Traveling with baby can be a tough decision to make, but traveling without baby can be an even tougher decision to make. When I got pregnant, our friends had recently set their wedding date for March 2025 in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico at the beautiful Hotel Mousai.
My husband and I enjoy traveling to Mexico, and we had never been to Puerto Vallarta before. My first instinct was that this sounded like a great trip for us to go on; we’ll definitely be wanting a break around the 8.5 month mark, so this would be perfect.
At the time, March 2025 seemed so far away (especially because baby girl wasn’t even born at the time the wedding date was set), so I wasn’t thinking about all of the implications and logistics of taking a trip without my 8.5 month old daughter.
To our surprise, my husband was named as a groomsman in the wedding. This kind of meant that he had to go to the wedding, no matter what. It was now up to me to decide whether or not I could handle going on the trip as well. We had to RSVP by December 2024, so we had a handful of months with our daughter being born before needing to decide how to RSVP.
Again, my initial reaction was “hell yeah – let’s go to Mexico and have a mom and dad vacation!” But after our daughter was born, it felt almost impossible to think that we could leave her for 4 days. At that time, she had not started daycare, so she was with us basically 24/7. I was exclusively breastfeeding at the time too, and she had not started solids yet, so my mind was racing with logistical questions and how to even do this trip.
In the end, after my in-laws agreed to watch our daughter for those 4 days, we both RSVP’d to the wedding!
Planning
Timing
Thankfully our friends’ wedding website was extremely detailed, and since it was a destination wedding, it made planning much easier. Also, the destination wedding was at an all-inclusive resort, so that helped limit any additional activity planning as we would be spending the entire time at the resort.
Since my husband was a groomsman in the wedding, we needed to be there by Friday early evening (for the rehearsal). With the time zone difference between California and Puerto Vallarta that meant we had to spend Thursday traveling there. While this did allow for some “relaxation time” for us, arriving mid-day Thursday, it did mean an extra day away from our baby.
There was a sunset boat cruise planned for Sunday, but my husband and I decided to leave on Sunday so that we could get back home sooner. Given the flight times and time zone difference this meant that we didn’t get back home until close to midnight on Sunday. We were gone for 4 full days.
Baby Schedule
Once the flights and accommodations were booked, it was now time to prepare for leaving baby with the in-laws. As our flight was extremely early on Thursday morning, we stayed the night at my in-laws house on Wednesday night so that we could help put our daughter down for bed (before leaving early the next morning).
In order to prepare my in-laws for watching our daughter I wrote an 11-page Word document detailing her feeding schedule, eating schedule, sleeping schedule and everything in between (bath time, medications, foods, etc. – anything I could think of). I think I made this document more for myself than my in-laws. This document helped give me the security I needed to leave my daughter in someone else’s care.
I have a hard time letting control go, so being able to document every detail about my daughter’s routines helped calm my nerves. I’d like to think it also helped my in-laws, although they already had a lot of experience with babysitting. My advice, as a first time mom, do whatever you need to do to feel comfortable — and for me, writing an 11-page document with all of the details of my daughter’s schedule made me feel comfortable leaving her for the first time.
Packing for Baby
After preparing the Word document it was time to prepare the Excel file with all of the items we needed to pack for baby. I went through this list so many times to make sure I wrote down everything that my in-laws could possibly need. Thankfully, they only live 30 minutes away so worst case scenario was that they could have driven to our house to pick up anything additional they needed.
We wanted to provide everything that they could possibly use/ need for 4 days. For sleeping, our daughter slept in her pack n’ play (which she got used to from prior naps/ trips). We also brought over our changing table—this made changing our daughter much easier for my monther-in-law, instead of having to get on the floor with a changing pad to change her diaper. I packed more than enough clothes, burp cloths, diapers, wipes, toys, etc.
Breastmilk and Solid Food Preparation
At 8.5 months old our daughter was primarily drinking breast milk but she had started on solids as well. Each day, our daughter was drinking 3 6oz bottles of breastmilk at daycare, and I was breastfeeding her in the morning and in the evening.
As such, I needed to prepare a freezer stash of my breast milk in advance of the trip. Thankfully, early on in my breastfeeding journey I supplied more milk than my daughter needed. By the time she was 8.5 months old, I had about 250-300oz of frozen breastmilk, so I had plenty to give to my in-laws for the 4 days.
When my daughter started solid food around 5 months old, I started meal prepping for her. By 8.5 months old she was eating more finger food so I spent a lot of weekends making meals that I could freeze (meatballs, sweet potato sticks, etc.). I made sure that I had enough frozen meals prepared for my in-laws so that they could feed her some solid food meals while we were gone.
We made multiple trips over to my in-laws to drop off everything (to even get the changing table to fit, we had to put the backseat down in my car, so multiple trips were needed). The final trip over to their house was on Wednesday evening when we had our suitcases for the trip and baby girl with us.
Wednesday Night
The plan was to leave for my in-laws on Wednesday night after I got off work, after our daughter finished dinner, and before her bedtime (ideally leaving around 6:00pm). This was in fact not what happened. In my accounting job, I am responsible for closing revenue. At the time, this was a new process for me and I severely underestimated the time it would take to do that on Wednesday.
Long story short, I should have communicated better with my team with regards to my schedule and timing. I was way more stressed out than I needed to be. I ended up hopping back online when we got to my in-laws and working later than I ever intended. This was also the last night we had with our daughter before leaving (as we wouldn’t see her the next morning with our early flight). It was an extremely stressful start to my vacation that definitely ended with some tears, and eventually a glass of wine (thanks mom/dad-in-law).
Going to bed that night was very bittersweet—while in theory my husband and I were excited to go on vacation (to an all-inclusive resort), we were very nervous to leave our daughter for the first time. It wasn’t that we didn’t trust her grandparents, but we weren’t sure if we were ready to leave her.
Thursday - Travel Day
Flights
We had a 6:00am flight so we were up extremely early to get to the airport. My husband then surprised me last minute by wanting to drive back to our house to pick up something he forgot. This added an additional 30 minutes to our drive to the airport, which definitely stressed me out; however, we made it to the airport with plenty of time for me to still get my pre-flight Starbucks coffee.
After traveling with baby on the plane in the month prior, traveling just the two of us was much smoother (and lighter). We had a layover in Dallas on the way there, and both flights were easy. My husband also enjoyed my free Southwest drink coupon on the way there. I pumped on the flights so I decided not to drink.
Arrival
We arrived in Puerto Vallarta around 3:00pm where we met up with our friends who arrived before us and were waiting for us to carpool to the resort. After checking into the resort and getting settled in our room, we grabbed a drink at the rooftop pool before dinner, just in time to catch the sunset. We FaceTimed with our daughter letting my in-laws know that we arrived safely in Mexico and that we were missing our girl.
Our group of friends hadn’t gotten together in a while, so dinner with the 6 of us was a blast. It was an all-inclusive resort so we made sure to make use of our unlimited food and beverage consumption.
There was a point during dinner where I had to excuse myself from the table, as there was a baby sitting outside who started to laugh. Our daughter a few nights prior had a laughing spell similar to this child, and it hit me in all of the feels. I had a quick crying session in the bathroom, not realizing how easily something could trigger me into missing my daughter. This was our first time away from her and it was definitely difficult.
Friday - Rehearsal and Welcome Reception
Pool Time
Friday was a relaxing day as the only event planned was the rehearsal (for my husband) and Welcome Reception for all of the wedding guests. We spent the majority of the day at the pool, tanning on the loungers, consuming all of the drinks. My friends and I tried the “Taste the Rainbow” challenge, where we got a drink in every color (and made a cute Instagram reel out of it at the end).
While the day was meant to be relaxing, I had a hard time fully relaxing as I needed to factor in my pumping sessions throughout the day. At 8.5 months old, my daughter was taking milk 5 times a day, which meant I should be aiming to pump that many times (to keep up supply to match her demand). When I arrived at the resort, after some back and forth, I decided that I would “pump and dump” the whole trip.
Pumping and Dumping Decision
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The decision to pump and dump was not an easy choice for me to make. I did a lot of research beforehand on how to pump while traveling, how to store the milk (is liquid or frozen better when going through TSA), how to clean the pump parts, etc. And all of this was more complicated by the fact that I was traveling out of the country (so TSA was not the same in Mexico as it was in the U.S.).
TSA and Frozen vs Liquid Breastmilk
I had read on Reddit that in Mexico it was essentially up the the TSA agent to determine if you could bring milk through as a carry on (liquid or frozen), but most times it is only allowed if the baby is traveling with you. This left me in a stump of figuring out if I should risk trying to bring my milk through security with the chance of being rejected and having to toss it all at the airport.
I also went down the research blackhole of whether frozen or liquid breastmilk was better to travel with through airports. Since we were leaving on a Thursday and returning on a Sunday there was a chance I could keep all of my breastmilk in liquid form as the milk wouldn’t be greater than 4 days old when I returned. I also looked into buying an ice chest and checking my frozen milk to get it home (a recommendation from my lactation consultant).
Logistics of Freezing Breastmilk
If I was going to freeze my milk I had to determine how I could do that at the resort in Mexico. I got in contact with the travel assistant for our friend’s wedding who sent a photo of the fridge that was in each room (and confirmed that there was a freezer in it). I was hesitant on the sizing of the fridge/freezer set up at the photo wasn’t very clear.
As back up, I also reached out to the resort directly via their website to inquire about the ability to store milk in their freezer (as I also read on Reddit that someone did that). I wasn’t comfortable having my milk out of site, but I wanted a backup plan. With this backup plan I purchased a Packit Freezer Pack which I would put the breastmilk bags in, and I purchased TSA locks so that I could lock it (and therefore I would be more comfortable with the milk out of my site).
I had previously purchased the Ceres Chiller, which I love! I took this with me to Mexico too in case I was going to bring back my breastmilk in liquid form. This bottle is very useful for carrying breastmilk, with options to carry 12oz up to 34oz.
Breast Pump Parts Cleaning
Next, with regards to cleaning the pump parts, since we were in Mexico I wanted to make sure I was cleaning and sanitizing them properly. I purchased a foldable basin so that I could wash the pump parts with bottled water. I also purchased sanitizing spray and sterilizing bags so that I could keep the pump parts sanitized, and therefore my milk safe.
In the end, I arrived at the resort in Mexico (after having pumped on the flights there (twice) and storing in my Ceres Chiller) and found that the fridge in the room did in fact not have a freezer. As such, I inquired with the concierge to understand if I could store my breastmilk in the hotel freezer, but found that was also not possible. This meant I had to keep my breastmilk in liquid form, which again would have been ok with the timing of how long we’d be gone.
After pumping at the resort once and having to clean my breast pump parts (which was a pain in the butt), I decided that this was not going to work 5x a day for 4 days. That was then I decided I was going to pump and dump, especially since I planned on drinking throughout the day. So in reality, I would have one, maybe two, “good” pumping sessions a day with safe breastmilk to take home.
It was difficult accepting that I wouldn’t be “making up” the breastmilk my daughter was drinking while we were gone, but the “pump and dump” was much easier to do. I obviously worried that my supply would drop while we were gone, but I did pump at least 4x a day each day to keep up supply as much as possible. At least the view helped with the annoyance of having to pump so much.
Saturday - Wedding Day
Saturday was another relaxing day as the groomsmen didn’t have to get together until the early afternoon. My husband and I spent the morning at the pool with our friends. When he left with the groomsmen, I stayed at the pool with our other friends to relax until it was time to get ready for the wedding.
While the wedding was at the resort, the ceremony and reception were at different locations which required short bus rides. The bride and groom said that I could work with their wedding coordinator to get the space I needed to pump at the wedding (it was very sweet—I was able to use the staff room for 25 minutes to pump). I did miss a couple of the wedding speeches while I pumped, but I appreciated the accommodation to be able to pump privately.
The wedding went until 1:00am but I couldn’t make it that long so my husband and I headed back to the resort around 11:00pm. I had to do a final pumping session that night.
Sunday - Travel Home
Checkout was at 11:00am on Sunday so my husband and I were able to enjoy some pool time (without getting into the water) in the morning. We even got a nice going away dessert! The flight home was smooth and I didn’t have to deal with transporting breast milk through the airport.
The travel day back home is always the longest. Both flights were on time but we didn’t get back to my in-laws house until close to midnight. When we finally got into bed, we wanted to rush into our daughter’s room to wake her up—but we didn’t! Going to bed that night was like Christmas Eve…we were so excited to wake up the next morning to see our daughter! We rushed into her room the following morning and squeezed her so tight!
Conclusion
I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, but for me, pumping was mentally and physically exhausting. While I had transitioned to pumping 3x a day during the work day in January, this trip was the first time where I was exclusively pumping, for 4 full days. And I will not sugarcoat it, it took a lot out of me. I think I enjoyed the trip less because of it.
As you know me, the Accounting Momma, I live a pretty structured, routine driven life, so with the wedding events, I had to schedule my pumping sessions so that I would miss as little of the events as possible. This took planning and coordinating each morning to make sure I allocated enough time to pumping. And that was mentally draining for me.
Around this time I had been worrying about my supply dropping, and while I did have a nice freezer stash of breastmilk at home, I knew that these missed 4 days would cause a dent in the stash. They say to help increase supply it’s good to 1) pump more and 2) focus more on pumping (i.e., look at photos or videos of the baby). I was so over pumping that I could not do #1, and #2 has always been a challenge, as pumping during the trip interrupted the fun and relaxation I was trying to have.
Again, at home I was pumping ~ every 3 hours, and with 25 minute pumping sessions + cleaning time, this took a chunk out of my day. Looking back, I think I could have adjusted my schedule there more (although I did reduce pumping sessions by one to help try and produce more milk per session). As a first time mom I have had my fair share of over analyzing and worrying constantly about different things. And while pumping and dumping the breastmilk was much easier than figuring out how to store and bring back the breastmilk, the physical and mental toll it took on me throughout the trip was a lot.
If I had the choice for a do-over, I probably would not go on this trip. I think the trip at 8.5 months, while I was still breastfeeding/ pumping was not a good idea for me personally. Every mom is different. I know that if I didn’t go on the trip, I would have major FOMO, but for my mental health, I think it would have been best if I stayed home. I also know that if I stayed home and took care of my daughter for 4 days alone, it would be a lot (but thankfully we have a village around us that would have helped too). I would have liked to have waited until I was breastfeeding/ pumping less before going on a trip without my baby, maybe closer to my daughter’s first birthday.
I am very thankful for my in-laws who took such wonderful care of our daughter during these 4 days to allow us to go on this trip — we are forever grateful. While I wouldn’t do it again, it was a great trip for my husband and I. It was the first time we had been alone for consecutive days. We had a fun time with all of our friends and we got to celebrate two of our good friends getting married. The wedding was absolutely beautiful and I’m glad we were there to see it. But boy were we excited to get home and see our daughter!