Vacay!

I just got back from vacation, which should explain my absence. It was wonderful, albeit tiring, to travel across continents with my two lil ones (sans husband). I must admit it was definitely more difficult being a glam mama when I was jetlagged and exhausted from getting zero sleep on the flights. That being said, I'm glad I took the time to put my face paint on for vacation pics!

Here are a few choice pictures of me doing what I love most - breastfeeding and babywearing...and mostly doing both at once ;) My other passion - cloth diapers - aren't pictured because, sadly, we didn't use any the entire duration. There was no convenient laundering solution, and there was also very little space in our bags to put them. I was kinda sad about that since I was planning to blog about how to cloth diaper on vacation :/

Anyhoo, onto the NIP (nursing in public) pictures!

 

That's me feeding Afraz his lunch at Garfunkel's while the

adults (and his big brother) were eating our lunch.

My tips? While on vacation, make life easier by wearing comfortable, easy-to-use, nursing tops. Also, practice nursing discreetly at home - figure out how big the nursing opening needs to be for your babe to nurse comfortably, and also how to prevent your baby from getting too distracted by other things (and subsequently unlatching frequently). The weeks before your vacation is also a great time to introduce nursing manners, if you haven't already. This means teaching them not to bite, pinch, lift your shirt, etc. Anything that has been annoying you will lead to an all-out meltdown when you're stressed out by other things on vacation.

 

That's me nursing Afraz in his carseat

and protecting my putera lilin's (a boy who doesn't like

being exposed to the sun's rays) eyes from the sun.

I am a firm believer that babies and toddlers need to be in carseats for their safety and the safety of others in the car, no matter what the legal status of carseat use is in a particular country.So what to do when your baby is in the carseat and needs to nurse? This is something I do often, not just on vacation, so I had it mastered already. As with other things, practice makes perfect. Nursing tops or loose tops that can be lifted easily, are ideal for this. Just perch yourself onto the side of the carseat, and latch your baby on! For older babies in front-facing carseats, you could probably distract them with other snacks, which brings me to another important thing for traveling with kids: BRING FOOD. Lots and lots and lots and lots of food.

That's me nursing Afraz in a sling in a couple of locations in London.

First of all, babywearing while vacationing in a big city is a no-brainer. It makes life infinitely easier and much more convenient. Learning to nurse your baby in a sling makes vacation an absolute breeze! Practice nursing your baby in your sling of choice (find pictures and videos of how to do this on TheBabywearer and YouTube) before you go on vacation. If you'd like some privacy while latching on, just turn away towards a wall or something, and once your baby is latched on, go on and walk around knowing your baby is being nourished while you spend all your savings on shopping.

Thanks to Iva for pointing out this statue! Its a statue in front of Buckingham Palace.

This statue is mentioned here (thanks, Julie!). During my research, I found a quote on this blog:

"...I sat at the steps of the statue facing the palace, if the Queen had chosen to look out of her state balcony she would have seen not one, but two breatfeeding mothers one alive and kicking and the other? A statue, for the one above me is of a women breastfeeding her toddler!!! If the Monarch of our realm can look out at this everyday if she so wishes why can't the rest of this prudish country get over it and stop harassing women for doing the natural, most beneficial, most wonderful thing for their children..."

Couldn't have said it better myself!

So, go on and have a glamorous vacation with your babies. If I can do it, any glam mama can!