Food you can get on board for infants?

[caribbean1004]

Excellent thread! I've cruised many times pre-babies and we are taking out then 14 month old on a 9 night cruise in December. I've been slightly panicking about food for her to eat! She isn't a great eater and still has mostly mashed food (she is currently 10 months) I notice the other bubs at mums group want to pick off their parents plate, but my daughter really couldn't care less! She can have rice, mixed in with her mashed veggies and eats weetbix (wheat based biscuit type things) for breakfast. I know it is still 4 months away and hopefully she will be a much better eater by then. I notice people suggesting Cheerios - are these soft/hard/sugary etc? We don't have them here so I'm unsure. I'm hoping because we are sailing from Sydney that they will have some Australian food stuffs on board. I know Carnival have 'Aussie-fied' their ship out here, hopefully Royal have done the same.

If any one has more tips I'm listening too!

 

Hi! Cheerios are cereal...pretty bland although I'm sure they have some sugar in them...they are hard but they melt away easily with just a little chewing. They are little and circular, so it is great for babies to practice picking them up and eating themselves. Try looking up a picture, I'm sure it will help understand more than my explanation! haha :)

 

I'm definitely starting to panic too! It's so difficult to plan ahead with a baby. Of course his 'pre-cruise preparing him to eat adult foods' is happening while he's teething so it's been difficult for us to get him to eat! I'm certain he'll be able to snack on many of the adult foods, but I'm just worried if he'll get a full meal out of it. Definitely hoping that many of these suggestions will help us during meal times! :)

 

Any more suggestions anyone?? :)

[NCM3381]

my youngest was a fussy eater when she started to move onto solids but the one thing she would always eat was pasta/spaghetti cut/mashed up mixed with a little bolognese type sauce. As long as the pasta is soft and the sauce is smooth it can be made as smooth or lumpy as your little one can manage and as with the rice it is usually available all the time.

[caribbean1004]

my youngest was a fussy eater when she started to move onto solids but the one thing she would always eat was pasta/spaghetti cut/mashed up mixed with a little bolognese type sauce. As long as the pasta is soft and the sauce is smooth it can be made as smooth or lumpy as your little one can manage and as with the rice it is usually available all the time.

 

Thanks for the tip! My son will eat a heaping bowl of some foods, but only a little of other foods. But trying to get him to enjoy a variety of foods is a difficult task that I'm sure any parent can understand. Haha :) But at least we are going on this cruise, as prepared as we can be, with so much helpful advice!

[Meaglesjb]

We didn't cruise with our daughter until 15 months, but I'll echo what some here have said. The wait staff will absolutely dote on your little one.

I recommend you go to the main dining room and let your waiter and especially the head waiter know what he likes/dislikes... Guaranteed they'll figure something out for you.

Last year on Liberty, our wait staff had a bowl of fresh fruit waiting every night when we arrived at dinner so DD didn't have to wait to start nibbling.

They were so disappointed when we showed up on formal night without her (she went to the Royal Babies & Tots nursery for the evening).

 

 

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[surrocruiser]

I am sure I am in the minority but we sailed with a 22 month old who was the funniest eater ever. He loves pizza tomatoes oranges bananas pb&j sandwichs and french fries. At the time, I was offering him baby food that comes in the little pouches. He would (and still does at 3 and a half) drink them like smoothies. I also packed him tons of snacks that he was familiar with so that I didnt have to worry about him being hungry since things being different might make him refuse to eat anything. I just packed a small collapsible lunch box sized cooler with his snacks and that was it. There will be things around the ship that you can supplement with.

 

In the mornings at the buffet line for breakfast, I grabbed a couple oranges and bananas along with a single serving box of cereal or two that he cold eat dry. I packed 20 ziplock baggies and stored these snacks in them for whenever we needed them.

 

All that being said, this was the first time I was ever able to get him to try chicken breast and he loved them and still talks about our server who made him special chicken lol.

 

My best advice: pre-plan but don't over stress.

[luvsviola]

I would def bring a box of baby oatmeal with you. My 2 year old still won't touch real oatmeal. I'm sure someone would warm up some formula for you to make the oatmeal.

 

We use a lot of the squeezes instead of traditional babyfood. Much less mess!

 

At 8 months, my kids still were mostly on breastmilk, and didn't do a huge amount of solids. Some oatmeal for breakfast, a squeeze and some fruit for lunch, and some fruit/soft veggies for dinner would have been plenty.

 

My ped specifically does not allow dairy before a year for allergy reasons (the gut just isn't that developed yet and while it won't make baby sick, it has been linked to higher allergy rates), so no cows milk/yogurt before a year.

[mdjohn5]

When my son was 1, we had him in the main dinning room for dinner. We would give him a dinner roll...about the size of a tennis ball and he would knaw in it for 10-15 minutes...enough to keep him realtivly quiet.

[caribbean1004]

We didn't cruise with our daughter until 15 months, but I'll echo what some here have said. The wait staff will absolutely dote on your little one.

I recommend you go to the main dining room and let your waiter and especially the head waiter know what he likes/dislikes... Guaranteed they'll figure something out for you.

Last year on Liberty, our wait staff had a bowl of fresh fruit waiting every night when we arrived at dinner so DD didn't have to wait to start nibbling.

They were so disappointed when we showed up on formal night without her (she went to the Royal Babies & Tots nursery for the evening).

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

Haha that sounds so great. It's so awesome to hear that they are so accommodating and thoughtful of little ones. Thanks!!

[caribbean1004]

I am sure I am in the minority but we sailed with a 22 month old who was the funniest eater ever. He loves pizza tomatoes oranges bananas pb&j sandwichs and french fries. At the time, I was offering him baby food that comes in the little pouches. He would (and still does at 3 and a half) drink them like smoothies. I also packed him tons of snacks that he was familiar with so that I didnt have to worry about him being hungry since things being different might make him refuse to eat anything. I just packed a small collapsible lunch box sized cooler with his snacks and that was it. There will be things around the ship that you can supplement with.

 

In the mornings at the buffet line for breakfast, I grabbed a couple oranges and bananas along with a single serving box of cereal or two that he cold eat dry. I packed 20 ziplock baggies and stored these snacks in them for whenever we needed them.

 

All that being said, this was the first time I was ever able to get him to try chicken breast and he loved them and still talks about our server who made him special chicken lol.

 

My best advice: pre-plan but don't over stress.

 

 

Haha pre-plan but don't over stress, I love that. Although definitely easier said than done! :) We are definitely going to bring ziplock bags and will be grabbing stuff at breakfast - great idea! And my son loves those little pouches too! :) Thanks so much!!!

[caribbean1004]

I would def bring a box of baby oatmeal with you. My 2 year old still won't touch real oatmeal. I'm sure someone would warm up some formula for you to make the oatmeal.

 

We use a lot of the squeezes instead of traditional babyfood. Much less mess!

 

At 8 months, my kids still were mostly on breastmilk, and didn't do a huge amount of solids. Some oatmeal for breakfast, a squeeze and some fruit for lunch, and some fruit/soft veggies for dinner would have been plenty.

 

My ped specifically does not allow dairy before a year for allergy reasons (the gut just isn't that developed yet and while it won't make baby sick, it has been linked to higher allergy rates), so no cows milk/yogurt before a year.

 

My son has the baby brown rice cereal powder, so we will definitely be bringing some of that with us. And those squeeze pouches as well (we just bought a ton for the cruise - great sale at Buy Buy Baby!!)

 

Also, from what I have researched (I'm definitely not an expert), I agree that diary is not allowed before a year, but I've read that yogurt is okay earlier because of the cultures I think. Again, everyone do your own research and ask your own pediatrician, but just wanted to offer what I've learned.

 

Thanks so much for your advice and we will definitely bring some of his food along, while really encouraging him to try new foods on the cruise. We are excited! Thanks again!