Feeding 10 Month Old on a Carnival Cruise

[Arf Arf Captain]

Hello all. We're going to be sailing on the Carnival Magic later this month with our little guy who will be turning 10 months. I know we need to take our own formula and baby food. Our pediatrician is also wanting us to get the baby to start to eat more "real" solid foods (non-purees).

 

We're struggling with getting him to like anything that's non-pureed. I do plan to take purees with us, but I'm wondering if Carnival serves plenty of foods that we can mash up to let him try, too. Things like bananas, pulled pork, cottage cheese, etc.

 

I sailed on Carnival years ago, but it's been so long and at the time I wasn't really looking at food from the perspective I have now.

 

Thanks!

[gymbomb]

Not carnival, but we sailed an NCL when DS was 10 months. We took enough baby food for him to eat it twice a day and filled in with food from the ship (and he was still nursing a lot). He ate a lot of things that we cut up into tiny pieces including fresh fruit, yogurt, eggs, mashed potato, cheese, and veggies like peas, carrots, baked potato, baked sweet potato, etc. He also are a small amount of meat, also in tiny pieces, including chicken and salmon. It was not hard to find things on our plates to feed him, and if we weren't ordering something baby friendly we would ask for fruit or veggies or yogurt for him.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

Omg! Of COURSE there are mashable foods! Pulled pork??? Really?

 

Bananas, applesauce, pastas, rices, potatoes, eggs, breads, crackers, cereals...

[celle]

At 10 months, your son could also be feeding himself with finger foods. Try putting a piece of unmashed banana in front of him and let him make as much mess as he likes. Work up from there to other finger foods. Try giving him a few pieces of soft vegetable off your plate. There's no need to mash everything.

 

I agree with your paediatrician. Get him on to real food as soon as you can. It will make it much easier for you to travel with him if you don't have to cart a whole lot of baby food along.

[Kerry's Girls]

Also the meat, pasta & veggies from the soups! They're always soft and once cooled down a perfect pick-up size.

 

Best,

Mia

[Hawaiifrank]

We used to have a small hand-held grinder to mash up just about any food for baby. "Munchkin Baby Food Grinder" is one that I just found on Amazon for $9. Ours was white, but I didn't see that one with the quick peek I just did.

 

Small and simple, just stick a few tasty morsels in the tube, twist the handle a few seconds and finely ground meat or vegetables or whatever comes out the end. It comes apart for thorough cleaning by rinsing in the sink once you're back in the room.

 

With something like that, you could feed baby just about anything from your plates. Of course, you need to avoid heavily spiced dishes or foods that can pose potential allergic reactions like shellfish, nuts, honey, mango, etc. At 10 months, our babies were eating lots of regular food.

 

Plus, as other posters have mentioned, many foods will need no mashing or grinding at all. Bread, soup broth (hot and cold), already mashed potatoes, soft vegetables, scrambled eggs. The list is endless. No one goes hungry on a cruise, even baby.

 

BTW, I wouldn't try new a food for the FIRST time on the ship. I'd start with a few representative food groups now, at home. You don't need any surprise rashes or intestinal issues with baby.

[mobu2015]

I agree with PP. Make sure you don't introduce any new foods on the cruise. Get the ok from your Pediatrician for certain things like peanut butter or shellfish and have your baby try those before you go. I have an 18 month old and his Pediatrician said the only thing to avoid in the first year is honey, so if you get the go ahead from the dr start introducing foods like nuts, citrus and shellfish now so you avoid potential allergic or stomach reactions on the ship.

Edited May 9, 2015 by mobu2015

[Gardeneroflove]

we skipped pruees...

 

scrambled eggs, bacon, muffins, fruit, yogurt, toast, oatmeal, pankcakes for breakfast.

 

 

honestly, anything you eat, you can offer him.

 

Mine had steaks and lima beans on her first cruise, though she was older (she had steaks for her 1st bday, it's STILL the only food we have to limit, ok, kid, you've eaten more than daddy, enough).

 

Remember, food before one is just for fun, just offer him bites of whatever you're eating on his own plate, he'll taste, and play with the food, maybe even eat some. It's not till after 1 you want him relying more on food. though, i didn't use formula, so I was never concerned if dd ate, I knew she was fine.

[KatieBug28]

I would skip the purees entirely and just find food on the cruise. That's a pain in the butt to drag around a suitcase full of jars or pouches!

 

Like others have said, he'll find plenty to eat, even if you do need to mash it up a bit. Plenty of things like yogurt, applesauce, mashed potatoes, rice, bread he can tear up and have a great time with, etc. I haven't taken a 10 month old cruising, but we do lots of family vacations and we always find plenty for the kiddos to eat. Just grab a variety of foods from the buffet line on the first day and let him make a huge mess and see what he'll eat. He'll have a blast!

 

Don't stress about it too much. Kids are way more adaptable than we give them credit for. He's going to have a great time, and if you've got breast milk or bottles and formula (which I think you said you do), he'll get all he needs. Traveling with kids is stressful enough, so make it as easy as you can for yourself!

[Muumuu]

We used to have a small hand-held grinder to mash up just about any food for baby. "Munchkin Baby Food Grinder" is one that I just found on Amazon for $9. Ours was white, but I didn't see that one with the quick peek I just did.

 

Small and simple, just stick a few tasty morsels in the tube, twist the handle a few seconds and finely ground meat or vegetables or whatever comes out the end. It comes apart for thorough cleaning by rinsing in the sink once you're back in the room.

 

With something like that, you could feed baby just about anything from your plates. Of course, you need to avoid heavily spiced dishes or foods that can pose potential allergic reactions like shellfish, nuts, honey, mango, etc. At 10 months, our babies were eating lots of regular food.

 

Plus, as other posters have mentioned, many foods will need no mashing or grinding at all.

Bread, soup broth (hot and cold), already mashed potatoes, soft vegetables, scrambled eggs. The list is endless. No one goes hungry on a cruise, even baby.

 

BTW, I wouldn't try new a food for the FIRST time on the ship. I'd start with a few representative food groups now, at home. You don't need any surprise rashes or intestinal issues with baby.

 

I just seen this food grinder at Target 2 days ago. Used same item for all 3 grandkids. They never had jar food as we made all of theirs. Bring a toothbrush for cleaning it

[BrotherCraig]

We just got off of the Magic on Sunday and we cruised with our 8 Month Old. We ordered soups and other things like it to feed him. He loved it. They go out of their way to accommodate you so don't be afraid to ask for anything -- even if it is not on the menu. They will try their best. Enjoy!

[DkswartzFamily]

We cruised with our six month old on Royal Caribbean and they would make him baby food for every meal fresh. We never asked, but they always offered :-)

[Arf Arf Captain]

Thanks for the answers, everyone! My kiddo is still learning about the joys of solids and he often "ejects" things from his mouth that don't meet his specifications (as in, if it's too chunky he won't even try to swallow it, but let it slowly drip out of his mouth.) Good to hear that ship staff helps out with feeding the babies.

 

BrotherCraig, thanks for the specific info about your baby on the Magic! Hope y'all had a great time.

[tracy12502]

we skipped pruees...

 

scrambled eggs, bacon, muffins, fruit, yogurt, toast, oatmeal, pankcakes for breakfast.

 

 

honestly, anything you eat, you can offer him.

 

Mine had steaks and lima beans on her first cruise, though she was older (she had steaks for her 1st bday, it's STILL the only food we have to limit, ok, kid, you've eaten more than daddy, enough).

 

Remember, food before one is just for fun, just offer him bites of whatever you're eating on his own plate, he'll taste, and play with the food, maybe even eat some. It's not till after 1 you want him relying more on food. though, i didn't use formula, so I was never concerned if dd ate, I knew she was fine.

 

i just love this whole response. We also didn't do purees. And sooo many kids aren't interested in food until much later. My sons favorite food around that age was steak as well, and mangoes...that kid could eat some mangoes.

 

but yes there will be plenty of stuff you can mash or mix. I know some people order the cold soup at dinner every night and either spoon feed or give it to their baby through a straw!

[drenee73]

If your guy is that sensitive to chunks, it may be worth it to have a grinder just in case. I think you'll be fine with a fork though....

 

The buffets have tons of smashable stuff - carrots, potatoes, green beans are usually soft(ish), scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, cottage cheese, bananas, melons, cookies, ice cream :), peas, trying to think about other stuff - pancakes may not be mushy enough, but.... all the bread/cake stuff.

 

Remember you can always get milk (if you're not doing formula) at any open buffet station - pizza is always open and they will walk to another station to get your milk for you if you want it. I think the coffee bar will too.

 

Soups are great too - hot and cold.

 

Meats could be a problem - not sure what you can squish with a fork - depending on his texture aversion. (you did say, he, right? If not, sorrrrrry!)

 

I'll say the same thing on this thread too - benedryl. Always. You never know what seasoning or broth or what could be in the foods you're not preparing.