Puerto Rico, 2015.

We spent the past week at a resort in Puerto Rico with my parents. I loved every minute of being there — it was beautiful and fun and it was amazing to watch Javi experience so many new firsts. Last Saturday was a day filled with packing and on Sunday morning I felt like I was still throwing last minute items in our suitcases. We ended up having so much stuff. I learned that I packed way too many clothes for Javi (why I thought he would need pants/sweatshirt outfits in 90 degree weather is beyond me) however, I didn’t have nearly enough clothes for myself. What the heck?!

We packed one suitcase for all our clothes and toiletries and checked it. Then we had one small suitcase as a carry-on that had extra diapers and formula, a quilt, a change of clothes and our bathing suits (just in case… not that I thought Jetblue would fail me or anything). In addition, we had a diaper bag, my breast pump bag, an umbrella stroller and my boppy pillow. Oh and then I wore Javi. We were a bit of a mess through security. TSA tore apart every bag, tested all my formula, bottles and breast milk and spilled a lot of it. 🙁 I’m so glad I brought the boppy. It was incredibly useful on the plane because Javi is the perfect size to be placed on it to snooze… allowing me to have my arms and hands. I fed him during take-off and landing and otherwise he slept. He was amazing. 

We had a view of the ocean from our room. It was so pretty! We loved every moment of our stay and have so many pictures it’s hard to sift through them all. Javi did so many things for the first time — from the airplane, to boat rides, to going in a pool and the ocean! I’m happy to say that we successfully left the island without any sunburns. I was very worried about that since I had read so much stuff about not putting sunscreen on babies as young as him. I ultimately decided to buy him swim gear including a sunhat with UPF and then I put sunscreen on his legs and arms — just to be safe. He didn’t have any reactions, thank goodness!

It was so hot! Javi enjoyed 4 days in nothing but diapers and onesies — very different than home. He loved having his toes free. We had practiced using the umbrella stroller with him at home even though he’s really too little for it. But with the flight and the amount of space in the car rental being slim… we decided not to bring our real carseat and stroller combo. So the umbrella stroller seemed logical. He’s pretty strong at holding his head but he still flops occasionally — so we had to be very careful with the stroller. But he definitely loved having his legs dangle. 

The resort had so many pools and hot tubs and a private beach. They also had a water park. As someone who is not a fan of water and actually really dislikes bodies of water I was amazed at how easy I got in! Part of me thinks it was because it was so warm and the other part of me knows it was because Sean had Javi in the water. I guess I’ll follow that guy anywhere!

  Vacations are typically pretty amazing and feel great but this first one with Javi just felt really special, too. I’m so thankful that we were able to go and spend the time together and with my parents. Having a newborn is hard, for sure. But this trip definitely allowed us to relax (even with the stress of packing and traveling) and I’m happy to look back at all the photos — especially the ones of Javi sleeping — everywhere, from the plane to the beach! 

More to come soon.