Traveling with an infant

I've two international trips coming up. Both are with my infant daughter. The first trip will be without my husband, while the second he'll be with us (thank God). This first trip being Baby's first time in an airplane (and indeed, for many hours!), I want to be as prepared as possible. For all the first time parents out there, here is what I've learned so far: 

• Infants less than 22 pounds/10 kilograms are afforded a bassinet for ease of travel while in the air. This seems to only be for intercontinental flights, however, and basinets need to be reserved in advance. (SOURCE) I had assumed that Baby would get a basinet automatically, but apparently this isn't the case. 
• Many countries require proof that the non-accompanying parents approves of the child traveling without him/her. US Customs and Border Control (CBC), for example, strongly recommends carrying a signed letter from the non-accompanying parent stating "who, what, where, when, why and the parent's contact information." I've also read that it's best to carry a copy of the non-accompanying parent's passport, as well as the child's birth certificate. (SOURCE)
• Sealed, bottled water can be used for mixing formula on the airplane (I had been worried about not being able to carry on my usual - water boiled for 5 minutes). 
• Pacifiers used at take off and landing can help prevent pressure from building up in Baby's ears. If she's not used to that, breast feeding or a bottle also work!
• Not reserving a separate seat for your baby saves money BIG TIME. On this upcoming trip, I'm literally saving around one GRAND. 
• Even babies without their own seat get a baggage allowance :)  KLM, for instance, states that Baby is allowed a carry-on (12kgs max) and check-in (10 kgs max). SOURCE

Delivering a Baby in Kenya

In the months leading up to my delivery, I heard the following phrase countless times from my friends back home in the States: 

"So, you're going to delivery back here, in the States, right?"

I couldn't help but smile to myself when hearing them make that comment because I am sure that when many back home envision Africa,  a largely undeveloped continent defined by wilderness, disease, poverty and war come to mind. In other words, "why on Earth would you willingly risk having a baby in Africa if you had the means to deliver back home, in the developed West?" Again, I smile to myself. 

As my mom can attest, my obstetric care leading up to, during, and after my delivery was on par with, or better than, any care that I would have gotten in the States. Take, for example, the 4D scans that were taken at MP Shah Hospital. We were able to get print-outs of our baby that offered a detailed image of her face and limbs - far better than the fuzzy images I got during a trip back to my US hometown. Of course, critical car is always going to be better back home, but because my pregnancy was progressing completely normally, I had no reason to eat into my maternity leave (and risk having a miscarriage by flying late in my pregnancy) by flying home for US medical care. I felt extremely well-prepared for delivery, thanks to Lamaze classes (offered for 9k per couple per course at Medanta Africare on Waiyaki Way) and an exceptional obstetrician - Dr. Mariah Carvalho of Aga Khan Hospital - both of these are MUSTS, by the way, because delivering a baby is H-A-R-D!! 

Anyway, the point I'm trying to get across is, having a baby in Kenya is completely safe. Sure, the maternal death rate in Kenya does remain high, but that is because quality medical care is still not affordable in Kenya (Kenyatta's free maternity program doesn't count because the key factor of QUALITY health care isn't incorporated). If you have the insurance to cover the many costs pregnancy, deliver and pediatric care inevitably incur however, you will be pleasantly surprised with the medical services available in this part of the world.  

Pregnant and Having "Toi"s in Kenya: Oh, the advice you hear!

As a pregnant expat in Kenya, and now as a new mother, you hear the craziest things sometimes from self-proclaimed child-rearing experts. Sometimes the "advice" is irritating, while other times it just leaves me stumped, wondering to myself, how on EARTH, did they come to believe that piece of advice so whole-heartedly?

When I was pregnant, I was advised...not to wear high heals because of my fragile condition, not to drink cold water because it would make my unborn child sick and not to sneeze because it could cause premature contractions. I was encouraged to eat for two and told that expanding hips were suppose to go hand-in-hand with an expanding belly. Now that I have had my baby, "baby experts" are everywhere I turn. THANK GOD I am not a teenage mom, or I'd be overwhelmed by all the daily advice I get from everybody from the mother of three to the guards outside of shopping malls. I don't meant to suggest that I'm not grateful for advice, but sometimes, the advice is just ridiculous sounding. The most common piece of advice I get is that I should cover up my baby, that she's going to get cold unless I bundle her up. Mind you, it is bloody HOT in Kenya these days. Poor Bella already gets heat rash just from being in her onsies and yet at least ten people per day, at least half of whom are complete strangers, advise me that Bella is cold. How can she be COLD when it's 80 degrees out?? PEOPLE, SERIOUSLY! Think about this for a second!!! I love Kenyans, I really do, but I will never agree this idea of wrapping babies up like their going to Siberia. Moms here bundle their babies up in sweatshirts, hats, mittens and heavy socks and THEN, bundle them up further with fleece blankets. The poor babies are sweating their diapers off and yet the moms take things a step further by insisting that all windows be closed - God forbid, the poor babes get a nice, cool breeze....Today at a wedding, I could see the look of disapproval and horror on some of the old mama's faces when they looked at Bella in her light summer dress. After all, all the other babies at the wedding were tightly wrapped in fuzzy blankets. LET THE BABIES BREATH, MOMS! Let them enjoy the summer breeze, don't wrap them up like you're going to encounter a snow storm any second. We get those back home in Upstate NY, not here, in sunny Kenya. :p God, how these poor babes and mums would suffer if they were to ever experience real cold!! ha! 

A couple months ago, I did a survey amongst my girlfriends who were also in relationships with Kenyan men. They all told me that on hot nights like those of the past couple weeks, they're barely be able to sleep under a thin sheet. Meanwhile their significant other buries himself under a heavy duvet. When they tried turning on a fan, their partner would complain about it being too cold. I too have had this experience, so much so that I've made several mental notes to make sure that my husband's first visit to my hometown in rural Upstate NY isn't in the winter time - he'd freeze himself silly! Anyway, my theory is that because Kenyan babies are wrapped in so many layers as babies, they aren't able to handle even slightly cooler weather as adults. What do you think? Am I right, or am I right? :)