Tips to go down with a 14month old

[KingdomHearts]

I am so excited we just booked last night to take our now 2 month old, then 14 month old down to WDW for her first time. We are staying at the Yacht Club and I am sooo excited. Does anyone have any tips, packing suggestions, or hot tips for me?? Also what did you do for food for your 14 month old? Thank you soo much!

 

[happymommy]

Have fun and relax! You will be in my favorite location!

Enjoy yourselves. No worries at Disney...

It is too soon for you to worry about food. When your baby starts eating, just remember, what they like this week may be different next week. So don't stock up! Just go with the flow.

Also, from a mom of 2 kids that had food allergies (one still does), don't be in a rush introducing new foods. If you're nursing, you may still be at Disney. That is a Godsend. If not, the baby may still be on formula, so you don't need to worry too much about other nutrition. Just maybe Cheerios, Ritz crackers, and such. Maybe some bananas. Don't worry, Disney is so family friendly, you'll have all you need if you run out of something.

 

[katied]

I was there with DS in May - he was 13 months at the time. We had a great time! For food, DS was eating regular food, so I normally ordered something he and I could share or got an extra side for him. Sometimes, I would get him a kids meal if I wanted a salad. DS is really good with food, so we did not any trouble.

I also made sure I had lots of snacks. I have a snack trap, and if I fill it with cheerios, DS is very happy. Also, little snack size bags of animal crackers or similiar things worked really well.

We took it easy - normally had simple breakfast in the room, headed out to a park. We then got back to the room by 2 for a nap, and then swimming or relaxing, or sometimes heading back to a park in the pm for a couple hrs.

For the heat - I dressed DS in lightweight closes, kept offerring him water, I had a stroller fan and a misting sprayer - he loved it. If he seemed to get hot, we'd take a break in Baby Care. Sometimes, he'd have fun playing for a bit with Baby Care.

He loved Magic Kingdom's Pooh's Thoughtful spot play area - I put him in swim bottoms and a swim diaper, and he'd get soaked.

Overall, it was a great trip. You should have a fun time.

 

[tanyaandallie]

I think I always sound like a broken record here, but at 14 mos, a good baby carrier is priceless!!! You can carry baby from place to place and in line. We have a beco baby carrier and LOVED it for my ds.

 

[two-foxes]

We just got back from WDW with our 14 month old....

-Get some good insulated sippy cups. We brought 3. An extra for the room, one for water and one for milk at the parks.
-plastic table toppers are a must. DS still dumps all his plates, so these are a life saver for us and who ever cleans up after us.
-disposable bibs. We discovered these about 3 days into the end of our trip on a wal mart run. I am not a fun of un-needed waste, but when DS's ate fish sticks, his bib smelled like it. We did the cruise right after WDW, and I was glad we had these!
-as others have said, snacks are a must. We kept teddy grahams with us at all times with his snack trap.
-ask the server to bring out the tots dinner ASAP whenever possible if you order him a meal.
-The good thing with food, if you eat at buffets, the baby is still free, so it makes deciding what to get for them a lot easier!
-A stroller with a good recline and an extra Ray Shade are a must. That was the little one can take naps in the park with much needed shade.

 

[KingdomHearts]

We got two umbrela strollers would you reccommend those for the parks or should I bring down my Greco travel system.. which is so big and bulky.

 

[zippy doo dah]

something with a shade for the little one...if the umbrella stroller has some sort of shade on it than you'll be good. this post made me think of this past trip we took - there were 3 times where I saw little babies between 12 & 16 months that were there and were so cranky & upset and sunburned! They were doing nothing but crying - they had water to drink, but no shade and even with the sunblock they were still burned. I felt so bad for the little ones they were crying ouch whenever they were touched and whenever they moved. Poor little babies.

 

[two-foxes]

We got two umbrela strollers would you reccommend those for the parks or should I bring down my Greco travel system.. which is so big and bulky.

If you get a good umbrella with a recline, that would be best. I really, really recommend the Maclaren Quest. Ultimately, if it is somewhat lightweight (lighter than the Graco), has a recline and folds easily and compact, you will be fine. With the Mac Quest, it is a breeze going thru security at the airport, too. Then, the rayshade looks like this...http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_constraint=0&ic=48_0&search_query=ray+shade. It is a must. Lastly, by the time your trip rolls around, you'll know what you like and don't like about your stroller and you've had made those changes by then, too. We added kangaroo saddle bags and and parent tray for the Mac.

Trust me, you'll know what to do when the time comes....it seems just so overwhelming now, but it will be easy!!!

 

[katied]

For this past trip with DS, we used a Maclaren Triumph and a rayshade. The Triumph does not have a full recline, but it does recline some, and DS had no trouble napping in the stroller when he wanted. The stroller fan then helped keep him cooler if he napped, but normally I'd hang out in some stores with A/C while he napped to give us both a break.

 

[KingdomHearts]

That looks like an awesome stroller! Thanks for all your advice everyone!

 

[TakeMe2Disney]

DS ate from our food when we went last time except for at CRT (they made plain noodles for him) and Coral Reef (we ordered chicken from the kids menu). We also kept plenty of snacks and made sure to stake out the Baby Centers at every park. They are wonderful, clean and have really friendly staff. DS loved riding Small World. When he was awake the music and action entertained him and when he was tired the motion put him right to sleep.

Best advice - be as flexible as possible. Make general plans for attractions you want to see, but no strict schedules. Going with the flow was the best thing we did and our whole family had a great time!

 

[KingdomHearts]

Has anyone ever rented baby items from a web site called a babys best freind? The website has everything one would need to survive away from home. But I was wondering what your opinions were on it?

 

[Missin'Disney]

I agree that when the time comes, you will be just fine. try not to be overwhelmed with planning every detail. We just got back with our 14 month old, 5 yr old, and 7 year old, and once again, he was the easiest and best kid on the trip. He had such a blast with all of the characters. It was priceless! He HATED the buses though (thought he was gonna love not being harnessed into a carseat ) so we actually took cabs to some of the parks. They have carseats! That was something I did not expect at all!
If you can hold off getting his hair cut, get his first haircut at the harmony barbershop on Main St.
Our son had a mullet by time we brought him. It was horrific-looking. But I kept reminding myself that he needed to earn his "first-haircut" ears on Main St. and I just hung in there! they give him a certificate and embroidered ears to keep. $14 for everything!! Walk-ins only. they close early and can get crowded though. Ok, when I think of more tips I'll post again! Good luck! PM me if you have any questions for me!

 

[amyj1024]

I think I always sound like a broken record here, but at 14 mos, a good baby carrier is priceless!!! You can carry baby from place to place and in line. We have a beco baby carrier and LOVED it for my ds.

This really depends on your kids not everyone can use a carrier at 14 months, both my kids were too big for a carrier at 14 months--they were 25 pounds by then. I would have broken my back regardless of what carrier we used. We found a reliable stroller, have been working on walking and holding hands with my 18 month old--who is now 30 lbs, and have a harness strap to help him take a break and walk. Carrying him for more that a short time is too hard with how big he is.

 

[Dizisfun]

Take a comfortable stroller for your 14 month old with storage underneath. We went in October of 2007 and had our granddaughter and her parents with us, she was 15 months old at the time. We found the smoking areas, that we didn't know existed before this, to be quiet areas for her to sleep. WE ARE NOT SMOKERS, but these areas are out of the way and appear to be kept a secret as they were mostly empty. If people strolled in to smoke we simply left and found another quiet area. Tom Sawyers Island is also another quiet spot with plenty of shade.

 

[KingdomHearts]

hold off getting his hair cut, get his first haircut at the harmony barbershop on Main St.
Our son had a mullet by time we brought him. It was horrific-looking. But I kept reminding myself that he needed to earn his "first-haircut" ears on Main St. and I just hung in there! they give him a certificate and embroidered ears to keep. $14 for everything!! Walk-ins only. they close early and can get crowded though. Ok, when I think of more tips I'll post again! Good luck! PM me if you have any questions for me!

I really really want to try to do that but she was born with a full.... i mean full head of hair. She is 9 weeks old and has the mullet... lol hahah... I guess that old wives tale about heart burn is true!

 

[Disneychix]

I just got back from our first trip with DS 20 months. I was so nervous about my stroller choice for almost 1 year now. I kept going back and forth between the lightweight but smaller Peg Perego Aria and my big ole Evenflo. A last minute decision was to bring the BIG one and boy was it the right one for us. DS was able to fully recline and it had a tray for snack time and his water bottle. It has tons of storage for all our stuff. We brought a ton into the parks and we needed it!

we found DS was a disaster by dinner time. I even made early adrs for most dinners. By the end of the week we tried changing dining plans by eating TS breakfasts or lunches and CS dinners.

Another tip would be don't forgoe naptime! When we tried to do too much DS was a mess by 7pm. Days where he got his good 2 hour nap we enjoyed much better

 

[amyj1024]

Disneychix,
How long was your trip?? And just wondering how your 20 month old did sleeping in the hotel room? We go with my 18 month old next week...most worried about how he is going to sleep (both nap and night time) when we all are in the room?? I think he will do better at night time, but for naps...there is no way he will lay down if we are sitting in the room.