Traveling to Bahamas W/ 15-Month-old Son

Updated on April 19, 2010
M.M. asks from Montclair, NJ
11 answers

Hello!
We're heading to the Bahamas for a wedding in May. Decided to skip buying our son his own seat, so we'll see how that goes. But the question I have is about the hotel...and milk storage. Currently our son drinks organic whole (cow's) milk about four times a day, including before bed. Looking for suggestions on what to do while we're at the hotel. Would the hotel have organic milk that we could order up via room service?? Do we try to stash our own in the mini fridge next to the mini bottle of Absolut??

Is there anything else we should be preparing ourselves for with traveling with our 15-month-old?
Thanks!

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M.T.

answers from New York on

The only way for you to know what kind of milk the hotel would have is for you to contact them and ask them. However, I"m not thinking that most hotels (and especially those out of the US) would stock organic milk. If you're counting on the hotel giving you milk, you may need to go without the organic that you choose at home. Also look for cheaper options than room service - is there a grocery nearby where you can buy some milk, or can you bring along the extended shelflife milk?

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A.C.

answers from Houston on

The resort won't likely be able to tell you if what they have is organic or not...and it will get really expensive ordering it from room service. However, see what sort of dining options are available. Many all-inclusive types include beverages such as milk.

A great way to go would be with single-serve UHT (ultra high temperature pasteurization) type milk--the kind in the cardboard box. Horizon has organic cow's milk and you can get many alternative milks (rice, almond, soy) in this type of packaging. Single serve is the way to go...even if you end up wasting a bit as those smaller fridges can be inconsistent in temperature and won't keep it as fresh as you would like. AND they are easy to throw a few in the bag for a day.

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G.K.

answers from New York on

Your best bet on the organic milk is to call the hotel and ask if they have any, if they do not ask if they can give you the name and phone number of a couple of grocery stored nearby. Then call the store yourself.
To make the flights easier for your son if he is still taking a bottle have him drink one during take off and landing. If he does not use a bottle have him chew a piece of gum. Even eating some raisin or small pieces of fruit will help. Most babies and young kids will cry during take off, landing and sometimes through the entire flight because they need to get their ears to adjust to the change in pressure. As adults we feel the pressure and can get our ears to "pop" but little ones don't understand and definitely cannot express this need..
I flew one time with 3 kids, age 8, 4, and 2 granted each one needed something different to get their ears to pop, but once we got that taken care of they had a good trip.

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K.F.

answers from New York on

We were just at the Atlantis and they did not have organic milk.
It's only for a few days so we just gave him what they had.

We put ours in the mini bar but we could have rented a fridge for $15/day.

The previous post mentions boxed milk which i buy also, but Horizon's is flavored where Earths BEst (found mainly in target and babies r us)is not flavored but only comes 2%

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V.N.

answers from Chicago on

We were in Jamacia in December with our then 15 month old. They did not actually have whole milk at the resort and he was drinking 2%. I would contact the hotel and make arrangements to bring your own if they can not.

Air travel was difficult as I could not rationalize with him at that stage. We did have a cancelled flight which complicated things. I would encourage bringing lots of things he has never seen before (stickers, books, treats, crayons, etc.) My son is very good natured but for some reason did awful on the flight. He was that kid (kicking the seats, screaming blood curling, throwing books over the seat, etc). My husband and I disagreed on how to handle it which I think may have escalated things. I wanted to just give in to him whatever it took to make him stop and my husband felt that we should expect the same manners on the flight then at home. Perhaps having an agreed plan will make it easier before hand.

Our son had a great time and loved the beach. It was just the flights that were difficult, but so worth it. Have a blast!

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E.E.

answers from New York on

I wouldn't count on storing things in the minibar. Most minibars these days are VERY sensitive (like open the door and they try to charge you for something) and it's a pain to have to try and prove that you didn't eat/drink anything.

That said, you could call to see if they have a fridge you could rent for your stay. Also...the Bahama's is a pretty poor country outside of the resorts, so depending on where you're staying, you may have some issues finding milk to your liking.

Good luck!

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K.M.

answers from Orlando on

Not sure about the milk, but as for the flight try tylenol before take off. If he is still on the bottle get him to suck on it during take off and landing to keep his ears equalized.

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A.B.

answers from New York on

I highly recommend you get a Baby B'air vest for your son to wear on the flight when he's in your lap (http://www.babybair.com/). It is much safer than just being in your lap unrestrained -- you never know when you're going to hit a pocket of turbulence, which could jolt him off your lap.

Other than that, I agree that new things will help keep him occupied on the flight. Stickers, lift-the-flap books, finger puppets. And snacks. We are very strict about what our daughters eat, but on an airplane they can basically have whatever will keep them quiet and happy!

Enjoy,
A.

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K.L.

answers from Washington DC on

You should call the resort and ask what they have available. Chances are they won't have organic. I'm sure there is a store where you could by a carton of milk to keep in the fridge, which is probably the most economical way.

Your other option would be to replace milk with pediaure for the trip. I do that when we travel because it doesn't have to be refrigerated. I buy the walmart brand of it (its cheaper) and my son loves it!

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R.S.

answers from New York on

You can empty the minibar and store milk in it. Sometimes the hotel people like to take all the drinks out themselves and sometimes they will let you empty it yourself.

If you want to bring organic milk for your child while traveling (instead of having him drink the airline 2% nonorganic stuff) , make sure it is in bottles or sippy cups. When we last traveled, the security people tried to take away all of our milk that wasn't in bottles (I brought clean bottles and a carton of organic milk and I was going to fill the bottles as needed while we traveled). I ended up talking to the supervisor, saying it was baby's food, crying, reasoning, etc. and finally was allowed to fill two bottles at the security line but they still made me throw away a lot of it. I decided in the future I would just put it all in bottles and then it would look more like baby's food and it wouldn't be such a fight.

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A.B.

answers from New York on

We went to Jamaica when our daughter was 21 months. They had whole milk at the hotel that my daughter drank. I'm sure it wasn't organic (she drinks organic at home) but I figured she could have regular milk for a few days. I also brought milk boxes with us, just in case we needed them. It's like a juice box but with milk and they don't need to be refrigerated so you can pack them in your suitcase.
I see that you said you didn't purchase a ticket for your child for the flight. We didn't either but we ended up getting an extra seat both ways. If you check in at the gate when you get there, you can ask if there are any extra seats available so your child can sit in one. This was very helpful for us because my daughter was much more comfortable in her own seat (and so were we!)
Have a great trip!

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