Bienvenidos a Colombia

Since our R&R, I spent a a little over a week in Tennessee, finishing up some American baby to-do's, seeing the doctor for my glucose screening, and soaking up my last little bit of Bella, America, and English.  My Aunt Betty was in town for the week and was kind enough to accompany myself and my parents to Atlanta before I flew out. We had a great little road trip and enjoyed the view from the hotel rooftop bar, which was rated as 'the best view of Atlanta' by a lifetime local we spoke to.
Matt and I have already discussed returning to enjoy the view and one of those specialty cocktails they serve.




My travels began early Friday morning and I made it to Cartagena by the afternoon {I flew Spirit, which cuts my travel day in half and that makes this pregnant woman very happy}.  My sweet husband surprised me by leaving work early to meet me at the airport and we spent a leisurely afternoon together.  Originally we thought I would spend 4-6 weeks in Colombia, but after we consulted the Dr., she recommended we cut the trip shorter since I am fast approaching the third trimester.  I'm here for just over two weeks, which will go much too fast so we're doing our best to make the most of our time.
On Sunday, we made a road trip to Baranquilla for a PriceSmart run and to begin our crib hunt. Cribs are not easy to come by in Cartagena. There are Pack N Plays a plenty, but a traditional crib made of wood is not the norm here. While I know people who use the Pack N Play as a crib, but in my head I equate them with an air mattress and since I don't want to sleep on an air mattress in Colombia, I don't think my baby should either.  Matt and I came to the conclusion that the price is likely the issue.  Furniture is very expensive in Cartagena and we're fairly sure cribs are up there as well. Since Baranquilla is a larger market we were hoping to stumble upon one there and several months ago, I even saw one at PriceSmart. While we found plenty of snacks, string cheese and almond milk, we didn't find a crib. From PriceSmart we checked out Baranquilla's mall and went to a baby store. We asked about cribs and were immediately directed to the Pack N Plays. We explained that we were looking for a traditional crib, made of wood, and were quickly greeted with a 'Good Luck'.  After some brainstorming among employees, they gave us the name of a furniture store in Central Baranquilla to check out. After looking at the website, we saw that they did in fact have cribs. However, once we made our way over to the store, we realized that it wasn't open on Sunday.
Our hunt continues. We plan to do some looking in Cartagena and then look at some additional options as well.

While we weren't successful on the crib hunt, I did find an unexpected find at PriceSmart. A body pillow...

In Tennessee I sleep in an amazing bed.  Matt and I discuss it before our visits... it's that good. So, I haven't had any sleep issues during pregnancy. I also have an abnormally large pregnancy pillow in case any issues do arise.

My situation in Colombia is the exact opposite. Our bed leaves a whole lot to be desired. After two nights in bed, tossing and turning, trying to correctly position sub-par pillows, I missed the comforts of my bed and the massive pregnancy pillow that I debated bringing with me for this exact reason, but quickly realized that was nearly impossible. When I saw a a body pillow at PriceSmart, I hesitated for a moment, thought about how much tossing and turning had gone on, listened to Matt tell me he would be happy to take over the pillow after I left, and the pillow made its way to our cart.

While it's no American pregnancy pillow, I did sleep a little better last night, after positioning a pillow or two.

While I miss that bed waiting for me in the US, one thing it doesn't have is my husband.

So, for the next two weeks, I will sleep happily in that hard bed, with sub-par pillows, and my husband.