Baja: lessons in laid back parenting

There are so many things I could say about our trip to Baja and so many pictures to share. When it comes to Ewan, though, this was the trip of many changes and firsts, which required me to let go a little when it comes to parenting. (Troy is pretty good at the relaxed thing already.) I must say I did pretty well, though. It's not too hard to relax with nothing to do but sit on the beach (besides take care of your 8 1/2 month old), especially when that beach is incredibly gorgeous, literally right outside your back door, and you have it all to yourself.While in Baja, we stayed in a rental beach house in Zacatitos, which is out toward the East Cape at the southern tip of the peninsula. It is a little community with nothing but gorgeous beaches, desert and cactuses, donkeys and cows (and scorpions, cockroaches, and snakes), and a few houses. Oh yeah, and now one restaurant. Everything is solar powered and water is trucked in from town. The road to get to Zacatitos is several miles of rough, unpaved road. This was lesson #1 in laid back parenting. At least we brought Ewan's car seat.

Lesson #2 was a hard one for me: giving up any semblance of sleep schedules or routines. Bedtime was inconsistent and naps happened whenever and wherever, often on the go. But guess what? Ewan slept. And he slept well. For him anyway.

Lesson #3 was in the food department. For Ewan, our trip coincided with what seems to be a huge increase in appetite for solid foods, the emergence of his first teeth, and some serious protests when denied table foods. Plus, we were in a foreign country where we tended to eat somewhat differently than at home, and we were around extended family who enjoyed giving their littlest relative special treats throughout the week. Thus, we abandoned the four day wait rule we had been roughly following at home, which is what they advise these days to make sure baby doesn't have an allergic reaction to any new foods you introduce. Instead, Ewan probably averaged about one new food every day. Some of them, like papaya, were ones I was excited to introduce; others were unplanned and I'm almost ashamed to admit I let my baby try them. One of those that fell in this category was french fries... from McDonalds... and Burger King. Yes, my baby had his first fast food at less than 9 months old, in Mexico of all places. This is just one of many things I probably would have told you I'd never do as a parent that I've already done, but we found ourselves very hungry and pressed for time on a couple of occasions (coming from and going to the airport). Oh well. They sure kept him happy and occupied! Thankfully we had no bad reactions and therefore no guessing which food caused the bad reaction, and Ewan thoroughly enjoyed eating with the rest of the crew, most of the time on our laps or the floor, as we had no high chair.

And there were a few more lessons in laid back parenting, including mouthfulls of sand, face plants on the beach, and even Ewan's first wipeout. The latter happened when his Grandma Betty and I were sitting on the shore with him, when a big wave came out of nowhere, washed further onto shore, and knocked us all over. I saw that Betty was hanging on to Ewan for dear life, so I wasn't really worried about him being swept away, but I was worried about it being a really negative experience for him. It turned out my fear was unwarranted, as he came up smiling. When we all said, "weee!" he even started laughing. A future surfer like his daddy?

Ewan also got a lot of attention from the locals in Baja, mostly because of his big blue eyes and blonde hair, which is a rare sight there once you get away from the touristy areas. Usually this was fun, but I had to force myself to relax at one point when a middle-aged Mexican woman walked up to us while we were checking out the surf on a cliff-side, said something that I would quickly figure out was along the lines of "What a cute baby! Can I borrow him?" in really fast high-pitched Spanish, as she grabbed Ewan out of Troy's arms and posed with him precariously on the cliff's edge as her cohort snapped several photos and joined in the high-pitched fast-talking Spanish. Thankfully she quickly returned him and did not throw him over the cliff, as my protective irrational mama bear brain briefly envisioned.

Despite the adventures and changes in routine, we all survived. Not only that, but we all had a blast, perhaps most of all Ewan. Although he probably won't remember the trip, he has a lot to show for it, including his first two teeth and his first freckle. We have many photos to show him (click here to see) and stories to tell him, such as how he learned to pull up to standing and climb up stairs on this trip. And how he witnessed his dad perform the very heroic act of rescuing a swimmer caught in rough surf and a riptide! It was great spending time with the Turvys, too, and really special bonding time for Ewan and them. By a few days into the trip, he responded to each of them in the same way he responds to Troy and me, with a huge grin and open arms. Hopefully we will all be able to get together soon. In the meantime, our little traveler has more adventures to look forward to, including a trip to North Carolina for a Diltz/Duke family reunion in about a month and a trip to New York and the northeast another few weeks after that, which will bring him up to four cross-country flights and one international flight in his first year of life. Off to a good start!