Help! Freakin' out here!

[SarahKate]

So we just booked our next WDW trip for Nov. 28-Dec. 5 and wouldn't you know it I just found out today that I'm pregnant! Yikes. It was definitely not planned on our part, so a bit of a surprise!

I am not really fond of the idea of moving our dates and dealing w/ being pg while on the trip. My est. due date is October 7, so the baby would be about 1.5 months old at the time of the trip and I'd still be on maternity leave.

Please tell me about your experiences with taking a small infant w/ you to WDW. I am thinking that it may be an OK time to go since he/she would be pretty portable and sleeping a lot of the time. I know a lot of forethought has to go into planning because of all the baby STUFF - bottles, diapers, etc. This might also give us motivation to try driving vs. flying this time (we're about 16 hours away). How much of a hassle is it to fly vs. driving?

Thanks all!!!

 

[mommyceratops]

We took my DS when he 9 months and it was great, he was in the stroller and happy all the time. The baby care centers were great! My mom went with us so I didn't miss out on all the fun stuff my older son was doing. If she would not of gone, I am not so sure the trip would of been as great, because I would of missed out on so much. But it was a great time because he went everywhere with us, with little fuss.

My only concern with that time of year is cold and flu season with a little baby.

Congrats and good luck!

 

[AngieWin]

We took our ds when he was 10 weeks old and he was the easiest of the group!! We also had ds2, ds10, dd11, dniece1, dnephew4. Since he nursed, I didnt have to worry about bottles and he wasnt on solids yet, so nothing to worry about there either. Packed extra clothes for him for the parks and extra diapers (dont want to buy those in the parks!!). Find out the locations the baby centers in each of the parks before you leave (plenty of threads on this board about them).

It really isnt as bad as you might think! DS was born the beginning of August and we were there right after Halloween.

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

I agree! The younger they are, the easier they are! My youngest was 5 months on our last trip and was no problem! Baby care centers are wonderful! Just a little tip for anyone going in the hotter months: buy a shammy from Walmart (in auto section), wet it, and keep it on your baby like a blanket. It keeps them nice and cool in the heat!

 

[ADAMANDLISA]

I forgot to say Congratulations!!!

 

[MickeyHereWeCome!]

Congratulations . It's actually pretty easy to travel to WDW with a baby. I love that babies can go on most everything, so you don't have to separate and miss out on what the rest of the family is doing! Just plan ahead and think of everything that you could possibly need. I was so proud of myself for managing to pack a bouncy seat in my suitcase! We actually chose to travel when one of my sons was only a couple months old, because we knew we wouldn't have to mess with bringing along food (plus, there was no worry about him needing to find a place to get down and crawl...no need to really babyproof a hotel room).

It will be just fine!

 

[enlmomma]

WE took my dd when she was 4 months. I recommend a sling or a carrier. She got tired of being in the stroller the whole time. One thing is we lost her pacifer. I did not know she would only take a certain kind until we were down there and could not find the one she needed. So pack extra!!

We also flew, and she did fine. We are about 14 hours away so I did not want to drive.

 

[ilisao]

First, congratulations!!!! Second, babies are quite portable. And they can't give their opinions,LOL!

With regard to driving vs. flying, we've been driving down to Florida from Maryland since our kids were babies. We love it. DS was 4 months old on his first trip. Driving suited us because we were able to bring our own pack n play and not worry about how much stuff for him we had.

Babies can pretty much do anything at WDW that doesn't have a height restriction. A Baby Bjorn or something similar is great for the rides.

I say go for it. With just a little extra planning, you'll do great.

 

[k_reile]

I have no experience in taking a child to disney...but just wanted to tell you congrats and that I am also pregnant due with first child est due date oct 9th...small world. But we are not going to disney though

 

[belle&sebastiansmom]

Congratulations!

We're taking our little man in December, he'll be around 14 months old. Our dd went for her first trip when she was 18 months.

I wouldn't even consider taking my son on such a large trip now, and certainly not when he was just a month and a half. Yes, they are portable, yes, (s)he'll go where you go, but (s)he'll have no routine yet.

Will you be sleeping at this point? Most likely not. Do you want to be sleep deprived and dealing with a screaming baby all night in a hotel room?

How will you be feeling after just giving birth 6 weeks before? You've got to give your body time to heal. And what if you had to have a C-Section? The healing time is even longer. Will you even be able to physically handle all of the walking?

Now I'm not one of those moms that feels you have to cloister your child from "life" for his first few months, but babies at this age are still growing their immunities.

For my family, it works out best to wait until the "babies" are a little older. My son just turned 4 months and I still wouldn't take him at this age. I don't think we'd enjoy the trip as much. Do you have any other children? It's such a life change to get prepared for. Disney's not going anywhere, for whenever you choose to go!

 

[AngieWin]

WE took my dd when she was 4 months. I recommend a sling or a carrier. She got tired of being in the stroller the whole time. One thing is we lost her pacifer. I did not know she would only take a certain kind until we were down there and could not find the one she needed. So pack extra!!

We also flew, and she did fine. We are about 14 hours away so I did not want to drive.

Cant believe I forgot to mention the baby carriers! DH used the baby bjorn and I used the sling for most of the trip. Honestly the stroller's job was more to hold the diaper bag and to put ds down for a nap

Airplane - it was easiest for us to hold ds in the sling, but do bring your car seat carrier JUST IN CASE there is an extra seat on the plane and they should let you use the car seat. For the parks we did not bring the seat in, just reclined the stroller when needed.

 

[Disneychix]

There also may be some restrictions by your DR as to how old the baby should be before flying. 1.5 months is pretty young to be in an airplane cabin breathing in all that stale air.
Could you push the trip back to right after the holidays? Then you'd still get the Holiday decorations up at WDW and lighter crowds but the baby would get another 4 weeks to grow?

 

[ldo]

if you have room only reservation--you can cancel 5 days out and get all your $$ back. You could be fine and ready to go--or you could have a difficult birth, colicky baby, etc. I would want to take the pressure off and be able to cancel 5 days out. Also, if you fly, try to get SWA--if you cancel--you have 1 year (from date of purchase) to use the tickets to anywhere they fly. You could ask WDW reservations if you can add dining plan and tickets later to your room.

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

don't stress for an instant! Congratulations!

Both my kids went to DW as itty-bitty infants (less than 2 months). We carried them in the Bjorn (we never use strollers) and we had a little backpack diaper bag with a change of clothes and some diapers. Definitely the easiest trips I've ever taken with kids. They have no opinions and they do nothing but sleep and eat.

I was nursing, so I didn't have to worry about bottles. I was always able to find a quiet bench to nurse, and (with a judiciously placed receiving blanket) no one even knew I was nursing.

I've said this in other posts, but the Baby Swap system at DW is brilliant and allows both parents to ride the ride without waiting in line twice. My older son adored the baby swap because it meant he got to do every ride twice - once with Mom and once with Dad.

 

[Matt'nMeg'sMom]

There also may be some restrictions by your DR as to how old the baby should be before flying. 1.5 months is pretty young to be in an airplane cabin breathing in all that stale air.

Fortunately, there are no airline restrictions. You can fly with a days old newborn if necessary. I always recommend a car seat on the plane. A lap child is a 300 mph missile waiting to happen. (I'm a former flight attendant - I've seen lap children go FLYING out of their parent's arms in turbulence. Broken arms, head contusions, neck injuries, etc.)

My own children have been flying since they were 5-6 weeks old. I applied for their passports the minute I got home from the hospital Their newborn passport photos were hilarious - tell me, what customs official can look at a passport photo of a 2 day old newborn and say it looks like the 3 year old I'm holding in my arms? Crazy!

On another note: the DW hotels provide cribs, which we loved. We draped the bed comforter over the crib each night so it would stay dark. Our babies slept like angels.

 

[alexis_fate]

I am with the OP about sleepless night and colic. My son is now 6 months and was born 3 weeks early his colic started at about 5-6 weeks. His bad time was from 5pm-11pm he did nothing but scream no matter what we did. I would also worry about the lil one getting sick. It can still get very chilly in Fl in Dec.

Congrats and I hope you have a great 9 months!!!!

Tracy

 

[abcboys]

I don't have any first hand advice about taking a newborn to WDW but there is no way I would. First, the baby is on no schedule and will be up during the night still. That will make for one tired momma. Also, if your baby was like my last one, he was very high maintenance. He cried all the time. He cried in the stroller, he cried when you laid him down. He would nurse for 1/2 and hour and then cry some more. He was a lot of work. He is 2 1/2 now and he will be taking his first trip in May. You never know you may get an easy going baby that would love it but after my last one I think we all would have been miserable going to Disney at that age.

 

[ilisao]

Fortunately, there are no airline restrictions. You can fly with a days old newborn if necessary. I always recommend a car seat on the plane. A lap child is a 300 mph missile waiting to happen. (I'm a former flight attendant - I've seen lap children go FLYING out of their parent's arms in turbulence. Broken arms, head contusions, neck injuries, etc.)

Thank you for saying this. It can't be said enough. IMO, all children should have their own seats.

 

[Disneychix]

Fortunately, there are no airline restrictions. You can fly with a days old newborn if necessary. I always recommend a car seat on the plane. A lap child is a 300 mph missile waiting to happen. (I'm a former flight attendant - I've seen lap children go FLYING out of their parent's arms in turbulence. Broken arms, head contusions, neck injuries, etc.)

On another note: the DW hotels provide cribs, which we loved. We draped the bed comforter over the crib each night so it would stay dark. Our babies slept like angels.

There are no AIRLINE restrictions but there may be Drs strong recommendations. I guess it's up to the parents ultimatley.

 

[SarahKate]

Thanks everyone for the great advice. You know, my DD is a little over 5.5 so it's been quite some time since I was pg! I just forgot how unpredictable things can be - and I hadn't even CONSIDERED that I might have to have a c-section. Yikes!!!

Even though we were so excited about seeing the Christmas decorations, I think we'll postpone til Feb. 09 - that will put us at 2 years since our last trip. Baby will be about 4 months old by that time and should have a nice routine.

I'm still totally freaked out by all of this but am starting to get used to it. It is a totally different feeling this time since it was unexpected. I would really LOVE to tell our DD that a baby is on the way, but I think we'll wait til we have the 8 week sono. Wish us luck!!!