Much difference in taking baby at 4 months vs. 6 months old???

[loveysbydesign]

Well, we were planning out trip for the week after T'giving and wanted to go to MVMCP. My dh's vacation policy at work has changed a bit so we may need to go in early-mid October instead and go to MNSSHP. Our baby would have been appx. 5 1/2-6 m.o. for the Nov./Dec. trip and would be almost 4 m.o. for the Oct. trip. Those of you who have traveled to WDW with babies near those ages can you offer any pros/cons to baby's age at the time of travel...5 1/2-6m.o. vs. 4 m.o??? Thanks!

 

[cinder1]

We went when our youngest was 5 mths. (The other 3 kids were 9.5, almost 8 and almost 5). Everyone we know thought we were crazy. But it was not bad at all with a 5 mth old. I don't think it would be any harder with a 4 or 6 mth old. She slept a lot. I was nursing and bottle feeding so I brought bottled water (I don't like the WDW water!!). Also we almost always drive from Dallas to Orlando (the trip with the 5 mth old was no exception). I would not worry about taking the baby at all.

 

[mareed]

At almost 4 months old, a baby would still be exclusively nursing or bottle fed, so in my opinion would be easier to feed than a 6 month old where you'd be carrying baby food around. (Easiest of all would be a nursing 4 month old - no bottles or food to carry at all!)

But, the weather at the times you're talking about could make a difference - it will still be pretty hot during October, which can be tough with a baby that you have to carry. Carrying a baby close would make you and baby so much hotter.

My first was also crawling at 6 months, and I think it's difficult to take a crawling baby, but I think that's probably pretty early and most 6 months old aren't crawling yet.

Really, I think you'll be fine either way, and since it looks like this isn't your first, you'll be reasonably well-prepared. Of course, as you know, each child is different. My 2nd was an easy baby, but my 1st was not and was no where near sleeping through the night until about 9 months old, and it would not have been pleasant to take the 1st at either 4 or 6 months!

 

[mnasmom3]

We, too, have taken our children as infants. Never was an issue for us either. They love strolling and people watching. I think you'd do fine at either time you end up traveling.

 

[AngieWin]

I agree that 4 1/2 months would be easier because of just nursing/bottlefeeding. We went when ds was 3 months and he was the easiest of all the crew!! Didnt have to mess with solids at all. And keep in mind that when you start solids the diaper, um, odor is stronger and nastier! And with solids there is more clothes to change.

 

[labst60]

Our experience-
First trip - DD was exactly 3 months old on the day we left- truly a wonderful experience. At this point, she was exclusively breastfed. Major plus- at night, we were able to put her back in her stroller, fully reclined and she slept away like an angel with we did DTD or the Boardwalk. She also slept like an angel through all of our meals - including a wonderful steak dinner at Shulas. Major cons- because she was not eating ANY solids yet, we still had at least one very scary, potentially HUGE mess diaper per day (are all babies like this?? it got **much** better for her once we started some cereal!) The other "con" was that we we were still pretty "new" at the whole parenting thing (she was our first), so we came with QUITE the entorage of stuff (but we may very likely had done that the first time??)
Second trip - DD was exactly 7 months old the day we left - again, a truly wonderful experience. Big differences - she was eating some cereal and fruits/veggies (diapers weren't as bad, but a pain to express milk to mix w/ the cereal - that whole process seemed easier at home), able to sit up in restaurant high chairs (with the cover we brought from home). The pluses - things actually made her smile, since she had already started "swim lessons" at home, we were more comfortable taking her in the pool. It was fun to have her at the table with us, eating her saltines & cheerrios while we had our meal. The cons - she was less content at the meals (no longer sitting in the baby carrier, since she prefered sitting in the high chair.) We didn't "enjoy" our meals in the same relaxed way as when she was 3 months. ALso, it turns out lugging around baby food and trying to have the right "mix" was a bit of a pain.
As far as parks/riding went - we rode pretty much both times, discreetly nursed as needed, and all in all had a fabulous time.
If I had to pick, which would I do again? Both of course! I'm already trying to convince DH that we need a December trip (our baby #2 will be 3 months) along with our annual May trip (baby #2 will be 8 months!)

One more piece of advice - for the littlest ones, I highly recommend a RayShade for your stroller and a stroller fan. The ray shads were great in blocking the bright sun and as long as they are too little to be grabbing at the stroller, I really liked the ventilation that the stroller fan gave when her stroller was fully reclined.

 

[dsneygirl]

We took DS at 3 months and 5 months. And there wasn't much difference. Except on the 5 month trip he was sleeping through the night. He was on the bottle and I had no issues. We just brought a small cooler bag to put under the stroller. In Oct he was 3 months and I don't think the heat was too bad, we just took lots of breaks in the shade or a/c as necessary, there's always a shop to pop into.

 

[loveysbydesign]

Thank you everyone for you advice, I greatly appreciate it! I will be nursing so I'm thinking it may be a little simpler to go when the baby's on the younger side, although messy poops and the heat may be issues in Oct. The other factor I hadn't really thought about was that if we go after T'giving we may already begin to feel the stresses of the holidays on the horizonsand since I'll have 3 kiddos by then perhaps we should travel when it's not so close to the holidays. UGH....decisions decisions!!!!!!

 

[PA Princess]

Funny I wondered about this 2 years ago. We took first dd at 4 months and we had a trip to take second dd at 6 months...wondered if it would be easier or harder. In the end it was about the same with both girls, and very enjoyable!

1st dd at 4 months was breastfed exclusively (which was fine) and she was sleeping kinda through the night. She was still young enough that she required no real entertainment and she easily went with the flow of whatever we did (we also had ds's 4 and 5 on this trip).

We did travel in October and the warmth was fine...wore hats and stroller shade and no real heat issues. We did have one very messy poo accident in the parks...and dd was wearing a brand new white, linen dress (dry clean only LOL for a baby! a gift from my very single no kid sister on that trip .

Oh, and we did feel like the holidays came fast that year with a late October trip, but nothing that couldn't be managed. Though, I have to say for myself this is probably my least fav time to travel because I do so love the get ready for the holiday time.

With 2nd dd at 6 months I was still breastfeeding almost exclusively (actually delayed slightly running full steam with starting solids to make the traveling easier) with just a bit of cereal and baby cracker/toast things. Nice part was that baby could be fed other than by mom. Plus, at 6 months she interacted far more and reacted more to shows and characters and rides. However, this dd was a late crawler (9 months), and I had been a bit concerned before the trip about potentially having a newly crawling baby on the trip...they so want to be down, down, down.

 

[JVL1018]

I would give the edge to 6 months, only because they will most likely be able to sit up in a restaurant high chair at that age, and won;t be at 4 months-which means you either have to hold them teh whole time, or bring your car seat/stroller combo and haul the car seat into the restaurant.

I've done both--DD was 3 and a half months at WDW and DS was 6 months at Disney's HHI resort--and both trips were great, the sitting up just made it easier, for me.

 

[loveysbydesign]

WOW...it's so nice to hear from others who took their baby to WDW! You've given me much more to think about to help make my decision!
I'm driving my dh nuts with this...of course it doesn't affect him as much since he won't be nursing-LOL! Another thing I just thought of is that at 6 m.o. there is no way I could carry my baby around in a front pack carrier/sling as he/she would be too heavy. (I'm only 4'11" tall) My kids were "sumo" babies by 6 m.o. and I could really only carry them in the front-pack carrier/sling til they were about 4 months old, after that they were way too heavy.....at 6 m.o. ds was wearing 18 mon. clothes because he was so chubby!(now he's a string bean!) Perhaps this baby won't gain weight as fast? We do have a great umbrella type stroller that folds nicely and reclines all the way back to use for the baby so we won't have to use the carseat/stroller combo in the parks. I don't think we'll be doing too many sit-down rest.'s this time. As far as the crawling I hadn't thought of that either....my dd crawled at 6 months and walked...no I mean ran...at 8 months old!!!! I tried so hard not to get her to walk early but she had a big brother to chase after! I guess I need to write down a list of all the pros./cons for each age and go from there. If anoyone else has more to add please do so...I need all the help I can get!

 

[labst60]

WOW...it's so nice to hear from others who took their baby to WDW! You've given me much more to think about to help make my decision!
I'm driving my dh nuts with this...of course it doesn't affect him as much since he won't be nursing-LOL! Another thing I just thought of is that at 6 m.o. there is no way I could carry my baby around in a front pack carrier/sling as he/she would be too heavy. (I'm only 4'11" tall) My kids were "sumo" babies by 6 m.o. and I could really only carry them in the front-pack carrier/sling til they were about 4 months old, after that they were way too heavy.....at 6 m.o. ds was wearing 18 mon. clothes because he was so chubby!(now he's a string bean!) Perhaps this baby won't gain weight as fast? We do have a great umbrella type stroller that folds nicely and reclines all the way back to use for the baby so we won't have to use the carseat/stroller combo in the parks. I don't think we'll be doing too many sit-down rest.'s this time. As far as the crawling I hadn't thought of that either....my dd crawled at 6 months and walked...no I mean ran...at 8 months old!!!! I tried so hard not to get her to walk early but she had a big brother to chase after! I guess I need to write down a list of all the pros./cons for each age and go from there. If anoyone else has more to add please do so...I need all the help I can get!

I never even thought of the weight issue. I brought our bjorn, but never used it (probably would have been too hot), but DH was peanut. At 3 months, probably just over 9lbs and still in newborn clothes, just starting 0-3months. At 7 months, she was just under 13lbs and still wearing 0-3 and some 3-6s. But, at 3 months (june) it was **hot** holding when it was for long periods of time, but since she was so light, it was bearable. If she had been a lot bigger (even more "average" sized, it may have been tougher!)

 

[Nicolepa]

I've done one at 5 months and one at 7. Honestly the 5 months was a lot harder. First off it was September so it was hot, hot, hot. Second they cannot sit up at that age so you have to hold/carry them on all rides. (I have back issues and can't do a sling, Bjorn, at all.) The 7 month old was much easier because they could sit up on the rides. You could set her on your lap and not hold super tight. (It was also December so the weather was much more manageable.)

 

[PrincessasMommy]

Last trip was with a 8 month old, next trip will be with a 3 month old in October.......I planned it that way on purpose. I plan to breastfeed and that makes travel with a newborn so easy! I have a Maya Wrap sling which is amazing to nurse in and carry baby in and can be worn on all the rides. Hubby has a Bjorn for when I need a break. If you have a great sling you have a great time is my experience!