What to pack for babies?

[jakesmommy]

We will be traveling with our son who will be 20 months and our niece who will be 9 months at the time of the cruise. It seems that we pack everything shy of the kitchen sink when we go someplace overnight, so I am concerned about a whole week. What do you absolutely need for a baby to survive on a cruise...obviously the essentials (food, diapers, clothes), but what else...any tips or suggestions or helpful advice would be appreciated!

[PattyW]

Obviously if you've travelled overnight, you basically understand what to bring, but after being on two cruises with an "under 2" year old - here are a few unexpected things that we packed which we felt were worth the weight in the luggage -

 

1. crib sheet from home (pack-n-play sheet if you have one). Did make a difference? I don't know, but I figured the more the crib felt like home the better (and it didn't take up much room)

 

2. Snug tub (this is a small blow up tub for babies). If you don't have a bathtub in your room and (like us) you child doesn't like to shower with you, this is one solution to the shower only problem.

 

3. Books and a few small, compact toys (read: no small parts to lose under the bed) for the room. There will be some down time when you are getting ready for dinner, etc.

 

4. dish detergent (packed in a travel size container) for hand washing sippy cups, bottles, toddler flatwear, pacifiers, etc.

 

5. plastic or plastic-like bibs that will clean easily (and be dry by morning) by rinsing in the sink

 

6. Small toiletry bag with age appropriate medications (call dr. about correct dosages before you go) for minor ailments (baby Tylenol, kids' benedryl, diaper rash cream, stuff like that). You never know when someone is going to cut a tooth . . .

 

I saw you mentioned food in your original post. Some cruiselines will provide baby food (Princess) others don't (RCCL). Before you lug it aboard, make sure you have to. Also, don't worry too much about snacks, because the breakfast buffet always has single serve cereal packages. We would just take one or two in the morning for our child to snack on during the day.

 

Obviously these are just a few of the oddities that we thought made our cruise easier. I can provide you with a more throrough list of things to pack if you want.

[savdoc2]

Although we haven't cruised with our 16 month old yet, we have traveled quite a bit (she has flown 21 flights so far). We will be cruising RCCL Jan 8, 2005. I have learned to pack light and have never missed anything.

 

I don't know what cruiseline you will be traveling on, but RCCL will provide pureed foods, just not jarred foods. So if you are traveling on RCCL, contact them ahead of time to work out any details.

 

I started showering with DD when she was 3 months old. This has been one of the best things I ever did, it makes traveling so much easier. DH or I can give her a shower while we are showering. If it is a while before you go, start doing this. It also helps the baby not be scared of water going over the head.

 

Since we are flying to Miami the day before the cruise, we are renting a car and will go to a store and buy diapers and baby food. DD is breastfed (yes, even at 16 mo), so we don't have to worry about formula or bottles.

 

I love the disposable bibs that Pampers makes. We used them all the time. I tried using reusable bibs but found that I always had dirty ones in my purse. I haven't tried it while out yet, but I did ettach 2 clothespins with a piece of elastic and they can be attached to a cloth napkin (dental bib style) to make your own bib - I think I read this tip on CC.

 

I only plan on taking 2 sippy cups - she only gets water from them anyway.

 

Even though babies in swim diapers are not allowed in pools on the ship, we will be going to the beach, so we are taking swim diapers.

 

I will take my own coast guard approved life jacket for DD. They do have them on the ship, but tenders and boats on excursions may not and I don't want her on one of them without being in a life jacket. Also, put it on the baby several time before cruising to get used to it.

 

I plan on taking our umbrella stroller. It is a Chicco Tuscany - light, has a basket, reclines, nice sun shade and a rain hood. We are not taking a car seat - will rent one with the car and won't need one in ports.

 

We are taking a few toys and a pop-up toy hamper. I got the hamper at Walmart for cheap. It is about 20in square and will be great to gather the toys in before leaving the room.

 

Other than that we are taking just clothes. I am not one to take a bunch of stuff just in case. We are taking backpacks too. We don't carry a diaper bag ever, so won't be taking that. In fact the list for what to take for DD is much shorter than the list for me.

 

I can let you know when we get back if we needed more or less stuff.

[estherhead]

I cruised last year with a nine month old and a 26 month old. We went on the Carnival Pride. I was very careful to not overpack. I brought sippy cups & bottles, enough diapers for the week (26 month old was mostly potty trained.) We did bring swim diapers and on the Pride they have a kids pool so we used all of them we brought. We also packed a clear plastic shoe rack that goes over the bathroom door. This was a Godsend because there is no place in the room high enough to put stuff you don't want the babies to get into. We could put it in the shoe rack. It kept us organized and the babies out of it all.

 

We also opted to bring a baby carrier (like a Baby Bjorn or backpack) and a small, folding umbrella stroller. I brought a backpack diaper bag. This was all great because we could move almost as smoothly as the childless folk. 26 month old in the stroller, 9 month old in the carrier, and a backpack. When getting on and off the boat we were thrilled with our choices. Plus when a baby fell asleep we would put her in the stroller and could still enjoy the sun while she was napping instead of being stuck in our room during nap time. For this I brought the thin, receiving blankets and would drape the stroller with them to completely keep the sun off (plus bring LOTS of sunblock.)

 

Another thing that saved my life was a bag of Skittles. This may seem silly with all the food available but there were times when we had to stand in line or wait for something and I just needed them to be completely quiet and happy. I realize this perhaps goes against some parenting philosophy but it made our trip stress-free. Hungry child waiting in line to get back on the boat while all the people get their bags checked? No problem. Have a Skittle. Plus, the umbrella stroller helped with that too because they just wave you through and don't make you stand in line! We also bought a can of Pringles for the same purpose. The can and small bag lasted us all week and I'm sure the other passengers enjoyed it too because our girls never made a peep. Obviously, a healthier choice would be fine too, if it something your kid adores.

 

That was pretty much it. I brought two outfits for each kid for each day and on Thursday I did two loads of laundry. This was a formal night so the irons were very busy. I recommend doing it first thing in the morning. You can buy laundry soap on board.

 

Also, if you want to dress up your baby for formal nights I bought matching outfits on E-Bay and was so glad I did. We have the most adorable photos. The Bib-sters are a good tip that I saw posted.

 

As far as toys, I didn't much bother. I brought 4 books and maybe 10 small noiseless baby toys. They hardly played with any of them. The world of a cruise was just too exciting.

 

Hope that helps, if you have any questions, just ask!

 

Esther

[Onessa]

Don't forget that it may be a bit of a wait in line to embark and also a wait for your luggage when you first board (board early to avoid the longest waits). Pack your carry-on for at least twice as long as your "worst case" guess and you won't get caught short.

[HappyChick]

We just returned from a 7 day cruise w/our 18 month old son. He did really well, and I got lots of good tips from this board.

 

1. Blow up tub (mentioned above)...this was a lifesaver b/c our son does not like to shower.

2. A toddler lifejacket. The ship does provide these, but our son didn't like it..it was big and bulky. We brought our own and used it when we went to the beach.

3. Sippy cups, juice boxes, Cheerios, Teddy Grahams, and crackers. As mentioned before.....the snacks are helpful when you have to wait in lines, etc.

4. Diapers and wipes for the week, and diaper cream. We also used swim diapers @the beach.

5. A hat, sunglasses, and sunblock.

6. A small bag w/baby tylenol, etc.

 

You will have a good time!!

[savdoc2]

Just back from our cruise with 16 mo DD. It was great and NOT any more work than being at home. Heres the update for what we needed and used:

 

* Took twice as many diapers as needed. I guess better to have too many than too few.

 

* estimated about right on jarred food. Planned 3 - per day and brought 7 home. They brought her applesauce in the dining room.

 

* Still glad I started showering DD early on. It was great.

 

* Didn't take diaper wipes. Took a roll of Viva paper towels and wet them in the bathroom before each diaper change. It was perfect. Warm wipe with no chemicals.

 

* Boxed cereals were available in the buffet at breakfast - took as many as we needed.

 

* Only used 1 sippy cup - since she only gets water in them anyway.

 

* Took too many toys - probably only needed 1 or 2.

 

* We took DD's coast guard approved life jacket and it was exactly the same as what they had on board.

 

* The stroller was invaluable. We used it daily for walking around the ship and one port. The other ports we carried her in her sutemigear.com carrier. It was perfect for the excursions where no room was allowed for a carseat of any kind - and no seatbelts.

 

* Slathered her with sunscreen every morning (me too) and neither of us got sunburned. We had 2 beach days.

 

* We took too many clothes, but again rather have too many.

 

* We had an aft balcony on RCCl Voyager of the Seas, the room and balcony were extra large, so there was plenty of room for her to wander.

 

* I did not take any baby medications along, but we don't give any at home. In fact, I don't own any. She cut 2 molars this week on the cruise and did great!

 

* We took her float swim suit - but didn't use it. She didn't like the water at the beach anyway.

 

* We did not try to take her in the pools on board (not allowed for kids not potty trained anyway). I did not notice if others were breaking the rule or not. I never saw the kids pool open and the adult pools were cold anyway.

 

That is all I can think of.