Official Breast Feeding Support Thread for WDW Parks

[brightspark]

Hi everyone... just came on here to ask about nursing when we visit in about a months time. He really only has one milk feed during the day - sometime between 11am and 3pm, so we may or not be in the parks... as our plan is to be there early and be at the hotel for a rest in the heat of the day...

However I just wondered if there is etiquette for feeding, do I have to use the baby care centre, but I see from your posts that anywhere is fine. Does this go for in Restaurants too? Ds2 is going to be 10.5 months and loves his food, so mostly I imagine he won't be wanting to nurse when he could be eating, but if for some reason it happens... is it ok just to get on with it? Thankfully he has just figured out drinking water from a cup, *** I'm kind of worried about the heat and keeping him hydrated in the August temperatures.

Thanks in advance for any tips xx

 

[megan10310]

Keep practicing with the cup!

You are not required to bf in the baby care centers. They are for your convenience and are air conditioned with quiet rooms with rockers for mommy. I found it easier to find a bench or to nurse with baby in a sling, but if it is really warm out in the middle of the day, I would go to the baby center for my own comfort.

 

[misstheworld]

This thread is amazing! DH and I are taking our then-9-month-old to the World in January and I plan to still be BF. Thanks to the moms who have done it and are passing on their wisdom! It's much appreciated.

 

[rms123]

I just got back from an 11 day trip. DS turned one during the trip. He refuses covers so it was a little difficult for me. But, here's where I nursed: Sunshine Seasons tucked in a corner, Crystal Palace in the lounge outside the bathrooms, Grand Flouridian in chairs on the second level, lobby of Narcoosees, Blizzard Beach on a chair, Main Street in a tucked away corner, outside Tusker House, outside Dumbo ride (wish I had known about the AC inside at the time). At Disneyland I've nursed on Small World a few times - try and get the back row. Now that I think of the list, that's a lot of places

 

[AngieWin]

I have always loved this thread My youngest self weaned in March, but I will always have the best memories of nursing my littles in Disney World/Disneyland.

 

[HulaMinnie]

I didn't end up finding a good spot...we didn't wind up staying long anyway. But had they had a baby care center like the parks, it would have been awesome.

Good to know for the future. I'm hoping to actually nurse (instead of EPing) with our next one and I'm sure we'll be in Disney at some point with another baby! At least you didn't have to stay long. But yeah, they should totally have some sort of BCC or even a good family restroom with a curtained-off room and some chairs for nursing would do!

 

[samacita]

Happy World Breastfeeding Day!!

 

[mmps108]

We're going in less than 2 months and my LO will turn 8 months while we're there. She nurses 4x a day. I am not a modest person but for some reason NIP scares the let down out of me! And to add to that I have s very noisy nurser who hates to be burped, is easily distracted and won't tolerate a cover. Fantastic, right? All the cool, dark places in attractions worry me about disturbing the other guests! I am prepared to head up to the baby care stations unless anyone has other suggestions. Thanks!

 

[jessc79]

We're going in less than 2 months and my LO will turn 8 months while we're there. She nurses 4x a day. I am not a modest person but for some reason NIP scares the let down out of me! And to add to that I have s very noisy nurser who hates to be burped, is easily distracted and won't tolerate a cover. Fantastic, right? All the cool, dark places in attractions worry me about disturbing the other guests! I am prepared to head up to the baby care stations unless anyone has other suggestions. Thanks!

My son was 8 months when we went and hated the cover. I did NIP some but we used the baby care center a lot. It was very relaxing for me too.

 

[DsnyMama]

I'm tandem nursing currently - Aspen is 3 weeks, Levi will be 3 years in a few days. He's only nursing a few times per week at night before bed though, so no nursing in public at WDW, tons of it with my itty bitty though! We head down in November!

 

[BadgerGirl84]

Hi. I am new to this board and this thread--my daughter is currently 2 and a half weeks old. We are thinking of a Nov or Dec WDW trip for the three of us. I am praying that I would still be nursing at that time--my milk production is currently low and I'm having to supplement with formula after each feeding. (Doing everything I can to increase supply--pumping lots, nursing lots, fenugreek and blessed thistle supplements, eating oatmeal, drinking lots of water, trying not to stress). Anyways, I have the Udder Cover bf cover...I really am not a fan of it....I have to tug and adjust it so much to be able to see her to make sure she is latching on correctly....are all covers basically the same, or are some better than others? Sorry if this has already been asked or discussed...I didn't go back and read every post.

 

[angelmom27]

Hi. I am new to this board and this thread--my daughter is currently 2 and a half weeks old. We are thinking of a Nov or Dec WDW trip for the three of us. I am praying that I would still be nursing at that time--my milk production is currently low and I'm having to supplement with formula after each feeding. (Doing everything I can to increase supply--pumping lots, nursing lots, fenugreek and blessed thistle supplements, eating oatmeal, drinking lots of water, trying not to stress). Anyways, I have the Udder Cover bf cover...I really am not a fan of it....I have to tug and adjust it so much to be able to see her to make sure she is latching on correctly....are all covers basically the same, or are some better than others? Sorry if this has already been asked or discussed...I didn't go back and read every post.

Why do you think you have a low supply?? Suplementing is going to cause issues and make your supply even lower and eventually gone.

I don't like covers cause like you said you can't see anything and some of my kids didn't like them anyways they would just rip it off. You can still nurse with just a nice big shirt and use it to cover the top part so no one sees anything but you can see baby. I just keep a blanket next to me so if baby pops off I can just grab it cover and then fix my bra and shirt under the blanket.

 

[ellone]

Hi. I am new to this board and this thread--my daughter is currently 2 and a half weeks old. We are thinking of a Nov or Dec WDW trip for the three of us. I am praying that I would still be nursing at that time--my milk production is currently low and I'm having to supplement with formula after each feeding. (Doing everything I can to increase supply--pumping lots, nursing lots, fenugreek and blessed thistle supplements, eating oatmeal, drinking lots of water, trying not to stress). Anyways, I have the Udder Cover bf cover...I really am not a fan of it....I have to tug and adjust it so much to be able to see her to make sure she is latching on correctly....are all covers basically the same, or are some better than others? Sorry if this has already been asked or discussed...I didn't go back and read every post.

With a child that young, I would just put her under my shirt. But then again my kids were never fans of covers. By that time you should be more comfortable with feeding so you won't have to see her to make sure that she's latching on correctly (she'll be better at it too).

Of course I'm going at the end of September and my currently 22 month old is still breastfeeding at least 3 times a day. I've tried to cut back, but she is quite insistent. She just climbs on me and pulls at my shirt. If I refuse I get a lot of crying. So...I'll probably still be breastfeeding when I go unless something drastic happens between now and then.

 

[Paigesmom2013]

Glad to see this thread! I just noticed it after being on the boards a few weeks.

I am also nervous about feeding in public. I usually nurse DD 3 months at home, but pump a bottle at night for when we're out and about. But I will have to get over my uncomfortableness and NIP. We're flying and I don't want to bring the pump with me along with all our other stuff.

I have respect for those moms that are pumping at the parks. I think that's even harder than breastfeeding in some ways. My first DD was born at 36 weeks and spent two days in the NICU. She would never latch so I pumped and supplemented with formula for the first six months. Part of the reason I stopped pumping is because we had a vacation coming up and didn't want to bring the pump.

 

[GatorMama]

Just another post to reassure nursing mommies! Thank you for NIPing! I think my favorite spot to nurse last year was on a bench overlooking the water from Norway in Epcot. Sad to miss riding Maelstrom with my then 3 year old but had to keep the itty bitty fed! I also liked the bench between the CM/backstage area next to TSM and the TSM FP machines. Shaded and out of the traffic path for most people. My son was always (still is) very distractable while nursing so being in a crowd didn't work well for us. I think I nursed through Philharmagic too... That kid can EAT!!! ;-) I think in AK, I managed to not nurse as we were only there for 2-3 hours because of a HUGE storm that closed the park.

 

[nalajms]

Anyways, I have the Udder Cover bf cover...I really am not a fan of it....I have to tug and adjust it so much to be able to see her to make sure she is latching on correctly....are all covers basically the same, or are some better than others? Sorry if this has already been asked or discussed...I didn't go back and read every post.

They are all pretty much the same. Plus it gets very warm under the cover. I prefer the big shirt approach, but have been able to use a big sun at too.

I also disagree with the not supplementing approach. I supplemented formula with both my kids. No matter how much I pumped or tried the herbal stuff, my milk just doesn't fully come in until about 2 months! Before that, it just makes for a cranky, hungry baby, and a tired mom!

 

[angelmom27]

They are all pretty much the same. Plus it gets very warm under the cover. I prefer the big shirt approach, but have been able to use a big sun at too.

I also disagree with the not supplementing approach. I supplemented formula with both my kids. No matter how much I pumped or tried the herbal stuff, my milk just doesn't fully come in until about 2 months! Before that, it just makes for a cranky, hungry baby, and a tired mom!

The problem with supplementing is it decreases supply. An infant for the first couple of months has a stomach that starts out the size of a bead and then grows to a walnut. Not only that breastmilk is naturally digested by baby that is why baby digest it faster and needs to eat more often. Formula is thick and sits in a babies stomach and digest very slow reason why baby will sleep longer. Also thinking you need to supplement could also cause over feeding since baby gets enough milk and then to add formula is too much. A breastfed baby cannot be over fed. Only formula fed babies can be.

 

[JoanneDisFan]

Disney is a great place to NIP. Everyone is so busy having fun they don't even notice, and if they do, most people just keep on doing what they are doing. DS nursed on the land ride in Epcot. Any calm ride or show works great for nursing. DS was 13 months and eating pretty good so I didn't end up nursing a lot in the parks. It was kind of nice that I did get those sit down breaks with him. Also there are people from so many different cultures and countries that BFing doesn't seem so out of place. I also went with the large shirt method of covering up. DS didn't like the cover very much and after 6 months I could nurse and no one the wiser unless they really looked close. It just looked like I was holding him.

 

[Angel Ariel]

The problem with supplementing is it decreases supply. An infant for the first couple of months has a stomach that starts out the size of a bead and then grows to a walnut. Not only that breastmilk is naturally digested by baby that is why baby digest it faster and needs to eat more often. Formula is thick and sits in a babies stomach and digest very slow reason why baby will sleep longer. Also thinking you need to supplement could also cause over feeding since baby gets enough milk and then to add formula is too much. A breastfed baby cannot be over fed. Only formula fed babies can be.

You do what you have to do for your child to grow.

DD could not suck when she was born. Not even at a finger if you put it in her mouth. Thankfully an IBCLC noticed this before I left the hospital, and I had access to a hospital grade pump (which I then rented for 2 months before buying my own personal pump). I had no choice but to start her life with pumping and supplementing until working with the pump had increased my supply. She lost 10% of her birthweight before we left the hospital, and her weight was a constant issue for the first 3 months of her life. She was in the 3-5% for quite some time.

I worked for 3+ months with an IBCLC to get her to latch, and she never latched well enough to effectively get milk from me. I ended up going on this year long EPing journey, and now she's almost 13 months old and transitioning from expressed milk to soy milk. Her growth is finally stabilized and not something we have to worry about.

It's easy to be on an internet board and say "no, don't supplement" - it's harder when your newborn is crying and hungry and they won't take food from your breast (or there isn't enough at your breast for them to take). All posts here are just snippets of people's daily lives. GYou have no idea what's going on behind the scenes every day. It takes so much time and perseverance to work on breastfeeding AND pumping every day, and it can be *so* stressful - especially in those early weeks. That stress isn't good for a mother's milk production either.

To BadgerGirl84 - trust me, I know how frustrating those early weeks can be when BFing isn't enough. Trust your mommy instinct - even though it's new, it will still serve you well!

 

[angelmom27]

You do what you have to do for your child to grow.

DD could not suck when she was born. Not even at a finger if you put it in her mouth. Thankfully an IBCLC noticed this before I left the hospital, and I had access to a hospital grade pump (which I then rented for 2 months before buying my own personal pump). I had no choice but to start her life with pumping and supplementing until working with the pump had increased my supply. She lost 10% of her birthweight before we left the hospital, and her weight was a constant issue for the first 3 months of her life. She was in the 3-5% for quite some time.

I worked for 3+ months with an IBCLC to get her to latch, and she never latched well enough to effectively get milk from me. I ended up going on this year long EPing journey, and now she's almost 13 months old and transitioning from expressed milk to soy milk. Her growth is finally stabilized and not something we have to worry about.

It's easy to be on an internet board and say "no, don't supplement" - it's harder when your newborn is crying and hungry and they won't take food from your breast (or there isn't enough at your breast for them to take). All posts here are just snippets of people's daily lives. GYou have no idea what's going on behind the scenes every day. It takes so much time and perseverance to work on breastfeeding AND pumping every day, and it can be *so* stressful - especially in those early weeks. That stress isn't good for a mother's milk production either.

To BadgerGirl84 - trust me, I know how frustrating those early weeks can be when BFing isn't enough. Trust your mommy instinct - even though it's new, it will still serve you well!

Yes we do what we have to but its also nice to have others offer advice. Some moms see formula and drs and hospitals push it not realizing they can ruin that breastfeeding relationship. I have had several moms online in my DDG who were thankful for the visuals and info I shared so they now know that they can feed their baby. They thought something was wrong.

As for your DD not latching good enough for milk I would ask if she had been checked for lip or tongue tie. Two very common issues found in babies that cannot latch properly. Maybe even a nipple shield could have aided in latching.

Yes its easy to say stuff online but I say stuff out of advice and knowing I was once there. My breastfeeding journey was no where near a walk in the park. I was able to nurse #4 til 11 months and that was the first time I did go that long. #5 came and she just threw me off. I couldn't do it. She had bad reflux and I ended up giving formula. I finally had great success with #6 and 7 who I have been able to nurse for 2 yrs or more. Only reason #7 weaned is because I currently dried up from my pregnancy with #8. Breastfeeding by no means can be easy and especially when you see your child suffering and crying. I know that but I also would have loved to have better support even if it was from someone online just offering suggestions or sharing info. Everyone can take my advice and info the way they want. That doesn't mean I shouldn't offer it what if it helps a mom and I didn't say something.