Crying Babies

[DWhittles]

Ya know, before I had my son, I thought I was the Disney EXPERT. You could blindfold me and I could walk through the parks and I knew exactly where I was going and what to do when.
Now that I'm going with my son, I feel like a complete beginer!
I'm attempting to cover every single base and be prepared for every single situation that might arise.
My question is: What do you do when your child starts to cry either on a ride or in an attraction?
My husband flips out when my son cries in public. (I always remind him that PJ is a BABY and babies CRY!)
You can't get up and walk out on POTC or HM. How do you handle an upset munchkin in those situations?
My son will be 9 months old at the time of our trip...

 

[VAN]

My kids are a little older now (18 & 19), but I would think a pacifier, snuggle with favorite parent, soft talking/singing in their ear, etc.

In all my times at WDW, I haven't really noticed crying babies in attractions to be a problem.

 

[js]

My kids are a little older, 6 and 10 but always stressed out that they would cry on a ride (or in public LOL) when they were babies. I always made sure I had a bottle or binkey when getting on a ride (with the exception of TGMR in MGM...I forgot my ds bottle when he was a baby and he screamed the whole ride ).
Anyway, tell your husband that usually when others have children and they hear another person's baby crying, they are just major thankful it's not their kid crying LOL I know I always am
Enjoy!

 

[FOV]

My youngest is 3 so the baby years are still fresh in my mind - and we were at Disney with babies as you will be.

I agree 100% with the other posters. We always had a little snack, toy and drink with us - which usually works well. If it doesn't just try to stay relaxed and cuddle your baby - make sure PJ knows everything is okay and that you love him (this is when I would love to kiss the back of their neck...) When you get off the attraction just find a quiet bench somewhere and gently hold your baby until he calms down. Most people understand babies cry and as long as the parent is doing something about it rarely do people get upset. If you are getting stressed because you feel like everyone is staring at you just try to take a couple deep breaths and focus on PJ and block everyone else out.

If your husband gets stressed send him off on an errand (to find a napkin, park map - anything!) while you calm the baby. You could also say something like - "Why don't you go on a ride - I'm going to sit this one out with PJ...)

You will have a great time!

 

[takemetoo]

My youngest was 9 months on our last trip. I nursed him whenever he cried in an attraction. Worked like a charm.

Amy

 

[DWhittles]

Thanks guys!
He will be in the Bjorn on all the rides and he's usually a really good natured little guy. Only fusses when he's over tired.
Have I mentioned how excited I am for this trip?

 

[dkal95]

I wondered about this too... my youngest will be almost 17 months old when we go.

You should be excited, DWhittles! I am so excited too! It looks like we'll be there at the same time. We'll be in Orlando from 10/1-10/8 and then we'll be in Clearwater until the 10th, and then home.

 

[eeyore kelly]

My kids are older now, but when I hear a baby crying in public, I feel sorry for the parents. I always stressed when my babies cried in public. DH is a little less understanding at times but a good nudge from me makes him behave. DS was colicky, so we had our fair share of public crying. It's our turn to be understanding.

 

[GEM]

Like somebody else said, if you are breastfeeding, a little milk works like a charm to make the tears stop! It's great because it's ready anytime anywhere instantly. We traveled a lot when our little guy was a baby and we never had an unpleasant meltdown anywhere. In fact, it still works and he's 15 months old now! Have fun!

 

[DWhittles]

PJ had his first real public meltdown at a restaurant about a month ago and I was so intent on getting him to quiet down, I didn't even realize that the crying MIGHT be bothering the other diners. When it dawned on me I scooped him up and left the restaurant for a few moments.
It's like my dad says "When it's your kids crying, it's fine, but if it's someone elses...shoot them"
I just KNOW my DH will start in with the "I TOLD you this was a bad idea, he's too little to have come, this was dumb."
Ya know..the stuff that really helps in a crisis situation.
Diana

 

[POOH&PIGLET]

Originally posted by DWhittles
I'm attempting to cover every single base and be prepared for every single situation that might arise.

That's not possible. I also try to plan for everything but something unexpected always come up.

Once you get to WDW, don't worry about planning, just relax and enjoy the trip. Don't get upset if your baby cries at WDW (or anywhere else in public) that will just make things worse. Besides, people expect crying babies at WDW.

Our two oldest DDs never really cried on any rides when they were infants. They did cry at some shows & we took them outside immediately. Sometimes it seemed that the louder the noise, the more likely it was they would fall asleep. Go figure.

Have fun & take lots of pictures, they grow up so fast.

P.S. Our youngest will be 7 months on her first trip to WDW in January!

 

[justhat]

My husband also panics when our 5 month old daughter cries in public (which happened a lot when she was under 2 months old if we were out at night since she cried for an hour everynight before she went to sleep). You might be surprised at how well your baby does in WDW. We went in May with extended family and friends, right before my daughter turned 3 months, and everyone in our group commented on how lucky we were to have such a great baby since she never cried during the trip. We went back in June (she was 3.5 months) and she never cried then either. Of course, we were the most shocked since at home she's very high-need and at that age she'd cry whenever she was put down. Well, in WDW she was in the Bjorn most of the day, which made her very happy, but she was also generally happy in her stroller, which is not always the case at home. But what also helped is that on vacation you are spending all of your time with your baby, unlike at home where you've got to cook, do laundry, vacuum, etc. So when they are in a fussy mood you're probably already holding them so it's not a big issue. People would ask my while we were there if it was hard taking such a young baby and I told them I found it easier than being home!

But it was true, she was a dream baby in WDW. My daughter only cried in one attraction, and it was FotLK in AK. We were sitting in the 'Lion' section and everytime they said to roar a little kid behind us would let out this incredibly loud, ear-piercing shriek after the rest of the section stopped yelling and everytime she did this my daughter started crying. So my husband ended up taking her outside, where he got himself an ice cream and waited till the show ended. In this case it was more because the noise bothered her, since it was so loud in that show that people didn't really notice her crying. What helped a lot is what many others have said-when she's start to get squimy or whiny, I'd nurse her and she'd typically fall asleep (not something she usually did at home). Also, she was easily over-stiimulated at that age, but she never had trouble falling asleep in the Bjorn or stroller when she needed a nap. Since your son is older and will probably be facing out, just turn him towards you if he gets fussy and he'll probably fall asleep. We're heading to Disneyland next week and that's what I plan to do with my daughter since she'll be 6 months old and would not be too happy facing in the whole trip like she did in May and June.

Have a great trip, and don't worry, even if he cries, you'll see at least 10 more around you crying!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

You guys have some REAL CUTE babies!!!

Fact is that babies cry!! I happen to have one that cried a LOT. You do all you can and then just let people deal with it. In a resturant or show of course you would want to leave, but on a ride you are stuck! An idea is to avoid a really long ride such as Ellen's if you think your little one is getting too tired, hungry,etc, but sometimes there is just nothing you can do. Most people understand, and those who do not, just do not have a clue anyway. I had so many stranges, offer me advice on how to "calm" my screaming infant. Many "offered" to hold him to give me a break. Yea right, he would not even let my DH hold him for months!!
But, we got through it and those memories fade!!!
Go, have fun and all enjoy those cuties!!!!!

Jordans' mom

 

[KristinU]

I just wanted to pop on and thank you for posting this thread, DWhittles! I'm one that is afraid of DS (currently 7 mos.) crying in public and everyone has posted great tips. Thanks!

 

[DWhittles]

Kristin,
what is your son's birthday?

Crying munchkins I guess are just part of Disney World aren't they? Hopefully we won't have to deal with too much of it though!

 

[DWhittles]

Kristin,
what is your son's birthday?

Crying munchkins I guess are just part of Disney World aren't they? Hopefully we won't have to deal with too much of it though!

 

[DWhittles]

Kristin,
what is your son's birthday?

Crying munchkins I guess are just part of Disney World aren't they? Hopefully we won't have to deal with too much of it though!

 

[k_k_100]

This tread reminded me of my 1st trip w/ dd – then 13 months. She was great w/ one exception – she had a catastrophic melt-down on Small World. Everything was fine when we were in line, the minute the boat took off she fell apart. Of course, this is when the boats get backed up and we were stuck in a “traffic jam” for what seamed like forever! We were on a long slow boat ride to hell! The little people would not stop the blasted singing the child would not stop crying my mom started to panic and my dad just turned his hearing aids off I was just wishing I could be at home working like dh was stuck doing.

When we FINALLY got off we got dd a snack and she was just fine. I tried to feed her before we got on the ride but she wouldn’t take a bite – she was just too excited about everything that was going on around her.

Later in the trip a women commented on how well behaved dd is. She made a comment on how it bothered her when children were crying - how some parents just didn’t take very good care of their children. All I could do was laugh and remember that I was one of THOSE parents the day before. We had a wonderful trip. Dd cried far less at Disney then she did on an average day at home.

 

[KristinU]

DWhittles, Theo is just a shade younger than Patrick (per your lillypie) his DOB is 1/12, what is Patrick's? We'll be there for Theo's 1st B-day, but we're currently working to finagle (sp?) a quick trip down in the next couple of months - tying in to a business trip for DH...keeping our fingers crossed! Theo is really great in public, which is why I'm sure Murphy's Law will get us at WDW! LOL!

k_k_100, You had me LOL when you said "long slow boat ride to hell"! And you made me remember a long, slow IASW ride for DH and I a few years ago - we were right behind a WAY WAY stinky diaper, I mean staaaaaanky! And of course the traffic jam of boats happened...I remember dashing up that gangplank to fresh air! Hopefully we won't end up being that stinky diaper for someone else now that we have a wee-small! Heck, with IASW down for rehab maybe I can hope DS will be potty trained by the time he rides

 

[newtowdw1]

Don't worry. It's way more stressful for the parents. We were on the 'tour bus from hell' yesterday with at least 25 kids under 10. We went to the Bronx Zoo. Trip detoured through the Twilight Zone on the way there and back. But the 17 month old was NOT pleased. So she screamed. And screamed. And screamed. Her parents were rather upset, but since she was their third, the 'rode' with it

Didn't seem to upset anyone else. I glanced fondly at DS3 and DD7, and thought, "Oh, I'm glad we're done having kids. " But I can listen to the under 2 set scream as long as their not my own.

So, don't stess. As long as you're not ignoring your child, noone should get too upset. Besides, they'll now have something to gossip about. AND they'll get to eat their words after they have their OWN kids!