USVI-On-Line

Back to St. John in 11 days but the first time traveling to St. John with our whole family including our grandaughter who is 9 month old. Is there a decent selection of baby food, stage 3, in the markets or should I send some ahead? Bought enough but they are heavy and wondering if it's worth shipping or just purchasing on island.

I wouldn't count on a large selection of anything. If variety is important I would send a box. Since it's U.S. Virgin Islands you can take advantage of the flat rate shipping boxes and you can send up to 70lbs.
I tried that this year and it worked out great. You'll have to be sure to pack the jars with something in between to cushion them so that they don't break. Maybe ziplock bags filled with powdered formula? That way it'll be there without having to carry it.

We went through the same thing in October when we took our 9 month old to the island. In general, the selection of baby food is paltry. There is a small selection at Starfish, but I didn't find too much at Dolphin or other markets. My suggestion is this: make your own on the island. We bought sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, etc and just pureed or mashed it up. Also, babies that age really like applesauce and yogurt.

Whatever you do, bring enough formula for your stay and then some. It is ridiculously expensive. I almost choked when I saw the prices - we're talking $28 for a small container! I brought enough, and I was glad I did.

I would contact the people at island baby and ask them. They had a great write up on On St John. There web page is

http://islandbabyvi.com/