We're Doing Disney Again Someday...Plus One! ~ Come Read my Trip Report!!!

[Nermel9]

The nursery looks great, purple is my favorite color! The fan is really cute!

 

[jc040404]

Love the purple & that fan! Her room is going to be too cute. I love that you aren't going crazy with pink like so many do. This is gorgeous!

 

[Dugette]

Love the colors!! And the fan is AWESOME!! You're getting so close! Are you having fun nesting? I loved it!!

Thanks! I can't believe there's only a couple months left! I've been chomping at the bit to do this "nesting"-type stuff for awhile, so I'm really enjoying making some progress. I'm really looking forward to getting furniture in the room and decorating, though. Tonight I took down tape and put on outlet covers, which is not nearly as fun.

We have that ceiling fan in our son's room. Be aware that it (our model at least) only takes 25 watt bulbs and puts out VERY little light. You may need some lamps.

That's cool that you have that fan! I read all the reviews before getting it and it seems that they changed the lights on it at some point. The older reviews say the same thing as you. The newer ones don't seem to have issues. The fan now comes with CFLs, but the electrician guy at Home Depot talked us into getting LEDs instead (last longer, safer, can be dimmed), so hopefully we'll be good.

Congratulations on your DugBaby ! The time seems to pass very quickly watching you on the Disboards but I bet it's not going by so quick for you.

You know, it actually is going quite quickly for me too. The first trimester was slow, just hoping to get through the riskiest time (and being in disbelief for most of it), but once the second trimester hit and I realized this was for real, time started flying by.

Love the colors!! I love purple and that fan looks awesome! I can't believe how big your cute pregnant tummy is getting! Is Dug baby kicking you like crazy? I remember when I was pregnant I just kept thinking that it was so amazing that a brand new human being was growing inside me.... sounds silly I guess but the wonder of it was so overwhelming to me. I still look at my son and feel that I am so blessed to have him.

Thanks! I surprise myself in the mirror sometimes when I catch a glimpse of my belly. I don't feel too different most of the time and, looking down, it's not that noticeably big, but the reflections sometimes catch me by surprise. And, yes, Dug Baby is still pretty active. It feels different now that she's getting bigger, though. It was pokes and jabs and now it's more big areas of movement and shifting around. Pretty cool. I'm completely on board with you on the amazement and sense of wonder about everything. I love just sitting around with my hands on my belly and feeling her move. So awesome.

The room looks like it will be super cute!

Thank you! I hope so!

The room looks great. I know with having the room painted, it is starting to seem real. Not too much longer until Princess DugBaby makes her appearance.

Yes, it does make it seem more real. I've spent a lot of this time not quite believing this is really happening, but now that she has a room, it does make it seem more real. I'm sure especially once we get the crib assembled and put in there it will become even more real.

What a pretty room! I can't wait to see how it gets Disneyfied!

Thanks! I can't wait to Disney-fy it! We have so many ideas, so I don't know how it will all turn out!

The nursery looks great, purple is my favorite color! The fan is really cute!

Thanks! I'm really happy with how the colors came out. We agonized over just the right purples to use, but I think we made good choices in the end.

Love the purple & that fan! Her room is going to be too cute. I love that you aren't going crazy with pink like so many do. This is gorgeous!

Thanks! I just never was a big fan of pink, so I feel like purple is a good compromise between my favorite color (blue) and a more "girly" color. Hopefully Dug Baby will like it too!

 

[Dugette]

Hi, all. I've gotten a bit behind on updates. Here's the latest.

32 weeks (July 13th):

33 weeks (last Friday):

Our big project last week was getting the fan and new dimmer and fan speed switches installed in the nursery. I installed the ceiling plate:

It took several nights of work, but we finally got everything hooked up and it all worked!

We love it! So fun!

Last weekend, we finally put together the crib (WAY easier than installing the fan!):

We also moved our old dressers back into the room:

We're planning to put a changing pad on the shorter one so that we can use it as a changing table.

I also finally got a frame for our souvenir picture from the Polynesian. Can't wait to hang it on Dug Baby's wall:

Tonight, we had a Labor Skills class. At the end, the instructor led us in a visualization exercise that had us relaxing on a beach. Afterwards, Dug and I compared notes and found that we had both been visualizing the Poly beach!

We are still loving the idea of staying at the Poly for our first trip as a family of three. However, I did get quite sidetracked the other day when I realized that a Little Mermaid room at the Art of Animation is literally 25% of the cost of a Garden View room at the Poly. Tempting, as the place looks great. And hard to justify paying 4 times as much to go elsewhere. But we LOVE the Poly and are still leaning towards that.

Oh, also, in the class tonight, she recommended having a song that we practice relaxing to each night so that it will be automatic in labor...I requested the soundtrack to Soarin! I guess we might be having a magical Disney-themed birth!

 

[Mom&RN]

Wow! You are getting so close. I don't know if I told you this but I am about four months away from graduating to become a Nurse Practitioner and I am currently working in the clinical setting. One of the MDs I am training with is an OB/GYN. Let me warn you/encourage you and tell you that the last 2-4 weeks (different for everyone) you are pregnant you will get progressively uncomfortable. Just think happy Disney thoughts and know that before you get to the point that you can't stand it Dug Baby will be here!! It happens every time - when a soon-to-be-Mom says "I can't make it much longer, I'm so uncomfortable" then surprise within the next day or so she'll go into labor. I love your fan and the poly pic and I think using your existing dressers is a GREAT idea, I found once my son was a few months old I hardly ever used his changing table - I usually just ended up changing him wherever was handy so thought afterward that the money spent on the changing table wasn't worth it. Better off saving that money for a poly stay!!

 

[jc040404]

Awww! I love that you were both thinking of the Poly beach! That's too sweet. Soarin music sounds wonderful, btw. Super relaxing! I just remember watching The Price Is Right with Blakers. Whatever works, right?

LOVE your crib! It looks exactly like the one we bought for Andrew! Excellent choice! (Ours' was recalled years later, so I know it's not the same though. Scary, huh? He never really slept in it anyway.) The fan pics are pretty nifty, too.

Art of Animation might be a better choice for the wallet, but it is crazy obvious how much you two love the Poly. The location would be wonderful for your first time with a little one along, too. I would keep leaning that way, but you know you'll love either when the time comes.

 

[Imagineer5]

Love the room!! Can't wait to see it totally finished! I just love the purples, and the fan is really neat too.

Glad you passed you GD test! Yay! And up to every 2 weeks now! It'll go by in a flash, I swear!

 

[reelmom]

Great job on the ceiling fan and crib. I love the choice of relaxation music.

 

[Sunset Cliffs]

I love that fan! What a unique touch to the room. It made me want to look at new lighting fixtures for our house.

Great choice on the music. It's one of my favorite soundtracks too.

We were looking at Art of Animation recently too. It looks pretty tempting since it's all new and shiny. I can understand how much you love Poly though, considering your history with the place. Maybe a split stay... 2 nights at AofA and the rest at Poly? The next time we are at WDW, we have already decided to make a special trip to AofA to see it if we don't stay there.

How are you feeling?

 

[Dugette]

Wow! You are getting so close. I don't know if I told you this but I am about four months away from graduating to become a Nurse Practitioner and I am currently working in the clinical setting. One of the MDs I am training with is an OB/GYN. Let me warn you/encourage you and tell you that the last 2-4 weeks (different for everyone) you are pregnant you will get progressively uncomfortable. Just think happy Disney thoughts and know that before you get to the point that you can't stand it Dug Baby will be here!! It happens every time - when a soon-to-be-Mom says "I can't make it much longer, I'm so uncomfortable" then surprise within the next day or so she'll go into labor. I love your fan and the poly pic and I think using your existing dressers is a GREAT idea, I found once my son was a few months old I hardly ever used his changing table - I usually just ended up changing him wherever was handy so thought afterward that the money spent on the changing table wasn't worth it. Better off saving that money for a poly stay!!

Thanks for the advice! I think I've been relatively lucky comfort-wise and symptom-wise, but I will agree that it is getting harder each day. I'm definitely slower and get worn out so quickly. And doing simple things (putting on shoes, rolling over, picking things up, etc.) are no longer simple. However, I'm still wanting there to be more time before she comes -- too much we want to do first!

Thanks on the fan and Poly pic! We love them. I've heard from others that changing tables tend to be sort-of a waste, so it seemed to make sense to use what we had. I actually ended up getting offered a free changing table (from the co-worker who gave me all her maternity clothes), but I turned it down, as I'm good with using the dresser and see no need to clutter the room up with unnecessary furniture that won't be useful later. I think the money we're saving with some of the furniture re-use is going to buying cute Disney things for the walls, rather than our trip, though...

Awww! I love that you were both thinking of the Poly beach! That's too sweet. Soarin music sounds wonderful, btw. Super relaxing! I just remember watching The Price Is Right with Blakers. Whatever works, right?

During the relaxation thing, I was thinking how original I was to be visualizing the Poly beach. Who knew that Dug was too? I love listening to the Soarin' music. I can see and smell it as the music plays! But, hey, the Price is Right is good too! Definitely whatever works...I'm planning to be pretty flexible in that way!

LOVE your crib! It looks exactly like the one we bought for Andrew! Excellent choice! (Ours' was recalled years later, so I know it's not the same though. Scary, huh? He never really slept in it anyway.) The fan pics are pretty nifty, too.

Thanks! I love the look of the crib and it got really good reviews too. We bought it a little early on because we got a crazy deal (around 1/2 price). I'm anxious to get a mattress in it, though...still so empty!

Art of Animation might be a better choice for the wallet, but it is crazy obvious how much you two love the Poly. The location would be wonderful for your first time with a little one along, too. I would keep leaning that way, but you know you'll love either when the time comes.

Very true. I'm a huge fan of saving money, so it's hard for me to justify spending four times as much when I know we'd have a great time at AoA. However, we do love the Poly and the location helps to justify doing it for this first trip with a little one...rolling the stroller right onto the monorail, walking to the TTC, etc. I know that we'd enjoy the convenience.

Love the room!! Can't wait to see it totally finished! I just love the purples, and the fan is really neat too.

Glad you passed you GD test! Yay! And up to every 2 weeks now! It'll go by in a flash, I swear!

Thanks! I've been so slow on updating this that, after this Friday, we move to EVERY week appointments! Wow, time flies!

Great job on the ceiling fan and crib. I love the choice of relaxation music.

Thank you!

I love that fan! What a unique touch to the room. It made me want to look at new lighting fixtures for our house.

I was surprised to find something so fun! I think it's more popular with little boys, but I love it for our nursery anyway!

Great choice on the music. It's one of my favorite soundtracks too.

I love it. Probably the thing I listed to most often from our "Four Parks, One World" soundtrack.

We were looking at Art of Animation recently too. It looks pretty tempting since it's all new and shiny. I can understand how much you love Poly though, considering your history with the place. Maybe a split stay... 2 nights at AofA and the rest at Poly? The next time we are at WDW, we have already decided to make a special trip to AofA to see it if we don't stay there.

The new and shiny is tempting, for sure. When I look at pictures or read reports on how good the food court is, it's very appealing! I have thought about a split stay too. We are definitely fans of that, as we've done it on many trips. I'm hesitant about doing it on the first trip with a little one, though. But I would love to visit AoA if we didn't stay there too...not sure how convenient it would be, though. If nothing else, it should still be there for future visits, i guess.

How are you feeling?

Pretty good still. Getting tired easily, but still going. Only a month and a day left until the due date!

 

[Dugette]

Hi, all. Sorry I keep falling off the DIS map for chunks of time! So busy, so tired, probably should be sleeping now, but wanted to get an update done...it's been too long! And those of you whose P/TR's I'm following, sorry I'm behind, but I'll get caught up one of these days! It's all I can do right now to update this one! So, here we go...

34 weeks came and went a week ago Friday:

Last Friday was 35 weeks:

I can't believe I'm at this point already!

We have been making some slow progress on the nursery. We have a lot of things to hang on the walls, but only got a little start on it so far. There are many more Wookie the Chew prints, Disney lithographs, and Disney wall decals to put up. But, so far, we have this Wookie the Chew print up:

And we put up our Poly pic...complete with the leis from our Poly visits:

Dug Baby will learn early on about her first Disney resort!

I think it would be super cool to find a little sign to hang above it that says "Ohana means family" and has Lilo and Stitch on it. I can't seem to find anything that's exactly what I'm picturing, though. There's a couple of decent alternatives on Etsy and Amazon, but just not what I have in my head. So, not sure what we'll do there.

We also picked up the old glider that Dug's parents were nice enough to give to us. Hard to see in the pic, but that is our Disney castle lights blanket draped over it:

And a demonstration of the glider in use:

Bailey likes having the Poky Little Puppy read to her!

We did our registry completion trip this weekend for one of our registries, so we picked up a few clearance Disney items while we had our discount. Planning ahead for Dug Baby's first trip, we got her a few cute outfits:

Hard to tell in the pics, but the first two are tanks/shorts sets and the third is a top and cute skirt. Dug thought that third one would be cute to wear to 'Ohana. We got them all in the 18 month size. Do you think that would be okay since she'll be about 15 months at the time we're thinking of going (Dec. 2013)?

We also couldn't resist the fairy wings and cute little hat...maybe for newborn pictures or something:

I'll post more nursery updates as we make more progress.

Anyway, on the trip-planning front, a few current things:

I recently have heard that the AAA discount (we have AAA) on room-only reservations is actually pretty good. I always assumed it was almost nothing, but I guess it can be up to around 20%. It's on our list to call Disney and see what it would be at the Poly for early December 2013 (I'm thinking the 7th-14th or so, maybe). See how that compares to the cost of getting an Annual Pass and using that discount to book. Or just use it to hold a room until a better PIN or general public offer comes out. That's an exciting thought to get something booked, even if it's just a room-only hold!

The other recent savings opportunity I stumbled across is an improvement to a tried-and-true strategy. If you've followed my past planning, you may remember that we paid for our last WDW trip entirely with Disney Gift Cards I'd purchased at Target, using my team member discount, Red Card discount, and Pharmacy Rewards discount (nearly 20% off total). Yes, it's a lot of $50 Gift Cards to buy (multiple stores were needed), but totally worth it to save so much. Well, now we have a 10% off Target coupon to use for our registry completion AND I just got another 10% off entire purchase coupon for being in the Healthy Pregnancy Program through my insurance. They can't be used together with each other and I'm not clear if they can be used with the Pharmacy Rewards 5% off day either. But, either way, this is a higher percentage of savings than what I did before (can still use team member and Red Card discount with these extra 10%s). So, with at least one of these 10% off cards, I'm thinking of cleaning out the Disney Gift Card racks again and essentially pre-paying our trip. The card I just got doesn't expire until May, so I can put it off for a bit too. Just need to figure out what makes the most sense (since we do want to get baby stuff with the discounts too). But this savings could be very helpful in making the Poly a reasonable option for our budget of probably around $3500-$4k for everything. Gotta love all the Fuzzy Disney Math my brain keeps doing on this one!

One more note on the Poly. We were checking out some things on the "Tikiman"'s website today. It sounds like, by the time we are there, the rooms will be refurbished and there will be a hot tub in the pool area. That sounds great! However, they may be doing substantial work on the Great Ceremonial House. We'll have to watch what happens. Of course, we also read that DVC at the Poly is coming (to which I said, "That's gonna take A LOT of Target's Disney Gift Cards!!!" )

Okay, I really should be going to bed now. Time to dream of Disney...

 

[Mom&RN]

I'm so glad you're having a happy, healthy pregnancy! You look great and so does Dug baby's room! Love the pix you've put up so far and the super cute outfits you got her. I remember shopping for my son when I was pregnant and it was so exciting. On the size - you never know!!, you could have a small kiddo who is still in 12 mo size at 15 mo or a big kiddo.... you never know what you're going to get but I would have bought the same size you did because a little too big is always better than a little too small On the AAA discount, my understanding is you can't get it directly through Disney - you have to book with AAA through their travel agency. My aunt and cousin swear by it and always use AAA but I get military discounts (because my hubby is retired Air Force) so I always go through Disney because usually nothing beats their military discounts - thank you Disney for rewarding our troops I can't believe you are up to your weekly visits - Dug baby will be here so soon!!!

 

[Imagineer5]

I NEED THOSE FAIRY WINGS!!! Where did you get them? How much??

I think 18m should be okay, esp for a top and skirt, but every baby is different. So far, Aria fits in 3-6m still and she's just over 6m, but she's in 9m-12m PJ's due to her length! So it's sort of up in the air! I got that little mermaid outfit in size 12m and I'm hoping she can wear it at 10m for our December trip, to ride the new Little Mermaid ride!

Congrats on the countdown, it's soo close now! And you look great!

 

[Dugette]

I'll respond to the rest when I have more time (eating lunch at work now), but just wanted to answer this one quick:

I NEED THOSE FAIRY WINGS!!! Where did you get them? How much??

They were on the top of one of the clearance racks at Buy Buy Baby. Marked down to $1.99. They also had some fairy wands for $.99. Our store had a bunch of them. Not sure if there is one near you?

 

[Imagineer5]

I'll respond to the rest when I have more time (eating lunch at work now), but just wanted to answer this one quick:



They were on the top of one of the clearance racks at Buy Buy Baby. Marked down to $1.99. They also had some fairy wands for $.99. Our store had a bunch of them. Not sure if there is one near you?

DARN YOU! NO! I do not! IF you happen to get there again and see them I'd be happy to pay you for them!! LOL

 

[Dugette]

DARN YOU! NO! I do not! IF you happen to get there again and see them I'd be happy to pay you for them!! LOL

If I'm up there again soon and they have them, I'll definitely grab you a pair! If nothing else, we could always arrange a "wing-share" with ours!

 

[Imagineer5]

If I'm up there again soon and they have them, I'll definitely grab you a pair! If nothing else, we could always arrange a "wing-share" with ours!

Hahaha okay thank you for keeping your eyes peeled - did you see the pic of Aria in her Tink outfit I got from Etsy? I think that will be her MNSSHP costume, bc I just love it so much! And it needs WINGS! LOL

Hope you're feeling great! Closing in on 36 weeks! Yay!

 

[jc040404]

You're so close now!! The nursery looks better and better. I love the pic of you reading to Bailey. So sweet! That's one of our favorites, too.

The outfits are adorable. All babies are different, but I'll hope they fit perfectly when the time comes. With tops like that, they would still be cute if a touch too big on her. I know both of my boys seemed to run a bit behind the sizes, but you never know! The fairy wings are soo cute, too!

Love your Disney math skills! You're getting some crazy deals with those gift cards.

 

[Dugette]

I'm so glad you're having a happy, healthy pregnancy! You look great and so does Dug baby's room! Love the pix you've put up so far and the super cute outfits you got her. I remember shopping for my son when I was pregnant and it was so exciting. On the size - you never know!!, you could have a small kiddo who is still in 12 mo size at 15 mo or a big kiddo.... you never know what you're going to get but I would have bought the same size you did because a little too big is always better than a little too small On the AAA discount, my understanding is you can't get it directly through Disney - you have to book with AAA through their travel agency. My aunt and cousin swear by it and always use AAA but I get military discounts (because my hubby is retired Air Force) so I always go through Disney because usually nothing beats their military discounts - thank you Disney for rewarding our troops I can't believe you are up to your weekly visits - Dug baby will be here so soon!!!

Thanks! I'm so glad that I've had a pretty easy pregnancy too! Hopefully she'll hang out for a few more weeks, because we're still working on the room (and other things...like finding daycare, etc!)

It's so fun getting her little outfits! We held off until after our family shower, since I've heard people like to give clothes, but we actually didn't get very many, so now I feel non-guilty about filling up her closet from the clearance and sale racks (especially if there is Disney involved!) I'm just hoping that, even if a little big, the 18 month stuff will fit her at travel time. Or else maybe we postpone our trip...

For the AAA, I always thought that too. However, I read a thread over on the resort boards that clarified: room-only AAA rates can be booked through WDW; packages with AAA rates need to be booked through a AAA TA, as you said. We'd be looking at room-only. And then we can pay with WDW gift cards! We still need to contact WDW and check on rates, though. That's awesome that you get those military discounts...someone in that thread I read got 40% off the Poly with one!

I can't believe we're doing weekly visits, either! Wow!

I NEED THOSE FAIRY WINGS!!! Where did you get them? How much??

I think 18m should be okay, esp for a top and skirt, but every baby is different. So far, Aria fits in 3-6m still and she's just over 6m, but she's in 9m-12m PJ's due to her length! So it's sort of up in the air! I got that little mermaid outfit in size 12m and I'm hoping she can wear it at 10m for our December trip, to ride the new Little Mermaid ride!

Congrats on the countdown, it's soo close now! And you look great!

Thanks! Good point about the skirts fitting, even if a bit big! Also great idea about wearing that for the Little Mermaid ride! I keep forgetting about that one, but so excited to ride something new!

Hahaha okay thank you for keeping your eyes peeled - did you see the pic of Aria in her Tink outfit I got from Etsy? I think that will be her MNSSHP costume, bc I just love it so much! And it needs WINGS! LOL

Hope you're feeling great! Closing in on 36 weeks! Yay!

I saw that Tink outfit...super cute! I haven't stopped by BBB again yet, but I will try to do so soon to nab you some fairy wings!

Almost 37 weeks now!

You're so close now!! The nursery looks better and better. I love the pic of you reading to Bailey. So sweet! That's one of our favorites, too.

The outfits are adorable. All babies are different, but I'll hope they fit perfectly when the time comes. With tops like that, they would still be cute if a touch too big on her. I know both of my boys seemed to run a bit behind the sizes, but you never know! The fairy wings are soo cute, too!

Love your Disney math skills! You're getting some crazy deals with those gift cards.

Bailey likes to be the practice baby!

I hope things fit. It's so crazy to see her little wardrobe forming and to think, "There will be someone here who fits into these things soon!"

I love crazy deals!

 

[Dugette]

Just a brief update, since I've forced myself to sit on the couch with my feet up, enjoying some computer time tonight (as opposed to every other evening, where we've been working on all the things on our pre-baby to-do list!).

Last Friday was 36 weeks:

At our midwife appointment that day, she said the baby had dropped! One of my co-workers noticed that too. I'm so oblivious, though, I really had no idea. But I guess I'd agree now, knowing that. Feels a bit different when she moves. I'm still feeling pretty good, though. Slow and tired, but otherwise healthy. Oh, and I passed the GBS test too, so no IV needed in labor for that...yay!

Tomorrow is 37 weeks and we've got another appointment to go to, after my work shower in the afternoon. Should be a fun day! Then, since the showers will be done, we finally get to finish our Target registry-completion shopping this weekend! There are still plenty of things we need (you know, a changing pad would be nice, etc...) I might tack a few WDW gift cards onto the registry before we use the completion coupon too, just so I can use them for a room-only deposit, if need be.

We went to the Twins game last Saturday (my dad and step-mom had great seats and invited us). That was fun and we took a bump picture:

I guess it looks kinda funny from that angle...oh, well!

We've mostly been working a lot on the nursery. Here are some of our walls now:

Still a work in progress (we have a TON more stuff to put up...may have gone a little crazy with the Disney wall decals...), but it's coming along. Oh, and those drapes are temporary, until our Tinkerbell/fairy ones show up. Can't wait to enjoy the finished product!

We've had some Disney-planning discussions lately too. Talked about which attractions to do at the MK, DHS, etc. I'd recount more of our specific thoughts, but frankly, I have horrible "pregnancy brain" and can no longer remember! Oh, well, at least I have Dug's "backup brain".

Oh, I've also picked up a couple other Disney things for DugBaby on sale at Target. I don't have pictures yet, but I got her a Mickey and Minnie as pirates t-shirt for the trip and a little fleece hoodie with the pre-Mickey Oswald character sketches on it (part of Target's new Disney sketches collection...Target designers actually got to go to WDW for work and hang out with Disney animators to come up with these!) I figure she'll need a fleece on a December trip! I also have a few newborn outfits with Disney (mostly Minnie and Marie) characters on them. So fun! She needs to get used to the Disney early, after all! I find it funny that Dug and I never dress up in Disney wardrobe for WDW, but DugBaby will be decked out in probably more Disney outfits than she ever could wear on one trip!