Days before our flight I was so overwhelmed and anxious about how I would manage a naughty little girl who is a picky eater up in the air for so long. “What food will I take with me and what if she doesn’t like it,what will she eat??” I was really concerned about this. (I know, being a worrisome mommy here :-)) So, as usual I looked up on the internet in search for ideas but mostly there were a few store bought food options mentioned which were not available where I lived.So after much thinking I prepared a list of things that I wish to take and I was slightly relaxed for having made that.
Here is what I did,
Requested the same meal as ours instead of a kids meal
My daughter eats almost everything that we eat at home so I thought it would be a great idea to request the meal option as ours instead of getting a Kid’s meal for her. This turned out to be a great idea, as baby S loved to eat from her own colourful platter and she had different options and thoroughly enjoyed them. She was full and content after every meal. Of course she did not eat the whole thing on her plate but she ate how much she required and all by herself which was cool!! (I spoon feed her at home)
Nestle Cerelac-Stage 4
This is a ready made baby porridge made by mixing hot water and it is widely available in India. I used to carry this with me whenever we went outdoor and the baby likes it. She had this once before boarding each flights.(We had a single stop over flight).
Corn Flakes
This is a great breakfast option if your baby likes the taste,ended up not using it though.If the airlines do not offer good breakfast,this could be an alternative.(You can either take milk in a thermos or ask the flight attendants for it as they would have some on hand.)
Thin Flattened Rice (Avalakki) with milk could also be an option.
Biscuits and puffed rice (churmuri) as some snacks.
Dry fruits and nut
This is an excellent choice of snacks for your lil one.I took sliced almonds, raisins and dried figs. I personally like to wash the dry fruits with some warm water before giving it to the baby.
Baby milk and water
I took boiled water and boiled milk for the baby in two thermos flasks.I was allowed to carry them during my 1st flight but unfortunately, I we were asked to throw the contents of the flask before boarding the second flight.So,on the second flight I went up to the kitchen looking for milk,they gave me cold milk and my baby hates cold milk.They said they don’t have any container to warm it up and told me I could use the feeding bottle if I had one.I had sipper cups but wasn’t sure if I wanted to use them. So, I just asked for hot water and mixed it to the milk and made it work for her.
I carried quite a few extra bowls,spoons and cups just in case,you never know when you are going to need one.
So, this is how I managed our 21hours flight. Let me know what snack choices you had for your little one on a long distance flight.