Holidays when bottle feeding

[RoseH36]

I'm currently 15 weeks and we're going to have to cancel this year's holiday as I'm already struggling with SPD so no chance of me coping.

I'm therefore thinking ahead to next year and wondering about a mini cruise. I know I can hire all the equipment I need for bottle feeding on board but we'd need 1 night stay near the port first and I've no idea what we'd do about bottles for then? My first born was a lockdown baby so we barely went anywhere with him so this is all new territory for me. Any advice?

Steriliser tablets and a big bowl. You could buy ready made milk too, that's what I do on holiday

Ready made…..my DD took 5m GD to Ibiza for 2 weeks….took a suitcase full of readymade…..simples

Buy ready made for the holiday if you’ve somewhere suitable to store?
Consider breastfeeding this time?

You can get steriliser bags but I think tablets and a bowl would world. Most if not all cruise lines provide a kettle in your room and there's normally a fridge. Ready-made formula would work for out and about.

Just for 1 night near the port because you’re sorted for the ship? I would do it the same way I do long flights- sterilise enough bottles to take with you, nothing bad will happen if they end up being 26 hours old, and take ready made formula in cartons ready to be poured into the bottle when baby needs a feed.

1 night - just take enough sterilised bottles and ready made milk. Rest of holiday need a bowl/big tuppaware box, sterliding tablets and a travel kettle. That's how I did it with zero problems!

Assuming baby will be almost one by then?? It won't be a huge issue, as you will be beyond sterilisation.

This travel steriliser is great. You have the option of using the microwave or steriliser tablets and dosn't take up too much space.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Milton-373-0496-MILTON-TRAVEL-STERILISER/dp/B008PPRAKU/ref=mpssa113?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rGHRjHctt-8kKICz5CKhNg2SjdkF1AL4-z8kxhB4v5D6dWm-GmR-lW1awwkDrux7qOmGvl00kRpWvmQ5p8Nl2IWGanb70EKYOtK8dLOKmV2xydxcK2CNtvuET9EcTH7xttZjLSptqDCgqFArpydIZhVJy45GwrGT63k53q1Ms587BLbXXC94o2zYhCDRqsZePu-WVzKwfAZLw5t4gQ.0q1R5fFwdBF5jdOd43pKO8pVBd0RGnbv0MaiTmt9Qow&dibbtag=se&keywords=travel+steriliser&qid=1712389505&sr=8-3

I found it easy peasy! You can even order the formula and pick up at the airport. I’d do readymade for one night at the hotel and then just take powder for the cruise. You’ll have a bottle for the flight, take enough on the flight for a few days worth. We used the Milton tablets and the hotel sink.

Sorry I didn’t read your post properly. You’ll be past the sterilising stage then, so will be even easier!

Make sure you check the lower age limit for your potential cruise as most (if not all) have a lower age limit.

Thanks everyone for your replies. I'm a travel consultant myself so the actual cruise side of things and how they work isn't new to me so won't be an issue. Ready made milk will be a life saver though so will definitely look into that, hadn't even considered that as an option. They'll be around 7 months when I'm looking to travel, already got our cruise booked for later next year when they'll be 1 as that's been booked for months (I had 3 losses last year since booking that one).

What an unhelpful comment

We did cold water sterilisation for bottles all the time, but it's perfect for travel. Get a lidded storage box, use it to hold your bottles in your bag/suitcase then when you get to the room just fill it with water and put in a tablet. Water is good for 24hrs, you just put clean bottles in the water leave them for at least 20 mins but they can stay in there for as long as you want until the water needs changing. When you're ready to make a bottle up, you take one out of the water, give it a shake off and it's ready to go.

• Cold water sterilisation (bags available but we used a giant lock and lock and tablets)
• ready made formula
• equipment to wash bottles in sink
• kettle and a cylindrical lock and lock warmed the bottles up perfectly.

There are amazing family friendly resorts in the Uk and abroad that offer bottle-washing, purées etc. I’d prefer those than a cruise. Totstoo (double o) is a good starting point for research.

Microwave steriliser bag. Wash bottle in hotel sink (use tupperware box to double up as wash bowl) then ask the hotel staff to do in the microwave.
Yes to ready made bottles.

Yep deffo ready made milk or cold water sterilisation - Milton or similar in a big bowl.

Consider mam bottles which self sterilise in a microwave
ready to feed milk

In general, yes to a cold water steriliser. We got the Milton bucket and tablets, and often end up taking it away with us - the microwave bags are good but can’t always rely on hotel rooms having microwaves/access to one. And the Milton bucket is a useful way to store bottles.

We went one step further and took a travel sink, bottle brush and kettle but that was when we were staying for longer. I agree for one night, instants are easiest, but obviously no good if you need specialist formula.

How old will baby be by then OP? If they're over one you may not need bottles or formula.

Just a thought on ready made formula. If the plan would be to use the fully ready made ready sterilised bottles which I think is what's being suggested to avoid needing to sterilise bottles, then they only come in 70ml bottles and by 7 months you'll be doing feeds that are around 210ml so each feed would be 3 bottles.

I think having a method of sterilising the bottles makes more sense, you can still use the big bottles or cartons of ready made in your own bottles but will need to use either microwave or cold water steriliser I think.