Hi All! I have looked and looked on the boards here for an answer to my question, and I have found lots of information on babies up to 10 months, and then for babies/toddlers from 19 months and up. But not much on babies in the middle! My son will be 14 months old during our trip in May, and I'm trying to get some kind of idea at what developmental stage he will be at as far as walking/talking/what he will be eating/naps, etc. I know that every child is different, and each child develops on their own schedule, but since my son is my only child, I have no idea what to expect. What were your children doing at this age? I'm particularly interested in what they were eating, so I can plan. Adult food? Baby food? Somewhere in between? Thanks! And any additional advice is appreciated!
We will be taking our 14 month daughter in February for her first trip. Big sister was 15 months for her first trip. With DD1, she was using a sippy cup, she was a picky eater, but enjoyed finger foods(Chick nuggets, PB & J, etc). She was walking at the time, but the crowds were overwhelming for her and she was content to stay in the stroller. DD2, wants nothing to do with a sippy cup and wil only use her bottle. She is a good table food eater of all foods (hotdishes, soups, etc) and enjoys finger foods as well. She is very active and has been walking for quite some time now. She is also a crawler. We are hoping she will be content in the stroller. Like you said, each child is different, but that's what makes each trip memorable. Disney provides the backdrop for the memories, but it is your family that will be making those great memories. Just relax, enjoy what happens, and have a great-memorable trip!!
really your not going to know until pretty close to your trip. Both my boys were on table food by 10 months, running like crazy, and into everything. (not much has changed in 6-9 years either!)
FYI I really really really liked the Dr Sears Baby Book for questions like this! I found his book to be good, with solid info, no scary nonsense, and lots of common sense. At 14 months...DS was just starting to be interested in foods. He'd exclusively nursed to beyond 11 months, then started with some fruits (his first food: toddled over, pushed me from my sitting position, grabbed my organic apple, took a bite, chewed, and swallowed), then was uninterested again. He liked hanging out with me, either being carried or worn so he could see things at my level. Didn't have that many opinions when we went to DLR at 17 months. I don't remember naps...I know he took them but other than that I've forgotten.
I have been looking after a little boy who was 12 months when he started at the daycare, he's almost 17 months now. He eats table food. The closest thing to baby food I have seen him eat is applesauce. He goes down for one nap at my house. He would have liked to sleep at 11:30 but that is when I serve lunch to the children. He got use to staying awake for lunch and then I would put him down anywhere from 12-12:30. His parents told me he doesn't sleep when he first started-he sleeps everyday. He is busy watching the other children and playing so by about 12-12:30 he is tired. He sleeps about 2 hrs. Hope this helps you with planning!
All of my kids were on table food at that age (heck, my twins were on table food by 8 months - it's a PITA to spoon-feed 2 babies). My kids were still on the 9 - 11, 2 - 4 nap schedule at 14 months. All but my middle were walking (mine walked independently 100% at 10 or 11 months, except dd8, who waiting until 15 months).
My 15 month old eats everything, but we never gave him pureed food. He drinks from a sippy cup or if necessary also from a normal mug, glass or whatever. He's a late walker, so no walking yet, however my oldest was walking before his 1st birthday.
We were in WDW with DD and DS in December. DS was 15 months old. He was eating regular table food; well, he's allergic to milk and eggs, so ALMOST regular food. He drank from a sippy cup. He was walking and got really frustrated about having to ride in a stroller some of the time. I found that taking him and letting him play at a playground or just walk around while DH took DD on a ride was a good break for DS from the stroller. We're going again in May, so it will be interesting to see how much he hates the stroller then. We went back to the room each day after lunch to nap because both kids still nap, and most of the time, DH and I were ready to rest, too!
My twins are just shy of 15 months. They a great walkers, but are really too interested in the world around them to be expected to actually walk somewhere directly. To get from th car to the front door takes about 20 minutes! They're also starting to not want to be put in the stoller, but once we get them in there, things are fine. They're still really happy being in our baby carriers. Food wise, they eat most "big people" food, it just needs to be cut up into bite-size pieces. I do mix some purees in with plain yougurt but that's the extent of the baby food. If your son will eat grilled cheese, grilled chicken, pancakes and mac and cheese, you'll be covered at WDW. (Of course, at home, my two eat more heathily than that, but I could find those choices pretty much every where). I'll be honest, we took the boys to WDW at 11.5 months, and we worked for the two months prior making sure they would eat what we would find there. It was kind of how I shaped our food introductions! Whole milk can be found, although not at most restaurants. For example, we went to Chef Mickey's for breakfast and they only had 2%, but in the little counter service next door, they did have little cartons of whole milk, so I ran over and brought those back. I would suggest getting a small cooler pack (we have the Playtex Fridge to Go), so when you do come across the milk, you can carry it with you. My two are down to one nap a day, and most of our same aged friends are also transitioning to one nap. At this moment, a good touring plan would to be up and out early in the AM for 2 hours or so, come back have lunch around 11, nap until 1:30 or so, and then head out for a little more park time and dinner. Our two have a very early bedtime still (6 pm) and we tried to maintain that. Luckily we were traveling with family, so we were able to go out once the boys were asleep. Neither boy is talking (one says "that" the other says "car" and "this"), but one of mine also knows a couple signs (milk and eat). hope that helps! eta: If you can teach your son to drink from a straw, your life will be infinitely easier when traveling. It took about a week to teach ours, but I was so much happier.
My DD was 15 months when we first took her to WDW. She had just started walking a few weeks prior to our trip. She was better about sitting in the stroller than we'd anticipated, but we did make a point of finding places she could run and play. She loved the Pooh playground in MK and the musical carpet in Imagination Labs at Epcot. Naps - we was in between 1 and 2 naps at home - usually 2 at home, but just 1 at daycare. At Disney she would take a short nap in the stroller after lunch (30-45 minutes), then we'd go back to the room at 3 or 4pm and she'd sleep in her pack-n-play for an hour or so. Then we'd have dinner and go out for the evening. Food - she was on table food, but wasn't all that interested in the kids meal offerings. She survived on fruit, cereal, milk & juice, I think. We hadn't started PB yet and she didn't like veggies or chicken nuggets back then. So I think she got bored of us offering her mac & cheese everyday. We did a character buffet and actually had the best luck there - she was young enough to eat free, and we could offer her a variety of items to choose from. She actually tried a bite of hard boiled egg for the first time.
Though two of my kids started eating table foods at the start at 8 months, neither ate more than a few bites here or there for quite a while. My second child didn't eat 50 calories of non-breastmilk a day until 15/16 months. My third child is 11 months and is eating under 25 calories of solids a day. My first child had sensory issues so he still wasn't eating solids at 14 months. Many kids are walking by 14 months, but not all - and it's within the normal range to still have a non-walker. I had one 9 month walker, one 11 month, and then there's the 3rd child. He's 11 months and I'm guessing he'll walk around 13 months. At 14 months, both my first and second still loved the sling. By 16 months, my second was too independent for it. (By 16 months, my first was 33lbs so I struggled too much with the sling and stopped that month). All three of my kids were using the sippy well way before 14 months. But two started at 3 months and one started at 8 months. I breastfeed so I only bring a sippy for some water when I remember. All my kids can sip out of a regular cup, with no ice, easily by that age for water. Naps - First child went down to one nap at 7 months. Second child went down to one nap at 11 months. Third child is all over the place currently at 11 months. He sometimes takes one and sometimes three. My first child could only nap in somewhere dark and quiet - and no carseats. My second could nap in a carseat or stroller, but not a sling. Not sure where my third will be by that age but he's had to nap wherever, whenever and has done well with it so far.
Thank you so much to all who responded! This gives me a pretty good idea of what to expect based on the range of responses presented. I've started trying to get my son to eat more table foods, and he is doing well, so I think that he will be on only adult table foods here in another month or so. So that is good, I know that he will be able to eat whatever at Disney. I like the suggestion of "training" him to eat what will be available! Walking and talking, I still don't know yet with DS. It seems like that is still a wide variable among many babies. And naps - well, DS is all over the board on that one too. Sometimes he sleeps 10 hours and takes one nap, sometimes he sleeps 14 hours and then takes one nap, sometimes sleeps 12 hours and takes two naps, I have no idea when he will want to go down for a nap at Disney, so that is worrisome because he doesn't sleep so well anywhere but in a crib or carseat. So I guess if he doesn't change before May, I will plan on bringing my car to the parks (except Magic Kingdom) and that way I can get back to the resort faster. Thanks again for all the responses! And if anyone else wants to response, Please Do! All the responses I can get will generate a better idea of what to expect!
