travelnfam

My husband and I are taking our 20 month old daughter to St. Lucia with us at the end of November for a week. I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the water quality and if the milk is okay for our daughter to drink. Should we use bottled water and bring our own powdered milk? Any tips to avoid a food-related illness? Better yet, any tips on how to help a toddler recover from one? Maybe I'm just paranoid, but I like to have all my bases covered....just in case. We are staying at the all-inclusive Windjammer, so I'm pretty sure all food and drink will be safe for her. Appreciate any comments/suggestions. Thanks!

dominick2

My wife and I have 2-1/2 year old triplets whom we have taken to St. Lucia several times, so this is an issue that I am very familiar with. They sell pasteurized milk at the supermarkets in St. Lucia but, if you don't see any familiar brands, you might be more comfortable buying Parmalat long-life milk. Another option is to buy Carnation condensed milk and dilute it with bottled water. (our daughter and one son like this option; our other son acts like we are poisoning him when we try to give him this concoction.)
The water from the faucet is usually safe to drink but, sometimes, after heavy rain, they advise you to boil it. To be on the safe side, I'd stick with bottled water if I were you. (They sell it by the gallon in the supermarkets.)
If you or your daughter get sick, there's a pretty good drug store at the Gablewoods Mall, which is pretty close to the Windjammer. (There's a supermarket there too, in addition to one about 5 minutes north at the Rodney Bay Mall.) They tend to have more European products than US products so, if you don't see a brand that you recognize, ask the pharmacist to recommend an alternative. Finally, if someone gets really sick, I'm sure that the hotel can recommend a good doctor. By the way, you didn't ask about diapers. If you don't need them, I am envious. If you do, they are available at the supermarkets and drug stores.
Have a great time and don't be nervous --- traveling with babies is much easier than most people think, at least once you get off the plane...

travelnfam

Dominick2-
This is exactly the type of info I was looking for!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. Did you bring the Parmalat and Carnation milk with you or buy it there in the supermarket? Not potty-trained yet, so good info about diapers! Will save mucho room in the suitcase! Thank you again!!!

MIM04

You can buy both Parmalat and Carnation in St Lucia and of course bottled water. I don't give my 14 month old daughter water that is not bottled anywhere, even in the states, except at home. That is the only place I know what the water is like.

We leave for St Barths on Friday and I am sure she will be drinking parmalat as they have a lot of unpasteurized milk there.

Have a great trip!

dominick2

We bought it there. It's a little more expensive than buying it in the States, but not nearly enough more to make it worthwhile to pack it in a suitcase. By the way, I made one mistake -- it's evaporated milk, not condensed milk that you want. Condensed milk is loaded with sugar -- which makes it great for coffee, but not your baby. If your daughter doesn't like the evaporated milk like our one son, she might like it if you add some Pediasure to it. Pediasure is available in St. Lucia, but you might have to go to more than one store to find it.