First Cruise With Our 11 month old - Questions!

[czarinahil]

We are cruise lovers and want to instill the love of cruising in our son at an early age. However, the packing list I have made for my son's first 3 night cruise is ginormous!

 

My main question is what is the best way to pack baby food jars so that I minimize the risk of breakage and if they so happen to break they won't make a mess on other items?

 

We are cruising on RCCL Empress of the Seas (out of San Juan, PR) and requested a crib. Should I pack my own sheets? If yes, will it need to be pack and play type sheets or regular crib size sheets?

 

We are driving our own car to the airport, and then rented a car with a carseat in San Juan for our day of arrival and departure. Our two days in port we are doing excursions through the ship so carseats are not an issue there. We did not get our son his own seat (something we now regret - but cannot change) but we are flying first class and I purchased a Baby B'air for use during the flight. What seems to be the common thought regarding giving your child Benedryl so they will (hopefully) sleep throughout the flight?

 

We have a portable DVD player for the plane (and the ship) but obviously an 11 mo old will not keep headphones on so will having the player on at a low volume be a problem on the plane?

 

Do they have those wooden restaurant highchairs for the dining roms? Or should I bring the booster seat that attaches to a chair?

 

I can't think of any other questions right now, but I would be open to suggestions!

[Eclipsepearl]

I'm a FTC myself so I can't answer the questions about the cruise but I'm a former flight attendant who flies between Europe and California alone with my three kids (each starting at 4 months) about every six months, plus shorter flights in between...

 

Anyway, the Baby B'Air is only for turbulance and if you have a good baby carrier (a good one, not a Bjorn or other crotch-supender) it serves the same purpose. The product is banned by several airlines, terribly mismarketed and is not allowed on take-off and landing. The only way to fly safely with a child is in a carseat. There are no alternatives.

 

As far as bendryl is concerned, how many hours are you flying? If it's less than 8 or 9, you really wont need it. Also, he's a little young anyway. I saw it more for really long night flights and rammy toddlers, not babies. Allergic reactions are common and twice I saw it make children totally wired onboard. It can do the opposite! The parents had not tried it at home first.

 

Anyway, I have a blog on the subject. Email me directly if you have any other questions you're welcome to email me directly at my screenname at either hotmail or yahoo.

 

Have a good trip!

[Eclipsepearl]

I'm a FTC myself so I can't answer the questions about the cruise but I'm a former flight attendant who flies between Europe and California alone with my three kids (each starting at 4 months) about every six months, plus shorter flights in between...

 

Anyway, the Baby B'Air is only for turbulance and if you have a good baby carrier (a good one, not a Bjorn or other crotch-supender) it serves the same purpose. The product is banned by several airlines, terribly mismarketed and is not allowed on take-off and landing. The only way to fly safely with a child is in a carseat. There are no alternatives. Commercial aviation is safe and it's unlikely anything will happen anyway.

 

As far as bendryl is concerned, how many hours are you flying? If it's less than 8 or 9, you really wont need it. Also, he's a little young anyway. I saw it more for really long night flights and rammy toddlers, not babies. Allergic reactions are common and twice I saw it make children totally wired onboard. It can do the opposite! The parents had not tried it at home first.

 

Anyway, I have a blog on the subject. Email me directly if you have any other questions you're welcome to email me directly at my screenname at either hotmail or yahoo.

 

Have a good trip!

 

Sharon

http://flyingwithchildren.blogspot.com

[Eclipsepearl]

I forgot to put the site.

[Dawn24]

My son was 11 months old when he took his first cruise. I believe we wrapped our baby food in our swimwear and wet suits as we figured they could be rinsed and cleaned the easiest :) There was juice, applesauce and yogurt available on the buffet and usually some type of casserole-ish pasta dish so we didn't need as much as we thought.

 

We flew into Miami. We gave him the Pediacare with sudafed (I think you have to get it in the Pharmacy in most states) in it about a half and hour before the flight to help keep his ears from having pressure problems. Also, a bottle at take off and landing will help the ears from having pressure problems - the biggest cause of fussiness.

 

The sound of the plane is loud enough that low volume should be fine for the DVD player if you need it. The motion and sound of the jets always put him to sleep up until he was about 20 months old - even if it wasn't nap time.

 

There were plenty of high chairs available on the ship - no booster required :)

 

We used the Baby B'Air without a problem. We didn't put it on until we were in the air. Now that he is 2 we got this http://www.barebabies.com/ulcarseatcov.html so we can easily get the car seat on and off the plane.

 

I flew first class once with my son. I did get a couple annoyed looks, even though he never made a peep. They assumed he was going to cry even before he did, so be prepared that not everyone in first class will be happy to see you. I upgraded because he was a handful on the way to our destination. From that point forward, I started buying him a seat :)

[Eclipsepearl]

Oh gosh, they don't like kids in business and first!! I even had four little Saudi princes and princesses and the other First Classers weren't happy! Also, one of the drugged-up wired kids was in business. It wasn't pretty. Economy is definitely more easy-going with children.

 

That backpack works well also the GoKidz cart. Some parents also get creative with bungee cords and wheelies. Get the suitcase wheelies that have a metal, not plastic base. They work better as well (I had to use a wheelie when I first started working).

 

The drinking thing on take-off and landing though, is a old-wives' tale but you'll see it on every "flying tips" article. Problems would crop up at the start of descent. Take-off isn't usually the culprit unless someone (old or young) has a bad ear infection. Just waking them up can help. Take off is too early and landing is too late to help with the ears. If you want to get technical, it's between 30,000 and 10,000 feet that I saw problems. At 10,000ft. they felt better.

 

I have flown a lot with babyfood and only once did one jar break. I put them in ziplocks, sometimes with a bag around them too and then packed them with soft stuff. You don't have to use a ziplock for each jar since if one breaks, you just rinse the remaining ones. I didn't do this for babyfood but for goopier stuff (such a word?) I'd tape around the lid.

 

Too bad they don't have powdered babyfood like they do in Japan! Sounds a little gross though...

 

I actually never use a DVD player. My kids are close in age and would fight over it. I'd have to get three and the DVD's aren't the same in Europe, etc. See if you can get him used the the earphones ahead of time and/or get earphones that are more "solid" that will stay on his head better.

 

If you decide to use any drugs, use something you've given him before or do a test run at home. Talk to your pediatrician. Remember that all drugs are stronger at altitude (the cabin is pressurized to 10,000ft) so a full dose is probably too much.

[TropicalSnowflake]

when my first son was 8 m/o we went on a cruise. Packed diapers, our own soy milk, and some babyfood that came in plastic containers (Gerber). I was still breastfeeding so those came along, too. :) We ended up packing too much.

 

Here is a hint: if one of your first stops is St.Thomas, you can BUY what you need at the Kmart in port! Like diapers or anything you forgot (sunscreen, sippy cups, etc.). You can literally walk there (we do every time...about half mile) but any taxi can take you for about $3 (or $6 I can't remember...but cheap!) If you walk it, just follow the line of cruise staff that walk there for their weekly supply of needs or ask for directions. If you are doing a tour, ask the tour operator to drop you off there on your way back to port.

 

Cruise restaurants are good about blending foods for you if you request ahead of time. Like blended fruits, vegetables or meats.

 

We made the mistake of giving my son too much bread (white) at dinner and he got a bit constipated so we backed off that.

 

All cruise ships have highchairs, usually a gray industrial plastic kind with wheels. Very stable and they will clean for you before you use.

 

The cribs they have onboard at the Pack N Play types. I brought my own sheets, but you can just tuckk regular sheets from the cruise line under. If your baby is like ours, he'll just end up in your bed anyway. ;)

[Chocochip]

I am a FTC as well, so don't have first hand experience for you. Luckily our baby (will be 10 months old on the cruise) has decided that baby food is for the birds, and just wants table food. So it's going to be a lot easier for us. But I had been planning to bring a small food mill (something like this: http://www.rightstart.com/global/store/product~item~532~dept~feeding~cat~food+prep+and+storage.html ) so I could just use table food. I was also going to bring a few containers of food just in case but I was going to use the ones in the plastic container. I probably will pack a small box of Cheerios though because they are her favorite food!

 

 

We are going to be on RCCL and from what I understand they just have the wooden highchairs with no tray. She makes such a mess, and also we are expecting to have to do some dinners in the cabin via room service, so I am bringing my portable feeding seat with tray. It's bulky but I traveled with my first when he was about 8 months old and I was very glad I had it. If you don't want to do that, you ought to get some sort of feeding mat. I used these with my first: http://onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=364756&parentCategoryId=85184&categoryId=85218&subCategoryId=86219 although this one is nice because it is reusable and has the "scoop": http://www.rightstart.com/global/store/product~item~513~dept~feeding~cat~solid+feeding.html

 

Please post when you get back- my cruise is after yours and I'd appreciate hearing what worked and what you'd have changed.

[TropicalSnowflake]

Here are pictures that show the gray plastic highchairs I was referring to. The one with just my son at 8 m/o shows the chair with the tray aboard NCL Dawn. The group shot shows the chair without the tray (my son and our friend's son are approx 21 m/o aboard the RCCL Serenade).

 

By the way, Cheerios are always available in the buffet area at breakfast time in the single-serving boxes. We would always take an extra for the day's excursions.

[czarinahil]

Thanks for the help everyone!

 

I am starting to pack already even thought we don't leave for a week:D

 

I'll be sure to report as soon as we get back!

[TropicalSnowflake]

You'll have a great time no matter if you remembered to pack everything or not. :D I'm so jealous since I have to wait over 8 more months for our next cruise. And that one will be our first with TWO kiddies (3.5 y/o and a 14 m/o). I look forward to hearing your report as a reminder to what I need to do!

[Kerry's Girls]

I'm pretty sure baby food can be found in plastic jars now - you might want to check around.

 

Also - disposable bibs and disposable feeding mats were very useful when I brought my babies.

 

Have a great time!

 

Best,

Mia