1st trip - 12 months old!

[Miss Potts]

Hi Everyone!
I'll be taking my daughter on her first trip in November - she'll just be a week shy of her 1st birthday.
I need some tips from all the mommy's here...

1. Right now, she is still eating baby food (gerber/beech nut) and bottles of breastmilk (I pump)... in 2 months, I'm wondering if I should goal to have her eating regular food and drinking cows milk. Experience and suggestions with this greatly appreciated!

2. Do I need headphones for her? I've seen photos with babies wearing them but not sure how many people definitely recommend it.

3. What kind of bags do you take into the park? Debating between backpack or diaper bag. Do you leave them in the stroller while you are on rides?

4. What's your must have item when traveling with a baby?

Thanks in advance - appreciate any tips and suggestions you have!

 

[MischaOz]

We didn't take DD to WDW until she was 2, but we traveled with her quite a bit before then, so I'm happy to throw my two cents out there.

1. Obv, you should talk to your ped about what/when to try different foods, but I'm a huge bf advocate so I would encourage containing with breastmilk as long as you can and are willing. I pumped until DD was 16 months. you can certainly switch to cows milk at one year, but I woikdnt base that decision on a vacation. I would maybe freeze the breastmilk to keep it cold for transporting to the park. As for baby food, the little pouches work great (Plum organic, for example). The baby can suck it right out of the pouch so there's no mess and you don't need to worry about a bowl, spoon, etc.

2. We do have headphones for DD and they have served us well over the years. We only use them for fireworks.

3. I love to travel with the Vera Bradley "Vera" tote. It has a lot of pockets but technically is not a diaper bag. It fits over the handle of my stroller (Baby Jogger City Mini) and I do take it on rides with me. I do pack light though.

Hope this helps, and have fun!

 

[Kelly014]

1. It's really up to you. Breastmilk can stay at room temp for a while so it wouldn't be too much of a pain to take it. Cows milk is easily accessible though. For the baby food you can take fruit/veggie pouches to make it easier to transport. Table food is up to you and her really, my 7 month old DS eats some table foods so I'm sure she would be fine.

2. DS has seen firework shows and been to a Major League Baseball game without headphones, so far so good!

3. We plans to take a diaper bag and have food, change of clothes, diapers, etc in the diaper bag, which will stay in the stroller. Then a small drawstring bag will have all our important things and that will go with us on rides.

4. Lots of snacks. When all else fails distract them with food

 

[biondagirl]

My son was 13 months his first trip and my daughter was 15 months. They were both off breast milk and on whole milk. It's been awhile (they are now 9 and 12) and I don't remember packing baby food, but I must have given it to them along with adding "regular" food. I remember taking our stroller (more comfy for long days) and packing a diaper bag. I didn't bring headphones. The fireworks didn't bother them then. We never left the park for naps, they were both good stroller nappers. We'd do something low key while they slept.

November is a great time to take a one year old. It's cooler, so they have an easier time. I just always brought what I normally brought in a diaper bag.

have a great time. I remember that age so well and it was a blast!

 

[MickeyWaffles]

We are taking our daughter in January and she will be turning one on our trip! I haven't done this yet, but this is what I'm doing, if it helps at all!

1. For food, my daughter has a mix of purées and softer foods. I'm hoping that by January she'll be on mostly table food and able to eat off the buffets, our plates, kids meals, etc. I totally get your dilemma -- bringing bottles of breastmilk to the parks would be a huge pain with cooling, warming, etc. Would she nurse or would you want to nurse her on the trip? My daughter doesn't breastfeed well in public or with any distractions around so I'm not 100% sure yet either. I know the baby care centers or great but my daughter literally gets distracted by someone else talking when she's nursing. She takes bottles well in public. We shall see.

2. I have headphones already because we go to college basketball games a lot but I'm not sure I'm going to bother with them for fireworks and things. She barely keeps them on anyways!

3. I am bringing a diaper bag with these essentials: diapers, wipes, disposable placemats (Disney of course), disposable changing pads for the bathroom, hand wiped, a snack (like Cheerios, puffs, teething cracker etc). I am leaving my bag under the stroller on rides and giving someone else in my group my ID, credit card, etc. for the day. If someone steals my diaper bag, they get diapers and butt paste, woohoo! Haha. I'm also stuffing my Ergobaby carrier under the stroller because it may be helpful for waiting in lines. As long as she still likes being in the carrier then.

4. I don't know yet

 

[wendow]

Our youngest was just a bit older on his first trip to WDW.

1. I would not wean off breastmilk just for the vacation. If you are still pumping, then take the bottles of milk into the park in a container with a cold pack. My babies got used to drinking cold milk and did fine with it so maybe between now and your vacation, slowly move from warmed milk to cold milk. It makes life so much easier and it a better transition to cow's milk. The pouches are great for baby food though I am pretty sure a couple of my dc missed the baby food stage and moved right to teeny bits of table food.

2. We did not know nor think of buying headphones but I did cover my baby's ears with my hands during fireworks. I find them very loud for my own ears and really too much for a baby's ears. I have a dh who suffers from hearing loss which happened from a loud noise so I am maybe more sensitive to this than others.

3. We did the diaper bag with the baby essentials but no money, ID or credit cards. No one ever stole our bag, and we have always left bags in our stroller.

Have fun! That age is so precious!

 

[Aurora0427]

I would never leave a bag of any kind on a stroller unless you were fine with it getting stolen. People will steal anything, and they're unlikely to look inside before lifting the bag. These boards are full of stories of people getting things taken.

 

[Jenna319]

We are taking our daughter in November too (10/31 - 11/7) - and she will have just turned 1. Here is my advice just from recommendations that I've received:

1. I would keep her on her normal routine of breast milk until after vacation. I pumped for 8 months and now DD is on formula. I was planning on starting her on cow's milk at 11 months so she would have been ready for it on vacation, but I've decided to just keep her on formula until after the trip. Don't want to worry about any dietary changes/allergies on vacation and I've heard milk is not as accessible at Disney as you would think. I plan on bringing some of the to-go packets of formula with bottles of water for the parks.
2. I am bringing headphones for the airplane so that she can watch the DVD player if needed. I may pack them in my diaper back for fireworks - she has never seen fireworks so not sure how she will react but better safe than sorry! I bought KidsGear baby headphones from Amazon, had her try them and she seems to like them and keep them on.
3. I have both a regular large diaper bag (Minnie mouse of course!), and a backpack. I plan on only bringing the backpack as a diaper bag, and I will keep it with me on most, if not all, rides. I am leery of leaving anything back at my stroller. I also suggest a bandana or something attached to your stroller so that you can easily identify which one is yours, as CMs are known to move strollers all around to make space. I also plan on bringing my carrier but I may change my mind, as I don't use it that much now and not sure if it is just a waste of space (I don't have much storage space in my stroller). I will leave my ID and credit cards with my DH in his wallet.
4. I am going to bring disposable changing pads, plenty of snacks, baby pouches of food (but hoping she will eat mostly off our plates, which she is already doing now), portable DVD player with her favorite movies & stickers for the airplane, plenty of ziplock baggies for dirty diapers, pack and play sheets for the room, baby tylenol and teething tablets, and anything and everything else I can think of to pack in my suitcase!! I've also placed a Garden Grocer order for diapers, wipes, and groceries so it is one less thing I have to pack.

This is our 1st time travelling with a baby and I can't imagine how I am going to get through the airport with all of this in tow! When are you going and where are you staying? We will be at VGF - maybe we can meet up for a play date with our 1 year olds! Have a fantastic trip!

 

[MischaOz]

I forgot to mention, I've never needed to use them, but have heard the baby care centers at WDW are awesome, so definitely look into that.

 

[Miss Potts]

We are taking our daughter in November too (10/31 - 11/7) - and she will have just turned 1. Here is my advice just from recommendations that I've received:

1. I would keep her on her normal routine of breast milk until after vacation. I pumped for 8 months and now DD is on formula. I was planning on starting her on cow's milk at 11 months so she would have been ready for it on vacation, but I've decided to just keep her on formula until after the trip. Don't want to worry about any dietary changes/allergies on vacation and I've heard milk is not as accessible at Disney as you would think. I plan on bringing some of the to-go packets of formula with bottles of water for the parks.
2. I am bringing headphones for the airplane so that she can watch the DVD player if needed. I may pack them in my diaper back for fireworks - she has never seen fireworks so not sure how she will react but better safe than sorry! I bought KidsGear baby headphones from Amazon, had her try them and she seems to like them and keep them on.
3. I have both a regular large diaper bag (Minnie mouse of course!), and a backpack. I plan on only bringing the backpack as a diaper bag, and I will keep it with me on most, if not all, rides. I am leery of leaving anything back at my stroller. I also suggest a bandana or something attached to your stroller so that you can easily identify which one is yours, as CMs are known to move strollers all around to make space. I also plan on bringing my carrier but I may change my mind, as I don't use it that much now and not sure if it is just a waste of space (I don't have much storage space in my stroller). I will leave my ID and credit cards with my DH in his wallet.
4. I am going to bring disposable changing pads, plenty of snacks, baby pouches of food (but hoping she will eat mostly off our plates, which she is already doing now), portable DVD player with her favorite movies & stickers for the airplane, plenty of ziplock baggies for dirty diapers, pack and play sheets for the room, baby tylenol and teething tablets, and anything and everything else I can think of to pack in my suitcase!! I've also placed a Garden Grocer order for diapers, wipes, and groceries so it is one less thing I have to pack.

This is our 1st time travelling with a baby and I can't imagine how I am going to get through the airport with all of this in tow! When are you going and where are you staying? We will be at VGF - maybe we can meet up for a play date with our 1 year olds! Have a fantastic trip!

We'll be there Nov 10-18! Just missing your family by a few days - very jealous of VGF!!! These are great tips!

 

[TravelingTotMom]

We took our son two weeks after he turned 1. I breastfed until he was 16 months, but when he turned 1, we were only nursing first thing in the morning and right before bed. He started mainly table food right around 1, and as soon as he had that, he had no interest in the puree food pouches (in fact, he squirted one all over me in the middle of AK). On that trip, we mainly gave him regular food - and he downed like five Mickey waffles at breakfast one morning! Just make sure you have lots of snacks like Cheerios, goldfish and raisins.

We also found out that trip that our son was terrified of fireworks (he wasn't previously). We ended up riding Small World instead of watching Wishes one night. If there's a chance she will be afraid, try watching fireworks near a ride or store you can quickly duck into if she gets upset.

I would recommend taking a backpack instead of a diaper bag, and take the bag with you on the rides. I wouldn't risk the inconvenience of anything getting taken, and it was never a hassle for us with a backpack.

And even if she isn't walking by herself, take shoes. If she can toddle around holding someone's hand, she will need to wear them in the play areas. My son actually started walking on his own the last day of that trip in the Boneyard at AK.

 

[Miss Potts]

Thank you so much! I asked and you all delivered! So many things I didn't think of...

Forgot to say, I'll be staying at the Beach Club. I always thought I'd stay in monorail hotels with a baby - but the plan is to go to F&W a few times so pushing the stroller seems SO EASY!

The logistics of getting everything all packed and ready is probably the hardest part of the whole trip!

 

[jason10mm]

I took my son when he was 11 months. It was pretty easy when we had grandparents to help, so the wife and I could ride stuff while he was in the stroller. At that age he was pretty fearless so we did everything there was, only the blast of air on Journey to Imagination freaked him out. He was also easy to take pics with characters (as he didn't really have a choice If your child can sleep in a stroller during the day then you shouldn't have any limits.

We left the diaper bag on the stroller with no issues. But I wouldn't use an expensive bag nor leave cameras and such in it. And MARK YOUR STROLLER. There are OCEANS of them, seriously! Something distinctive around the handles. I think a lot of "stolen stollers" reports arereally folks taking the wrong one by mistake. So signs, colorful wrapping, a small balloon, somehting like that will help you pick out your stroller and help others not take it in error.