Am I crazy?!?! A 10 week old at WDW??

[DISNEYmooner2008]

We are planning on taking our 10 week old to WDW March 3-10th. Are we nuts?!?! All we are getting is negativity from EVERYONE..... Tell me your experiences and ease my mind!! We leave in one month!!

 

[letsgoagainsoon]

We took 3month old twins (plus a 4yr old). Everybody thought WE WERE CRAZY. I think it all depends on your parenting and your child. You have to be laid back and take it easy. It's definitely doable, we had a great time.

 

[Tiffany_MommyOf3]

We took a 1 week old. Its the easiest time to go LOL. So long as they are fed and changed - all is well in the world. LOL

 

[NotUrsula]

I did it in September '07. She was fine and happy as a clam in her sling -- they are effortless travelers at that age, especially if they are nursing. The only difficulty we had was one situation where I had trouble getting a cool enough place to be for awhile at DAK while DH and DS rode Everest. (This was before the new table service restaurant opened. Our plan had been to go see the Nemo show, but it was down temporarily. I ended up walking back to the hub before I could find a cool quiet place to rest for awhile, and she got a bit overheated in the process.)

Obviously, if you are nursing, drink LOTS of water, especially if the weather is warmer than it is at home -- your body will have to adjust to a different thirst level from baby.

You will end up waiting out rides for baby swap, and often I just didn't feel like riding after the wait, so my advice to you is to always be the parent who rides FIRST if at all possible, especially if you are nursing. That way you won't have been trapped waiting in one place while dealing with fussy, and always getting greeted by happy people who haven't been; it can make you grumpy after a while. If you have already ridden you can leave the area after the swap; just send a text to your SO letting them know where to find you & baby when they finish the ride. The change of scene helps, and not always being the one getting left behind is a psychological boost, especially that soon after a pregnancy that ALSO meant you had to sit out rides.

 

[wishtdream]

My dd was 7 weeks old for her first trip to WDW in sept of 07. It was so easy. Our family had a wonderful trip. My advice - Get a sling or a hands free baby carrier. You cannot take strollers into alot of the venues and the sling saved our trip.

 

[daisy2jae]

We keep moving while at WDW. I have never taken a baby/newborn to WDW. It works for some but it wouldn't for me. At that stage with my children all I wanted to do it sit at home and cuddle. I hated the idea exposing them to people at Wal-mart. The heat and crowds would worry me too much with a newborn but March isn't a bad time with weather. I'm sure you already know the best things to do with traveling with children and a baby. Just remember what may work with one family may not work for another. No matter what choice you make people still stare at the parks. I think as long a mother is taking good care of her child then no matter what the age the child will be fine.

 

[AmyBWV99]

We took DS#1 at 9 weeks and DS #2 at 3 weeks as well as his 2.5yo big brother. They are easy but be prepared, for whatever reason people feel the need to comment. We got it each time we took them as little babies some people were like awe.... some really judgemental. Yeah we know he won't remember it.....he's not paying for it so I think we're even, we hear/heard that alot, even from family.

One that stands out tho; we were in LTT waiting for a our table with our group of 20 and 2 women were talking to themselves, finally asked how old DS#2 was I said 3 weeks, they looked like I grew 3 heads, and seemed appalled. I couldn't help it they kept staring! so I just said, "well I was lucky he deceided to come early on his own or he'd have only been 2 weeks, and I get to have C-sections so recovery isn't a big deal".

 

[MiniGirl]

I agree with the others. Babies are so portable at that age. Go and have a great time, but do get a sling and learn how to use it easily before you go. Another great thing about a sling is that it keeps strangers' hands off the new baby. I know I wore my babies nice and close and nobody was brave enough to stick their hand in there to look at the baby. When the baby was in a stroller, people thought nothing of reaching in and touching the baby's face or hands.

 

[RMulieri]

It is doable,people have done it loads of times... and a total personal choice...not for me.March can be crowded. 1) At 10 wks my kid was still up at all hours of the night...not good for trying to get rest for touring, nor good for a screaming baby keeping people in the rooms on either side of me awake 2) I had the most awful case of postpartum depression and was in no shape to schlepp around a themepark.3) a crowded themepark= lots of germs ,no big deal for older kids, a newborn...not so good. But this was me.Good luck with your trip.

 

[disneybridetobe]

My dd was 7 weeks old for her first trip to WDW in sept of 07. It was so easy. Our family had a wonderful trip. My advice - Get a sling or a hands free baby carrier. You cannot take strollers into alot of the venues and the sling saved our trip.

OMG my heart just melted.. your DD is precious!!

 

[TaraPA]

We took our DS8 when he was 7 weeks old. He was 4 weeks early, and only 6 pounds at 7 weeks old, so he was teeny. No one gave us any grief or comments about him being too young. I used a front carrier most of the time, and a covered, reclining umbrella stroller other times. It was my easiest trip ever with him! Make sure & take some time to use the Baby Care Centers in the parks, they were awesome for nursing! The only downside was that he was still up twice a night to nurse and I was slep-deprived - but I would rather be sleep deprived at WDW than at home!

October 2000

 

[DISNEYmooner2008]

We are planning on taking our Maclaren to use for our stroller, and also our moby wrap, hotsling, and snugli. Ava has been sleeping consistently through the night since she was 2 weeks old - so for 3 weeks now, so I don't think sleep will be an issue for her or me. We are going the first week in March - 3-10th, so I'm hoping the weather won't be too hot and the crowds won't be too bad. We've planned sit down breakfasts, lunches, and dinners to give us a break. If Ava gets fussy we are prepared to go back to the hotel for a rest, ect... I think it will be a great trip!!!

 

[roscoepc1]

Babies are portable, especially at that age! I wouldn't hesitate to take one, with the understanding that obviously you're not going to get to go on a lot of rides etc....without handing off, of course!

 

[abcboys]

Just me personally but I would never take a baby that age unless going to disney is an every year thing and not a big deal. My last child seemed to cry all the time. He was a lot of work. It would not have been fun taking him on a vacation at that age. I guess it depends also if you get an easy going baby or a fussy one like I had.

 

[alyssa810]

We took our son at 12 weeks, and it was fine...except that he got sick and I ended up bringing him home a day early. I fell in love with the baby care centers on that trip....

 

[dsneygirl]

We took DS at 12 weeks and had no issues. Certainly no one stared or made snide comments. There are tonnes of babies at WDW after all. If I had a high needs or colicky baby I would think twice but we had a very easy going newborn who was only waking once a night at that point so it was pretty easy.

 

[wishtdream]

OMG my heart just melted.. your DD is precious!!

Thank You

Just me personally but I would never take a baby that age unless going to Disney is an every year thing and not a big deal. My last child seemed to cry all the time. He was a lot of work. It would not have been fun taking him on a vacation at that age. I guess it depends also if you get an easy going baby or a fussy one like I had.

Many family's have several years between children. If we all waited until the youngest was an "acceptable" "convenient" "well behaved" age to do all the things that we as parents and our colder children desire we would do nothing at all.

We took DS#1 at 9 weeks and DS #2 at 3 weeks as well as his 2.5yo big brother. They are easy but be prepared, for whatever reason people feel the need to comment. We got it each time we took them as little babies some people were like awe.... some really judgemental. Yeah we know he won't remember it.....he's not paying for it so I think we're even, we hear/heard that alot, even from family.

One that stands out tho; we were in LTT waiting for a our table with our group of 20 and 2 women were talking to themselves, finally asked how old DS#2 was I said 3 weeks, they looked like I grew 3 heads, and seemed appalled. I couldn't help it they kept staring! so I just said, "well I was lucky he deceided to come early on his own or he'd have only been 2 weeks, and I get to have C-sections so recovery isn't a big deal".

I understand completely - our oldest has been to many different destinations with us. Her first vacation she was 9 months old. The youngest by virtue of age will never catch up. We do not always plan our trips around our kids wants but we don't leave the kids behind when we go on vacation. This particular trip was planned to celebrate my older DD's 5th birthday. We got lots of comments, some positive, some negative and some down right mean. We have no regrets but we do have some great pictures.

The OP must do what is right for her family not try to please everyone else. I'm sure whatever she decides will be with her childs best interests at heart.

 

[Tiger926]

Convenience and ease is not the issue, but the fact that you will have a very immature and undeveloped immune system in a place full of germs. Both our kids were 10 and 11 months respectively, on their first trips. I would absolutely not have taken them any sooner. Sure, you can keep them covered up in a stroller or you can wear them, but airborne germs are a big problem.

We took our 1st and last trip in March, when our baby girl was 22 months old - it was her 2nd trip. Little did we know that March in Orlando is peak strep throat and rotavirus season. She ended up in hospital at Arnold Palmer's Children's Hospital for 1.5 days, and we are beyond vigilant with health issues. These two issues, also caused her body to suffer a host of other problems, such as severe dehydration, acidosis and gastroenteritis. It was not good! We were alone and far from home in Canada - she recovered well, but still struggled and she was 22 months old. I can't imagine what would happen if a newborn caught something serious like this...

The problem with March is that it's fickle weather in Orlando, and this is the big one, all of us cold weather people bring our germs and viruses to Orlando. Our Olrando pediatric specialists said this was the biggest problem with coming to Orlando between Nov - April - tons of viruses floating around in an already very germy place.

I wish health and wellness to your baby and hope that your trip is magical whenever you go! As a parent who has spent days in hospital when I should have been at the parks though, it is a scary place to be in!

Tiger

 

[Ginamarie]

We'll be travelling with DS in April, and he'll be turning 4 months old on that trip. I'm not too worried about travelling with him. They're so easy when they're young- they just want to nurse and snuggle and sleep.

 

[PrinceCharmingsMom]

My general rule of thumb is if you have to ask if its crazy then you kinda generally have a gut feeling that it might not be the right thing for you.

That being said. All parents and children are different. I personally didn't take my child out of the house other than to the Dr until he was 12 weeks old. That's just me.

However, I am a Florida Resident and Disney Annual Pass Holder and we go all the time now. My son's 1st trip day only was at 7 months. He has been several other times for a week at a time, but he is now 17 months.

You do need to be aware of the babies immune system and how succeptible they are. There are tons of germs all over Disney. There was a family just a few months ago traveling to Disney from overseas and they got sick found out it was Tuberculosis. They were going to Disney. So you just have to know what's right for you in your heart.

I think you also have to think about what you are coming for. Do you want to do the rides and shows or are you more about the resort and ambiance?

If all else fails try the old tried and true get out a pen and paper draw a line down the middle and weigh the pros and cons.