A fearless trip report- May 12-18th 2011

[basketkat]

Wow what a rough night!!! I am glad he was okay! When my oldest was about 2 we stopped at a hotel on our way to my uncle's house. She refused to sleep in the pack and play so I let her sleep with me. In the middle of the night I heard a THUD followed by wailing screams. She had rolled out of bed, and was between the wall/bed/nightstand. It was pitch black in the room, and I was so disoriented! It felt like 5 minutes before I rescued her from the abyss!!!! She was fine, and went right back to sleep...I however was a nervous wreck!!!

I'm glad you were able to get some rest the rest of the night!

 

[Villainess]

All caught up! Poor Everett - DD had a similar fall in a hotel bed; we stayed at a hotel by the airport the night before our very early morning flight. She had pillows around her, but managed to roll off. For the first 5 day of vacation she had a scrape and rug burn on her nose.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Oh my gosh! The poop dance story is HILARIOUS! Very nice timing Everett.

DS certainly is a master of timing!

Awww...another priceless update.

Thanks!

The Poop Dance and The Proposal! It sounds like a parent's memoirs or an episode of How I Met Your Mother or something!! Too cute! Well, everyone poops! If they had known what was happening they probably would have laughed too! So, did she say yes? That was a fantastic story!

The smoking in non-smoking areas is a pet peeve of mine too. Last spring when I went with DMum (who smokes like a chimney), I learned just how many of those areas there are! They aren't exactly few and far between! I would have said something too. I would have said something to the irritating family while waiting for Wishes too!

I'm glad Everett enjoyed Wishes! I know my neice isn't keen on loud noises but she sits enthralled through it (she's 4). I love that he kept yelling BOOM! Very sweet!

DH LOVES How I Met Your Mother, so I definitely get the reference! I'm pretty sure she said yes, so I guess Everett didn't scar her in anyway!

First: beautiful photos of your family from last year! So nice that you have such nice photos of the whole family.
Second: loved the photos of the three of you from this year!
Third: seriously Everett pooped during an engagement...Love it lol
Fourth: you may just be my anti smoking hero! My biggest pet peeve anywhere!

Thank you, I have no problem with smokers, its rule breakers that I don't like!

Thank you for sharing the family pictures of Karolina. They are beautiful and I know your family will treasure them forever!

What a great day the 3 of you had at the Magic Kingdom! It sounds magical and makes me look forward to the memories we are going to be making with DS very soon! We are going through a cars obsession at our house, too! I am glad Everett was not scared of the fireworks. Colby is going through a faze right now where he is scared of thunder and other loud noises, so we are bringing some ear protection for him so he does not get scared during the fireworks.

You guys will have a wonderful time! Maybe some ear protection would be helpful, because the fireworks aren't overly loud, but if Colby is sensitive to noise, it would likely help. Its funny that you mention thunder, yesterday there was a small thunderstorm, and at the first crack of thunder, Everett said "Boom?" and ran over to the window to see if he could see fireworks! I think I have spoiled him with too many trips to Disney!

It was a really sweet moment. But I'd had enough and ended up bringing my 2 year old DD and 10 month old DS over to Winnie the Pooh and rode that 4 times in a row for my DD. I felt bad for her that she just had to sit and wait for her brother to ride rides. So it was a special night.

Flying for us wasn't too bad when we brought our kids to WDW in May 09. At the time DS was 25 months and DD was 8 months (yes we're crazy). We have a double stroller that was great to have during the flight. I made sure that we also flew when the kids would sleep. We did a red eye from California to Florida with an hour layover in Texas. They did perfectly fine. But then again we've been pretty lucky traveling with our kids. They were pretty mello at the time. Now I don't think it'd be that easy with our DD (she'll be 3 in Sept). She's pure drama!!!

Doing the buses wasn't to bad for us when we went in May of 09 with our double stroller. My husband would also go to the back door with the double stroller and stand out of the way and I'd have the kids. Now the hardest part for me was getting two kids and myself on the bus cuz my son wasn't tall enough to just step into the bus and some of those steps were pretty high. So I was a site to see carrying two kids into the bus and actually sometimes had a really nice person in line either in front of me or behind me hold my son for me so I could get on and then hand him back off. So it all ended up working out.

I don't know if I could do a red-eye, I hate sleeping on planes, and I'm sure as soon as Everett realized that I expected him to go to sleep, he'd do the exact opposite!

Glad to hear that you didn't have trouble with a double stroller! Since I'd like to have at least one more child, I'm sure a double is in my future at some point. Good to know that the buses are still doable with a little planning.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Yep, they might as well know what that ring might lead to.

I'm sure that brought a lot of smiles for that moment. Very cute.

You shouldn't take babies to Disney World, you know. They won't remember a thing.

Probably true, but what about the grown-ups? We will remember.

Maybe engagement rings should come with a warning label- something that reads like this: "WARNING! side effects of this ring include sleepless nights, toddler poop, projectile vomiting infants and an extra 5 lbs as a permanent 'souvenir'- apply with caution"

Oh my gosh, that's hysterical!! I'm sure Everett will just love that story when he gets older and he has to hear, "Remember that time you pooped right next to a guy proposing in the MK?" Too too funny!

Those are both super adorable.

Oh boy, do we ever have stories to embarrass him with when he gets older!

Landon did the same thing the last time I tried to measure him for the Indy Speedway. He just wouldn't stand there. I gave up and figured we'd try again next time. I hope we do get on it next time. It seems like the perfect ride for little boys. The first height restriction ride seems like such a huge milestone.

I love the little tail on Everett's outfit. Too cute!

I'm glad to hear Everett had a good time watching Wishes and the memories show. I'm sure it was priceless to hear him booming with the fireworks.

I bet Landon could have made the cut off on your last trip, but this time around he certainly will. I hope you have nice lenient CM staffing the speedway when you go, that way you don't have to worry about Landon standing still and tall.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Yikes, sounds like an eventful night!

It was one for the record books!

Poor little Everett! I'm glad to hear he wasn't hurt too badly. But, I'm sure it gave him (& y'all) a good scare! Reid fell out of the bed in Disney during his 1st trip in December because I didn't even think about asking whether or not they had bed rails.

Waiting to hear about the next episode of poop drama!

I was thinking about bed rails when I made the decision to co-sleep, but I didn't think that anyone would bring them to me at 2am. Maybe I should have at least asked

Reid and Everett can join the "most magical fall" club, glad to hear that he wasn't hurt either!

Oh no! Poor Everett. He must be quite the active sleeper. I'm sure he was probably pretty startled to wake up in that manner. I'm glad he didn't get hurt too bad.

We have DS in a toddler bed now and he is doing great sleeping in it... much better than he did in the crib. He never slept well at all in the crib, but since we put him in the bed, he'll sleep through the night most of the time without making a peep. I think now that he knows he can get out of bed if he wants to, it makes him less dramatic when he opens his eyes, and less likely to actually want out. It is just a bit closer to the ground than those Alligator Boyou beds though.

Everett doesn't stop moving, even in his sleep. I should have known that the impenetrable wall of pillows wasn't going to cut it, but I was tired and not thinking clearly.

That's interesting about your DS and the toddler bed. I'm really afraid of moving DS out of the crib, because I have visions of him roaming the house at all hours of the night and getting into untold trouble. I'm thinking about keeping him in the crib until he is 18 (at least!).

Aww, poor Everett! At least he wasn't hurt too bad. The same thing happened to my brother when he was little and he has never forgotten it!

Can't wait to hear about some more poop drama!

No, he wasn't too badly hurt, it was a pretty pathetic sight to see him laying there with his face streaked with tears and blood, I'm sure the memory will be harder on me than it will be on him!

Poor Everett! I would have/have done the same thing tho. DS didn't sleep through the night until he was like 3 1/2. I know how exhausting and frustrating that can be for everyone. I'm glad he wasn't seriously hurt and hope he is sleeping better for you now.

Everett goes through phases, he can be a really awesome sleeper, like he has been lately (knock on wood) or he can be just awful. It always seems like his awful times exactly correspond with our Disney trips, just to make things interesting.

Aww..Poor Everett for falling out of bed. The same thing happend to Colby last summer when we were on vacation with my Dad's whole family. He had woken up during the night and I brought him into bed with me (DH had left vaca early to get back to work). I, too, tried to make a wall of pillows, but it did not work either. Luckily, Colby was fine, too. I hope your day goes better than your night did!

The wall of pillows isn't everything its cracked up to be, is it! I never realized that falling out of bed on vacation was such a rite of passage, but I'm glad to see that Everett was in good company!

Wow what a rough night!!! I am glad he was okay! When my oldest was about 2 we stopped at a hotel on our way to my uncle's house. She refused to sleep in the pack and play so I let her sleep with me. In the middle of the night I heard a THUD followed by wailing screams. She had rolled out of bed, and was between the wall/bed/nightstand. It was pitch black in the room, and I was so disoriented! It felt like 5 minutes before I rescued her from the abyss!!!! She was fine, and went right back to sleep...I however was a nervous wreck!!!

I'm glad you were able to get some rest the rest of the night!

Oh no! at least Everett was "safe" on the floor and not trapped! I'm glad to hear that your daughter was OK. Isn't it awful how disoriented you get in a strange hotel room with your poor baby screaming!

All caught up! Poor Everett - DD had a similar fall in a hotel bed; we stayed at a hotel by the airport the night before our very early morning flight. She had pillows around her, but managed to roll off. For the first 5 day of vacation she had a scrape and rug burn on her nose.

Oh no! At least Everett didn't have any lasting battle scars from his fall! I'm sure the rug burn made for great vacation photos.

 

[amandaw]

I was thinking about bed rails when I made the decision to co-sleep, but I didn't think that anyone would bring them to me at 2am. Maybe I should have at least asked

Reid and Everett can join the "most magical fall" club, glad to hear that he wasn't hurt either!

After Reid fell off the bed that night, I hardly slept the rest of the trip. On our May trip, one of the 1st things I did when we got into our room was call for bed rails. Same thing when we got on the boat. I made sure I was going to sleep sound!

I like the idea of the "most magical fall" club. Maybe we should start a thread with that title & everyone could write about their different falling experiences at WDW.

The good thing about little boys is that they're pretty tough! Reid falls constantly. He always has bruises but usually not much more. Although, he has had a few cuts & he busted the bridge of his nose on the day he turned 18 months (1st set of stitches!).

 

[amandaw]

We have DS in a toddler bed now and he is doing great sleeping in it... much better than he did in the crib. He never slept well at all in the crib, but since we put him in the bed, he'll sleep through the night most of the time without making a peep. I think now that he knows he can get out of bed if he wants to, it makes him less dramatic when he opens his eyes, and less likely to actually want out.

I am now officially jealous of you! Reid always slept thru the night in his crib. He has not done that, even once, since we switched him to his toddler bed last June! He goes to sleep fine in his bed but then wakes up in the middle of the night & wanders to our bed. You got some pixie dust on the toddler bed sleeping!

 

[ladylyons]

Ahhh poor Everett falling out of the bed!! He's not the first or the last kid to do that though. Both my 4 year old DS and 2 year old DD fell out of the bed numerous times on our last 2 trips to Disneyland. The only one who would wake up crying was my DD. My DS would just sleep through it. In the morning we'd wake up and find him on the floor sound asleep!! Needless to say I'm getting bed rails from now on. It's no fun finding your child on the floor and knowing you didn't wake up and hear anything.

I don't know if I could do a red-eye, I hate sleeping on planes, and I'm sure as soon as Everett realized that I expected him to go to sleep, he'd do the exact opposite!

Glad to hear that you didn't have trouble with a double stroller! Since I'd like to have at least one more child, I'm sure a double is in my future at some point. Good to know that the buses are still doable with a little planning.

Oh don't worry I didn't sleep a wink on the plane. I thought I had it all figured out. My daughter was in a front carrier I had so I figured after take off she could go back into it and we both could get a little sleep. Yeah that didn't happen. She slept I stayed awake holding her. I've nursed all of my kids so she was still nursing and anytime I'd move her she'd wake up and then I'd have to nurse her back to sleep. Oh well you live and learn. One trick that did work was we had the kids take their normal nap and then we kept them up until we got on the plane cuz then we knew they would fall asleep no matter what since they were sooooo tired!!

Planning makes almost everything doable.

 

[xiaomingro]

I am on board for this trip report.

 

[MeMom]

Jill, Trent, and I went on a long weekend vacation with some friends at Fall Creek Falls once when the kids were little. We were sharing a cabin, giving us one room and one bed. Trent fell off the bed in the middle of the night, and I grabbed him in the dark and put him back into bed with me. He whimpered a little, but that was the end of it. A few hours later, by the light of day, I discovered a busted chin and a bunch of dried up blood. I'm such a good mom. Lesson learned from that was that God made lights to be turned on in the middle of the night for a reason. He was fine, though - we taped it up with bandages and he was none the worse for the wear.

So glad you didn't get shot by an angry bayou neighbor.

 

[afwdwfan]

That's interesting about your DS and the toddler bed. I'm really afraid of moving DS out of the crib, because I have visions of him roaming the house at all hours of the night and getting into untold trouble. I'm thinking about keeping him in the crib until he is 18 (at least!).

I kind of had the same thoughts myself. He just hated the crib and would scream and try to climb out. It was getting to the point that we were afraid he was going to hurt himself trying to get out of the crib. We have to go through the routine every night to make sure doors are closed and the gate to the stairs is closed so he only has access to his room. our room and the hallway, but it works for us. I think we made the change when he was about 14 or 15 months and it has resulted in more sleep for all 3 of us.

I am now officially jealous of you! Reid always slept thru the night in his crib. He has not done that, even once, since we switched him to his toddler bed last June! He goes to sleep fine in his bed but then wakes up in the middle of the night & wanders to our bed. You got some pixie dust on the toddler bed sleeping!

He does wander into our room once in a while. Usually about 5:30 or 6:00 am. We get up at around 6 though, so it isn't nearly as bad as when he'd wake us up 3 or 4 times every night when he was in his crib. I guess it's just the broken record theory that all kids are different. What works for one may not work for the next one.

 

[khertz]

Poor Everett!! Among other things, that is why I'm not a fan of co-sleeping. We have done it in a pinch though, but usually only when the situation is desperate. It doesn't result in much sleep for me though because I keep an arm around him and wake up every time he even twitches. I try to make sure whatever is on the other side of him is DH or the wall because he is a mover when he sleeps!

 

[kdevoe]

I just found your trip report and I can't wait to hear more. I just had a baby 3months ago and I'm already planning his first trip to Dinsey World. He will be 20 months at the time so your trip report is really giving me some good pointers. Thanx!!

 

[sunny_stace]

Oh no! Poor little Everett! My Dneice (4) is horrible for falling out of bed...sounds like it wasn't the most magical night. BUt at least you were able to get some sleep! Poor little guy....I bet the next day made up for it though!

 

[Thadine]

Poor Everett, must have been quite a scare for both of you.
Glad he was more or less ok though.

You really had me laughinh with the poop story.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Episode 27- the dreaded pool poop- warning- not for the squeamish!

(Sorry for another update without photos- I need to keep both hands on Everett when we are at the pool, because he has no fear, so I can’t risk being distracted even for a second with a camera)

Since this was our scheduled rest day, what was the first order of business, get everyone moving and out of the hotel room, of course! It might be a non-park day, but resting wasn’t on my itinerary. I hate hanging around hotel rooms, I never know what to do with myself and frankly, if I just wanted to watch TV and stay in bed, I could have just stayed home. I got everything together so we could bring our breakfast and eat in the food court, and then head directly to the pool.

We made our way over to the food court, and I did feel a little strange, bringing my own breakfast to the food court (disclaimer- I also sneak candy into movie theaters), but we did have our refillable mugs, so I figured that gave us license to sit at the tables and relax.

It was an easy going morning, breakfast went well, with no problems or meltdowns, and we were soon on our way to log some pool time. Everett had been itching to get to the pool since the first day, so he was more than happy to head in that direction.

When we arrived at the pool, I laid our stuff out on some loungers near the kiddie pool, since I thought that was where we going to spend the bulk of our time. I got Everett out of the stroller and put him in the pool, and he immediately burst into tears. Waterworks were not on my carefully planned schedule! I stepped into the pool to get him out and I noticed that it was pretty cold, so I decided on a change of plans, scrap the kiddie pool, head over into the heated big pool.

I took him over to the pool steps, and DH disappeared at this point. I think he went back to the room to retrieve something he forgot (maybe his sunglasses? I didn’t write it down), but it was just me and Everett. DS did a total 180 when he got to the big pool, in his world steps are a good time, and steps and water, are an irresistible combination. The water was much warmer and I had a much happier toddler. I held DS’s hands as he climbed up and down, making sure he didn’t climb down over his head. He has no fear of the water, and would have just jumped right in if I didn’t keep a hand on him.

At one point he decided it would be super fun to lean over and stick his whole face in the water, and he did multiple times. This made me a little nervous, but he didn’t keep his face under for too long, so I figured he wouldn’t drowned himself.

We spent a long while on the steps, just having fun and splashing around. It was still pretty early, so the pool wasn’t super crowded, and I was glad because if people needed to keep getting in and out of the pool, we wouldn’t have been able to monopolize the steps. At this point DH had returned from his errand, and wanted to take Everett in deeper. He took him from me, and took him out into the water, spinning him in circles playing motor boat, and Everett was just laughing and splashing.

Sometime in between me handing him to DH and getting out of the pool, Everett did something I hoped would never come to pass- the dreaded pool poop. Everett was in swim lessons last summer, and every time before we would get in the pool, I would tell him to be sure not to poop when we were in the water. I know that is what those swim diapers are for, but I didn’t want to test the product. It worked like a magic charm, and we made it through an entire summer of swim lessons with no pooping in the pool. Well, this time around, I must have forgot my magic incantation, because when the motor boat “ran out of gas” for the final time, Everett much have picked up the slack.

DH got out of the pool and handed Everett to me, and I could smell immediately what had happened.

Me: “Mark, you let Everett poop in the pool!”
DH: “I didn’t know what was going on- how was I supposed to know he was pooping! What do we do now?”

Well I knew we were going to have a soggy mess to clean up, and I quickly scanned through my options. I could carry him across the pool deck to the rest room and change him there, potentially dripping poop water the whole way over, or I could just lay him down on the ground right there next to our stuff (which was already being dripped on) and get him cleaned up immediately.

Well, immediately won out. Luckily we were back around the kiddie pool, and right next to a trashcan. No one else was around to offend, and I figured if anyone did come back there during the clean-up operation, they were likely parents too, and could understand the situation.

I had luckily brought my entire diaper bag, so I was armed with plenty of wipes, plastic bags, and disinfectant spray, so I think I did a pretty bag up job of getting DS cleaned up and also making sure all the surfaces we touched were property disinfected.

For anyone curious- yes, swim diapers do work containing the mess while you are in the pool, it just the aftermath that can get a little messy!

After we hurdled that big milestone, the pool lost it appeal, so we decided to cut our losses and head over to DTD to get lunch.

 

[CandleontheWater]

After Reid fell off the bed that night, I hardly slept the rest of the trip. On our May trip, one of the 1st things I did when we got into our room was call for bed rails. Same thing when we got on the boat. I made sure I was going to sleep sound!

I like the idea of the "most magical fall" club. Maybe we should start a thread with that title & everyone could write about their different falling experiences at WDW.

The good thing about little boys is that they're pretty tough! Reid falls constantly. He always has bruises but usually not much more. Although, he has had a few cuts & he busted the bridge of his nose on the day he turned 18 months (1st set of stitches!).

I understand! I feel like Everett is constantly covered in bumps and bruises! Yikes about Reid's big fall! I'm happy we haven't had to deal with stitches yet (knock on wood!)

Ahhh poor Everett falling out of the bed!! He's not the first or the last kid to do that though. Both my 4 year old DS and 2 year old DD fell out of the bed numerous times on our last 2 trips to Disneyland. The only one who would wake up crying was my DD. My DS would just sleep through it. In the morning we'd wake up and find him on the floor sound asleep!! Needless to say I'm getting bed rails from now on. It's no fun finding your child on the floor and knowing you didn't wake up and hear anything.


Oh don't worry I didn't sleep a wink on the plane. I thought I had it all figured out. My daughter was in a front carrier I had so I figured after take off she could go back into it and we both could get a little sleep. Yeah that didn't happen. She slept I stayed awake holding her. I've nursed all of my kids so she was still nursing and anytime I'd move her she'd wake up and then I'd have to nurse her back to sleep. Oh well you live and learn. One trick that did work was we had the kids take their normal nap and then we kept them up until we got on the plane cuz then we knew they would fall asleep no matter what since they were sooooo tired!!

Planning makes almost everything doable.

You have one tough DS! I can't imagine how surprised you must have been to find your son on the floor, instead of safe in bed!

I am on board for this trip report.

Thanks for joining in!

Jill, Trent, and I went on a long weekend vacation with some friends at Fall Creek Falls once when the kids were little. We were sharing a cabin, giving us one room and one bed. Trent fell off the bed in the middle of the night, and I grabbed him in the dark and put him back into bed with me. He whimpered a little, but that was the end of it. A few hours later, by the light of day, I discovered a busted chin and a bunch of dried up blood. I'm such a good mom. Lesson learned from that was that God made lights to be turned on in the middle of the night for a reason. He was fine, though - we taped it up with bandages and he was none the worse for the wear.

So glad you didn't get shot by an angry bayou neighbor.

Poor Trent! I'm sure it was harder on you than it was on him, he seems like a tough cookie!

Poor Everett!! Among other things, that is why I'm not a fan of co-sleeping. We have done it in a pinch though, but usually only when the situation is desperate. It doesn't result in much sleep for me though because I keep an arm around him and wake up every time he even twitches. I try to make sure whatever is on the other side of him is DH or the wall because he is a mover when he sleeps!

Maybe I should have put him in the middle between be and DH, but I still worry about one of us rolling over on him. I can't wait until Everett is big enough to sleep in a big boy bed on his own, and I don't have to worry about him falling out!

 

[CandleontheWater]

I kind of had the same thoughts myself. He just hated the crib and would scream and try to climb out. It was getting to the point that we were afraid he was going to hurt himself trying to get out of the crib. We have to go through the routine every night to make sure doors are closed and the gate to the stairs is closed so he only has access to his room. our room and the hallway, but it works for us. I think we made the change when he was about 14 or 15 months and it has resulted in more sleep for all 3 of us.

He does wander into our room once in a while. Usually about 5:30 or 6:00 am. We get up at around 6 though, so it isn't nearly as bad as when he'd wake us up 3 or 4 times every night when he was in his crib. I guess it's just the broken record theory that all kids are different. What works for one may not work for the next one.

So far Everett is still liking his crib, and he hasn't even tried to climb out yet (which is surprising since he has tried to climb everything else in the house) I think it is because the only place I let him have his paci is in the crib. He doesn't even want to get out of the crib in the morning, because he knows it will be "bye-bye paci" time. We're working on getting rid of the pacis, so I think he might not be so good about the crib after they are gone.

I just found your trip report and I can't wait to hear more. I just had a baby 3months ago and I'm already planning his first trip to Dinsey World. He will be 20 months at the time so your trip report is really giving me some good pointers. Thanx!!

Thanks for reading! So glad to be able to help out!

Oh no! Poor little Everett! My Dneice (4) is horrible for falling out of bed...sounds like it wasn't the most magical night. BUt at least you were able to get some sleep! Poor little guy....I bet the next day made up for it though!

It was nice to be able to sleep in a little, I just wish it wasn't because of so much drama in the middle of the night!

Poor Everett, must have been quite a scare for both of you.
Glad he was more or less ok though.

You really had me laughinh with the poop story.

He was pretty much fine, no lasting trouble! I'm glad you find poop stories funny, because here comes another one for ya!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Oh no, not the pool poop! At least it was contained!

 

[amandaw]

I was lucky enough to never find out if Little Swimmers really worked or not. But, I'm glad they worked for you! It would've been a whole lot messier (& embarrassing) if they hadn't!

I know exactly what you mean about Everett being fearless around the water. Reid has always been the exact same way. Those 2 sound so much alike - they'd have a great time playing together. But, I think you & I would be exhausted afterwards!