Settled In - Puerto Cayo, Ecuador

We've been in Ecuador for over two months now and specifically in Puerto Cayo for a 8 weeks. We're now at the point where things are working on auto pilot sort of. We know where to find everything we need. We know how to get around with the bus system. We've met lots of people nearby (both Americans and Ecuadorians). It feels like we're actually living here and not just vacationing. The days are normal & relaxed.

Dean and I find ourselves often talking about the simplicity of life here. Most people are happy just 'being'. The streets aren't bustling and busy & traffic is non existent. The typical family here has a small business at the front of the home with the living quarters at the back. Tiendas and restaurants are common. Others are fishermen that catch daily and sell their catch to restaurants, locals or gringos (us).

The town we're living in is very small. It's mostly considered a vacation spot and the majority of homes are vacation homes. Right now is low season. High season starts toward the end of November and runs through April. This is when we're told that things get busier. For now we're enjoying our little piece of paradise. :)

So how exactly did we make Ecuador a reality?

Several people have asked and I've actually wanted to share the details of how this trip/adventure/family sabbatical all came to be. I need to share some back story too so this may get a bit lengthy!

First and foremost something like this requires an open mind. And you must WANT to do it. It's not something I suggest if your hearts not in it. Okay so beyond that, what really does it take?

Dean and I have traveled to many places (we met on Semester at Sea where we lived on a ship for 3 months and traveled to 13 countries while taking college classes) and have always talked about continuing our travels when we had kids. So when we had Reese we talked about what exactly we would do. Where? When? How long? HOW? For me it was important that we not leave the country until she was at least one year. Why? I wanted her to get a good start on building her natural immune system and I wanted the first year near our families and friends. Secondly, I didn't want to go TOO far from home. At one point we thought about going back to Thailand for a while because we loved it there but with Reese it is just too far from home (18ish hour flight) and we don't speak any Thai. So the conversations continued over time. Then we started researching.

We also talked about how we could do it financially. We aren't rich nor do we have a deep savings account. We would have to plan ahead enough to have the money we would need before we go.
The financial piece played a big role in us landing in Ecuador. While researching, Ecuador kept coming up as having a low cost of living while having great weather and being beautiful! And it's not far from home (4 or 5 hour flight to Atlanta or Miami), Dean speaks decent Spanish and the currency is the USD.

Basically we researched where we wanted to go and started number crunching to see how much money we could put aside and save before we went. We started to like the idea of Ecuador so we dug further into the logistics of living there. How much are furnished apartments? Where should we live? As we began digging deeper we were taking notes. We created an Ecuador cost of living spreadsheet (I'll share that soon) to give us an idea of how much we would need per month. Then based on how much money we could save, we would determine how long we could be here before returning to the 'real world'.

Before I go further let's talk more about money. My family has one income which is Dean's job. For the past year he has been working with his dad and together they run a software business. The business is still in its infancy. Our income covers our bills nicely and we live a modest lifestyle. But it's basically paycheck to paycheck. If you would like more specific details about this please send me an email.

So how did we save for our trip?
We reduced our ongoing bills as much as possible! Last year before Reese was born we paid off both of our cars while we had two incomes, we rented out our house and moved into a cheaper apartment. These big changes freed up some cash to start putting away. These are very substantial changes that some may not make but for us it was well worth it.

Shortly before our departure we sold our cars. This was a big chunk of change for our trip. But obviously we planned to return and would need cars again so we put some of the money in savings to cover about of year of payments when we return as we will have to adjust to having car payments again. We also moved out of our apartment and put our belongings in storage. Once our year lease was up we went month to month until our plans were finalized.
We sold a few big items like our sectional sofa and big screen TV to save the money and free up space in our storage unit. We sold some smaller things too that we really just didn't need or use anymore.

We also don't calculate the two 'extra' paychecks per year into our budget. What I mean is Dean gets paid biweekly which turns out to be 26 paychecks per year. Two months out of the year he gets 3 paychecks (as does anyone that gets biweekly pay). We make our budget to only include the 2 paychecks per month. Therefore we saved the two 'extra' paychecks for this trip. Usually those go toward our our family cruises/vacations etc.

We also received a security deposit refund from our apartment. Since we aren't moving into another apartment right away we decided to use this as well to fund our trip.

If you receive a tax refund that's also a great way to save some money.

Once our belongings were in storage and we moved out of our apartment there were a few weeks before leaving to come to Ecuador so we stayed with family to save a little more while Dean still worked full time. This actually worked out great as we got to spend good quality time with our families before taking off.

We estimated the total of what we could save and compared that to the estimated monthly cost of living and travel expenses to Ecuador. We would have roughly enough for 3 months.
We then discussed timing. When should we go? Our apartment lease recently ended and we went month to month which gave us some flexibility. We had travel plans in September already, Dean was going to south Africa with family for two weeks and Reese and I were going to GA while he was gone. Also in the mix was the fact that Deans sister is pregnant and due in early February so we want to to be back around for that. So we did the date crunching...and made our departure date for October 1, 2014. Our return date is December 24, 2014.

Our total budget for the 3 month trip is approximately $8500.

I'd love to hear your thoughts...was this helpful to you? Would you like to do something similar? Any questions? Please ask! I love to hear from everyone that is reading.

Coming soon....
What about Deans job? Did he quit or is he still working? How do you just leave like that?

Ecuador: What is Workaway?

As you read this blog and my recents posts about our current life in Ecuador you may be wondering how in the world we ended up in Ecuador and why.

Most of you know that Dean and I love traveling. We met traveling in college on Semester at Sea and we've continued our travels through our relationship and marriage. We've been to over 30 countries together and don't plan to stop! But now we are a family now and it isn't quite as easy to just take off anytime anywhere. There's a financial piece too. How do we afford it? What about jobs? That part will be a separate post so stay tuned.

We first decided that we wanted to spend a few months in Ecuador and we were brainstorming ideas about how we could make it happen. We both love to research and with the internet at our fingertips we began a zillion searches. That's when I happened upon the website www.Workaway.info. It's a website that connects hosts with volunteers all over the world. The hosts are looking for volunteer help for anything from A to Z and volunteers give 20-25 hours a week of their time in exchange for room and board! Say what?! Aside from flights, room and board is usually your BIGGEST expense while traveling! This is HUGE! And you can literally find anything you can imagine to do...anywhere! I'm not joking guys, check out the website!

Anyway we loved the idea of doing this for a portion of our trip. After lots of searching and communicating with potential hosts, we arranged to stay with a family on their farm outside of Quito. They raise pigs & chickens, have 7 dogs, and a son turning 1. They are from the US but have been living in Ecuador for the last 6 years. As we are traveling as a family, we agreed that I may not be able to 'work' the full hours so we were going to chip in a bit for food costs. Still an amazing deal for a unique traveling and volunteering experience.

I can't recommend the experience highly enough. More posts to come on our 10 day Workaway experience including what we did, what we ate, our accommodations, etc.

Ecuador Day 2

October 2, 2014

I didn't get the best nights sleep in our cramped bed but we all awoke about 7:30 am ready to start the day. The hotel provides breakfast from 7-10 am and that's exactly where we headed first. It's actually a full restaurant too! This hotel is just very unique and cute and I love it. It has curved walls, beautiful teal doors and windows, stained glass, ivey growing beautifully up the outside walls, a quaint courtyard with flowers and stone pathways and it's completely fenced which is perfect for our Reese bear!

Breakfast was made to order and we had scrambled eggs, sunny side up eggs, yogurt, granola, banana, watermelon and coffee. It was perfect and delicious. The dishware is beautiful clay. Our server is so so nice and accommodating to our Spanish level. And she loves Reese (I mean who doesn't, but still) she helped us order our meal in Spanish and kept telling Dean how good his Spanish is. We're really trying to immerse ourselves in the language to learn better. He knows way more than I do but I'm excited to learn! After our delicious, complimentary, meal we played inside and out while setting up wifi calling on my phone to reach out to our families. It was great to be able to reach them so easily and they loved hearing from us. Back to the room for a tissue and snack and Reese is actually ready for a nap. While she snoozes I write this and Dean is planning our next step. Bus tour? Walking tour? Wandering? Who knows! Our day in Quito wasn't planned in advance (which is typical for us) so we're figuring it out now.

The weather is beautiful. Blue sky with a few small clouds. Lows are in the 40's and highs in the 70's. The cooler temps actually feel great! Not even cold just fresh and brisk. Today we're wearing jeans with sneakers and zip up hoodies. It's perfect.
Baby girl had a great nap and when she woke up we ventured out on foot to find lunch and look into the double decker bus tour. There are plenty of places to eat here that's for sure! We decided a small cafe with indoor and outdoor seating looked good. It had cute little wooden tables with paper placemats and chalk to draw/color with. Perfect for Reese! We first sat inside then realized outside was the best. Great view of the mountains and the street! Why not?! I had the sopa to start. It was the best I've ever had! Potatoe with avocado and cheese. We all loved it, Reese included. My meal was grilled chicken with rice, vegetables and small salad. Overall it was tasty and hit the spot but the chicken was dry. Bummer! Dean also had a similar dish but called chicken salad. His was also a bit dry. I had cappuccino too which was amazing. Reese enjoyed climbing the furniture, writing with the chalk, and roaming close by with us between bites of food. Our server here was also extremely nice and helpful.

The remainder of the day was filled with sightseeing, eating, walking and lots of bus rides. Oh and did I mention eating?! We're pretty good at that sport. It went a little something like this: 
- found park to sit, relax and look at the map at to find the double decker bus stops
- found a wonderful pastry shop for a delicious sweet treat
- got on bus tour which was 3 hour tour around the city showcasing the most beautiful and historical places
- Reese did fantastic in the ergo! Even napped a while on the tour
- the city of Quito is huge and gorgeous
- We stopped and got off at the virgin statue that had a 360 degree view of the city and surrounding mountains and volcanoes

- We paid about 20 cents per person to walk up into the statue and get the highest view possible
- bus tour was $12 pp (Reese was free)
- the tour ended at the largest park in the city
- We asked a local police officer the best way to get back to our hotel and she said to take the bus
- the bus ride was also about 20 cents per person
- We got on the wrong bus first but people were helpful and told us how to get on the correct one (thank gosh for dean's Spanish!)
- 15 min bus ride and we got off
- it was dark outside by now and I wasn't sure where to go from here so I started getting nervous because it was also getting cold for Reese
- We stopped in McDonald's to sit and look at our map & hotel was across the road!

Pheeew! Home sweet home (away from home) at last! Today was long and busy but very worth it. 

Ecuador Bound!

October 1, 2014

Yesterday we made the journey from Florida to Quito. If I could sum it up in one word it would be flawless. We couldn't have asked for it to go any better! We left the house at about noon and went to Miami airport. Everything went smooth and we grabbed a bite to eat before we boarded. We let Reese roam and run and burn some energy in the uncrowded gate we were waiting in. The flight into Atlanta was quick and easy. She slept a little bit of the way and when she didn't we snacked, played on the phone, and looked out the window. We arrived in Atlanta right on time and had precisely one hour until our next flight departed. (Which isn't very long for an international flight!) We had to change terminals (from domestic to international) and thankfully the Atlanta airport makes this quick and easy with the fast train and lots of good signage. We had a restroom break and grabbed a snack for the fight and BOOM it was already time to board. I was a little nervous because this would be the longest flight with Reese at 5 hours. And that's after a 2 hour flight already. When we boarded we asked if the fight was full and were told it was actually OVER sold. Ugh. Bad news. Momma started to get a little nervous!

But low and behold, several people didn't board and we were able to move to the first row with lots of extra space! What what! Thank you God! This made a world of difference while traveling with an 18 month old. After takeoff, that space became Reese's play area. For 3 hours she enjoyed playing with her dolls, rolling a ball, blowing bubbles, reading books, chatting with friendly passengers and climbing in and out of the seats. Then we stretched out across the row of three seats and baby girl slept the final 2 hours. I watched an episode of shark tank and another mindless sitcom. I couldn't believe how easy it was! And the sunset from above the clouds is beyond mind blowing. Pinks, oranges and purples for as far as the eye could see. Before we knew it we were landing in Quito!

The Quito airport is beautiful and easy to navigate. And customs was quick and easy. (After we spent about a half hour filling out the customs forms) We grabbed a taxi to bring us to the hotel which is about a 40 min ride away. Baby girl was awake and a bit crabby but still a champ. We arrived at the hotel about midnight Ecuador time which is 1 am home time. We'd been traveling about 12+ hours total so we were tired but mostly excited that we're really here! The hotel is adorable. Our room is very cozy (okay, it's a bit tight) but still perfect and has more than what we need. We opted to stay at a more unique place rather than the typical American style hotel. Finally by 1:30 am we crawled into the full size (we thought it was a queen) bed and drifted off. Good night Quito! We can't wait to see you in the daylight tomorrow. :)

Pregnancy: 40 Weeks - Reese's Birth Day!

My story begins with my 39-week check up on 3/13 with my midwife. Assuming this visit would be like all the other visits and very ordinary, I was thrown for a curve ball when my midwife recommended an induction. WHAT?! I was in complete shock and had a zillion questions. Throughout the later weeks of pregnancy I was measuring small by both belly measurements and ultrasound measurements. Over the last several weeks the ultrasound was putting my little one in the 18^th, 22^nd, and 11^th percentile for size. And my ultrasound in week 38 put her in the less than 3 percentile. This dramatic drop was the reason for the concern. This led my midwives to study my file and decide their recommendation. With my baby having a chance of IUGR (intrauterine growth restriction) they felt she was better off being delivered soon and getting breast milk instead of being in utero where her growth seemed to be restricted.

After several conversations with my husband and support team, we decided to move forward and err on the side of caution as our midwives rarely make this recommendation. But we truly felt everything was OK and our baby would be just fine either way. But I could never live with myself had I declined and something actually gone wrong and I trust my midwives.

We arrived at the hospital at 5pm on 3/15 (my due date) to begin the induction. That night I started Cytotec suppositories to ‘ripen’ my cervix as I was only 1-2 cm dilated on my own. I had 3 suppositories. The next morning on 3/16 I was 3 cm with contractions 4-6 minutes apart. There was a chance I may not need Pitocin. After waiting a while to see what would happen, and not much did, we started low dose Pitocin to increase contractions. My midwives only use low dose Pitocin to increase the chances of a vaginal delivery with an induction, which I appreciated but it also means a longer labor. I continued to progress VERY slowly. About 10:30pm we called my doula because contractions were intensifying. We also had an apprentice doula that we invited to get more experience. So its me, hubby, my mom and two doulas in my L&D room. At this point I still had hope for a water birth. With Pitocin, a water birth is still possible when I get to 7-8 cm and the Pitocin can be turned off.

I labored all night and contractions continued to increase. My pain level was very intense but with all my support I was able to make it through them. Despite the Pitocin in an IV I was still able to move around pretty well. We were using every tool in the book to manage the pain and get through the contractions (counter pressure, massage, rice sock, guided relaxation, multiple positions, music etc). At one point during the night we turned all the lights on, cranked up some 90’s jams and I danced for a while! It was a great change of pace. And I finally learned that I was having back labor. During each contraction my very low back felt like it was on fire and the only thing that helped was strong counter pressure on that area during the contraction. I was also using a heated rice sock on my back. I didn't feel any pain on my front. I would have sworn my baby was coming out of my back! Early Sunday morning the contractions were consistently 2-3 minutes apart and very strong. I was vocalizing through them and started to get the urge to push. My doula’s told me that I was progressing through the holistic stages of labor and it looked like I was about to need to push so they called the nurse in. The nurse was going to check my cervix before calling the midwife….and this is where the game changes.

We’re all expecting her to say I'm 9 to 10 cm….and she says 5 to 6 cm. WHAT THE HELL???? I was completely in shock and quite frankly devastated. Obviously it wasn’t time to push. Everyone was in shock too because I showed the classic progression signs. By now I’ve been in labor 30 something hours, I hadn’t slept, I was completely exhausted, emotionally drained, and didn’t see how I could continue doing this much longer. I reached my breaking point. My doula talked with me about my options – break my water to progress faster (but this would also greatly intensify the pain level), get Fentanyl to relieve pain and try to rest, get Epidural and break water. At this point I was upset and crying and my doula suggested everyone leave the room but Dean and we had a heart to heart. I told him I was done and I can’t do it any longer. I was tired. I was in pain. I told him I wanted my doctor to go in and get her out, do whatever was the fastest. He was able to calm me down and get it together again. He reassured me and read our affirmation cards to me - You are beautiful and you can do this. Your body was made for this. I can do anything for 6 minutes an hour. Every contraction brings me closer to meeting my baby... (a MUST during L&D!!). He was my rock and together we decided to get the epi. So at 7 am on 3/17 I got the epidural.

Sweet relief!!!!!! Oh my word, what a difference. I felt great. The epidural was perfect. I didn’t feel pain but I could still move and feel pressure. The nurse used a catheter to empty my bladder one time so it didn’t stay in. My midwife broke my water. In choosing an epidural I knew I could no longer have a water birth and could not move around at all (these are some of the reasons why getting and epi wasn't part of my plan). Fine. I accepted that now. The next several hours went by very slowly but much more peacefully. I could feel the contractions but not pain. My nurse told me to let her know when I felt pressure that made me want to poop. So about 1:30 I had that feeling and told the nurse.  My midwife came in and checked me. 10 cm! Thank you Jesus!

A crew came in to prep the room for delivery (is this really about to happen?!) and at 1:45 I began pushing! It felt so good to push and I really gave it my all. My midwife put up the squat bar that I planted my feet on which was amazing. I pushed through 6-7 contractions. I reached down and felt her head as she was coming out. What a head of hair. My midwife was coaching me through the pushes to help avoid tearing if possible. Her head came out…and with the next push her body came out. I did tear because her hand was up and came out with her shoulders – 2^nd degree. At 2:12 pm my little precious rainbow was born. She was put on my chest immediately. Oh my God. There just aren’t words. All 40 something hours were absolutely worth it. She is perfect. My life has forever changed. I’m a mom. We're a family.

Reese Monroe Friedland

Born 3/17/13 @ 2:12pm

6lb 4oz, 19 inches

Pregnancy: 38 weeks

How far along: 38 weeks 3 days!!! (11 days and counting! Estimated of course)

Size of baby: About the size of a pumpkin, about 6.8 pounds, and 19 1/2 inches long

Weight gain: 29 pounds

Symptoms: Feeling good...not much to report. Well, Braxton Hicks ('practice' contractions) are in full force but thankfully aren't painful. Just noticeable. My belly tightens up and becomes a perfect hard circle for a minute or so.

Movement: I still love feeling this baby girl move. A few jabs have taken my breath away and I swear she's about to jump out of my skin but obviously that didn't happen. She is now shifting from having her back at my left side to having her back on my right side. But she's still head down, wahoo!  

Preparations for baby: We've hired a doula! What is a doula you ask? Well here you go: 

From dona.org

What is a doula? 

The word "doula" comes from the ancient Greek meaning "a woman who serves" and is now used to refer to a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; or who provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.

Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeed more easily.

A Birth Doula

• Recognizes birth as a key experience the mother will remember all her life
• Understands the physiology of birth and the emotional needs of a woman in labor
• Assists the woman in preparing for and carrying out her plans for birth
• Stays with the woman throughout the labor
• Provides emotional support, physical comfort measures and an objective viewpoint, as well as helping the woman get the information she needs to make informed decisions
• Facilitates communication between the laboring woman, her partner and her clinical care providers
• Perceives her role as nurturing and protecting the woman's memory of the birth experience
• Allows the woman's partner to participate at his/her comfort level

My birth plan is to have a natural unmedicated childbirth and most likely a water birth. Having this plan we decided to hire a doula who has attended LOTS of births and will be my 'labor coach' to help me have the birth experience I want to have. Most doctors and midwives may come and go during labor but the doula will be there start to finish. 

We are also currently taking a childbirth class. It's a 12 hour course that we're taking every Sunday for 3 weeks. One more class to go so we hope Reese let's us finish our last class on March 10. 

We found our doula and class at Labor of Love (alaboroflove.org). Working with this company has been nothing short of amazing and I'm excited beyond words for labor as I know it will eventually lead to me meeting my little Reese face to face!

And of course there's been more progress on the nursery! I've been painting, recycling and hanging! 

It's only a matter of time now until we get to meet our girl. We're ready when she is but I'm certainly not rushing a thing, I know she will come when the time is right and she's ready to enter this world.

Pregnancy: 35 weeks

How far along: 35 weeks 5 days


Size of baby: About the size of a honeydew, about 5.25 pounds, and 18 inches long

Weight gain: 24.5 pounds up! A-okay with me. I can definitely feel the gain and it has thrown my balance off a little bit. And I'm waddling a little now too. 

Symptoms: Still having some acid reflux. I stopped drinking acidic juices which has really helped. But I do miss my OJ. Energy is still very good, wahoo! I definitely feel the shifting and loosening of my hips and I try to move and stretch often. I enjoy doing figure 8's on my exercise ball and bouncing on it. Several people have told me 'she's dropped' which may be true as I do feel her way down there, more pressure, and more potty breaks!

Movement: Reese loves my right side. She is constantly poking and prodding on that side far more than the left. She doesn't have much room these days so I feel even her slightest movements. 

Preparations for baby: My GA baby shower was A-MAZING! Wow, I'm so blessed and thankful. It was so wonderful to see all my guests and we had such a great time. My hosts were fantastic. The guests all made hair bows for Reese and my best friend Julia surprised me with a special 'Friedland Baby Story' slideshow! You can watch it
Kizoa slideshow: Friedland Baby Story! - Slideshow
">here. We will cherish this forever and cannot wait to show our little girl. 

Her nursery is getting closer to complete! We definitely have all the essentials so now I'm focusing on the details and decor. Her custom bedding has been ordered (thanks to Lolli and Pop (my parents)) although it might not arrive until after she's here which isn't a problem. I can't wait to see it, it's going to be gorgeous! Curtains have been ordered too and should arrive on Friday! I got some adorable pink baskets for organization and did her first load of laundry to make all her newborn stuff nice and fresh. :)

I've also packed up her hospital bag. In case you're wondering, here's a list of what's in it. I looked at several lists and put the most common items in my bag. I tend to over pack but I also prefer to be over prepared than under. My bag is in process! 

·      clippers

·      aspirator

·      
going-home outfit


·      2-3 onesies/sleepers

·      hand sanitizer

·      receiving blanket

·      extra diapers

·      hat

·      socks

·      hand mitts

·      Memory book page for hand/foot prints

·      Empty plastic bag for dirty/soiled clothes

Next week I have a water birth class and we are selecting our doula! Very exciting stuff to me!