Moving

What Type of Stroller Works Best for Life in Montevideo?

June 12, 2009 by Brian

This is a question we asked ourselves when we made the decision to move to Uruguay. We had a Graco Quattro (that was part of our travel system), which was bulky and just wouldn’t work for city life. So, I started researching different strollers to find one that would be ideal for life in Montevideo.

After a lot of research and chatting with friends we found 2 modes of transportation for Zoë that would work best while living in Uruguay. One is our stroller and the other is our backpack carrier.

Kelty TC 3.0 Transit Child Carrier
Review: As I mentioned in our first post about our travels to Uruguay, the Kelty Carrier has been a lifesaver. It’s a backpack that allows Zoë to ride in it. Sometimes we just don’t want to haul the stroller around, or there just isn’t room to navigate it (like at the market). Zoë loves sitting up high where she can see everything and it must be comfortable because she has fallen asleep in it several times, head flopping and all. Brian says it’s comfortable to wear (after he figured out how to adjust it). The Kelty Carrier has made our life in Uruguay so much easier than if we only had a stroller.

Baby Jogger City Mini
Review: As far as our stroller goes, we decided on the Baby Jogger City Mini because it is lightweight, sturdy, easy to maneuver, reasonably priced and customizable. It also had a very large sun cover, which seemed to be hard to find on strollers in the same class. And, the one hand fold was something even I could handle on my own. I highly recommend watching the video review on Amazon.com (click link above and scroll down… it’s the first review listed). It gives an excellent overview of the stroller’s functionality and I always find visuals very helpful.

We initially bought just the City Mini stroller, but quickly decided that we’d need to add a few accessories before moving to Uruguay:

Baby Jogger Child’s Tray
Review: It has a holder for a sippy cup and room on the tray for snacks or a toy. It also snaps right out on one side to make it easier to get Zoë out.

Baby Jogger Parent Console
Review: It has one spot for a drink and two small cooler sections. Works great.

Baby Jogger City Mini Single Stroller Rain Canopy
Review: This thing is awesome. It fits nicely over the stroller and keeps Zoë dry and warm when it rains here. We’ve used it several times already and it works perfectly… absolutely essential in Uruguay.

Mommy Hooks
Review: Another great investment… we have two. We were actually out shopping while still in San Diego and I said that I wished there was some sort of hook you could get to put on your stroller to hang your shopping bags so you didn’t have to try to carry them and push the stroller at the same time. So, I went home, got on the Internet and discovered the Mommy Hook. We have one on each side of the stroller and it’s perfect for a trip to the Punta Carretas shopping center or grocery store (we usually take the Kelty Carrier to the market). You can load them up pretty full and the stroller still handles well, even on the uneven sidewalks here in Montevideo.

Baby Jogger Carry Bag
Review: This was great for traveling to Uruguay with the stroller. Before we got on the plane, we just popped the stroller in the bag and gate checked it. That way, we knew it would be protected from damage.

Baby Jogger Adjustable Belly Bar
Review: If you don’t want the full child tray, the belly bar is great because it gives your child something to hold onto. And, you can adjust the height, which is nice (the child tray obstructs Zoë’s view and there’s no way to adjust the height). Either way, you need to have either the belly bar or tray for folding the stroller up and having it stay in place (nice little feature for the smaller apartment size in Montevideo).

These are a few other accessories that look interesting, but we don’t own:

Baby Jogger Foot Muff
Review: I’ve thought about adding this one since the weather in Uruguay in cooling down for winter, but we probably won’t purchase this. What we tend to do now is just cover Zoë up with one of her blankets, the only downside to that is she likes to kick them off. One thing that we do when it’s on the cooler side is, we put the Rain Canopy on her stroller, which traps the warm air in and keeps her warm… and if she decides to kick her blanket off or throw a toy, it traps them as well.

Baby Jogger Umbrella Holder and Baby Jogger Umbrella
Review: I almost bought these until I read they’re specifically for protection from the sun (not rain). It may be something we look at in the future, but right now we’re looking for a good rain umbrella attachment since Uruguay has rainy winters. The one good thing about the handle on the stroller is that it is rounded, so it makes it a lot easier to navigate with one hand and hold an umbrella than the square handled strollers.

Baby Jogger Cooler Bag
Review: This cooler holds a six-pack and will come in handy this summer for trips to Pocitos beach. We are definitely purchasing this in the next coming months.

Baby Jogger City Mini Single Stroller Bug Canopy
Review: We thought about purchasing this since we were coming to South America. If we had purchased it, we would not have used it to this point. But it is winter here. Depending on how many creepy crawlies come out when it starts warming up will be a big factor in determining if we purchase this or not.

The “city terrain” in Montevideo, Uruguay is a little rougher than in some other areas of the world. The sidewalks are made of tiles that are laid individually, by hand (you’ll see workers out laying new tiles pretty much every day). We have yet to see a level sidewalk, or one that doesn’t have a least a few missing tiles. We’ll probably have to replace the wheels once a year just from the wear and tear the sidewalks put on them. But other than that, the stroller is holding up great. Overall, I would say the Baby Jogger City Mini has been ideal for living in Montevideo, Uruguay.

Baby/ Toddler Items to Bring When Moving to Uruguay

June 9, 2009 by Brian

We got a lot of advice about baby items from other Uruguay blogs and websites. Most of it was very helpful, but there are a few things that, in hindsight, I wish we would have known to bring that would help greatly with Zoë in Uruguay.

You can find most baby items here in Uruguay, but many of them are priced much higher than the equivalent item in the US.

For example, we were in Petit Baby and they had the exact same “potty” that Zoë had in the US, the Safety 1st Comfy Cushy 3-in-1 Potty.

She loved sitting on her potty and would use it several times a day. It’s listed for $18.95 on Amazon.com. At Petit Baby, a baby store down the street from us in Montevideo, it was U$S 49.99! So, we ended up buying a less expensive one at Violetas, another baby store down the street. Zoë refuses to sit on it (it’s not so comfy and cushy), so it may have been a waste of money.

You can find most any baby item you could want here in Uruguay (there’s a baby store on almost every block in Montevideo and I’ve seen a few secondhand stores as well). It just depends on how much you want to pay… pretty much everything seems to cost about 50-100% more than it would in the United States.

These are a few of the items we should have picked up before traveling to Uruguay:

High Chair/Booster Seat
This is one baby item that is extremely costly in Uruguay. They’re double to triple the price that they are in the US. We’ve been looking around for a few weeks now and we’ve only seen one of the booster seat types. It was nothing fancy and it was $86! The same one is listed for $27.81 on amazon.com. So, we are having this one shipped down here.

Bedrail
We thought we would use Zoë’s travel crib for her to sleep in when she isn’t sleeping with us, but the apartment we’re renting in Pocitos has a twin size bed that isn’t too high off the ground. So, we decided to buy a bedrail and let her sleep there (she really likes her “big girl bed”). However, we paid about $20 more for it than we would’ve paid in the States (U$S 45). So, you can weigh your options when packing for Uruguay.

Child Safety Locks/ Latches
When we moved into our new apartment, there were several cabinets that needed to be secured from Zoë’s reach. Although we did find what we needed at an Uruguayan baby store, it would’ve made life easier if we brought some cabinet slide locks and cabinet/drawer locks with us.

Unscented Laundry Detergent
They love their heavy fragrances in Uruguay. Unfortunately, Zoë has eczema and very sensitive skin. So, she had a little trouble with the linens at the hotel. We had heard before traveling to Uruguay that you couldn’t find fragrance free laundry detergent, but neglected to bring any with us. For now, our search will continue. In hindsight, we should have brought some with us.

These are items we brought that have been tremendously helpful with Zoë so far:

BabyBjörn Travel Crib Light
Review: Although Zoë is sleeping in a twin bed now, this Travel Crib has come in handy. We used it for naps while we were still staying in the hotel and we plan on taking several weekend trips to visit other parts of Uruguay, so we’ll use it then. It packs down much smaller than the Graco Pack N Play we had. We were able to fit it in a suitcase and fill the other half up with other items (the Pack N Play would’ve had to go on its own and take up a full piece of our luggage allowance). If I had known about this travel crib earlier, I would’ve purchased it instead of the Pack N Play.

BabyBjörn Travel Crib Light Fitted Sheet
Review: We did not invest in the special sheet for the bed, but there is one available. We are using a standard crib mattress pad and sheet. They don’t fit perfectly, but they do the job.

Portable Changing Pad
Review: If you don’t already have one, get one before you come. In the States, you can almost always be sure that there will be a changing table in the ladies restroom (at least in San Diego). I have yet to see one in Montevideo, Uruguay. For being such a baby-friendly country, that has been a surprise. So, I just bring along the changing pad and change her on the bathroom counter or floor… whatever is available.

Summer Infant Video Baby Monitor
Review: Zoë’s room is on the opposite side of the apartment from the living room. This video monitor allows us to check on her without going into her room. Also, living in an apartment building in Montevideo can be quite noisy. It’s nice being able to see on the monitor if the noise was Zoë getting out of bed, or just one of the neighbors in the building.

Angel Baby Products
Review: We only use Angel Baby products on Zoë since she has such sensitive skin. We brought a stash of Angel Baby lotion, shampoo/ body wash, and bottom balm. But, we’re starting to run low. I’ll have to order more from amazon.com because I haven’t seen anything similar in Uruguay.

Eddie Bauer Harness Buddy
Review: This cute little backpack came in handy during our layover in Panama City. When Zoë needed to burn up some energy, we just put her little backpack on her and went for a walk. If she was running around she had no problem wearing it, but did not want to wear it if we were just sitting around. Another great thing about it is that when she’s a little older, we can detach the leash and she can use it as a small backpack to carry her sippy cup or favorite toy.

Huggies Diapers
Review: We’d heard that the diapers in Uruguay weren’t great, so we brought enough diapers to last us about the first month. I’ve seen diapers several places including Huggies, Pampers and Baby Sec brands. I’ve tried the Huggies and they are different from the US version (long and skinny), but seem to work fine. We’ve also tried the Baby Sec diapers because they are a little wider, but don’t seem to be as absorbent. We’ll probably stick with the Huggies.

Huggies Wipes
Review: We brought enough wipes to last the first 3 weeks or so. We picked up some Huggies Unscented wipes… they’re awful. They leave lint behind and they’ve given Zoë a slight rash (luckily the Boudreaux Butt Paste cleared it up). I bought some active fresh scented ones and they seem to be working a little better on her (not so much lint and no rash so far). But they still aren’t as thick as the ones from the US.

Portable DVD Player with iPod Docking Station
Review: This was great for distracting Zoë during our long wait and layover at the airport. We could either pop in her favorite DVD, or dock one of our iPods in it and select a movie from there.

Sony Children’s Headphones
Review: Although Zoë wasn’t very happy about keeping these on her head for very long, they’re great because the sound is kept much lower so it won’t damage her hearing.

Shushybye DVD
Review: This is Zoë’s absolute favorite show. She sings and dances and squeals with joy every time it comes on. We had the BabyFirst TV channel back in the States and this is one of the shows featured on the channel. We knew we wouldn’t get it on Uruguay television… luckily it’s available on DVD!

Miscellaneous

The next two clothing sizes up, stored in Space Bags (we packed all of our clothes in space bags)
The next size or two up in shoes
Sippy Cups
Extra Binkies (if you use them)
Snacks (to last the first couple weeks until you get the lay of the land)
Cheerios (I haven’t seen them here yet)

A side note:
If you’re planning to buy or rent a car in Uruguay, bring your child’s car seat. But, don’t expect to use it other than that. The only law in Uruguay is that children must be in the back seat, so it’s not unusual to see kids standing up in the back seat.

Also, the taxis here are much smaller than in the States, so if you have a bulky car seat, it may not even fit in the back seat (if you can even access the seat belt). Just another reason to enjoy walking everywhere!

Our stroller and child carrier have both been absolutely essential in Uruguay. I’ll review them in another post because there are so many options that go into the stroller and this post has already run so long.

I’ve been to many of the baby stores in Uruguay, so if you have a question about the cost or availability of anything specific, please post a comment and I’ll be happy to help if I can.

Packing to Move to Uruguay

June 6, 2009 by Brian

When we first decided we were moving to Uruguay, we thought we would ship our household down with us on a container… until we started looking at the headache of trying to find a good shipping company and the shipping costs.

It would have cost us at least $20K. Not to mention, all of the “stuff” we owned would only weigh us down.

So, we decided to go ahead and sell everything and only bring the necessities with us to Uruguay. It’s amazing what is actually important when you get down to it.

We knew we could only bring 15 suitcases on board, so we really had to do some research and evaluation to decide what to bring.

We made the decision to rent a fully furnished apartment, which is absolutely the way to go, so that eliminated the need for many things. From what we’ve found so far, in addition to the basics like clothes and such, you’ll want to bring:

Quality pots and pans. I can’t stress this one enough. We brought our full Calphalon One set and couldn’t be happier. If you’re renting a fully furnished apartment in Uruguay, pots and pans will be provided, but they are very flimsy and cheaply made. And, they cost a pretty penny if you need to replace them (we haven’t even touched the ones included with our apartment for fear the Teflon will come off in our food). Even if you just bring a few good pots and pans, you’ll be happy you did.
Good knives. If you already have a good set, bring it with you to Uruguay (we brought our CutCo set). Even if you don’t own any, you may want to consider purchasing a few good knives to bring with you. The quality of the knives here is similar to the pots and pans… poor quality and high price. Steak knives (that were part of the cheap silverware set) were included in our fully furnished apartment, but no other knives so we’re very happy we brought our own.
Linens. You can definitely find linens in Montevideo, but they’re pricey. We didn’t originally plan on putting Zoë in a twin bed, so we didn’t bring twin bedding with us. We picked up a set of twin sheets for around U$S 30! And they’re nothing fancy, just 180 thread count. I probably could have gotten the same set in the States for U$S 10. We got her a cheap comforter as well for about the same price as the sheets.
Spices you use regularly. You can find the basics like oregano, basil and rosemary in Uruguay. But, if you use anything spicy like cayenne pepper, or anything beyond the basic basics, bring them with you. If you use sea salt, I highly recommend bringing that with you as well. The only salt we’ve been able to find in Montevideo is not only iodized, but fluoridated! I don’t know about you, but we don’t want to consume fluoride. Unfortunately the box of sea salt we brought didn’t make it through the travels down to Uruguay (it’s amazing at how a little box of salt can cover the entire interior of a suitcase). So, we’re now in search of more.
Hot sauce. This goes along with the spices. Tabasco is readily available in Uruguay for no less than U$S 10 a bottle, but if you want anything like Tapatio, Cholula or Louisiana Hot Sauce bring it.
Reusable shopping bags. We only brought two; we should have brought more. If you’re going to shop at the open-air markets (ferias), it’s really nice to have these to carry all of your produce in. Otherwise, you’ll end up with a couple hundred plastic bags by the end of your first month. They also work nicely with our stroller.
Sporting goods (like yoga mats, tennis rackets, etc.). We didn’t bring ours and wish we had simply because of the cost in Uruguay. In the States, I would usually pay around U$S 8-10 for a yoga mat. I got one here for about U$S 30 (and that was with a 20% discount). The least expensive tennis racket we’ve seen is U$S 85, and it was nothing special. A Head Ti S5 was U$S 180, ouch.
Favorite cosmetics and toiletries. Especially if you use anything in the “all natural” category. You’ll find the basics in Uruguay, but nothing like Dr. Bronner’s, Burt’s Bees, etc. I’ve also seen a chain called La Pigalle that carries brands like Lancôme, Neutrogena and Clinique, but they are at a minimum of double the price you would pay in the US.
Ziplocs. You can buy Ziplocs in the grocery store in Uruguay… in packs of eight. And, they’re not cheap. If you use them regularly, we recommend bringing some with you.
A few books in English if you like to read. You can get amazon.com to ship some items to Uruguay, but if you like to read, I’d bring enough to get you through the first couple months.
Space Bags. These were essential in allowing us to maximize space in our suitcases. All of our clothes and linens were packed in Space Bags and it allowed us to fit a lot more into our suitcases (although they were all overweight, so keep that in mind if you’re on a budget).
We’ll cover baby and toddler necessities in the next post so we can cover them more in depth.

These are things we consider “Nice to Have,” but not everyone may consider them necessities:

MacBook. Our business is on the Internet, so we need our laptops. The MacBooks work great because they’re small and reliable. And, they have built in webcams, which makes it nice for communicating with family and friends back in the States.
iPod. We both have the 32 GB model. We downloaded all of our CDs onto our MacBooks so we could load them onto our iPods and eliminate the need to bring our CD collection. You can also download apps to help you with the move to Uruguay, like Spanish-English translators, metric converters, etc.
Time Capsule. This is both a wireless external hard drive that backs up your computer automatically on a schedule, and a wireless router. It saved space in packing because instead of needing a wireless router and hard drive, we have both in one. We also noticed back in the States that it sped up our Internet connection; it seems to have the same effect here in Uruguay.
Universal DVD Player. We have an extensive DVD collection we wanted to bring with us to Uruguay. But, we didn’t want to be limited to only getting more DVDs from the States so we got a universal DVD player. It allows us to watch movies from our existing collection, and purchase movies here in Uruguay or anywhere in the world.
A good phone. We have used many different phone services in the past and have a Packet8 ST2118. Not that you need to get a Packet8 phone, but a similar phone that it is also powered (meaning you can plug it into the wall) is recommended, especially if you’ll be using a VOIP phone service. In addition, make sure the phone is corded and that it has a speakerphone. Corded, because it’s reliable. Speakerphone, because it’s convenient. A comparable phone to the Packet8 would be the Panasonic Corded Speakerphone with Call-Waiting and Caller ID (Jensen Adaptor is Necessary).
Plantronics CS361N Binaural Wireless Headset. One of the best things for using with the phone. (Jensen Adaptor is Necessary).
Jensen Universal AC Adapter. If the AC/DC power supply that comes with your electronic device DOES NOT READ “INPUT: 100-240V- 50/60HZ” you will have to get one of these to make it work in Uruguay… DO NOT GET A STEP DOWN CONVERTER. IT WILL NOT WORK. Even though it steps you down from 220V to 120V, the US is on 60HZ and Uruguay is on 50HZ (HZ are cycles of current per minute). If you use a Step-Down Converter, your electronics will still fry if they have an engine. Not at first, but within a week or two, tops
Plug Adapters. These are the adapters you need for your electronics with inputs that DO READ “INPUT: 100-240V- 50/60HZ” Yes, it says for Continental Europe, but they work here in Uruguay.
Flip Flops. We are from San Diego and wear flips on a regular basis. The selection in Montevideo is a small fraction of what you will find in the US, the quality is different and they are pricey. Our favorite flips are Reef, and we highly recommend you bring yours with you.