Disney with a baby, feeling defeated

[Rory607]

I think you have to go with mommy instinct on this one. You know your child and this situation better than anyone. I feel like as a mom, there's a lot of temptation to base decisions on how you think your baby or toddler "should" be at a given age, but really, all you can do is base decisions on how they actually are. Some kids apparently do great at Disney from less than a year old. Others won't be ready until much later. All kids are different, and that's completely fine.

This is some really good parenting advice for lots of situations, honestly. All kids are different and do things at different times, especially during the first few years. I could have saved myself a lot of stress if I had realized this when I became a mom!

 

[VandVsmama]

Great tip about the water in the stroller. my in-laws aren’t incredibly hands on grandparents, they mainly just sit and watch. That makes it tricky since they aren’t great with entertaining or coming up with distractions.

I like the ideas though! Thanks for the input.


On Tuesday my husband said he didn’t think he was going to be able to get the week off work and needed to push it out another week. Luckily no more rooms available so I thought this was the perfect thing to force our hand at cancelling. By the end of the day he was able to get his vacation time so he’s back in it but I was a little relieved there.
I think you might be right about 14 months. Such a gamble, if he’s walking in doubting the stroller will be any better.

My parents were the same way with our kids when the kids were little. They'd just sit there and watch while I ran around like a nut dealing with the kids. I think that you should postpone the trip.

Like other people have said, some babies/toddlers will sleep anywhere and other kids...not so much. You know your kiddo best.

Our 1 and only family trip to Hawaii was when my kids were 17 months and almost 3 1/2. We went with my parents & my sister. Stayed in a lovely timeshare. At that age, both of my kids still napped. Except, they didn't nap at all in Hawaii. And by day 3 of the 7-day trip, I can absolutely confirm that MY little ones were VERY ornery! Plus, my mom started lecturing me and yelling at me to 'control those children,' when the whole reason they were having tantrums was because they were tired. And normally at home, they'd go to bed at 8 pm, but in Hawaii, wouldn't crash until almost 10 pm.

On the travel day over there, the kids were awake for a good 18 hours straight. About half of the plane ride was spent trying to get my children to stop crying from PHX to Honolulu. It. Was. Hell.

We didn't take the kids to a Disney park until they were a little older. And I'm glad we waited. That Hawaii trip was the only big trip we did when the kids were really little. They just didn't sleep well unless they were at home in their own beds. It wasn't worth it to me to get super stressed out and deal with all of the nonsense.

 

[Lilsia]

My parents were the same way with our kids when the kids were little. They'd just sit there and watch while I ran around like a nut dealing with the kids. I think that you should postpone the trip.

I love all of these stories of how differently everyone is. We were kind of the opposite. My MIL wanted to come stay with us when we had our first kid to "help out" but we politely declined. We said that we are 2 grown adults and more then capable of handling a baby. LOL We also refused to travel with any extended family, including grandparents. It just seems that the more people involved, the worse things get and we are not the type to want other's help anyway. Maybe it is because we are low drama people and rather just do things how we want to do them. I agree that everyone should do what works best for their family.

 

[Kerr84]

We took our daughter at 6 months, 15 months, and 23 months. 15 and 23 felt a lot easier and more fun. We are going again in a few months and the terrible 2’s seem like it is going to be a harder trip, so I am just lowering my expectations.