What to take to Mexico?

I am working on my packing list and have gleaned a great deal from the different profiles, but thought it would be nice to put it all together here on the board. Please post all your ideas on what to take, and not to take. I also wonder about the first aid items. I read that there is a pharmacy on every corner in Ensenada, do we take with us, or wait till we get there? We are staying at the apartment, and will have Bamby stop at the Albertsons you all told us about...help me fill in the blanks! Sue

Read the list at the bottom of my profile.

Hi Sue, This is what I took with me and I did stayed in the apartment also. Undershirts for under the binder, house dresses, water shoes for the shower in hospital, video tapes for the hospital, sugar free jello broth mix, gauze and tape you will need it hospital don't provide enough, calling card, alcohol pads, I brought liquid Tylenol with me and did not use it there. Dr.A. told my husband to by pills for pain in the local pharmacy. I hope it helps Julia

I'm glad I didn't forget: tongs and baby wipes for using the bathroom. I'd never have been able to take care of that business on my own without them. I was able to do a really good job. Lysol Wipes - I cleaned those tongs and they were helpful in the shower as well as getting on my underwear. Disposable (hospital issue) Washcloths - my friend gave me the ones she got in the hospital, but they must be available for purchase somewhere. Since I didn't plan on doing laundry, and there are no washcloths to be found in the hospital or apartment, I was very glad to have come prepared. I brought a VCR to use in the apartment. I bought it new for very little $ and shipped it in the box it came in - unopened. If money were less tight I'd have just left it there, but I had to bring it home with me (again, made the flight fine) and my mother-in-law bought it from me. If she hadn't I'd have just returned it to Wal-Mart for a refund. (the color seemed a little off anyway) Calling Card - MCI Mundial card from easypin.com was 25 cents a minute. Don't get this wrong, check the fine print. My friend bought me a 100 minute phone card, which turned out to be only 11 minutes calling from Mexico! dialing instructions, in case you've got to call home direct. I was so confounded by the country codes and frustrated by the error messages in spanish that I wasn't in contact with my family as often as I'd have liked. I left clear instructions for everyone to be able to call mexico, but I hadn't the slightest clue how to dial home without the calling card! I would not recommend bringing food (especially anything that would leak into your bags) because there's a nicely appointed grocery store very close to the apartment/hospital/dr's office. We ended up bringing nothing, and buying more than we needed for our stay. If you're fussy about sponges bring a box of palmolive scrubbing towel thingies. At home I'm fanatical about freshly laundered sponges. I felt better knowing I didn't have to worry it. I never had a problem getting enough bandages while in Ensenada. If you find you're lacking, I'm sure the prices in Mexico are better and there are indeed many pharmacies. I packed only loose dresses, housecoats, and tank tops to wear under the binder. Used the housecoats in the hospital over the hospital gown. Made shoes easier too - I chose sandals that went with everything. Treated myself to new, yummy slippers for the trip. mmm. Don't bring silky underwear. The velcro on the binder will ravage them. a few pictures of loved ones helped stave off homesickness. a word search or crossword puzzle book might have been nice. I brought my mp3 player with headphones and appreciated every minute of it. I didn'****ch tv at all the entire time, and only watched two movies one night. Just my personality, but I don't go anywhere without music. Calms the savage beast, you know. batteries for anything that needs 'em. *Many cameras take special batteries - if you're bringing a camera make sure to have an extra battery for it. (I just brought disposable cameras) I had a gameboy with me and plenty of spare batteries for that and the mp3 player. Keep all video tapes and rolls of film in your carry-on luggage or the radiation from the x-rays used on checked luggage will ruin them. I'm sure I'll think of other stuff, but it's a start.

Well, yanno it's hard to recall everything I thought of then! I do know that I wish I had stopped in San Diego and gotten my dairy products to bring down. The cheeses and local dairy products are gamey tasting and unless you grew up on a farm and enjoy that flavor, I'd recommend stopping for some good ol' American cheddar, cottage cheese and sugar free yogurt (which my friend couldn't find in those grocery stores). I had a hard time finding soft foods to eat when in the hotel. Being in the apartment would be better, IMO, because you can make your own hot cereals and other soft foods. Dina

OOoh Oooh!! And one other thing!!! I would highly recommend getting some Carb Countdown low carb chocolate and regular milk while in San Diego. Bamby will stop wherever you want, so don't worry about that! I would just encourage you to get those because they are SO real tasting and are packed with protein. If you make oatmeal or cream of wheat you can really up the protein level by using the milk, and you can have a cup of chocolate milk when you need protein. It actually has more protein per ounce than the EAS low carb shakes. There are 12 grams of protein per 8 oz cup in the LC milk. For the EAS shakes they are 10.9 grams of protein per 8 oz (they come in 11 oz containers though). Atkins shakes pan out to be 14.5 grams of protein per 8 oz but they don't taste near as good. Sometimes the nausea factor will keep you from wanting those, although they are easy to take with you as they don't need refrigeration until you want them cold. The one thing I found while there was that protein immediately brought my energy levels up, so keep that in mind while you are on the mend! Dina

WOW, thank you everyone for your reply's. This is the greatest group of people! Your experiences with the apartment are especially helpful. 17 days to go....but who's counting!