Food for 9 month old?

[DisneyRN51207]

We'll be sailing in December with our daughter (4) and our son who will be almost 10 months old. We've been diligent about making our own food. Has anybody ever brought baby food on the ship in a cooler or is that a no-no since it's technically produce? I can always buy the jarred stuff, but I'm trying to avoid if possible.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

We'll be sailing in December with our daughter (4) and our son who will be almost 10 months old. We've been diligent about making our own food. Has anybody ever brought baby food on the ship in a cooler or is that a no-no since it's technically produce? I can always buy the jarred stuff, but I'm trying to avoid if possible.

Well, the DCL website says this:

Q:
What food or food storage containers are not permitted?
A:
Food coolers containing personal snack foods and drinks may not be brought onboard. They are only permitted if needed for medications, baby food or items related to special dietary needs.

Homemade, pre-cooked or other perishable items plus any open snack containers cannot be brought on board. Limitations on permitted food items are directly related to concerns for food safety and contamination prevention.

Disney Cruise Line regrets that the crew members on board are unable to provide food preparation, refrigeration or storage for personal food or beverage items. Disney Cruise Line cannot verify the cleanliness of the environment in which pre-cooked or homemade food items were prepared, and so for the safety of all Guests and crew, these items are not permitted aboard the ship.
https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/planning-center/my-cruise-plans/faqs/prohibited-items/food-storage-containers

I take it to mean you can bring baby food onboard, but it must be commercially made baby food, not homemade. I could be wrong.

 

[DisneyRN51207]

Thanks for finding that. Appears to be the case. Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks for finding that. Appears to be the case. Thanks!

And, the servers onboard will be happy to have stuff pureed for you at dinner. Just ask. You can ask for plain meats and veggies, also.

 

[thedonduck]

And, the servers onboard will be happy to have stuff pureed for you at dinner. Just ask. You can ask for plain meats and veggies, also.

This is what I was going to suggest. When DS was on his first cruise, we had JUST started table food. Our server was more than happy to puree food and then I thinned it out a bit more. They went above and beyond and were happy to help

 

[Meghatron]

We spent two weeks on the Wonder when DS was 8m and did not bring baby food onboard. The dining staff made us purees of anything we asked for and we also do Baby Led Weaning, which means DS got table food at every meal as well. Mickey waffles were a big hit!

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[MMluvsWDW]

Iif you're not into the jarred stuff because you're trying to do all organic/no fill there are some great organic baby foods out there that come in soft sided packets (easy to pack) that we used when we traveled with our 1st.

 

[SILLYANDI]

And, the servers onboard will be happy to have stuff pureed for you at dinner. Just ask. You can ask for plain meats and veggies, also.

This is what we did also, it was even better than homemade (because I didn't have to lift a finger!)

 

[luke]

Yep our son was 9 months old on the Fantasy at Easter and couldn't believe his luck at all the good food he could try.

Every night our servers would have peas and sweet corn waiting for him to eat (or play with ) then we would order him plain meats or fishes with veg, or pastas.

Cabanas was even better, there were times when we spent about 2 hours there letting him try all sorts while the staff fussed over him.

Cruising really is the best possible vacation for an infant

 

[gigi1313]

You are also able to bring a hand operated food mill onboard to prepare your own.

 

[aanderson5]

We also did baby led weaning with DD and we were able to feed her easily in a restaurant (asked for steamed veg or fruit plus she would eat off our plates). Her first food was cooked sweet potato, cut into a fry shape, when she was 6 months old. At 2 she is a fantastic eater with fruits and veggies topping her list of favorite foods. I know BLW is not for everyone but since you are committed to making your own food it may work for you. You can easily research it or I can give you more info if you are interested.

 

[thedonduck]

We did BLW as well! Both kids did really well

 

[shandrananette]

We also did baby led weaning with DD and we were able to feed her easily in a restaurant (asked for steamed veg or fruit plus she would eat off our plates). Her first food was cooked sweet potato, cut into a fry shape, when she was 6 months old. At 2 she is a fantastic eater with fruits and veggies topping her list of favorite foods. I know BLW is not for everyone but since you are committed to making your own food it may work for you. You can easily research it or I can give you more info if you are interested.

Off topic, and I apologize...but since you offered. I had no idea they would puree food for you...that is awesome. Isn't a huge hassle for them? If not, we'll totally do that. We're cool using the pouches or whatever, we're not terribly picky, but DD who will be 10 months on our cruise is a big fan of food, and I can't figure out how many to pack for 7 days. We are interested in baby lead weaning - with our son he just had (and continues to have) minimal interest in food, so he ate what we fed him and wasn't too interested. DD though reaches for our food and stares at us when we eat (she's almost 7 months). We're doing the baby food thing, but from what I've ready about BLW it seems like it might be a good fit (plus, convenient for the cruise, and I clearly should select how I feed my child based on a vacation ) But here's what I can't figure out from what I'm reading - how do they not choke? You must sort of let them choose, but veto certain things? Any good resources you'd recommend for the uninitiated? Thanks in advance!

 

[star72232]

With BLW you let your baby have finger foods, but stick initially with soft things (ripe pear, well cooked carrot sticks, soft pasta, etc). Make them big enough for your baby to pick up (about the size of your finger - they don't have a pincer grasp at 6 or 7 months). Babies actually rarely choke. They do gag, that's a reflex (and it's much closer to the front of their mouths than in adults, so they will gag a lot more easily), however that just helps them spit food out, it is not dangerous. It can be a bit unnerving initially, but babies learn to chew when they do BLW, whereas purées just have them swallowing, so babies who start with real solids sooner actually have less chance of choking, since they learn to chew their food, not just swallow it (at least this is my experience). Teeth aren't necessary for chewing (we chew with our molars, and those don't come in until over a year for most kids).

I've done BLW with 2 kids and it is far easier than the purées I did with my first 2. But even with the older ones, they were almost 100% on table food by 10 months. My first BLW child (MDS, 3rd child) wouldn't eat any purées, yogurt, even applesauce, until he was well over a year, which is why I initially tried the BLW approach. YDS (4th child) is 10 months now. So far today he's had Greek yogurt, Cheerios and a banana for breakfast and chicken, cooked peppers and an apricot for lunch. So much easier than pureeing or buying a baby food "meal" (so gross, at least the ones my older 2 had occasionally).

 

[aanderson5]

BLW allows the child to eat what and as much as they want. (When I say what they want, the parent still gives the child what they want them to eat, they child gets to pick from what is offered) There are studies to suggest that this makes the child better at self regulation when eating and may reduce the chance of obesity.

Regarding chocking, babies can't get food from the front to the back of their mouths until they have learned to chew plus they have an extreemly strong gag reflex if they do try to swallow something too big. When they initially start eating they often get very little into their tummies. They lick, suck and play with the food. It took DD probably about a month to actually start what I would call eating. You generally start with soft foods, fruits and cooked veggies, cut into appropriate shapes (not necessarily tiny). I belonged to a baby led weaning board and people would post pictures of their 7-8 month olds eating chicken legs.

Many people believe that it is actually safer than starting with purees because the baby eating the purée learns to swallow their food rather than chew it and when they do move onto more solid foods they are more likely to chock.

You still have to be careful when doing baby led weaning. They have to be sitting upright, you don't give them chocking hazard foods (uncut grapes, hotdogs, cherry tomatoes), you have to supervise them at all times. Meal times will most likely take longer and may be messier. But I think it is worth it in the long run.

I hope this helps and if you have any specific questions I would be happy to try and answer them.

 

[shandrananette]

Thanks to you both! That's very helpful. That all makes a lot of sense (she does have a very active gag reflex ). I think we'll give it a try...hopefully by the time we're on the ship we'll have her mostly on table food. I'll look for some BLW boards - that would be helpful.

 

[Meghatron]

The important thing to remember for BLW is bigger is better. Don't dice up steak or chicken, give them the entire thing. Take it away once they've made it so small it's a choking hazard. If a restaurant has a choice between thin fries or thick fries, choose thick. Be prepared for a fantastic mess; that's a successful meal because it means they've been engaging with the food. And also be prepared to have to stop in the middle of a meal for a bottle or a pouch; sometimes during a growth spurt DS is so hungry the table food isn't getting in him fast enough to take the edge off, so he gets formula or a small amount of purée to ease the hunger pangs and then happily goes back to table food.

This is another reason why we loved cruising with an infant; the dining staff not only doted on him and came up with all sorts of suggestions for what they could could bring him to try at all the meals, but they also cleaned up the incredible mess. And this is why tips are added for everyone, even the little ones.

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[gigi1313]

BLW'er here too... I just never knew it had a name! LOL!
My older kids were baby food babies... and I "determined" when they had eaten enough and both now have eating disorders...
My youngest has always been "baby led" playing with and maybe even consuming table food beginning at six months old... he's also the child that knows when he's "full to top" and who's lead I follow when he wants an unconventional meal (i.e. corndog for b'fast). He's strong, he's healthy and he does not seem to have any food issues

 

[feelthenspeak]

I'm sorry but a 7-9 month baby does not need to be eating waffles or chicken wings...their tummies are so sensitive. I mean, they're barley old enough to have veggies. Just bc they are able to eat them, doesn't mean they should.

BLW from the breast-totally agree, but letting baby have adult foods at that age is just unnecessary. Especially the high fructose corn syrup waffles that are served on the ship. I'm not trying to stir up things but this is one subject that I'm pretty passionate about. Let babies be babies.

 

[feelthenspeak]

We'll be sailing in December with our daughter (4) and our son who will be almost 10 months old. We've been diligent about making our own food. Has anybody ever brought baby food on the ship in a cooler or is that a no-no since it's technically produce? I can always buy the jarred stuff, but I'm trying to avoid if possible.

I made my own baby food for a while...but now we buy the organic pouches. My dd is 16 months old and still loves her baby food. ..I prefer baby food bc I know she is not getting any added salt or additives that are unnecessary in her little growing tummy. We will be bringing ours with us!