holiday with allergic 9 month old

[ratfly]

So we have booked our holiday to spain, and just now wondering how on earth we are going to cope with ds!!
He is limited in what he can eat as he has eczema and we were advised to do a new food every 2 days - so by the time we go he will have a repertoire of about 40 foods..
and he can't have dairy, or banana...
any tips for feeding him abroad - should I just take loads of jars?
And how do you cope with bottles abroad - sterilising, how many to take etc? He has to have dairy free prescription only formula - will I be allowed to take it in the hand luggage so it doesnt get lost?

Any packing tips - we are going for a week in late september?

What jars do you use? Try the website to see if they are available where you are. They might not have the exact same ones though. Although, I would take enough for the first few days to make sure you are not caught out.

We used these but obviously only any use if you are selfcatering or have access to a microwave. They used to sell them in John Lewis, don't know if they still do.

oops, sorry that was not the ones I meant. The ones we used were the ones at the top of the page, reusable ones. They were only for one or two bottles at a time though. Depends how many bottles you need a day.

Another thing we tried were the disposable bottles. They were no use because our DD didn't like the unfamiliar teat. We also tried the disposable Avent ones, but after one leaked all over me at the start of a 2-hour flight, they went in the bin.

Oh, and you have probably already thought of this, but try out your suncream before you go. My DD is allergic to normal suncream, we have to buy a special one for allergy sufferers.

Are you in a hotel or self catering?

Buy cold water sterilising tablets (assume they are still available, mine are past this stage ) and just dunk bottles in a sink.

Powders are, I think, OK in hand luggage, it's liquid and creams they fuss over. Any formula made up you'll be expected to taste and a letter from your doctor to say he needs it could be useful, especially if you need to put creams on during the flight. (Some gps charge for the letters).

Have you checked your insurance covers anything allergy related?

If you are doing self cateing check if they have a nicrowave. You can get some sterilising bags from Mother care that can be microwaved (and are way faster than the tablets). Use bottled water to fill them.

Regarding food. DS has plenty of allergies and we have not found Spain particularly difficult for trips. We get plenty of fruit and vegetables at markets and take with us the rice milk and a packet of glutten free pasta (these are available in Spanish health food shops but we take enough for the first days to avoid feeling pressured to find such shop quick).

When he was a baby, we did a lot of the cooking and froze it (queu carry a packet of small containers) but at the end of the day... if he has a diiferent brand of baby food for a week or so, he is not going to have any problem. However, if he is allergic you may like to get a list of the different names of the allergens in Spanish to be able to identify if said food contains any of them. (we also carry a card with the list of thing he can not have to show to restaurant staff when we travel to places where we don't speak the local language)

If you need a translation, sent me a CAT with a list of the things he can not have, and I will translate it for you.

Regarding eczema, I would avoid to go out when the heat is at its worse, but a good bath in sea water early in the morning or late in the afternoon worked wonders for DS's eczema! (it kills all the flares in a couple of days!)

If you need a translation

microwave

Thanks guys!
I never thought about sun cream - over here I just keep him out of the sun during peak times. Can you recommend a good suncream for eczema - I use soltan baby stuff, but it aggravated him.

Isabel - thanks for all that information! I guess buying fruit and veg and pureeing it would be the way to go. Must remember containers!! Gluten free pasta - what a great idea, I must get some..

He can't have any dairy, or gluten (yet, we will be able to try it soon, but not in time for th holiday). Oh, and bananas. What would those be in spanish?

So do you think taking his creams and a couple of jars of food and his milk powder in hand luggage would be ok?

I'm always recommending Lavera suncream - 100% natural. My children dont react to it and they are fairly sensitive to most brands. DP and I actually use it as well!

Key words to avoid in baby food (please note the list is not comprehensive so, if in doubt avoid:

Glutten: Avoid anything that contains the words trigo and gluten. Other presentations of glutten are not part of the average Spanish diet, so as long as you keep away of pastries, bread, wheat pasta, some cereals, some sausages and cooked meats things will be fine (ham and sausages may have added milk powder and glutten, though this is quite regular in the UK, it's not that bad in Spain, however, beware of the salty content so don't use them too often)

Normally we carry a box of glutten free biscuits and order chicken or meat on the grill (pollo a la plancha, cordero a la plancha, ternera a la plancha) with vegetables on the side. Boiled potatoes (patatas hervidas) or glutten free biscuits (your own) can provide the carbs content needed.

Dairy (lacteos):
Possibly present in bread, biscuits, chips, some frozen vegetables and some hams and sausages. Also in yoghurt, cheese, butter, margarine, ice cream, chocolate, etc. anything with a prefix ?lact? (lactosa, lacto globulina, except ?acido lactico?), caseina, leche, and whey (I don't know how to translate whey .

To be honest, considering how young the baby is I will keep to the vegetables and glutten free biscuits. I don't know how long you are going for but you may take enough cereal for the breakfast, biscuits, the formula he uses (distribute the tins between the different bags and be sure to put at least one tin in your hand luggage), a bag of gluten free pasta. And complement with fruits and vegetables. That will get you through. Another good thing to bear in mind is that you will be in holidays which means that things won't always be as predictable as usual, so go with the flow, and don't stress much about the food, he can make up for the changes when he is back at home.

Have a good time

thanks isabel!
I think I will go with the baby rice and pasta, as you suggested, and add chicken and veg / fruit as needed. As you say, he can make up for it when he comes back.
and I will look up Lavera too.
Thanks!