help ! Need advice about travelling to Italy - food etc

[geegeesmum]

Hi,

DD (24 weeks and breastfed) has just started on baby rice this week and I now have 3 weeks to start her on some other solids probably carrots, pear etc before we go to italy - bad timing or what..was hoping she would be able to wait until after the trip but no luck ! I am thinking that I might just make her food when we are there (we are staying in a self catering place) rather than using jars as I figure that this is easier than trying to plan her weaning over the next 3 weeks around what she is used to by the time we go AND what is also is available in jars. Came to this conclusion after having spent 2hrs at Tescos, Safeways amd Asda today trying to find a simple carrot or butternut or apple or pear puree to guide me as to what to start her on this week.....to no avail...everything seems to be mixed ! Hence my decision to just make the food when on Hols - am I mad ???? Does anybody have any pointers about organic single fruit or veggie jars that are out there - as I couldnt find them today !

Also any advice about what I will need - e.g. should I take nappies or buy there, will a 2.0 tog sleeping bag be too hot ????

I am a first time mum and completely clueless.. so any advice gratefully appreciated !

Sorry, not much time but just to say I should try and puree your own food there. Get yourself a cheap blender (£20) from Argos now (and a plug converter), buy lots of ripe fruit and whizz it up. Heinz do a good single organic fruit/veg puree but it's pricey and for initial weaning would be v. pricey!

I took nappies with me when I went (for a week) as I use washables and as I didn't want to rely on Italy's version of Pampers or mess around trying to find them. I took Moltex (more green) with me.

2 tog sleeping bag will be fine. Just take some vests or thin things for DD to sleep in if you are worried about her being too hot. Pack the Grobag thermometer too.

And... have a good time! Once you've done this trip there'll be no stopping you.

Unless you are going somewhere really remote I don't think there is a problem getting recognisable brands of nappies etc in Italy. We visited the Ligurian Riviera this summer and even a basic supermarket stocked a pretty good range but as we had driven there we had taken nappies etc with us. Pampers, Huggies, Nivea baby, Penaten (continental brand name for Johnsons) were all evident on the shelves but this was Northern Italy and the same may not be true further South. Nestle is a make of baby food popular in Europe but many jars contain meat and only a few are organic.

Take baby rice with you as this is not so readily available in Europe. Try a few slightly different purees in the meantime too - courgette, tomato etc as this will increase your flexibility when choosing food for her. If you are not going for long you could take some familiar jars with you and then mix half with baby rice/milk to eek it out. If you can take a steamer (I think you can buy a stainless steel one that folds up really small) then you could probably worry less about the water to prepare food in.

hth

Oh go for mixed - its not gooing to hurt her - after all ita a holiday..Inever thought twice about mixed stuff.

Oh and btw just rinse the spoon under a hot tap - I have never strilised bowls stc for my three.

We got back from Italy about 6 weeks ago with our 17mo DD. Italy is fantastic for children and the people will no doubt make your DD very very welcome wherever you go!

In Italy they do Pampers nappies in the same sizes as over here; just make sure you now your DD's weight in kilos as everything is metric. You can get Pampers wipes too, or Italians (didn't find these as good though). Pampers are also known by Pampers and are just the same, not some strange equivalent. There were Baby Dry and Active Fit (called Playtime) available in our local supermarket.

Didn't need it but there was a good selection of baby food in jars around. You do need to go to the slightly larger supermarkets to get the best selections though. There was loads of lovely frsh fruit and veg but no idication of whether it was organic or not I am afraid.

Have a good holiday!

Thanks everyone - I feel better now - reckon I will try to get once of those blenders from Argos and handy steamers and maybe pack a few jars from here and then just take it as it comes ! It is Tuscany we are off to - can't wait - if I could just stop thinking of things to worry about !

The alternative to a blender is a Baby Mouli, which might be easier to take on holiday. We actually bought ours in an Italian shop, so I would imagine they'd be readily available there. There's a picture here if you're not familiar with them, but they give just the right consistency and are highly portable (if a bugger to clean). Have a great time!

When I stayed in Italy in a self-catering apt, they had a mouli as part of the kitchenware! Lakeland do a very cheap food mill, which is fine for small amounts. I found a lot of Italian babyfood had added salt, there was an organic range though which you could get in pharmacies (not supermarkets). Anyway, DS gave up on solids on holiday and reverted to BF, with the occasional fruit puree - at this age, it doesn't matter much, milk is still their main food.