Need Advice on Traveling to Aruba with a Baby with Food Allergies
Updated on
May 17, 2008
L.G.
asks from
North Andover, MA
4
answers
Hi! My brother-in-law is getting married in June in Aruba and I am struggling with the decision of going as a whole family or just having my husband go. We have never traveled out of the country with our 17 month old who has many food allergies and I have many fears & concerns. I'd love some advice/thoughts from more experienced moms of kids with food allergies.
We discovered she has allergies (peanuts, eggs, dairy, soy, wheat, green peas, lentils, chick peas) when she was 3 months old and suffering from terrible eczema on her face. Other foods (tree nuts, seafood, oats, barley, rye, sesame seeds) have been eliminated in both her diet and mine (breastfeeding) in hopes of preventing future allergies. We don't know the severity of her allergies because she has had minimal (if any) exposure to these foods because the allergies were discovered so early on, but have been instructed to treat them as severe - we have epipens, etc.
Needless to say, our diet is so limited that eating is a challenge. Whenever we go to a restaurant I always bring food that I know is safe for her and I can generally eat meat and plain veges. I'm not sure how we would do 3-5 days of eating out every meal however. The resort at which we will be staying has several restaurants though my brother-in-law is having difficulty getting them to send us menus; he is generally getting the "we'll do whatever we have to" response. Our room will be a suite that has a mini-fridge and microwave. Although she is still nursing, she definitely needs food during the day to not be cranky and miserable and hungry (as do I!).
Breakfast for us is usually a breakfast meat and pancakes or muffins that I make and freeze. Ideas on how to transport these? For lunch/dinner she eats a lot of rice/rice pasta into which I sneak small pieces of veges and meats. (She is not a great eater - an issue we are working on but the diet is so limited it is very challenging.) Does anyone know if I can bring rice pasta/rice into Aruba? Having traveled to the islands a lot prior to having children and knowing how relaxed island-mentality can be, I worry about trusting the restaurants to even boil pasta for us. How can we be sure about cross-contamination? She eats hot dogs, but how will I know if the ones they serve are meat only, for example? So much to think about!
Thanks in advance for your thoughts & advice & experiences. I really appreciate it.
Also, on another note, does anyone have any recommendations of good allergen free cookbooks? I have a few, but none of them eliminate all the allergens from the recipes, so I still have to do some adapting which usually doesn't work well. I've had the most trouble with baked goods - rice flour is so gritty and the egg substitute doesn't seem to bind like real eggs. Thanks again!
Hi L., as a mom of a food allergic child to well over 40 foods I wouldnt go to aruba. Thats just me but I wouldnt do it, you dont know what kind of hospitals they have or response time or anything like that I wouldnt take the chance like you said you dont know what kind of reaction your child will have since it was detected early, I wouldnt do it. But on a better not here is a list of cookbooks that I bought: The Gak's snack allergy cookbook, Food allergy survival guide, whats to eat, dairy free cookbook and The parents guide to food allergies. I hope some of them can help you, unfortunately they couldnt help me cuz my son has so many allergies its just riduculous he is on a very strict limited diet consisting of just 8 foods, which he suppliments with neocate jr. Hey listen FAAN is having a food allergy walk in hopkinton MA on Sept 21 if you and your family would like to walk to help find a cure, you can sign up by going to foodallergywalk.org. good luck
Go to www.aruba.com the site was created by their government. And it has a copyright of the year.
Contact them Aruba Tourism Authority along with the airline what can be brought into they country..
I know when I was go into CA they don't allow people from other states to being fruit in to their state in fear their crops would be in danger out get diseases. Not sure want Aruba natural recourses are. But you could understands CA's issue with fresh fruits see how they along with Florida feed a nation oranges for example.
Aruba Tourism Authority
100 Plaza Drive, First floor
Secaucus, NJ 07094
Phone: 1-800-TO-ARUBA
Phone: ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####
____@____.com
Also ask Kelli O to check it out..
Good Luck..
Report This
K.O.
answers from
Boston
on
Hi L.,
I have been going to Aruba for 15 years. I now go with my 7yr, 4yr, and 9 month. Every year, I pack one or two coolers of food. I freeze everything and pack it in a cooler with ice packs, secure the lid (straps/tape) and go. I do not have kids with allergies, but have one extremely picky eater. My unit has a full-size refrigerator. The grocery stores down there are good too. SOme things are a bit different than here, and a little more expensive. I would suggest also, talking to your pediatrician and see if she/he has any contact with the hospital there. The hospital is fine - not as advanced as Boston. I am going down in three weeks, and would be willing to note the grocery store selection better for you, if that would help. Where are you staying? Let me know if this would help.
Best,
K.
Report This
J.C.
answers from
Lewiston
on
Hi wow you are amazing I thought I had it ruff my children have ceilac desease which mean no gluetin which is in everything so it seems. No wheat rye barley malt and a dozen other things which is in everything. But I am finding alot more allergy friendly foods at natural food stores and I don't know where you live but Hannaford has alot of allergy friendly foods as well as you can find some online if you google it. I personally would pack all of your and her meals for the trip if you decide to go and the reason I say that is you don't want to get down there and have something happen and My friends son is extremely allergic to dairy and they stayed in a hotel recently and was very cautious about telling them the severity of his allergy and they made him a special breakfast but didn't think to clean the grill first which had residue from butter used earlier that morning and he ended up very sick lucky they caught it in time because he is older and knows the signs of his allergic reactions, but an infant unfortunately does not. Another thing you will want to check out how far away is medical help if you need it and things like that. Or do you possible have someone here who could keep the baby so you and your husband could go together. You sound like you maybe could use a weekend break. One last think I like the tapioca bread it taste much better than the rice flour so that might be an option for you.
