Disney w/ preemies

[Tinkybell]

Hi Everyone,

I have been lurking these boards for some time getting wonderful and polite info about WDW. You should see the bickering on the AOL boards.

Anyway, here are my questions? I just had B/G twins at 34 weeks gestation (doing great by the way) 3 1/2 weeks ago. We were planning on going to WDW in June of 07 when they are 1. We are vacation club members so we will stay in a 1 bd at SS.

1. Have any of you traveled w/ preemies?

2.Will June be too hot?

3.I heard RSV season is all year in Florida, is this true?

4.Has anyone taken their 1 yo preemies on a plane?

5. Would March be too soon to take them?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Ariel8676]

Sorry i don't have any info about traveling with a preemie.
I would think that if they are in good health, and will be almost 1 it will be fine. I would check with your pediatrician and see what they have to say though. Good Luck and hopefully you can all go and have fun!

 

[homemaker]

Congrats on the birth of your twins! Glad to know they are doing well. My son was also a 34 weeker. He is now 20mths old and his speech is the only thing that is delayed. We did travel to Disney when he was 11mths and everything was fine. I'm not sure if RSV season is all year long but my son took the injection to prevent it. I believe it was called Synagist. The plane ride was fine, he had a bottle and feel asleep. Summer is hot but I think if you take breaks and keep them hydrated you all should be fine. I wold also get a couple clip on fans and a sunshade. Of course my son was a single birth not twins so that may make a big difference. Good luck and congrats again.

 

[PaMom001]

Hi there! I think as long as the pediatrician says ok you can go anytime, like a previous poster said. Maybe try to find a mister fan along. I had a 36 weeker and she's now 10 yo and doing great.

 

[wls23]

Tinkybell,

I am the mother of a preemier (born 33 1/2) weeks. She was born on Halloween and is now nearly 9 months old. We recently took her to WDW - when she was 8 months old - and by the way in JULY!

She was absolutely fine on the plane and loved it. While her schedule was altered (since she didn't want to nap)...we did not have any problems on the trip.

It was quite hot...but we purchased one of the clip on fans for her stroller - we purchased it at one step ahead (onestepahead.com) for like 15 bucks. I would highly recommend it....as it kept her very cool (it did require many battery changes though). Also, as she was only 8 months she was still in the snap and go carseat - we did bring that with us (since we rented a car) - but when we were in the parks we just put her in the stroller (without the snap and go carseat) -

i cannot answer the question about RSV season in florida, but since your little ones will be over a year, I would not worry about it.

any more questions, let me know.

wendy

 

[fakereadhed]

Congratulations on your little ones! Are they home from the hospital?
I don't have any experience with traveling to wdw with a preemie, but I know my 34wkr (2 now) had many issues that came up after he came home from the hospital. Kids (even twins) vary so much with health and development that you never know what you may be dealing with at a year. As far as RSV, you can discuss that with your peds and if they are concerned you they will recommend a vaccination.

A good support for preemie questions is http://www.preemie-l.org/ but be forwarned that most have kids with severe issues and you need to be sensitive to the fact that they can be a little touchy if your babies are are having an easy time of it...theirs are going through so much-who could blame them? But they also have a wealth of knowledge about many issues, especially RSV and other issues that may come up for you.

 

[minkydog]

Congrats on your new bebes. i don't have premies but I've worked with premies for many years(former NICU nurse, now ped triage nurse.) By the age of 1 most premies have pretty much caught up in their development(at least those non-extreme premies). Unless they have other health issues like heart or lung disease they should be good to go. I would talk to the ped about the RSV shot--I'd be more worried about them catching RSV right in their hometown over the winter, frankly. March might be a bit early, especially if you are flying--still lots of flu and other respiratory illness in the air. I think going for their 1st birthday would be a lot of fun.

 

[susancl]

My ID B/B twins were born 8/15/99 at 29 weeks gestation. They got synergis shots for RSV season which is usually over by April/May. We were pretty much in quarantine until RSV season was over (in Massachusetts). But, by 15 months we were camping with them in a pop-up. Check with your pediatrician first, but it'll probably be fine.

Your insurance company may not pay for RSV shots. When we got them (although it was a long time ago), it cost $1,000/shot. They each needed 1 shot/month until they reached 14 pounds, then they each needed 2 shots/month. Our pediatritian has a person in his office dedicated to dealing with insurance companies during RSV season. Hopefully, that's changed now.

Also, a note about RSV...
Most babies get it by age 2. Preemies are at risk usually during their first year because their respiratory system isn't quite mature enough to handle it. Very few preemies receive shots after their first year because the risk of hospitalization is decreased. For term-babies, it is usually like a really bad cold.

Flying should be ok as long as they don't have any health issues that would make them suseptable to catching illnesses or ear/sinus infections.

The June heat shouldn't be any worse that July/August heat in New Jersey. It is hot (90's), but at WDW, you are constantly moving in and out of air conditioning.

Train them to stay in the stroller! They will likely be walking by then (I know that's hard to believe right now) That will help with the logistics of traveling with twins. It's much easier than chasing them.

 

[FLPrincessMom]

I had G/G twins at 33 weeks gestation in December 2000. We live in Florida and they got the RSV shots during the winter months which ended up just being Jan, Feb and March for us. I think they could have had one for April but they didn't think it was necessary at the time. By one you would have never known they were preemies!

 

[NicsMom1500]

Hi.
I'm a mom to a six year old boy who was a 28-weeker!

He's doing marvelously well. You'd never know he was a preemie. We did get the RSV shots but still had lots of illnesses the first two years.

Our first trip to WDW was right after Nicolas turned 2.

I would start planning and enjoying the magic of the anticipation. Then as June 2007 gets closer, re-assess health issues, check with your pediatrician and if all is well...enjoy.

Best wishes to you.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

There is a Traveling with Multiples thread, some have probably had preemies. Try posting there, too. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=985649&referrerid=70088

 

[all4fun]

Hi,
We took my ds, who is a former 28-wkr, to WDW when he was 13mos actual, and then we went three more times before he turned two! (We're also DVC members). His first trip at 13mos was in May. He got the Synagis (RSV) shots his first winter but his last shot was in March so he was basically "unprotected" when we went. I had also heard that in Florida RSV season is all year long. He was dx'd with chronic lung disease upon discharge from the NICU, and some concerns about his immune system, so it was something I was concerned about. After a year of basically not going anywhere and since his pediatrician thought it would be ok we went. He did fine. I would say the only thing we had problems with was not overloading his senses - shows with very loud noises really bothered him. We just went with the flow and I used tons of sanitary wipes and hand sanitizer! On the airplane, we had his car seat and I also wiped down the whole area we were sitting in just to be on the safe side. I also turned the air above his head off just in case the air wasn't as pure as they claim it is. Supposedly it goes through an air filter but I've heard conflicting reports about the air on airplanes. I also have a friend who has preemie twins born at 32 wks who were very healthy. She had multiple plane trips with them to visit her inlaws when her MIL was (unfortunately) dying of cancer and her girls never had any major issues.

Another thing we did was take Airborne right before our flight to help keep ourselves healthy as well. I figured if I got sick then ds would be much more likely to catch it from me than from a total stranger.

I hope this helps. Congrats on the twins! I hope they stay very healthy.

Cheryl

 

[karenTX]

Another Preemie Mom checking in! My DD was a 1 lb 10 oz 29 weeker. We're going for her first trip this Sept.
She did Synagis her first year in the winter but all her docs have told us we're not going to have to do that again this year. (A blessing to our insurance and wallet but it does have me scared!) I hadn't heard about FL having year round RSV?!?! I guess I was more worried about her catching something on the plane. We do take her out quite often now, to restaurants, shopping and such. After being locked in for 6 months during RSV, we thought it would be good to expose her a little (not to mention getting me out of the house before I went !!
I plan on just following up with all her docs before we go and praying for the best.

Oh...and going to Sam's to stock up on Purell gel and Wipes!!

Anyone have recommendations on what cold/allergy meds are good for the wee little ones? Her peds doc suggested Pediacare but I am having a heck of a time finding in our Target & Walmart!!

Also...Did anyone else have a heck of a time getting your preemie to eat once they started regular table food? My DD refuses baby food and will only get regular table food rarely. Unless it's in cracker/bread/carb form...then it's all good! Any suggestions? Her docs want her to gain weight but they have been no real help!

 

[all4fun]

Karen, we had a terrible time with table food and are still getting therapy for oral/sensory aversion issues, however it's getting better. Here's a couple of sites I found helpful:

Feeding Tips for Preemies

Mealtime Hints for Children with Oral Aversion

Of course I don't think your dd has oral aversion issues but some of the tips still might be helpful.

If it's any comfort, my ds was 1lb 5oz, 13" and is now almost 40" tall at 3yrs 3mos old. He's skinny but he's a healthy weight. We still give him whole milk w/Carnation Instant Breakfast to help boost his caloric intake since he still doesn't eat a lot. Even though we've had lots of problems with getting him to eat enough solid food we've thankfully been able to avoid drastic measures like g-tubes by increasing his calories in things he will eat (like milk).

hth!
Cheryl

 

[Tinkybell]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I appreciate all of the info, being a mom to preemies can be very scary. My daughter has been home for over a week and my son came home yestrerday on an apnea monitor and caffiene.

My ped. is reccomending the Synagis for my twins. I will definately do this, as RSV sounds frightening plus I have a 5 yo DS.

I think we'll opt to go in June. I too am more concerned w/ the germs on the plane especially in March.

 

[fakereadhed]

Glad to hear both of your little ones are home. Must be a relief for older child as well.

We did the monitor/caffeine thing with DS. Isn't it fun trying to give a tiny baby meds? And I don't know if it was the caffeine, but he is such a toddler coffee junkie. He tries to steal sips from our cups and shouts for coffee whenever he smells Starbucks.

 

[karenTX]

He tries to steal sips from our cups

Kate does this same thing!!

Thanks for the websites Cheryl!! Kate is still in PT for building up strength in her legs and they want to start OT soon to see if she has a oral aversion or just weak muscle tone thats slowing down the eating. We still haven't started whole milk yet. Her docs want her to keep drinking Pediasure for the calories.

 

[familydisney]

Hi-- we're the parents of a 7 year old 30.5 weeker! Congrats on your twins!

Obviously, you'll want to follow the advice of your pediatrician, but at 1 year, I don't see any issues. The babies will have built up their immune systems, unless there are lingering problems.

We had Pneumonia, RSV in the first year, but by 12 months, all the fuses were plugged in and working!

It's hard to not want to wrap your kid in bubble wrap every time you venture out, especially after all you went through to get them here. It's also hard to learn how to live "not in crisis" mode. For us, after 6 week sin NICU and two more in Level II, we were super careful about who held him, came over, etc. It was hard to stop living like that, but once they become just a baby, it is much easier!

 

[huey duey & luey]

First off Congrats!!!!!!!!!!
I have g/b/b/ triplets who were born at 31 weeks. We actually took their first trip to disneyworld at 6 months. It was in Sept and before the start of RSV season. My kids were pretty much housbound during RSV season oct/April, for the first 2 years. They only received the synagis shot the first year. I don't think a year is too young to take them, but I think maybe May would be a better month. good luck

 

[becca011906]

Very suprised not see this question in there... are they Breastmilkfed or breastfeeding, if so then the chances of them being sickly or having lingering illnesses is very much less likly, if the babies are still BFing at the time you go to Florida you would have even less to worry about since they will still be reciveing the BEST imumity from mama!!!