[BlissMom]

Congratulations! It's a girl! Now will somebody call room service! First-Time-Parenting from a hotel room is a fun challenge unique to us adopting parents.

Please please please share with me what worked best for feeding your baby (13 months old-ish) in country?
What was your breakfast, lunch, dinner meal plan?

I can't tell you how much I appreciate you!
Thanks!

[teachsafe]

For our 14 mo old when we were in country he ate yogurt, oatmeal, eggs, potatoes(chopped up and fried) applesauce, chicken nuggets from McD's. I also got some of the "gerber" type meals from a grocery store while there. Our son had about 8 teeth already when we got him so he was able to eat just about anything as long as it was mushy and in small bites. If you aren't finding anything good from room service see if you can find a grocery store to get some things. Good luck!

[Animalcrackers]

Our son had was 13 mo. at adoption with 4 teeth. We brought Gerber baby food with us and also bought some at the grocery store there. They had strange flavors, like salmon and pumpkin, but he loved it. Gerber spaghetti was his favorite. He was also still on formula, so he had bottles between meals. He ate bananas, apple sauce, Gerber fruit puffs. For breakfast, we brought rice cereal that we mixed with his formula or apple juice. You can buy this there. We ended up going through two boxes. We took his meals with us everywhere we went. We didn't try to feed him table food in Russia, I was too nervous about choking and allergies. I just carried the jars, rice cereal, formula with me. My diaper bag was ALWAYS full!

[erickk]

You can buy baby food at the grocery/baby stores. Your facilitator should be able to take you to one. We just brought some bottles, small bowls with lids and spoons--those disposable bibs are pretty darn nice too (although you can always make due with those room service napkins).

We stayed at hotels where they had breakfast (and a refrigerator in the room)--so that was never a meal we needed to worry about. Always some type of porridge, yogurt, milk, juice, bread that can put into small pieces. We always snagged an extra yogurt and banana for a snack for the morning for our son. We also bought soft cookies at the store (like shortbread cookies) and broke them into pieces in the bowl and poured milk over them for his afternoon snack (one of the orphanage treats that they got). You can also buy instant milk cereal and get boiled water from the hotel to make it.

For lunch or dinner some kind of noodle soup is fine-just smash it with a fork. Mashed potatoes go over great--and of course the baby food. The orphanage director will also let you know what your child is eating and will answer any questions. The doctor where we adopted our son even told us what he loved (squash) and hated (cabbage).

You'll do great. Just make sure to pack some for the plane ride home and little cookies or crackers (if you have room-toss a container of those little stars that melt in their mouth in your luggage). Our son has eating problems and can only eat pureed stuff for the most part so make sure you get a little of both kinds of baby food--he may/may not be ready for the stuff that has more texture. We had to go back to the store 3 times!! He ate a lot! Have fun!! (bring lots of T-shirts to wear while you feed her--you are now a member of the human napkin club )

[KimOH]

I think a lot will depend on what your child is eating. Our DS was 12 months old and it was obvious that he'd never had anything solid before. He didn't know what to do. He ended up eating smooth baby food (no chunks) and rice cereal, runny oatmeal, etc. He quickly learned to chew on small things like cheerios, mashed potatoes, bananas, etc.

DD was a little bit older (16 months), but she was also used to pureed food. However, she took to solids immediately and then didn't want anything pureed at all. We made baby food into a thick paste by adding rice cereal. She ate tiny bits of bread, cheese, banana, cooked vegetables, etc. She even liked the beet salad we bought at the grocery store. She also liked "baby cottage cheese" that you can buy in little cups (like yogurt) in the grocery stores.

[dlhall]

Rice cereal, applesauce, baby food fruit. Try not to introduce too many new things at once. Also, talk to your ped. about formula. We brought formula with us and kept our daughter on formula for about the first 6 months home; our son was a lot bigger, so we only kept him on formula for about 2 months.

Liz

[another2]

We brought or bought in Russia the traditional baby items (baby foods, rice cereal, etc.). However, our recent two would not eat any of it. Not even eggs from the hotel. Out of desperation, DH gave them some of his banana pancakes and it was a hit! They ate those for at least one meal each day while we stayed in the hotel. And they drank formula like they were dying of thirst -- 6-7 bottles a day.

By the way, they had 4 teeth each when we brought them home.

KT

[hadams]

Our 14 month old had 5 teeth. In the orphanage, he was eating cereal, pureed vegetables, pureed fruit, and soup thickened with brown bread.



In country, we fed him infant cereal and yogurt. At the breakfast buffet, he ate some breads, whatever hot cereal they had, and a few bites of eggs.



He loved the baby food fruit, but turned his nose up at the baby food dinners. Anything off our plates that was easy to chew/gum was a hit: potatoes, soups, cooked veggies, etc.



The only food we brought from home was gold fish crackers and cheerios, he loved both of them. I think cheerios are readily available there now, so if I were doing it again, I would bring some gerber first foods veggie crackers and get the cheerios there.

[KimOH]

Originally Posted by hadams

I think cheerios are readily available there now, so if I were doing it again, I would bring some gerber first foods veggie crackers and get the cheerios there.

When we were in Moscow in September, we found Honey Nut Cheerios in the grocery stores pretty regularly. However, I don't think we saw any plain Cheerios. I know some people are very concerned with nut allergies and would not want the Honey Nut variety. (If plain Cheerios are a "must have" for you, you might want to bring them with you -- or at least check out the supply in your region on trip 1.)

[emjay]

Our son was 12 months old, with 2 bottom teeth, and the top 2 trying to break through. He had been eating "mashed meat and vegetables" at the orphanage, so we stuck to mashed veggies - the chunkier baby food in jars we bought there, and whatever we could mash ourselves with limited means at the hotel. Also formula and rice cereal. We also had lots of plain Cheerios, which he loved. He ate and ate and ate! We also brought the bowls w/lids and spoons and bought most of the food there.

Good luck - it's quite an adventure. Best advice - try to stick to what the child is used to while in country. The diaper issues from unfamiliar food are - shall we say - not pleasant!

[kimtenn]

DS was 13 months old when we picked him up from the baby home with 4 teeth. He was developmentally delayed, so he wasn't able to grasp the Cheerios and baby fruit puff snacks we brought. So we fed him what they told us to -- canned pureed meat baby food(reminded me of underwood spread), canned pureed baby food veggies, then porridge made with water for breakfast. We discovered he LOVED apple juice, and for some reason, Mommy liked the apple juice in Russia too, so DS and I shared two cartons.

If I knew then what I know now, I'd have brought some formula (in a ziplock) and fed him that too. He was a hungry little fellow. Our doctor immediately put him on formula, and will have been on it a year when he stops at two years old. It has helped his growth immensely.

I, too, carried DS's meals around with me all the time. Looking back, I don't know how we did it. But your creativity kicks in with feeding these sweet little children, and you somehow manage. One tip -- use the coffee pot in your hotel to heat the liquids needed for porridge. Also, you can heat the canned baby foods in water that way too.