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PREPARING FOR A LONG TRIP: BEFORE & AFTER HAVING A CHILD

As I mentioned before, we used to travel quite often before the arrival of our baby princess. Since she turned 1, we thought it was about time to share this passion for the world with her and hopefully she will love it too :D Our Japan trip begins tomorrow... We are super excited, of course, since we missed the cherry blossom full bloom during our trip to Korea (Yay to Sakura!!). Hehe. But there is a huge difference in the preparation for trips, now that we have our LO!
It used to be 'Just the necessities', but now there's a looong 'To Bring' list!

Packing


Before: Just check how's the weather and start packing the night before. Bring basic toiletries and clothes fit for a 'fashion show' since we'll be taking lots of photos. 
Matching top/bottom/dress, matching scarves, matching shoes :P

After: Check and monitor the weather from a week before. Shop around to make sure LO has the right clothings to keep her warm. Start planning a week before and constantly checking to make sure I've packed enough clothes for her. Besides clothes, I also needed to pack her toiletries (her bath gel, shampoo, lotion, nappy rash cream, toothbrush, baby toothpaste, calamine lotion etc) and enough diapers to last til we get to a pharmacy/drug store to buy. As for myself, comfort comes before fashion now as I have to carry and take care of her! Of course I still make sure they are kinda fashionable, and most importantly, they are easy to mix & match. Lol. Can't bring too many clothings anymore as most of the bag space are taken up by LO's stuffs.
More bags, and not to mention, carrying her as well.

Food. 


Before: Just go and try out all the famous local food!

After: Here's the dilemma: Cook or outside food. I'm still not comfortable with her fully eating outside food yet, other than breads, some rice, avocados and eggs, therefore I need to think of how am I going to settle/cook some of her meals. This time, we booked our stays through Airbnbs, choosing places that come with some cooking facilities so I can prepare simple food for her. Yet on the other hand, I'm not sure what exactly is provided in those kitchens, and how easy or convenient is it to get ingredients when we are there. Weighing up all matters including practicality and convenience, letting her eat outside food might be unavoidable... Well, she's 17 MO already, so, I guess I should be a little more lenient on letting her try some of our food as long as they are not too salty/sweet. I've also made sure she isn't allergic to some of the common food there like prawns, seaweeds, edamame, tofu, different types of mushrooms etc. 

Check on regulations on what is allowed.


Before: Never thought of it. Just bring minimal stuffs and shop for the rests there!

After: I'm going to bring some food in for her, in case we aren't able to find/get to a supermarket on the first day since we aren't familiar with the place. I had to read up on what is allowed and what's not. From what I read, Japan is pretty strict with certain plant products. (You can read about their regulations here). Apart from food, I would also need to bring some medicines too, in case she has fever/allergies/tummy upset etc.

Miscellaneous stuffs


Before: Mobile phone loaded with some songs, 1 or 2 movies and a book.

After: Mobile phone loaded with some new nursery rhyme videos, in case she got bored with the old ones, shop for some new toys that would keep her entertained besides bringing her favorite Minnie plush doll, stock up some snacks, including baking her favorite banana yogurt bites (You can get this simple recipe here).

Besides those mentioned above, I still have like a hundred and one concerns/'what ifs'! Perhaps I'm a little paranoid (Lol!) coz she was absolutely fine and adapted well during our trip to Ho Chi Minh. Guess mommies are always concerned over little things? Haha. We will definitely be busy and tired since there are more things to do/carry now, and we might have to cut down on some of the activities or won't be able to go all out as before, but we will have wonderful memories, that's for sure! 

 So, take a break from time to time! Vacations give us opportunities to spend time with our loved ones n reconnect as a family, away from our busy daily lives. 

 *You can also read on how we flew with our toddler for the first time here. :D
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