What You Need to Know

If you go to Villahermosa:
First of all, stay at the Marriott! It's in a much better location. The supermarket and mall are right next door. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza. Though the food was actually really really good and the price for the food was great, there's not much around there. Just a Chili's, Domino's and a Starbucks. That's it. So go stay at the Marriott.

Here are some tips and tricks I think might help if you end up going to Clínica Médica de Jesús a.k.a. “Jesus Clinic” (as someone calls it) in Villahermosa and staying for two days at the hospital:
What to Bring for Baby(ies):
bottles you can bring one to two sets of bottles. They will provide the formula for you if you like. They gave us Similac. The nurses take your bottles and give it to you with formula ready to feed the babies every three hours - 1 oz. every three hours. We just had one bottle for each baby and they just washed it in between feedings
onesies enough for two to three a day per day so maybe 6 or so per baby just to make sure you're covered if there are any accidents
hats 3 per baby. you’re going to want to change it after the first day and they (nurses) like new ones after each bath
gloves maybe 3 per baby - they like new ones after each bath
socks maybe 3 per baby - they like new ones after each bath
pants 3-6 per baby. we didn’t bring any but they were really really adamant about having pants. Plus, you might need new ones if there's a poopy accident
swaddling blankets I’d bring 2 or 3 per baby in case they spit up on it and you can’t wash it
*diapers!!! enough for four to five days. we only brought a few thinking they would provide it, but they don’t!
wipes bring a lot, you’ll needthen
towels for the baby you can bring one for each baby and then hang them up to dry for the next day
diaper cream
baby soap
baby lotion
baby friendly laundry detergent we didn't have extra clothing and what not. We could have used it because of a late night incident where we needed to wash a few things but we ended up just using the bar soap they provided for us. If you bring extra clothes then this is not a must.

*The babies peed and pooped a lot a lot - way more than we thought and more than we read about. I guess they had a lot of waste to expel. Fun fact, their first few poops are a black tar-like substance. It’s weird! I forget the term they call it. We basically had to change their diapers after each feeding, which was 1 oz every three hours. 

U.S. Embassy

Make copies of your documents of things like the contracts, passport, birth certificates, etc. things of that nature. They'll also want to the originals. I would bring at least two copies of each. The CRBA folks will want them and the DNA folks will want them as well. 

Bring evidence of proof of residence. It's subjective so you never know what they'll ask for. One of those yearly Social Security statements might be helpful. That's what my CRBA official asked me for. That's all. We overheard others while we were waiting nearby and officers asked for college transcripts, utility bills, W-2s and what not. What we brought with us: yearly Social Securty statements, cell phone bills, tax returns, W-2s, paycheck stubs, random utility bills, college transcripts and I was able to print out a yearly calendar of attendance from work with my work email signature on it. 

Passport picture for baby(ies) 

You can get them beforehand. If you can't or don't, don't worry. There is a little kiosk right there in the Passport office where a lady will take passport photos for $60 pesos each. 

-Get there early. If you have a appointment in the morning, there will be a long line. Go to the line at the front right of the building. There you will have to go through the first set of security where they ask you what you're there for. Then he confiscates any electronics you have as well as chargers. You can't take any of that with you. You then go through a metal detector and x-ray for your items. You then go through another set of triage where a guard either directs you to a waiting area or directly straight to the window where you check-in and get a visitors badge. Once they allow you up to the first floor, you have to go through another line to wait. 

What to pack for babies:

We thought we would be clever and brings diapers and formula in boxes and get rid of those boxes as we went through things. Well, turns out we were no so clever. It was very cumbersome to lug all those boxes through the airport and to hotels. Though looking back, I think the only thing we would have brought was formula. We are using the formula from Costco so that might be the only thing we wouldn't be able to easily get there. There is a Wal-Mart in Villahermosa and in Mexico City where you can get diapers, wipes and anything else you think you might need that you forgot/didn't pack. 

I would recommend bringing their clothes, bottles (unless you want to buy those) and whatever items you think they might need like pacifiers and receiving blankets, what have you. 

We would recommend you bring your own car seats! Catherine and Joey thought it would be practical for them to supply the car seats but logistically that turned out not to work so well. It will be cumbersome on your way to Villahermosa but in the end, it works out for the better for everyone. 

The Airports

In a previous post I mentioned the airports. We went through Mexico City to get to Villahermosa. Catherine recommends you try to make a connection in the U.S. to get to Villahermosa. I think I agree. In Mexico City, you have to haul all of your stuff all over the airport without a cart! What airport doesn't allow carts?! It's crazy! Once you pick up your baggage in baggage claim, you are only allowed to use the carts up to a certain point if you, like we did, have to take a different airline. That means we had to get our baggage and check-in elsewhere because we took two different carriers. It was a pain! There are however, porter guys with dollies to haul that stuff for you. Weird they have those guys, but no carts. Anyway, try to pack as compact as possible in as few bags as possible. Once you get to VSA, it's the same thing. No carts. The airport is so small, it's pointless. There are only five gates.

Before you come home!
Deal with the immigration card issue BEFORE you leave Mexico. It's the immigration card you get when you arrive in Mexico that everyone fills out and gets stamped at the airport. It's what you MUST present to the airline the day of exit. The babies won't have one and that's what the issue is. You can get "replacement" cards around town in Mexico City from a travel agency or kiosk somewhere. You'll have to look around. You can also try the immigration office at the airport, which we had to do. That took forever! A few hours. You'll have to refer back to a previous blog. It is very difficult trying to explain how we came in with two of us and coming out with four. If you go the airport route, go very very very early - like 4-5 hours early. You will need to make copies of your docs and babies docs (birth certificates and passports). Our recommendation is to obtain the immigration cards before you leave. The U.S. Embassy said it wouldn't be an issue but it was wrong info. It's the Mexican government that needs it, not the U.S.