Driving the Island

Republica Dominica was good to us. We brought back a lot of memories, a new appreciation for our life and all the conveniences that come with it, a goal to slow down and enjoy, and lots of scars from chigger bites. One of us also may have returned to the Land of the Free with a death wish in the driver's seat. "But JR, in America try to remember we actually have to obey traffic laws."

On that note, my favorite quote of the whole trip will forever be; "Driving in the DR is just like a video game! If we crash we just get a new life." Pretty sure that's not how it works. Jimmy and JR both drove the rental cars all over the island. There were walkie talkies involved, so that made it even more exciting. The commentary was outrageous.

Driving on that island is unlike anything I've ever experienced. Speed limits and traffic signals and basic traffic considerations (including the direction you choose to drive) are not really a thing. Let me clarify, all those things actually exist, but no one actually cares. Including law enforcement. Horns are used to alert others that you are about to violate basic traffic laws. "I'm about to run this red light, so I better honk about it." In JR's case, "I'm going to pass you on the right shoulder of the highway. Beep, beep." The funny thing is, driving isn't hostile like it can be in the states. Horns are used to alert and everyone drives the way they want, no judgement, no worries. I guess it could be considered calming when you are the one deciding the speed, direction and style of driving all on your own.

My favorite experience was actually on my trip back to the airport. My mom was driving and as we started up the on ramp to the highway, a large dump truck was coming toward us exiting the highway down the on ramp. (I'm not exactly sure how he actually ended up on the ramp in the first place, because that whole side of the highway is definitely going the opposite direction.) I turned to my mom and, in a panic, asked; "what is he doing?!" Her response? "I guess he really needed to get to something over here." She wasn't even phased. Just politely passed the large, charging truck on the shoulder and continued on our way.

Something that makes driving even crazier is an abundance of scooters. 96% of all scooters are taped and twined together with mismatched parts, blowing so much smoke and exhaust that they look like traveling volcanoes. 94% of these smoking scooters have a giant tank of propane strapped to the back. Safe. (Most appliances run on propane, and scooters are the main mode of transportation. Adds up, right?) The craziest scooter cargo we saw was a washer. A literal washer strapped to a man's back as he drove his scooter on the shoulder of the highway.

My mom commented on the small children being very well behaved in the Dominican Republic. They must learn this at a very young age from riding scooters. Mom says they have to behave because naughty children (the squirmy ones) would squirm right off their scooter!

How to Plan For Baby Travels: Airports and Airplanes

Michael was such a fun addition to our trip to the Dominican Republic. He was good natured, with the exception of a general dislike for the heat. It made him a bit cranky and he didn't eat as much while we were there, but overall I'm so glad we had the chance to travel with him.

The Gang in SLC getting ready to leave

Once we actually got to our destination my parents and siblings took over and loved my baby through every feeding and nap and diaper change. I didn't mom very much as we hung out on beaches and haggled with hilarious vendors. It was so fun to see them all interact, and I'm glad we had a whole week to just hang out. Because my experience was a little bit different than probably most, the focus of this post is "getting there." On this trip we traveled through 3 airports, on 4 planes and had 2 layovers. So you get "what I learned about the airport with a baby" talk today. It was a lot so I'll try to be concise. (buckle up, because that's unlikely)

Passports
I can't talk about this for very long because first, I'm already getting the anger/anxiety sweats and also, getting passports is literally a (very stressful) post in itself. A post that involves little treasures like; I got peed on, breaking into an abandoned safe, government misinformation, no record of Michael being born and more. *breathe* All I can say about this is: the government will not take pictures of your child if they are under the age of 5. Trust me, just make the Costco stop for passport photos. I can't talk about this anymore. Seriously, just thinking about it is giving me carpal tunnel.

TSA Precheck
So, I knew this was a thing but I unfortunately don't have a clue how I lucked out. Our neighbor recently flew to Asia and applied for pre-check prior to his trip. I have never applied for anything, and thought until recently that I was lucky because I was traveling with a baby. Then I flew to Tennessee a few weeks ago and had the same luck so who knows?! I guess I'm non threatening in airports.

Sorry, lousy introduction for that little tip, but basically TSA pre-check is a lifesaver with a baby. You get a much shorter line, KEEP YOUR SHOES ON, and in a few checks I didn't have any liquid limitations.

Liquid Requirements
Liquid limitations are much more lenient with a babe. Juice, sippy cups, breast milk, (I took a thermos of hot water for Michael's bottles), medications; all excused from the .000003 oz. they usually allow. Obviously it's not .000003 oz. but doesn't it really feel like that sometimes?! If you have questions about what is allowed specifically, our international airport had a very detailed TSA recording specifically about children and liquid allowances. I just called the airport TSA number and menued to the info.

Baby Ears
Okay, so before our trip everyone kept telling me, "make sure you have a bottle or nurse during take off and landing." Great advice. But Michael wouldn't drink anything! I ended up feeding him little snacks and that worked just fine. However, I chose not to wake him up during the landing or the takeoff if he was already snoozing. In fact, he did just fine on the way home with no food or liquid at all during one of our flights. I would definitely have something ready and on hand, but don't stress this too much.

Medicine
I was 1000% okay with using medicinal means to get Michael to snooze while we traveled. I used Benadryl and Melatonin. The Benadryl was nice because it helped with his ear ache as well. Let's just say it worked...

I actually only gave him medicine when we were about to board a flight, and he still did really well for naps all week in the car and stroller just because we were moving around. He would typically fall asleep on a drive to wherever we were going and then stay asleep in the car seat wherever we took it. I'm sure the beach breeze helped!

Strollers & Car Seats
In case you were wondering (and please don't ask how I know this), airlines exclude strollers from property damage claims. Every gate-checker must know this and purposely (perhaps gleefully) smash your stroller into every surface on the way from the gate to wherever it is those things end up. Just a heads up.

I would bring a stroller. Everyday I would make it happen. But get one of those sweet $19 umbrella strollers or a bullet-proof case for any other kind.

I didn't have any issues checking my car seat, but I can't decide if I would do it again. You can ask at the gate, and if there is an empty seat the airline is really good about allowing you to take your car seat on board (even if you didn't pay for the extra seat). This only happened once for us, but it was the red eye so, yay! Again, I don't know if it was worth carrying it everywhere afterwards. I might consider renting a seat with the car next time. From the little research I did, the car seat rental came to about $15/day.

Baby Bottles
Michael hasn't nursed since he was around 5 months old, but stick a bottle in his mouth and he's a happy guy. He tends to take his bottle much better when it's warm, and that can be a bit of a chore when traveling. Also, airport bathroom water made me nervous. I don't know why. Solution: I bought a 16 oz thermos on Amazon and filled it with really hot water. It stayed hot for over 16 hours and lasted the whole travel time. Score! (I would just fill his bottles half full with cold water from my own bottle). At first my plan was to have the stewardess help me with the water sitch, but having it on hand at all times was a lot less stressful.

Wiggles
Michael had a double ear infection on the way to the DR, so he wasn't very social. He just wanted mamma cuddles and lots of Tylenol, which was fine with me!! On the way home I was all by myself. I took my time EVERYWHERE--customs, security, checking and re-checking baggage. I really focused on not rushing anything and the trip was actually great.

If you have ever met my babe you know he's a mover. He's super active and has lots of energy. I found a spot in the airport during our layover on the way home that I blocked off on all sides and just let him play. I cringed at all the germs he was no doubt collecting on every inch of his body, but he actually lived. So, yay! He needed to get some wiggles out, and it was good for him to get out of the stroller. Be okay with germs. Just let it happen.

Help!
Especially on the trip home, I found myself almost in tears more than once as I accepted people's help and kindness. One time I was in the bathroom washing hands and the stroller got caught on a bunch of soap tubes and water pipes under the sink that made it literally tip over. Backwards. Meanwhile, Michael is strapped in staring at the ceiling with this look that said; "seriously, mom?" I had bags everywhere, a car seat, wet hands... A nice lady helped and my thank you couldn't do her kindness the justice it deserved.

At the gate of our second flight I again had bags everywhere, a car seat, and I somehow had to manage situating it all to one hand to break down my stroller with one hand. It seemed real hard. I didn't rush myself, told myself everyone could wait an extra 45 seconds, but that didn't give me an extra hand to work with. The sweetest lady offered to hold Michael while I folded my stroller. She was in tears because she had just left her grand babies. All that sweetness and I hit her (hard) in the leg with my stroller as she held my baby. All the thank you's and sorry's didn't, couldn't cover it.

People are willing to help. Don't try to do it alone!

All said and done, it was a great trip. The travel was totally doable and I can't wait to go again!!