hello, my first time posting!

[Mommyof2]

hello everyone,
This is my first time posting on the DIS boards, as I am in the planning stages for a Disney vacation in late august/early september. My husband and I would like to take my daughter for her third birthday (Sept. 8), but our second daughter is due June 3rd, and she will barely be 3 months old when we leave. Do you think a 3 month old baby is to young to take to Disney? We would want to stay for all the evening parades and fireworks at the parks, as this trip will mostly be for the 3 yr old. Is it a horrible thing to be considering leaving the baby with grandparents for the week (we'll be there from a sat-sat), or should I take her with us and just hope she's able to sleep through the loud parades, shows, etc? Another option would be to do the 7 day Eastern cruise in August, and save WDW for next year when the baby is over a year old. Any suggestions? Thanks and I'm happy to be a new member of DIS! =)

~Christine

 

[nygrl]

First Welcome to the boards Many people on here will say 3 months is fine to take to disney and it is if you want to be tied to more of a schedule. Personally i would and have left my younger ds with my mom > my ds was born in may and in sept we took my older ds for his 5th birthday. we had this trip semi planned before i even got pregnant. I say if you have someone willing to watch the baby take advantage of it. Im sure you could use the break too i know i did. we had such a great time and my older ds felt special after dealing with a new baby for 5 months. he had all our attention and it was a very special trip! Disney will always be there and the baby wont even know you were gone!

 

[fallingwithstyle]

My advice...consider the weather when making your decision. We went in Oct. '03 for my son's first trip (14 months old at the time) to WDW and spent a lot of time at our hotel pool (we stayed at Beach Club Villas and thoroughly enjoyed Storm Along Bay.) The heat during the day was intense-in the 90s the whole week and one day it was 103! My niece (3 months old) was with us and the heat was too much for her. My sister spent most of her time either indoors or at the pool during the day because of the unbearable heat and humidity. Our trip to WDW this year is actually in August and I'm prepared for the heat and crowds. We are staying at BCV again and are planning on spending a lot of time at the pool in the daylight hours. I personally prefer Disney in early November or February but my sister is a teacher and must go during the summer.

We also brought our son on the 7-day Western Cruise in Sept '04 and had a blast. We did have some stress involved with the Hurricanes but it didn't ruin our trip and we're looking forward to our next cruise in '06.

No matter what you decide, have fun and enjoy seeing Disney through your children's eyes.

Sarah

 

[GaTech]

Welcome!!!

We took our twins when they were 3 1/2 months old and had a great time. You just have to be flexible with your plans because you don't want to over do it with the baby. My wife & I would take turns staying with the babies in the room or away from the park so that our older two didn't miss out on the fun.

We have a trip planned in September also, I watch for the birthday girl to say hi.

 

[aec]

Is it a horrible thing to be considering leaving the baby with grandparents for the week (we'll be there from a sat-sat

No it is not horrible!

If you have grandparents that are willing and able then it is a good idea. Otherwise if it were me personnaly, I would wait until the baby was older and/or go in the fall/winter when it is cooler. Our first trip our kids were 5 and 2 and it was great! 4 and 7 was even better, no diapers and no naps!

My SIL left their baby with her mother when the baby was 9 mos so they could take their 5yo. They were gone for 5 days and the baby did fine.

 

[Mommyof2]

Thanks for all the feedback! My parents were the ones who suggested taking the baby for the week so that Abigail could have some alone time with us. I think we may take them up on that offer. Right now we have plans to do WDW in August with just Abigail, and than the 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise the following year for her 4th birthday, and by that point the baby would be around 14 months, making things a bit easier. (yes, I know, my husband is telling me that we are setting ourselves up for a very spoiled little girl who expects a huge vacation for every birthday lol). I know I will feel terrible leaving her at my parents before going to the airport, but we will definantly be going back when she is a little older, and at 3 months, she won't ever remember that we didn't take her. We are looking into the last week of August or the first week of September, in hopes the parks will be empty due to school starting in much of the country. Thanks again for all your great feedback! This is where I will refer when looking into possible resort options (hoping to book in the next few weeks), and as it gets closer, dinner suggestions with a 3 yr old.
have a magical day!
~Christine

 

[luvmygirls]

Welcome to the DIS! Take advantage of the great resources you have right at your fingertips. Personally, if you have someone willing to watch your infant, and you know you will be ok away from the baby, I say go for it.

It may be just what your 3 year old will need, some one on one time alone with Mommy & Daddy, and what better place then DISNEY?? The heat may be a little to unbearable for the baby, however if you want to tackle it, they make some great baby products to carry baby around! Maybe consider shortening the vacation to a long weekend, and then go again next year when the baby is 1?

Good luck with your decision, your the parent and I fully believe the parents know best!

We are going in Oct, my youngest will be 3 1/2 years old and my MIL said leave her home with me, she won't have any fun, she's too young to remember! Are you kidding me?? She'll have a blast!
Shelly

 

[tobias sampson]

I can't imagine leaving my baby for a week. Wouldn't do it, nor do I see a need to do it. Your 3 year-old could survive without a trip right now, I would expect. My opinion.

 

[KerriMc]

I myself couldn't do it if my baby was that young, but many have and the baby will be just fine. I was breastfeeding as well, so that really has a big say in what you do. I never thought I would be nursing, as first dd never latched, but the second one took to it with gusto at 10 weeks of age and from there I was "the one" until she was 11 mos old. (I'm not one of those pushy "breastfeeding is the only way" kind of moms or anything )

I would want to take the baby with me, but with the heat in Florida at that time of year that really is hard on everyone as it can limit you. Waiting a couple of months and still celebrating her birthday, just a bit late, would be ok wouldn't it? Then it is a nice family trip.

I know it is nice to do something just one on one with the oldest, but eventually they do have to learn they are no longer numero uno ... and it isn't an easy thing for some kids A mini-outing is usually enough to satisfy alone time with mommy and daddy (we went to a Barney concert once and a Wiggles concert just recently).

This too is just my opinion and whichever you choose has to be best for you and your family, not what anyone else thinks. Have fun whatever you decide to do

Kerri

p.s. We are celebrating dd's fourth at WDW this year ... but that is by chance as her birthday happens to fall on my break from school. Lucky girl

 

[dijojosh]

I took my son when he was 2mths old. It wasn't terrible because my mom went with us. I had been to disney several times so I didn't think I would miss anything and I would relax more and enjoy the hotel. If I had to do it over again I wouldn't take him. It was really hot (late August) and it rained really hard at all times of the day. My other son 7 and husband hung out together so they had a great time. I just think that since he had us up atleast 2x a night and with the weather we were exhausted by the time we came home. No one should feel guilty about leaving the baby with the grandparents. You deserve the vacation and it will be nice to let your daughter have that quality time with the both of you.

 

[tobias sampson]

No one should feel guilty about leaving the baby with the grandparents. You deserve the vacation and it will be nice to let your daughter have that quality time with the both of you.

Why exactly does someone "deserve a vacation?" How do you know? What about a baby deserving having its parents caring for it? It is totally possible to give quality time to a child without taking him/her to WDW. It is totally selfish to do it at the expence of a baby.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Welcome of Dis! You can bring a 31/2 month old baby to DW but if I had the choice of willing grandparents to watch the baby I would take that. THe main reason is that you would have more time to give your 3 year old undivided attention - which would be perfect after just having to get used to having a baby sister.

 

[Mommyof2]

Hello again,
All of your comments have been greatly appreciated, but I am in no way doing this vacation at the expense of my baby, and I do not feel I am being selfish. If my husband and I were doing a vacation for us only, we would book a Carnival Cruise, or a trip to a caribbean island. This trip is for our older daughter, something special just for her, in a time when I know she may be feeling a little left out with the arrival of her sister. In every vacation we take after this one, we will definantly be taking her with us, and of course I will miss her the week we are gone (I will probably call my mother 3 times a day to check up on her!) I am thinking of not only my 3 yr old, but also my younger daughter, who most certainly will be more comfertable in her grandparents house than in a crowded theme park, being subjected to loud parades, shows, and attractions. I know, many will make the argument that I should postpone this trip, maybe do it in a year or two. But we have never done a big deal vacation with Abby, only long weekends to New England or Sesame Place, and I would like to do that with her. I don't think that's being selfish, it's just wanting to do something special with my little girl.
~Christine

 

[3mickeys&me]

I say go and have a great time with your daughter, the baby will be in good hands. Have a magical time!!!

 

[3Mousketeers]

Whoa!! Isn't this board supposed to be about sharing & offering advice. Just because you wouldn't do something doesn't make it wrong. The OP obviously has to decide for herself whether she would personally prefer to bring her baby or not. I think the advice she would benefit from is whether Disney is doable with a 3 mo old. I definitely think it is. As other posters have said, you will have to be on more of a schedule but each park has a very nice baby care center where you can feed the baby, change diapers or just escape from the heat if you need to. One problem I guess would be that you can't put sunscreen on a 3 mo old so you would have to be pretty vigilant to find shade. It will also probably mean that you and your husband would have to split up to take your daughter on attractions if the baby is sleeping or it is not appropriate for her. The youngest child we've taken was 8 mos and the heat was definitely an issue but we worked around it. You could stay at a monorail resort and plan breaks into your day too.
That being said if you think leaving the baby with grandparents works better for you, then go with that.
Hope this helps and have a magical trip whatever you decide. Welcome to the board!!

 

[nygrl]

Hello again,
All of your comments have been greatly appreciated, but I am in no way doing this vacation at the expense of my baby, and I do not feel I am being selfish. If my husband and I were doing a vacation for us only, we would book a Carnival Cruise, or a trip to a caribbean island. This trip is for our older daughter, something special just for her, in a time when I know she may be feeling a little left out with the arrival of her sister. In every vacation we take after this one, we will definantly be taking her with us, and of course I will miss her the week we are gone (I will probably call my mother 3 times a day to check up on her!) I am thinking of not only my 3 yr old, but also my younger daughter, who most certainly will be more comfertable in her grandparents house than in a crowded theme park, being subjected to loud parades, shows, and attractions. I know, many will make the argument that I should postpone this trip, maybe do it in a year or two. But we have never done a big deal vacation with Abby, only long weekends to New England or Sesame Place, and I would like to do that with her. I don't think that's being selfish, it's just wanting to do something special with my little girl.
~Christine

go and have a good time. dont let anyone make you feel guilty. we have been to disney every year since my now 4 year old was born and he went only 1 of those times. he was 2 he hated it and has not wanted to go back since.. he stays with grandma and KNOWS were we are and could care less so i feel no guilt. we dont want to spoil anything for our older son and like i said in my original post it gives us some much needed alone time with our older son who is constantly over shadowed by his younger brother. im sure your parents are more than capable of handeling your baby for a week and she will never remember you were gone. so one more time i say GO AND HAVE FUN you DO deserve it !!!