New Parents Need Advice!!!

[Willow25]

Hello All

A little background....

My husband and I have been married for seven years. We currently live in Australia as that is where my husband is from. I am a Disney freak as most of us on these boards are. I have been to DW twice in the past three years and have been planning our next trip for December of 2007. The cast would include myself (31), my husband (31), My mother (57), my dad (64) and my two neices (11) and (5). Here is the issue we are currently trying to get pregnant (please don't email to tell me that it might take a long time or there might be a complication we are well aware of this) therefore we will hopefully have a child by the time December of 2007 hits. If we are not pregnant by the new year then we will not go to Disney as I do not want to go pregnant or with a brand new newborn.

I say if we have a child that is 3 months or older we should just go and come what may. My husband however feels differently. He does not think that it is worth the risk of all that money to go and have the baby have bad days or make it difficult to enjoy rides, shopping etc like we have in the past.

I feel that while it will be different to go with a baby that is what our life will be like and we shouldn't not do the things that we really want to do because they will be different.

Anyone else experience this or have any advice for us hopeful parents to be.

thanks

 

[ilovejack02]

I would have been ok with a baby that age at WDW. I personally would NOT choose Dec. esp if it is Christmas that you are looking at. I would try to hit WDW at the "quiestest" and coolest time possible which I would guess is going to be Jan. Babies are pretty portable so it was never a big deal bringing my DS with us anywhere. YES it takes longer to do things and the baby will slow you down, but if the grandparents are going then that will help. NOW with that being said, I would be leary of such a LONG flight with a baby. 1) the possibilty of baby catching something like a cold or flu might be higher and I would prob not some unless baby was old enough for Flu shot and i cant remember what age that is. 2) IF I decided to do it I would ONLY do it first class for that long of a flight. I dont enjoy flying with a baby so that would at least would make things a little better lol.

 

[mecllap]

This may come under the idea that if you put things off because it's not the perfect time, you'll never do it. You can certainly do all the planning except putting any nonrefundable money down, and then change your mind. I've seen people at WDW in every stage of pregnancy, and with babies of all ages and sometimes wondered why -- but, it's not always possible to pick the best time. As long as you're not planning for a really hot, or the most crowded, time, you might as well go for it. It looks like you'll have plenty of help for the baby. And if you're not pregnant, yet -- I've read posts that claim that WDW is magic for helping some people get that way! Since you know your way around, you can make plans that should cover all your eventualities -- be sure to read up on all the hints and tips about going there with babies.
Good luck, and have fun!

 

[annie1995]

NOW with that being said, I would be leary of such a LONG flight with a baby. 1) the possibilty of baby catching something like a cold or flu might be higher and I would prob not some unless baby was old enough for Flu shot and i cant remember what age that is.

I agree, you will be hitting our peak flu season here in the states. The baby has to be at least 6 months old for a flu shot here, I would imagine it would pretty much be the same there. ( I just had a baby in July, and I asked about the flu shot). Good Luck with getting pregnant !

 

[Willow25]

My entire family is in the states and we had planned to go and spend christmas with them regardless of DW.

 

[mamato2princesses]

We went with DD3 and DD 3 mos summer of '05. It was okay. Here were our con's (but remember-we went in July when it was really hot):

Keeping the baby cool while in MK

Finding a bench to sit down with the baby while DD3 went on a ride (my parents went with us, and stayed with the baby while we rode some rides.)

Staying cool and out of the sun when we were at the pool.

The baby was adaptable. When we waited in line to meet the princesses(for over an hour), she slept in the baby bjorn. She slept during the evening parade. Overall, she was great.

We only stayed at MK for about 3 hours in the am, then went back at night to see the princesses and the parade.

However, I have to agree with the others about Flu season.

Best of Luck to you!

 

[EthansMom]

You couldn't pay me to go to WDW without a child at Christmas, not to mention with a young baby. It's the most crowded time of year.

If it takes you a few months to get pregnant, you could conceivably be pregnant Dec. 2007, in which case you won't be able to travel at all.

My advice, make your vacation plans AFTER you're pregnant. That way, you'll know exactly how old the baby will be. If possible, spend the Christmas holiday with your family and go to WDW in early January (Jan. 2 or later). The crowds drop dramatically after New Years. You'll be able to see/do more in less time and get plenty of rest in the afternoon for the baby.

Good Luck!

 

[southernbohemian]

My little boy turned two months last week, so, as a new mom, here are my thoughts:

I think you can definitely do it and have a great time, but it will probably be kind of rough and a lot of that can't be helped by planning and prepping. For starters, travelling with a baby is like travelling with a circus - they have so much stuff! Since you're flying, look into getting the diapers, wipes, formula, etc., once you get there because otherwise you'll be checking a lot more baggage. I would suggest memorizing a map of every restroom with a diaper changing station in the entire park. Then there is feeding the little guy. My DS is strickly nursing at the moment (we start pumping next week so I can go back to work) and it is definitely the most portable (no accessories!) but most time consuming option. We have a Baby Bjorn that came in handy a lot while travelling - it not only is comfortable for you and the baby, but offers a position that offers a lot of privacy. If you're pumping, you'll probably have to stop a couple of times a day to do that, but it doesn't eat up a lot of time and they have a lot of travel-friendly pumps on the market. I'm sure that CMs are very used to helping parents warm up formula bottles - can anyone share their experiences?

My worry about the flight is not only the chances of getting sick (I would avoid going at least before he's 4 months and has gotten his second round of vaccinations), but that it will totally mess up his sleep schedule for the entire time you are there. My baby has been a great sleeper since he was about two weeks - he sleeps a great chunk in the afternoon and then sleeps through the night with occasionally one wake-up. But anytime we go somewhere he gets a little messed up (mostly because his carrier makes him instantly conk out). Whatever changes his sleep schedule goes through, it is important to realize that yours does too. If you're able to get a good amount of sleep at night, you might want to try to catch rides during his day naps when he is easily handed over to your parents. Overall, I would plan a trip that is relaxed and very flexible. Luckily you've been before, so I would concentrate on doing the non-ride park activities and enjoy the resort amenities. Definitely stay away from the crowds. And make sure your baby spends most of the time out of the sun.

And don't forget to get the "Baby's First Haircut" on Main Street!

Good luck with everything!

 

[Willow25]

Thanks everyone for the advice. We are not going to DW at christmas time we will be there the first two weeks of December to avoid crowds etc.

I am not worried about the hassles bringing a baby will cause me. I am generally go with the flow and will be able to adapt. I am really more worried about my husband who is not go with the flow.

 

[EthansMom]

Thanks everyone for the advice. We are not going to DW at christmas time we will be there the first two weeks of December to avoid crowds etc.

I am not worried about the hassles bringing a baby will cause me. I am generally go with the flow and will be able to adapt. I am really more worried about my husband who is not go with the flow.

That's a lovely time of year at WDW. We went the first week of Dec. last year.

If possible, don't stay at the Value resorts during the first week of Dec. as it is full of rather noisy young football players and cheerleaders. You won't see them much in the parks as they are having competitions at the World of Sports, but the resorts can be noisy.

I learned very quickly to let DH do whatever rides/attractions he wanted while I stayed with the baby. Now that our DS is older, I take DD on a kiddie ride, while DH and DS ride some of the wilder rides.

Enjoy!

 

[SaraMc]

I went while I was pregnant and it was ok. We are going back when DS is 6 months old. And we know we arnt going to see a lot that we are going to have to go a bit slower. But that's ok. I didnt want to go to WDW while pregnant and we actually had stopped trying to get pregnant and low and behold I got pregnant with our little guy. While I didnt get to go on all the rides I would have liked to it wasnt that bad. If you are pregnant and can still fly I would do it.

Good luck

 

[disneyohana]

When my dd was born to 6 months she slept so much that we would have plenty of time to go on rides taking turns or relaxing at a restaurant. Also, she did pretty well with new things. She liked Rainforest Cafe which can be a little scary and loud. Now at 21 months she needs her nap or she is terribly crabby. She is scared of fireworks. We are going to DW in May so I hope all goes well. Good luck. I love being a mom.
Sorry forgot to mention, my husband would have died if he had to change my dd at 4 months in Chilis with diarreah all over her pants. I just went with the flow, wiped her down and since I always had an extra pair of clothes, everything was fine. As long as you do the dirty work, maybe your husband will be ok. Tell him you'll handle it if there's a problem. We actually laughed at a lot of the things because everything was so new.

 

[Willow25]

Thanks for that DisneyOhana. As this will be our first child we just don't know what to expect. You are right as long as I do the dirty work we will probably be just fine.

 

[ajcolorado]

Babies that age are pretty easy - they're just happy to be with you. My babies were always pretty content in a front pack or backpack. Mine were terrible about strollers -clearly I did something wrong because you see babies in strollers all of the time.

Disney is so great because it is a theme park - rather than a thrill park - so there is a lot that you can all do together. Babies get scared in movies though, so the 3-D's might be out. And Disney offers the child swap option. Honestly, once you get past the long international flight, Disney World will be easy. We dragged my poor children from pillar to post but it didn't seem to do them any harm.

This will be your first child so your husband has no way of knowing what to expect and he's just trying to be practical. You might suggest that you can make a reservation and then cancel it without penalty, if necessary. You just need 45 days notice for a Magic Your Way package or only 5 days for a room only reservation.

 

[disneyohana]

I'm glad I could help. I know this may sound stupid since there is no known way to get pregnant fast, but when I got off the pill the next month we went to Mexico on vac. and it was not the best time of the month to get pregnant, but 280 days later I had my dd. I almost think that having less stress may help. I know that sounds silly. And also, I never thought I wanted to nurse. All my friends and family didn't or couldn't, but when dd was born it was so natural and didn't feel weird to me at all. She didn't get sick because of nursing and it was so portable. For Disney, that would be two good reasons to nurse if possible.