Category: living aboard

Day to day activities, challenges and new things learned living aboard a boat

April 15, 2017

Birth Control In The Caribbean

Tomorrow I will be 30 weeks pregnant, anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little boy. The time is flying by!!

A few people have asked if our pregnancy was planned. Let me start with a little history…

When I chose to move onto a sailboat and travel the world, I knew it required a certain level of planning in many different respects. Before leaving the convenience of health insurance, pharmacies and our regular doctors in the States, I stocked up on as much birth control as my doctor would allow because back then we weren’t ready to grow our family just yet. From that point forward, we knew all of our healthcare would be out of pocket and further limited to the availability in each country we would visit. It was an expensive upfront cost instead of being spread out as a monthly expense but it made sense to get the kind I wanted when I had the opportunity.

While I was asking seasoned cruisers on Women Who Sail what options I had for birth control in the Caribbean, other cruisers newer than me were asking me the same question. It’s a valid concern and one that doesn’t come with an easy answer.

After spending several years in the Caribbean I can without a doubt say from personal experience, it’s not easy. It depends on if you want or need a specific formula of pill, or specific form of birth control (ie. IUD, etc.). I’ve heard from others that the Bahamas will provide birth control if you need to refill a prescription. The Dominican Republic is incredibly cheap for all types of medications and most do not require a prescription, though translating what you need to a generic brand in Spanish is not always easy to do. Puerto Rico and USVI are of course the easiest for American Citizens to access familiar brands. Its my experience that anywhere past USVI you pretty much get whatever they have in stock, which may or may not be what you need or are used to.

I was always intrigued by a post my good friend Genevieve wrote about How To NOT Procreate On A Boat. She preferred a chemical-free method of Natural Family Planning (otherwise known as charting) but had later discovered a fertility monitor that tells her exactly when her body is ovulating. Although the device is not intended to be used to prevent conception, her new method apparently does a pretty good job of helping either avoid pregnancy or trying to conceive. Their youngest is now five ;)

***

Did we want kids? Absolutely. When Peter and I bought our sailboat almost four years ago, we knew that someday we’d start a family. The question of where we would be at that time didn’t matter. We knew plenty of other families with kids on boats all over the world and honestly I never even hesitated at the thought of us still sailing around when we would finally decide we were ready for kids of our own.

It was always in the cards but it wasn’t until Spring-time of 2016 that our talks about marriage and kids really started getting serious. Everything all happened kind of fast. We planned on getting engaged as soon as we had a ring for me and literally the very next day off work we went to a nearby beach and I said yes! Our plan was to have a wedding sometime during Summer of the following year so we would have time to coordinate logistics of our families traveling to the islands to celebrate with us.

Around the same time, I had run out of birth control. Long story short, we decided to not get another prescription and let my body reset knowing that it could very well take 6 months to a year before I’d potentially be able to get pregnant anyway. I had also just figured out that the migraines I’d been getting for years were hormone related. Needless to say, I was pretty anxious to stop taking the pill in hopes that the migraines would stop too, and they did. Little did we know, it would only take us 4 months from then to get pregnant…

***

When the time came for Peter and I to switch from avoiding pregnancy to planning pregnancy, I began to research other types of chemical-free fertility monitoring. I knew the price tag on Genevieve’s device was high, but I also knew that when we were done having kids I didn’t want to go back to being on the pill. I started reading up on the device she had but soon found a different (and cheaper) brand called OvaCue that actually appeared to offer a lot more functionality. Both are more expensive than the store-bought Clearblue Fertility Monitors (and others) but offer way more reliability, positive reviews and features. Without going into too much detail here, the OvaCue Fertility Monitor predicts and confirms ovulation by use of sensors and automatic charting. After doing a little more research I found a chart that made my decision even easier. With more sensors than just a Basal Body Temp thermometer, the OvaCue offered the most benefits.

What really sold me was that there were no reoccurring costs, it works for women with irregular cycles and PCOS, but most importantly the traditional model does not require internet access to interpret the readings! The traditional model is a battery operated handheld device that can be used no matter what country I’m in or even if we are disconnected from the internet for days or weeks at a time. An absolute must if I was really going to rely on a system like this.

The cost is high but if you do the math its significantly cheaper than continuously buying OPKs for months on end while trying to conceive, PLUS I’ll be able to continue using it when we are ready to avoid pregnancy again, saving on years of birth control costs in the future. Totally worth it to me.

It took a little bit of work and a few emails to the awesome Ovacue Support Staff to get the hang of how to interpret the readings but I caught on pretty quick. I was able to get pregnant on the first cycle of using the Ovacue Fertility Monitor!! Needless to say, I’m very pleased with how it works and look forward to tracking fertility again after our first little one arrives, whether we decide to have another baby or not :)

So to answer the original question, yes we did plan our pregnancy. It just happened a lot faster than we thought it would!

**Disclaimer: The information provided on this website or in this post is solely based on my personal experience and opinion and is not intended to be used as a substitute for professional medical advice. By reading about or purchasing any products described on this website or in this post, you are acknowledging that you take full responsibility for your health, life and well-being as well as the health, lives and well-being of your family and children (where applicable), and for all decisions made by you now and in the future.

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February 1, 2017

It’s A Boy

At the last ultrasound appointment (about a week ago) we anxiously waited for the tech to confirm our suspicions. Peter had been calling this baby a boy from the first day we found out we were pregnant, and I had a strong feeling it was a boy the whole time as well. Motherly instinct? Not sure. Lots of other moms claim they just knew in their pregnancies too. I made sure our intentions to find out the gender were known as the appointment started and it didn’t take long for the woman to smear the gel across my belly with just a few passes of the wand and suddenly announce, “OHH! It’s a boy!” She couldn’t have sounded more convinced.

Though I wasn’t exactly surprised, it was still a very real and monumental moment. A moment that would forever shape my view of this child for the rest of our lives. Whether it’s a boy or girl doesn’t matter – we would love them all the same – but my mind immediately started to validate the visions I’d had of what our life would be like with a little boy by our sides. Peter on the other hand, was absolutely elated ;) Finding out he’s got a little boy on the way called for a night of cigars and celebration with our buddies from Sunkissed Soeters!

I was 18.5 weeks at the time (as I write this it’s just one week later). We’re pretty much at the half way mark and it’s just now starting to feel more real. I’m slowly tackling projects and cleaning out the forward cabin of our boat to turn it into the baby room.

A few days ago we used up a roll of isinglass that had been stored in the v-berth for a good year’s time and finally fixed two panels of our cockpit enclosure. The sun’s UV rays had completely destroyed the zippers in two places so Peter helped me take the panels off, replace the isinglass and zippers, and reinstall it all. If I didn’t have my most awesome LSZ-1 Sailrite machine it probably would have cost us anywhere from $500-$1000 to have those repairs done in a sail loft. We’re both super happy to have saved the money as well as to have made a dent in the “garage”. There’s still a ton to clean out but it was a good start.

Just yesterday in fact we got rid of another large roll of material we’d been lugging around for the past three years. During our first year aboard we had replaced the carpet in the walk-through between the galley and the aft cabin, and ended up with enough for a second piece, though we knew we’d be storing it for quite awhile. Getting ready for a baby definitely sparks the desire to do some deep cleaning – including carpet replacement! I mean, three years aboard with dogs that both thought that was the most comfortable place in the boat will eventually render any material un-cleanable. On a nearby dock we carefully laid both new and old pieces face down, tracing with a Sharpie onto the back of the carpet where we needed to make the custom-shaped cuts. This time I was able to use my Sailrite Edge Hotknife to make a WAY cleaner cut! I was a little worried about burning the edges but it melted perfectly and sliced through like butter.

I’ve got a ton more nesting – i mean sewing – projects to tackle over the coming weeks. It sure is a good thing babies take a whole 9 months to make their arrival! I cannot WAIT to set up the new crib. It was a gift from Brittany and Scott, now that their girls have gotten bigger and modified their sleeping arrangements. The best part is that it’s an exact fit for our boat (even though it was custom made) since the interior layout of our boat is almost identical to Asante’s. More on this exciting project later!

January 13, 2017

16 Weeks and Growing!

This baby coconut is growing faster than I could have ever imagined. I mean, 9 months seems like such a long time to be pregnant for… but the days and weeks really do go by fast.

It seems such a short time ago I walked into the doctor’s office for the first time with no idea how far along I really was. My guess was about 5 and a half weeks but the doctor decided to do an ultrasound that very day just to be sure since there was a possibility I was actually 9 and a half weeks. My mom knew it and the ultrasound tech confirmed it – 9.5.

I really thought the first ultrasound would have to be scheduled for another day so Peter wasn’t even there to see our little one for the first time with me. I looked up at the screen and was amazed at how much this little fetus was already so much more than just a little blip on the screen. There was a real baby inside of me. I saw the heart beating and I saw tiny little legs and arms stretch out in quick jolts. It was incredible.

We had been quietly sharing the news about our new little coconut with family and our closest friends and were even more excited to share the first ultrasound picture!

All-day nausea had set in around 7 weeks and continued all the way through the 11th week before tapering off. I never threw up but definitely felt nauseous and survived almost completely on crackers. My appetite had vanished and I had also become aware of my strong aversion to coffee – something that should have been an obvious sign for this Seattle girl.

Everyone wants to know if living and working on a boat makes morning sickness worse. Truth is, I actually felt better while we were sailing. When we came back into flat waters my nausea kicked back in.

At 12 weeks we got another ultrasound to make sure baby was growing properly and all was well. So much bigger already.

Fast forward to now.

At almost 17 weeks my baby bump has definitely started to look a little more obvious. I’m starting to feel less fat and more pregnant though its still hard to distinguish the difference. My energy level has not really resumed as most people say it’s suppose to in the second trimester, though my appetite is returning to normal. Orange juice is pretty much flowing through my veins and it seems hard to start the day without yogurt or some other kind of dairy. Sleeping through the night is already a distant memory and I can feel my belly starting to stretch even more.

Everyone around West End knows I’m pregnant so they constantly remind me to slow down and take it easy ;) I think about the days when getting on and off of our boat will be a challenge. I think about how we’ll prepare the forward cabin for our little one. I think about how our life is already changing and how blessed we really are. Our home is filled with love and the excitement that Peter and I share is growing stronger every day <3

In case you were wondering… we will definitely keep living on our boat. There are zero plans in our foreseeable future to move back to land. We love the life we’ve chosen and will do whatever it takes to keep it that way. Thanks to all the other amazing boat mommas out there I am absolutely 100% sure that we can do it too. Its an incredible and fortunate way to raise a child.

P.S.

In just two more weeks we’ll hopefully find out if its a boy or a girl!

Any suggestions for names?

January 12, 2016

How do we make our Sail Loot?

You all know our story. A few years ago Peter and I decided to buy a boat, quit our jobs, and sail away. Something we haven’t really talked about, however, is how we can afford to live this lifestyle!

We were absolutely honored when Teddy from the Sail Loot Podcast wanted to feature our story on his website. I feel terrible how long it actually took for our schedules to align. With the best of intentions, we made several attempts to find a strong enough wifi connection to complete the interview over Skype. We tried few places in Grenada during the last hurricane season but the signal was never great and we knew we would need a solid hour of connectivity. Upon finally arriving back to USVI we used our U.S. LTE cell signal and chatted with Teddy for almost an hour and a half.

Although it felt like it had taken eons to complete the interview, the most relevant part of our story was still a secret! Teddy’s patience was amazing and he agreed to wait to publish our interview after we got the clearance to go ‘live’ with the news. After being at the mercy of BVI Government Officials on Island Time since April, just last week we were finally able to make our big announcement.

We burned through almost three years of savings and the time has come to make some more loot for our sailing adventures as the new crew of Aristocat Charters! Running daysails in BVI is going to rejuvenate our bank account, ultimately allowing us to continue living our dream and sharing this lifestyle with as many people as we can.

If you’ve got some time to kill (or if you just want to hear our voices), lend your ear to hear our story on Sail Loot: Episode 031

Thanks again Teddy! You Rock!

November 16, 2015

The Holidays are Approaching

The holidays are approaching! Thanksgiving is just over a week away and we still don’t know where we will be. Most likely we’ll be in Christmas Cove gathering together with all of our friends in the neighborhood. We may or may not have turkey this year, but you can sure bet that I’ll be making my famous pumpkin pie wherever we are!

Ever since we moved onto the boat, holidays have been a little different. Instead of flying back to California or Washington to be with family, we usually celebrate with friends nearby. We focus less on presents, decorations and big to-do’s, and instead cherish the memories made and the time spent with those around us. As floating nomads, our fellow cruisers feel just as much like family to us as do our blood relatives.

It’s going to be my first Christmas without Gunner and I know I will be sad. He was always with me for every holiday whether I was with family, friends or alone.

Last year my dad was here visiting us on the boat for Christmas. We were in Christmas Cove and invited a bunch of our closest friends over for dinner. We had 9 adults, two kids and two dogs – a full house :)

Genevieve, Eben and their two girls from Necesse, Kim and Jereme from Lahowind, my dad, Steve from Lunacy and Hoy from Goldilocks were all in the neighborhood. We feasted on a fresh caught lobster dinner and shared many laughs!

We’re looking forward to having Peter’s dad, Wiley, visiting over Christmas and New Years this year. It’s always nice to have family around during the holidays :)