I love credit cards so much! v2.0 (see first page for add'l details)

[Judique]

I think my post must’ve come across wrong. We wouldn’t go when the baby is tiny. We would wait at least until September which would be 5 months and wanted to try a short plane ride somewhere in the states first to see how that goes. I do agree with you that a cruise might be better.

5 months is still kind of tiny. All babies are different and we all have different tolerances, temperaments, etc. But if you have a fussy baby and/or a baby that doesn't sleep well, traveling internationally (especially the plane ride) sounds pretty rough to me. And it sounds like a trip you would have to plan in advance without really knowing what the baby will be like or how you are adjusting to motherhood. Not trying to be a killjoy at all.

I flew International with my oldest at 7 weeks. I was nursing which made it a LOT easier. When the crew found out I was going to nurse, they set me up front. They were exceptionally kind to me. The next two did not fly that young. My almost 4 year old grandchild had a holiday in Tuscany in her first 6-7 months, and had 3 trips before age 1. DD slowed down a bit in the second year because the second grand came along when the oldest was 12 years months and 3 weeks. But DD flew with both grands multiple times each year since they were born. Somewhere I have a pic of older grand in the cockpit on a Southwest flight. She had wandered while the first was getting put in her car seat and the pilot picked her up and put her in his seat, and younger daughter grabbed a pic. I loved it!

As stated above all babies are different and all parents are different. You and your husband (and baby) will know what works for you when the time comes. The sky's the limit.

 

[LB002]

I have a 4X extra on Sam’s club on my personal Amex everyday card. But I wasn’t thinking that was the best deal on Disney gift cards. Maybe it is right now?

You can use Chase Pay at Sams Club right now. That's how we plan to maximize the CF category - Disney GCs to pay DVC dues and Aulani charges.

 

[smmco]

We definitely will be doing some trips to Disney when the baby is small so maybe that will be a telling sign about going out lol. I really am thinking a cruise might be the way to go. Dh already said he wants to fly to Iowa in July to see family and the baby would be around 2 months so pretty little. That’ll be a good test trip too

Remember to check out the nursery and kid's clubs on your upcoming cruise. Don't miss Jack's Jack's diaper dash. It's a riot.

 

[Alice Sr.]

@mamathompson we have a 2010 Toyota Sienna that is still going strong and fits 7. Not a cool car but I love it.

@Alice Sr. Alamo is renting the Atlas out of MCO too. Premium Crossover was option in Costco rental car finder.

Ooh great, I will check it out for our March trip. Thanks

Traveling with infants is very much "it depends". With DD we could not, even when we had SW points to fly, DVC to use and an AP for park administration, we just couldn't even imagine it. She was a *very* difficult baby. She literally almost killed us, we were like army buddies in the trenches for 4 months. We *never* slept. She never slept and wouldn't eat. We didn't fly with her until she was a year, and then we found out she gets sick on planes and she puked on us repeatedly for several trips.

With DS, he was a happy sunny baby from Day 1. I could have taken him anywhere. We started flying with him at 7mo.

They've now flipped and DS is a more challenging kid to raise and DD is a sweetheart, but that's a whole other story. And we use kids dramamine and bracelets for flights!

You were soo tough to give it another try, sorry to lol, I know it was not funny then.

Twitter for the win!! So glad you were able to get the earlier flight you wanted.

I had a similar experience with Delta via Twitter a few months ago. Quick answer and they were super helpful and waived a change fee for me (so we could push our vacation out by a day and attend the SWGE AP preview).

Was there a schedule change involved or just a preference to change? I have an account but have not tweeted (I'm a lurker), would you say that you are more likely to get favorable results if you have established a history?

 

[LB002]

We took our first daughter to Disney World when she was 10 months. That was our first trip with her. We took our 2nd daughter to Disney World at 5 months, 7 months and 9 months (that was our AP year).

I’m going to provide a dissenting opinion from some and recommend you consider waiting a bit on travel. Adding a newborn will affect numerous things in your life, at times it may try your marriage and certainly will test your patience. This is your first child, so there is so much unknown at this point regarding how they will behave and how you will react. When you do travel, you also may not want to attempt something “new” and expensive as your first trip. I felt very confident taking my 10 month old to Disney because it was a trip we knew how to do. There was no pressure to accomplish anything, we really let her dictate our pace, and most importantly we avoided stress and arguments because we knew exactly what to expect going in to the trip. While a cruise might be new to you guys, I guess it could also fit the bill since it’s largely a controlled environment (perhaps I’d keep my shore excursions light or nonexistent though). At any rate, I felt I’d share this - I’m sure others could see it differently. It also is hard as a parent of 2 to rewind my mind and remember what it felt like to be a brand new parent of our first child...


I see @Lain corrected you lol. I’m CHEAP - we got some Kohl’s luggage from my parents for Christmas a couple years ago which replaced our decade old luggage prior to that, ain’t got no time for sinking $$$ into bags

We did Disney as first flights/family trips with our kids too. We knew what to expect and Disney does a lot to make it easy on parents.

As for luggage, I was tempted by the popularity of the Away luggage, but am also too cheap. I'm a Marshall's luggage kind of girl.

My DH had a set of $$$ of fancy Victornox luggage when we met. We added a couple pieces when we married. Well, trends and airline regulations change and we don't use it anymore. It's too heavy and doesn't have spinner wheels or well organized pockets. I really regret the $$$ spent on it. We could have spent a fraction on Samsonite and I would feel less guilty about replacing it!

 

[wendow]

I'm an only and I always wanted a sibling, preferably older ( ) but that wasn't going to happen. I was smothered as an only and having an independent willful personality meant a lot of clashes with my mother in particular. I wanted a sibling to help deflect some of this. Of course, I reaped a lot of benefits of being an only that I wouldn't have gotten had I had a sibling. I wanted more than one child so that they would have that shared life experience with another person that you don't have as an only. I would have liked more than two but that was how it worked out.

I will say, I miss not having a sibling more as an adult than I ever did as a kid. There is no one to have those shared memories "remember when we..." with at family dinners. It also means that all the decisions that come with taking care of aging parents is on me.

ICAM with this. As a child, I did play with neighbors or occasionally had friends over but that never took the place of someone I could actually grow up with and who would always be there. And now, as an adult, I feel that loss more than ever. All my friends have siblings and they all have kids in similar age ranges and they have these amazing adult relationships and relationships with their nieces and nephews. It definitely makes me sad.

And yep, the burden of having all aging parent decisions placed on you alone scares me. We aren't quite there yet but we are getting there and I'm terrified of that.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

We definitely will be doing some trips to Disney when the baby is small so maybe that will be a telling sign about going out lol. I really am thinking a cruise might be the way to go. Dh already said he wants to fly to Iowa in July to see family and the baby would be around 2 months so pretty little. That’ll be a good test trip too

We flew to FL to visit my sister when my son was 3 months old.....what you are planning is great and a good idea as a test trip

 

[disfanforlife]

I'd take that deal. It's a total of 5x MR plus 4% savings for the $50 GC for $47.98 or $75 pack for $71.98. I'd also purchase in separate transactions in order to make sure I hit 20 transactions for the month on the ED card and earn that 20% MR kicker.

That’s a great idea, I forgot about that. Haven’t ever hit 20 before. Maybe I’ll wait and do in November or December so I have a whole month instead of starting now.

 

[calypso726]

That’s a great idea, I forgot about that. Haven’t ever hit 20 before. Maybe I’ll wait and do in November or December so I have a whole month instead of starting now.

DH and I each used to have the ED card. I had the no fee and he had the EDP. Some strategies we used to hit the 20 or 30 (for the EDP) transactions in one month was to do separate transactions. Each time he went grocery shopping, he'd ask for separate transactions and make a few piles of groceries. This way, we always got the bonus kicker.

 

[disfanforlife]

DH and I each used to have the ED card. I had the no fee and he had the EDP. Some strategies we used to hit the 20 or 30 (for the EDP) transactions in one month was to do separate transactions. Each time he went grocery shopping, he'd ask for separate transactions and make a few piles of groceries. This way, we always got the bonus kicker.

I have the no fee blue cash Amex also so I usually use that at the grocery store. But I could start using the ED too, just for a few items for extra transactions especially to try and maximize getting the 20% while I have the Sam’s bonus. I’ve had the two Amex cards for years, they are the only Amex I’ve ever had but I mainly only use the everyday one for bonus categories now. I was actually thinking about closing it before I started following this thread. Now, I figured I should wait and hold on to them until I decide to start getting any new Amex cards.

 

[PolyRob]

You can use Chase Pay at Sams Club right now. That's how we plan to maximize the CF category - Disney GCs to pay DVC dues and Aulani charges.

My plan to max the CF bonus is Disney GCs from BJs online via PayPal. Hoping the fall sale eventually happens. If not, I will just buy them at 4% savings and count the URs redeemed via CSR a win.

 

[Haley R]

Remember to check out the nursery and kid's clubs on your upcoming cruise. Don't miss Jack's Jack's diaper dash. It's a riot.

I heard that’s really fun to watch so we plan to see it

 

[wendow]

We definitely will be doing some trips to Disney when the baby is small so maybe that will be a telling sign about going out lol. I really am thinking a cruise might be the way to go. Dh already said he wants to fly to Iowa in July to see family and the baby would be around 2 months so pretty little. That’ll be a good test trip too

This is a fantastic idea Just have fun and try not to get too far ahead of yourself. It all has a wonderful way of working itself out!

 

[WVMomof3]

We definitely will be doing some trips to Disney when the baby is small so maybe that will be a telling sign about going out lol. I really am thinking a cruise might be the way to go. Dh already said he wants to fly to Iowa in July to see family and the baby would be around 2 months so pretty little. That’ll be a good test trip too

I agree with everyone in that you just don't know how it will go. We had to drive 2000 mile roundtrip when second DD was 6 weeks old. It was AWFUL! LOL She was actually a great baby, but it was just too long in the car. Might have been easier if bottle feeding, but was only breastfeeding. I might have done some very unsafe maneuvering to try to feed her while still driving after a billion stops and a crying baby (She stayed buckled, I did not, - DH driving, not me haha). I can see that flying would be much eaiser, unless you have a cryer, but we were poor then and flying was not an option and the trip was for a family wedding.

I personally can't imagine doing a cruise with an infant though. That does not sound fun to me at all. I would not put them in the daycare (my personal preference) and there are just things like the shows that I would not do with a baby. But you will know more after your cruise how a baby might affect you on one.

 

[Haley R]

This is a fantastic idea Just have fun and try not to get too far ahead of yourself. It all has a wonderful way of working itself out!

Yep it’ll all work out. I’m just a planner so I wanted to at least get some ideas about Norway just to start thinking about it. I like reading everyone’s experiences so I can expect anything because it sounds like everyone has had such different experiences. We won’t plan anything until we know the baby and its temperament.

 

[Haley R]

I agree with everyone in that you just don't know how it will go. We had to drive 2000 mile roundtrip when second DD was 6 weeks old. It was AWFUL! LOL She was actually a great baby, but it was just too long in the car. Might have been easier if bottle feeding, but was only breastfeeding. I might have done some very unsafe maneuvering to try to feed her while still driving after a billion stops and a crying baby (She stayed buckled, I did not, - DH driving, not me haha). I can see that flying would be much eaiser, unless you have a cryer, but we were poor then and flying was not an option and the trip was for a family wedding.

I personally can't imagine doing a cruise with an infant though. That does not sound fun to me at all. I would not put them in the daycare (my personal preference) and there are just things like the shows that I would not do with a baby. But you will know more after your cruise how a baby might affect you on one.

The Disney cruise will be our first one and it’s possible we might never want to go on a cruise again. I honestly have no idea what to expect. I can kind of see Dh not liking it but maybe he’ll surprise me. I don’t think we would ever drive 2000 miles lol

 

[WVMomof3]

The Disney cruise will be our first one and it’s possible we might never want to go on a cruise again. I honestly have no idea what to expect. I can kind of see Dh not liking it but maybe he’ll surprise me. I don’t think we would ever drive 2000 miles lol

We drove it every year for many many years. Sometimes more than once. And a lot of that was pre all the gadgets the kids have now. lol No TV, No ipad, no games. The kids did great most of the time, but it was very long days. Sometimes we did it straight in one day, sometimes we stopped half way. Honestly, straight in one shot is better because the kids eventually fall asleep and then they can't complain. lol

 

[mmmears]

The Disney cruise will be our first one and it’s possible we might never want to go on a cruise again. I honestly have no idea what to expect. I can kind of see Dh not liking it but maybe he’ll surprise me. I don’t think we would ever drive 2000 miles lol

You may not every want to cruise again, but it's a very different vacation (pleasure cruising vs. destination cruising. I'll add that, while we never missed a show on those relaxing cruises, we absolutely did on the N/I/S one. There were some long days of touring and all we wanted to do afterwards was have dinner and go to sleep. I wasn't sure if it would work for us when I booked it, so it was kind of a test cruise for us, but it worked really well in giving us a balance between seeing all the sights and having some down time and convenience. We did do some of the activities and went to some shows, but it's very different from the DCL cruises that leave from PC. It's also why I could see booking another cruise line in the future since DCL doesn't go everywhere we'd like to go.

 

[Haley R]

We drove it every year for many many years. Sometimes more than once. And a lot of that was pre all the gadgets the kids have now. lol No TV, No ipad, no games. The kids did great most of the time, but it was very long days. Sometimes we did it straight in one day, sometimes we stopped half way. Honestly, straight in one shot is better because the kids eventually fall asleep and then they can't complain. lol

We used to drive 800 miles every year for Christmas when I was a kid but always broke it into two days. I always did great in the car because I liked looking out the window and playing car games with my mom. We had gameboys, cd players, and DVD players though

 

[Haley R]

You may not every want to cruise again, but it's a very different vacation (pleasure cruising vs. destination cruising. I'll add that, while we never missed a show on those relaxing cruises, we absolutely did on the N/I/S one. There were some long days of touring and all we wanted to do afterwards was have dinner and go to sleep. I wasn't sure if it would work for us when I booked it, so it was kind of a test cruise for us, but it worked really well in giving us a balance between seeing all the sights and having some down time and convenience. We did do some of the activities and went to some shows, but it's very different from the DCL cruises that leave from PC. It's also why I could see booking another cruise line in the future since DCL doesn't go everywhere we'd like to go.

If we booked a cruise to Norway/Sweden it wouldn’t be for the ship. It would be more of a convenience thing so we aren’t unpacking and moving around. We would be okay missing shows and anything like that. I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t book DCL again, at least not right away. Our plan is to save our URs for however we can make a Norway trip work.