Looking for tips for taking baby

[Courtney Wood]

I'm planning on going to WDW in December and my baby girl will be 14 months. I know this will be very different than any other trip I've made so I'm looking for tips to make our trip the best. I'm planning on being pretty laid back this go round.

 

[gap2368]

1 Rider swap

2 take breaks when your child is tired, or better yet before they get tired, hungry, thirsty.

3 do not over do things it is ok to spend time at the resort in the pool extra

4 take your cues from her if she dose not want to meet Mickey then that is ok ( also holding her so that she is on the hip not next to the charters might help a child that is scared, you know since mom is in the middle they some times can handle it better.) this also go for loud noises some kids do not like them.

 

[Courtney Wood]

Thanks! How time consuming is rider swap? I know you can't tell exactly but I have no idea.

 

[DisneyCAL]

You know your baby best! If she is an early waker, take advantage of emh morning hours and take a break midday. Also don't set big expectations for yourself as this is a new thing you are doing and it's new for her. Build in down time/quiet time so it's not so overwhelming for both of you. For loud moments we brought ear plugs just in case and had glow sticks for dark times. Also going into the moment or experience with a "happy voice" on can make it easier for her to handle things. We find that when parents or us at times feel nervous or worried the kids feel that and the kids would shy away or get scared, so always be reassuring. Have things at the ready that work for your daughter, for our daughter it was her minnie mouse lovee which always grounded her into a cuddly mood while with our son it was daddy tickle monster that snapped him out of a meltdown. But seriously take things one step at a time and savor the special moments, the wonder in her face and the new interactions you'll have with her.

 

[wilkeliza]

Baby wear if you can. That will allow you to park the stroller and see each area of a land but still be hands free. Baby wearing also helps in lines you may have to wait in.

Rider Swap. It isn't that time consuming. If 1 adult has to wait in the standard queue the other gets to go through the FP queue. (the second always enters FP no matter how the first does but combined with a SB wait it drastically cuts down the 2nd wait).

Baby care center! If you little one needs to get out of the heat head to baby care.

Know their limits. At 14 months an indoor show may not hold their attention so have a plan of action if you want to see things like Nemo, the Lion King, Indy, beauty and the beast, little mermaid, etc. Sit in the back or furthest down an isle so exiting if need be is easiest.

If there is something your little one really really really loved try not to bring it. That special lamby she sleeps with every night at home. Try to buy a 2nd one and not bring the originals with you. Nothing is worse than little ones loosing their comfort item for good. It happens all the time at Disney and can ruin trips so try not to bring something that is a beloved thing unless they really can't sleep or nap or whatever with out it.

Get them use to a pack and play before you go on vacation.

 

[Courtney Wood]

Great tips! Thank y'all so much! We are planning on staying at a monorail resort (probably Poly) so it's a little easier to get back to the room for breaks as needed. I'm planning on getting some type of baby carrier thing soon. I didn't even think about it for Disney but that was a great point about wearing it in lines! I can't wait to share Disney with her.

 

[kniquy]

Really just try to gauge your day on her typical schedule. If she is not a good stroller baby then this will be real difficult. If she rides and naps well in the stroller then you should be good to do a good portion of the day. As soon as she is up -- head to the parks. I am guessing she still naps in the afternoon then head back to the resort to rest and nap. You could head back to the parks later in the afternoon. Good idea to be staying at the poly - so at least you can get back and forth easily.

I would might forego or limit table service meals as that may be too long for her to sit still and remain calm, again you know her best and if you do already dine out often then you know how she will be.

You are already going at a good time of the year - the weather should be comfortable -- nothing is worse than a hot cranky child. Pack lots of snacks to kept her tummy full and happy.

 

[Courtney Wood]

Thanks kniquy! So far she's okay in the stroller when she's awake for a little while. She can nap really good in the stroller right now so I hope that's still true when we go! I think I'm going to book some table service and I can cancel when it gets closer if I it may be a problem. Maybe no character meals since those are a lot longer. I don't think we'll book anything for breakfast though because if she wants to sleep in, I don't want to have to wake her up. Obviously, being a first time mom I'm not sure how much she's going to change between now and then so it makes it hard to plan that far out.

 

[monorailsilver]

I assume this will not be your last time going to Disney? Just keep that in mind.

When my DH and I took our oldest, she was 15 months. I planned to do a rider swap for space mountain, etc...

But tings changed, I didn't want to miss out on any of her excitement so there was no SM or nay mountain for either of us.

We knew we'd be back so it was no biggie!

We went in summer so there weee linger park hours so we were up early and did the early entry park. Returned at lunch time for a nap and then returned to a park at dinner.

I brought zip lock baggies and a cooler with an ice pack for leftoversince she rarely ate a whole kids meal.

We did not stick to her bedtime, again that's where the nap came in, and she took a longer nap then normal. She saw all the nighttime shows, maybe a bit scared of the fireworks initially but we looked for colors in them which she loved.

Just enjoy and soak it all in. It's a magical trip for your family!

 

[Courtney Wood]

I'm glad we went before we had kids, because we got to do all the big rides and have our fun adult trip. It's now all about her from here on out! It was my husband's first Disney trip in Dec '15. So, I'm not really worried about it if we don't get to do all the big stuff but if we do that's great too! We have some more family members talking about coming now that we've started to plan. I feel like the people that you hear about taking little ones to Disney and having a bad time had different expectations of what the trip would be like. I'm trying to remember that it won't be like the other times I've been to Disney and won't be as busy or scheduled as before. I'm trying to keep it laid back. I'm super excited though

 

[wilkeliza]

I wouldn't worry about table service or not to be honest. If you take your baby out at home now it is possible by your trip she'll be awesome at meals. 3/4s of my nieces and nephews have no problem sitting through a standard meal even at 1. It is probably because they have always sat in their high chairs for family meals since day one. We just had rotational duty on who would take babies out who were cranky and come back when they had cooled down but most little ones were fine being breast fed to comfort or with toys that we packed along.

 

[biondagirl]

I took both my kids when the were a year. Yes, it was certainly more work than it was before kids, but I found it very manageable. We didn't ride all the rides we used, too, but most of Disney is baby friendly. My kids were awesome in they had no problem sleeping in the stroller. When we go to Disney, there is no rest. We are at the parks all day and all night. They just went with the flow. Until they were out of strollers. . . then the complaining came.

 

[kcp1377]

We've taken 4 of our kids as babies (8 months then 20 months with twin boys, 6 months then 1 year with DS4, 5 months and she will be 18 months when we go in Nov) and they've all been great! Wonderful vacation memories for sure! We take it slow, use a stroller and baby carrier, make sure to plan ahead with fastpass (and use rider swap), take plenty of breaks. We've learned our kids have a 4 hour span where they are happy, so we make sure to be leaving the park before the meltdown. We usually go to the park in the AM, spend 4 hours, go back for lunch/pool and then head back in the late afternoon. Works great and we rarely feel like we're doing too much. We bring snacks, waters and go with the flow. And plan lots of resort time where we can relax and not go to the parks. We've always traveled with the kids and while it makes for some crazy stories sometimes, they are all wonderful travelers now!

 

[Courtney Wood]

Thanks Everybody! Great tips from everybody! Now just to decide how long we'll be there!