Baby on Board

Darling Leo and Beautiful Emily.  Emily admitted to holding him a bit more than she would if not on the boat but I think for both Gid and Em, living on a boat with babe was easier than they had expected.  At least, I hope so.

Emily, Gid and 10 month old Leo were coming for a visit on Milly in Mexico for Christmas!!  Peter and I were very excited to welcome the wee family on board.  Tom and Fer who live close by would rejoining us as often as possible.  Gid’s much larger family were renting a villa on the bay from Christmas to after New Year’s.  Emily y familia would visit us before and stay at the villa after.  We thought we'd explore some of the other anchorages around the bay for varied overnight stays.  We would host a day or two on the boat and celebrate New Year’s at the villa.  So was the perfect plan.

First day at the helm with Besta, Peter's grandparent name, short for Bestefar, Norwegian for grandfather.  Happy times!

Peter and I bought a wading pool and sand bucket, toys and baby books, deliberated ad nauseam (me) about a safe place for Leo to sleep, stocked up on provisions, cleaned, selected a lifejacket for an infant and secured a marina berth.  A berth was no small feat, both marinas were full and refused my repeated pleas for space.  I continued to hassle them by email and phone until finally an in-person visit did the trick.  We had to come to dock several days early to ensure the slip was not given away to some other desperate grandparent.  

Gid, ever adaptable and patient, with his loved baby boy and life on Milly.  

Sleeping safety was the main concern.  Our mattress platform in our third bedroom is about four feet above the floor - a solid bump in the night, if Leo fell out - I don’t even like writing that.  My plan was to contrive a mattress -to-ceiling, wall-to-wall netting with my new Sailrite sewing machine which I was just becoming familiar with, having not sewn since high school with my exceptionally talented seamstress mother looking over my shoulder.  I was pretty confident that I could make Leo safe.  As time drew near, the creation became a source of insomnia.  We began to think that perhaps travel crib with an opening in one wall might be easier to sew a zipper into.  Then, lo and behold, we found some travel cribs with zippered doors in one wall on the internet.  We were not the first to require this permutation.  Emily ordered the crib and my insomnia was cured.

Obviously, I loved every minute!

Now to enjoy the visit!  Tom, not feeling quite up to snuff, picked the crew up at the airport and Tom and Fer joined us for dinner on board.  Soooo wonderful to have our whole nuclear family together.  Leo, of course, was a charmer, smiling and enjoying the loving attention.  He adapted easily to the motion, perhaps toppling a couple of times when sitting on the floor. Although his parents were concerned about his safety (as they should be, of course) crawling being his relatively new talent, he was easy and delightful to have aboard.  He bathed in the kitchen sink, just fitting.  Luckily, he is exceptionally flexible.  We had not figured out how to adapt baby gates for our rounded edged and low cockpit walls so there was always an adult on duty.  The crib worked perfectly and is now stowed for next time.

Tom, ready for lunch.

Meals, prepared by Gid, were delicious enough for all.  Anchors on his hat and sea life on his bib. Sailing indoctrination begins early.

Sand proved to be an unwelcome play media for him.  As we sat at a beach bar for lunch, thinking he would delight in the sand, he sat motionless with hands held well above the foreign, grainy stuff.  Water, too, held it’s challenges.  The pool was ok once he got used to it but a short dip in the sea with his Mum was vehemently protested.  Not sure which was worse, the lifejacket or the cool temperature.  Probably a double whammy.   Gid was successful in the big marina pool and with the modelling from the other tots at the villa, Leo became close to a water baby.

Wading pool on deck.

Tom continued to feel more and more unwell, spending a full day in bed - this is most unusual for this get-up-and-go guy - and on about the 23rd, let us know that he had tested positive for Covid.  Oh, oh!  On the boat, we were all equally exposed, including Leo.  Em and Gid were not concerned about themselves but were worried about the little guy and Gid’s family.  However, there wasn’t much we could do.

Those soft little knees did not seem bothered by nonskid bumpy surface on deck.

I was the first to feel ill after reading Leo a bedtime story!  We all took a covid test, purchased by Em and Gid at the local pharmacy - there are many, many pharmacies here, selling everything from antibiotics to growth hormone and steroids to Cialis and anything else that a tourist might want purchase over-the-counter and smuggle home.  The covid test purchased was a blood test! To test antibodies.  We all tested positive after diligently getting vaxed on cue.  A current infection was supposed to show up as a separate positive but didn’t on any of us.  Confusing!  I spent the 24th in bed but rallied a bit to make Christmas breakfast.  Next, Peter fell in a big way on Boxing Day. It didn’t really matter, we thought, we’re all in the same boat.  Sorry about that.

Hi-five, a new trick taught by his Dad.

The day that Peter was so ill, was the day the little family was supposed to move on to the villa.  They packed up early and evacuated Milly in a big hurry, arriving at the villa early.  They chose the room furthest from the others, took the usual up-your-nose covid test every day and followed social distancing for a day or two.  Neither of them ever tested positive or felt ill, thank god!

First sailing lesson.

After a few days, Gid’s mum was the next to fall.  And finally, on the 30th after testing negative for more than a week, Fer got it.  New Year’s Eve celebrations were cancelled.  We stayed on Milly.  Peter went to bed and I stayed up to watch the fireworks around the bay on my own.

An instagram tease of Besta's t-shirt, "Live to Sail".  Well, of course.

Leo takes the wheel.  Besta's influence with willing Em.

It sounds like yet another covid disaster but it could have been so much worse as it has been for many.  We were together on the boat, enjoying each other’s company, going for daysails to watch humpback whales which was truly awesome and, after we felt better, hosting Gid’s family.  We weren’t able to manage as much exploration of the bay as we had hoped but it was still wonderful.  Best of all was introducing little Leo to the boat.  We loved it.  We hope they will visit many times!! 

Christmas lunch devoured.  Merry, merry!