[B]Tips for taking a 18mo. old[/B]

[Minnie*bell]

Omgosh!!!! What a babydoll!!!! She is beautiful!!!!!! I can't wait to be a mommy!!!!

 

[dizziedupbaby0127]

Thank you! Yes, being a mom is very rewarding! but tons of work! Try and enjoy the quiet and sleep while you can! Trying to do the math in my head your close to your 40 weeks right? that was the worst for me! I just wanted to hold her and play with her! When I finally got her, all I wanted was to sleep! haha and now I just want to take her to Disney! Since we are missing our yearly trip this year, waiting till next August is killing me! Hence the current planning! haha

Oh and goodluck with your birth! My one piece of advice is this: Don't have set expectations of how things will go! They will do what they want when they want and a happy, healthy baby and mom is the most imporatant thing!

 

[Minnie*bell]

Thank you! Yes, being a mom is very rewarding! but tons of work! Try and enjoy the quiet and sleep while you can! Trying to do the math in my head your close to your 40 weeks right? that was the worst for me! I just wanted to hold her and play with her! When I finally got her, all I wanted was to sleep! haha and now I just want to take her to Disney! Since we are missing our yearly trip this year, waiting till next August is killing me! Hence the current planning! haha

Oh and goodluck with your birth! My one piece of advice is this: Don't have set expectations of how things will go! They will do what they want when they want and a happy, healthy baby and mom is the most imporatant thing!

I'm about 30 weeks right now, getting some heartburn as we speak. I think his hair is growing in there! lol! = ) But I hear ya on the waiting for the vacation thing!! It's gonna be so hard!! We just went to the beach for a weekend & that was tough, 7 hr drive prego is not awesome! So our next real vaca will be WDW in over a year!! I think fall 2011 or whenever the best deal is. I'd love to get free dining, that would be a great deal! Planning for disney is almost as much fun as being there anyways! I'm just waiting untill we can actually start planning in Aug!! This was def some great advice for when it's time. I'll have a big family w/ me as well so it will be easier. Everyone wants to see the baby's 1rst trip to WDW. Plus we think we might try C Springs 2. The rooms look really nice since the reno. I'd love the stay on the monorail but it's hard to spend the $ when the moderates & values are so nice! As far as baby goes I'll plan on being really tired,all the time, it will all be worth the exhaustion!

 

[nemofans]

One thing we do that I haven't seen mentioned yet is we ship a box down to our resort ahead of time. Babies & toddlers need lots of supplies & I don't like bringing tons of luggage. I ship (thru UPS) diapers, wipes, disposable sippys, snacks, swim diapers, Wet Ones, disposable spoons, disposable bibs, etc.

Also, fireworks are loud & can scare little ones. We don't stay for them, but will watch them from somewhere else like Poly beach, Narcoossee's, or California Grill.

Don't try to do everything. Go at little one's pace & take breaks.

Let her have a Mickey ice cream bar!

My DSs got their own plane seats as toddlers & we use CARES harness.

 

[PebblesMom]

We went when my DS was 18 months and it was an awesome trip! I think that 18 months is a great age to go!!!! If you are taking a car seat with you, I would recommend gate checking it, because sometimes on Southwest (if the flight is not full) they will allow you to use your car seat without having to purchace a seat. We have gotten a seat for DS and we have had a lap baby, if you have any extra $ I would get her a seat (much easier for you)! For the plane ride my DS did well with stickers, small toys, and a sucker or sippy cup to suck on for take off and landing! Take advantage of the baby care centers, they are wonderful! Have fun

 

[dizziedupbaby0127]

I'm about 30 weeks right now, getting some heartburn as we speak. I think his hair is growing in there! lol! = ) But I hear ya on the waiting for the vacation thing!! It's gonna be so hard!! We just went to the beach for a weekend & that was tough, 7 hr drive prego is not awesome! So our next real vaca will be WDW in over a year!! I think fall 2011 or whenever the best deal is. I'd love to get free dining, that would be a great deal! Planning for disney is almost as much fun as being there anyways! I'm just waiting untill we can actually start planning in Aug!! This was def some great advice for when it's time. I'll have a big family w/ me as well so it will be easier. Everyone wants to see the baby's 1rst trip to WDW. Plus we think we might try C Springs 2. The rooms look really nice since the reno. I'd love the stay on the monorail but it's hard to spend the $ when the moderates & values are so nice! As far as baby goes I'll plan on being really tired,all the time, it will all be worth the exhaustion!

We are hopeing for Free Dining too and we are planning to stay at Coronado Springs too! Maybe we will end up there the same time! I agree with the monorail resorts, being more accessible but we have stayed at the Poly before and we actually had a worse expirence then at the values! But the queen beds and hot tub was my hook-line-sinker!

One thing we do that I haven't seen mentioned yet is we ship a box down to our resort ahead of time. Babies & toddlers need lots of supplies & I don't like bringing tons of luggage. I ship (thru UPS) diapers, wipes, disposable sippys, snacks, swim diapers, Wet Ones, disposable spoons, disposable bibs, etc.

Also, fireworks are loud & can scare little ones. We don't stay for them, but will watch them from somewhere else like Poly beach, Narcoossee's, or California Grill.

Don't try to do everything. Go at little one's pace & take breaks.

Let her have a Mickey ice cream bar!

My DSs got their own plane seats as toddlers & we use CARES harness.

I have been back and fourth on the plane seat and CARES harness, but I think its going to come down to money for us. We are either flying SW or JB, JB i wouldn;t want to use it anyways since they are 2 seats per row, but SW baby rates I hear are not that great, and atleast at this point we just can't afford it. But I am keeping it in mind.

We are also lucky enough to have weekly fireworks near us, so we will be testing those out before we go, to see how she does, I do plan on some kind of earphones or plugs, since they can get loud.

And yes the shipping is a great idea! I am sure we will use this, no way DH will be OK will lugging around 2 extra suitcases filled with food and diapers haha, he would rather eat PB&J for 6 months to save the money to ship them! haha

 

[dizziedupbaby0127]

We went when my DS was 18 months and it was an awesome trip! I think that 18 months is a great age to go!!!! If you are taking a car seat with you, I would recommend gate checking it, because sometimes on Southwest (if the flight is not full) they will allow you to use your car seat without having to purchace a seat. We have gotten a seat for DS and we have had a lap baby, if you have any extra $ I would get her a seat (much easier for you)! For the plane ride my DS did well with stickers, small toys, and a sucker or sippy cup to suck on for take off and landing! Take advantage of the baby care centers, they are wonderful! Have fun

Thats very interesting about SW, maybe even if we can't afford the extra seat, I might try and purchase the CARES system (considering I'm sure we will use it in other years) and then if they will let us, use it. We won't be bring the car seat since we are only using Disney transportation.

 

[nemofans]

SWA's baby rates are too expensive. We fly SWA & purchase Wanna Get Away rates for all of us. It is so much cheaper no matter what age they are.
CARES has been wonderful. I bought it when my 1st DS was a toddler & used it on many flight w/him. Now my 2nd DS is using it.
The boxes I have shipped to WDW in the past trips have cost around $20-30 depending on how much I put in. This last trip I had breakfast & snacks for all of us too which raised the shipping cost to $35.

 

[PirateKate]

Your baby Riley is such a cutie! My son, Landon was born March 19, so they are about the same age. I always think it is so much fun when they start smiling and laughing. What a great age!

 

[dizziedupbaby0127]

Your baby Riley is such a cutie! My son, Landon was born March 19, so they are about the same age. I always think it is so much fun when they start smiling and laughing. What a great age!

Thank you! and I love it, sometimes gets laughing so hard I am afraid she's going to throw up! I just hate how they grow so fast!


Where did everyone purchase the CARES harness? I was googleing it but wasn't thrilled with what I found.

 

[starann]

We took out 1.5 and 2.5yo in 2006. We drove, so we were able to stop to get diapers and such. I forget if you said if you would be renting a car, but if you are, pack some diapers/juice/milk and stop to get the rest on your way to the hotel.

We made sure we had a comfy stroller becuase the boys were in it a good part of the time (they also napped in the stroller, but my kids will nap anywhere!). We packed a poncho for the stroller (in case of rain, this way the kids had a dry place to sit). It was a pain to lug it on and off the buses, but we have a double stroller, so it was a bit more cumbersome.

Our boys were used to being in resturants and shopping (I had them out at very young ages!) so the crazy schedule of Didney didn't affect them too much, but we made sure we allowed enough down time for them and if they started to have some cranky times, we took them back to the room to rest or unwind.


Good Luck!