Schedule

NapsCollage

We stick to a pretty regular routine at home. Naps happen after a certain amount of awake time, meals occur in between, and everything is relatively regulated. I made a choice to let all that go for this trip though and it was a great choice. We just followed Hugo’s cues, let him stay up later some days, and always made the naps happen around our schedule not the other way around. I love having routine in our normal lives, but this “go with the flow” vibe really helped make the trip fun for everyone. Luckily he found the sounds of the ocean and the beachy breeze as relaxing as we did and he fell asleep pretty much anywhere. (See above…) On the left he had passed out with Andy in a hammock and on the right in my arms staring out at the ocean. I really loved that we didn’t have to head to the room for naps if we didn’t want to and it made our days extra fun and relaxed.

#3- Babywearing

Babywearing

It’s no secret I’m obsessed with baby wearing, but it was exceptionally convinent on this trip. We didn’t even bother with a stroller and the easy in – easy out of the ring slings was awesome since Hugo didn’t necessarily want to be worn for long stints of time.  I could pop him in on the way to breakfast, out to eat, back in for a walk on the beach, in to head up to the room etc…

Also- nothing helped more with the beach/hammock/on the go naps as having a sling in the beach bag. All I have to do is pop him in here, and he usually passes out within a few minutes. They were a serious lifesaver!

#4- Travel with Friends

TravelwithFriends

We took this trip with another couple that we actually met during our birth class when I was pregnant. Katie and I were due 3 days apart so we bonded over our last month of pregnancy, chose to both have a home birth, and our newborn babies were born a week apart. We’ve stayed close the last year and I thought it would be fun to all go together so their little lady Olivia could play with Hugo and we could celebrate surviving the first year of parenthood.

It was SO fun traveling with them. It really gave everyone a break too, as the Mamas could take the babies for a bit and give the Dads some time to chill and vice versa. (Katie and I hit up the spa on our last day which was such a treat!) We were on the same schedule so our days started and ended early and we were all Ok with that.

We had big plans to bring our monitors out into the lounge area outside our rooms and all hang out after the babies went to sleep but we all ended up exhausted and passing out shortly after their (later) bedtime anyway. Even so, it was a blast sharing it with friends- we plan to make this a yearly tradition now!

HappyHugoCollage

Happy Baby- Happy Parents right? He really had a blast and was just so in awe of everything. From the NYC “blizzard” a few days before to this, this child was in heaven. I can’t wait to take him to the ocean again this summer, and in the meantime we are going to Disney World in 3 weeks so we have that to look forward to!!

I hope this post was helpful. Please comment with any specific questions. Until next time Mexico…

MexicoBeach

 PS- We stayed at the Westin Resort and Spa in Cancun and flew direct from JFK on Jet Blue. Both the resort and the direct (3 hour flight,) were amazing!

16 Comments

  1. I loved this post. And you guys look gorgeous! I’m not planning to have kids anytime soon, but this definitely gives me hope that having a baby won’t be the end of travelling for me!

  2. Thanks for sharing. So much fun to see the pictures. Hope you had some good food to share with us sometime.

  3. Hi Audra,

    this is Dave Adamick’s mom. I have been following your blog for the last several months and am loving it. It was nice to see Hugo in the pictures. He is darling. Keep up the good work.
    Diane

  4. Starting with my first pregnancy, we have always traveled with our children – #1, #2 and then #3. Now the elder two are in their 20’s and the baby is almost 18 and we have had so many wonderful travel experiences with them, both US and international. As travelers, they are so flexible, respectful, and interested in the cultures and traditions of others. We still travel together when possible, yes-they like coming along with us (their parents!) So keep traveling with him, you won’t regret one minute of it!

  5. Thanks so much for this post, Audra — we are traveling with Avery this summer so these tips are super helpful to know ahead of time! Pinning to take notes later. :) So glad you all had a great (and relaxing) time!

  6. Oooh, I’m curious how Disney World went too! This gives me hope that we can pick up and travel with our little guy. We have a trip planned in July when he’s 11 months and one for October when he’s 14 months and I’m looking into Europe next spring. (while he’s still considered a “lap baby” on planes, you know!?) My parents took us everywhere and we’re hoping to do likewise. This made me realize it can happen!

  7. Hi thanks for the tips – any tips on avoid mosquito bites – were you worried etc? and did you visit the jungle, Merida or the ruins?
    thanks Rachel

  8. Was Hugo bf or bottle fed during the time this vacation took place? If bottle how did you go about sterilizing his bottles? What did you feed your little guy? We feed our lo usually only organic veggies, fruits and chicken. We thought about buying a hot plate, pot and small metal steamer and just buy some veggies for her while on vaca for 2 weeks and then of course fruits are easy but then what about chicken? We are so worried about her getting Montezuma’s revenge. Also our lo is not vaccinated. I don’t care about opinions on the subject, we won’t be doing it but I’m asking for your personal opinion on the matter only. No need for anyone else to chime in on the subject lol.

    Thank you
    Jaidyn’s mom

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *