Newborn at Disney

[elderfam]

Hello,

We have had a 10 day trip planned for the end of October for a year now. We are being blessed with an adoption the beginning of October and are now trying to include an infant in our plans. We are DVC members using our points and hosting family members so we are not really wanting to cancel if at all possible.

Does anyone have any suggestions or tips for us? We are staying BWV so it will be easy for me to stay close to our hotel. The food and Wine festival is the big draw so we had planned to spend lots of time at Epcot.

ANY suggestions would be great!!!!

 

[TaraPA]

Congrats on the adoption! Our DS was 7 weeks old (but was 4 weeks early & tiny - so really the size of a newborn) when we 1st took him. The easiest thing for me was to carry him in a front pouch carrier - that left my hands & arms free to do everything. Surprisingly, I was allowd to take the infant on rides IN the carrier - I figured I'd be doing a lot of waiting outide for DH & other DS. Be sure & make use of the Baby Care Centers in the parks - I found them to be clean, well stocked, & fairly empty (and AC too!) I went in there to feed the baby in peace & quiet. DS slept 90% of the day which of course meant he was up for hours at night. Other than being tired from lack of sleep it was one of the easiest trips we've taken. Have fun & don't sweat it! It will all work out I'm sure.

 

[Pirates4me]

We took our 3 month old on our annual trip to WDW in April. As it was already getting warm our biggest concern was that our son get enough fluids. Pedilite was the answer. We had the meal plan and we took the baby to every restuarant that we had reservations at. This trip we tended to eat earlier and we didn't stay out too too late. The only problem we had was getting his stroller on and off the buses. We managed fine but got more than one dirty look.
Even at 3 months, my son went goo goo for Mickey. Just playing with the mickey doll gets him excited.

We also stayed at the BWV nand found that it was nice to be so close to Epcot as most of the restaurants that we had reservations too were there. A short walk always put the baby to sleep.

Enjoy your newborn and enjoy your trip to Disney. We are heading back in April and we are already counting the days

Pirates4me

 

[rrobin3051]

oh CONGRATS on your new arrival! Dont cancel you will have a great time and believe me a tiny baby is the easiest to travel with. Its the toddlers that get you...lol. Baby slings and nice smiles at restaraunts sometimes gets a sleeping baby in. I always had luck with a smile and oh he is sleeping.LOL. Yea you can ride a lot of things with the baby right in the sling or carrier. You be going through a blessed event and Disney will only add to the magic. Good luck and have fun.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Hello,

We have had a 10 day trip planned for the end of October for a year now. We are being blessed with an adoption the beginning of October and are now trying to include an infant in our plans. We are DVC members using our points and hosting family members so we are not really wanting to cancel if at all possible.

Does anyone have any suggestions or tips for us? We are staying BWV so it will be easy for me to stay close to our hotel. The food and Wine festival is the big draw so we had planned to spend lots of time at Epcot.

ANY suggestions would be great!!!!

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU! No baby suggestions here, its been a while for me, a LONG while, lol
HAVE A WONDERFUL TIME MAK'N MEMORIES WITH YOUR FAMILY!!

 

[CastleCreations]

Congrats on your adoption!!
I don't really have any Disney advice, maybe just bring tons of clothes for the little one. October weather can be very unpredictable in Florida. It might be 80 degrees, or it could be in the 60s... you never know..

I do have an airplane suggestion...if you are flying and the baby is awake during takeoff, try to get him or her to drink a little. It helps their ears "pop", breast feeding and bottle feeding will work fine...

Have fun and enjoy this time with your "new" family member!!!

 

[Willow25]

Wishing you the best of luck and congratulations we are traveling to DW with our first child in December. She will be four months then and we are feeling a bit nervous about it as well. We just keep saying that we will have to be flexible and to be prepared for anything.

 

[JAM3]

We took our dd at 4 months with no problems at all. We brought a front carrier to use in the lines, but used the stroller otherwise. We found the stroller cooler for her and lighter for us! We purchased a Maclaren Quest for the trip. It was great! Much lighter than our Graco, easier to maneuver and folded smaller for the busses. We also purchased a UV protectant shawl to lay over her while she slept in the stroller from Coolibar (lighter than a blanket), a UV protectant hat for the front carrier (also from Coolibar--the one with an adjustable elastic strap in the hat), rayshade (to help protect her from the sun) a UV protectant swimsuit from Stingway (great--one piece that covered all her arms and legs, we used this when she was a year also, it just came up to her elbows and knees) and a stroller fan to help keep her cool since she was laying down for so long. So yes, we purchased a lot of items to help protect her from the sun! Since she was so little she could not have a lot of sunscreen on and it was very important to us. All of the items we purchased we were able to still use to atleast 18 months, so they were well worth the money!
Congratulations and have a great time!

 

[Honeymooner04]

We took our daughter to Disneyland at 3 months and had a great trip. She was incredibly easy and it ended up being one of my favorite vacations ever. She loved going on the rides even at that age and now at 18 months she is a full fledged Disney fanatic! Relax and have a great trip! And congratulations on the adoption as well!

 

[Ariel8676]

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My only suggestions would be to dress the baby in layers..October weather is nutty..lol And get a Good sling..goo-ga.com or hotslings.com are great..it is just so nice to have your hands free and if the baby is sleeping (or getting sleepy in the stroller, switch to the sling) you dont have to pick the baby up from the stroller and wake them up

 

[elderfam]

You guys are making me feel so so much better about this trip. I guess I thought I would be sitting on the sidelines more that I will be.

Has anyone had a problem with viewing fireworks? I was wondering if I should try to find some kind of hearing protection for him. Has this ever been a problem before or am I overthinking it?

Thanks!

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

You may want to ask your pediatrician what she thinks. Truthfully, I would not subject a baby that age to flying or WDW. Not because it would be a hassle, but because of his immune system. While it is great that he is going to a loving home...he will not be breastfed which is what really jump starts a baby's immune system. If he will be under 6 weeks--and it sounds like he will be, I would seriously consider staying home--especially if your plans include flying. During those first weeks especially you will want to limit the number of people who come in contact with him.

 

[jenningspaige]

You sound just like me! We adopted our daughter at birth, and she was riding the rides with me at Disneyland before she was a month old (under 7 lbs!). I carried her in a baby bjorn with an extra blanket, but a sling type carrier probably would have been better just because she was so tiny. I'd bring both types if you can. They let babies on a lot of rides at Disney. I was able to take her on just about anything that wasn't a roller coaster or didn't require a belt. As far as the baby's immune system...I'm not sure. I figured..we had to travel to get her, and stay in a hotel room for the first week of her life, which happened to be in smoky casinos in Vegas (also in the freezing cold in January)...I think Disney World, and even a plane trip, would be easier on them that that. She never got sick, but I might have felt bad if she had I guess that's a personal thing. I say get as prepared as possible, then go, have fun, and show the kid what fun their life with you is going to be

 

[jenningspaige]

Here's a picture of my itty bitty Disney fan

 

[dijid]

Will this be your first? Or your first adoption? And are you adopting in your home state? (if this is interstate, you may not have cleared ICPC in time)

I'd have to recommend being cautious. I'd hate to tell you to cancel and then have the adoption fall through. But there's a lot of adjustment when you add a baby to the family, and sometimes it can be stressful. Add extra family members + Disneyworld and it might just be too much. In addition to the worries about traveling with a baby that tiny. (And what if the baby comes 2 weeks late? What would you do then?)

We adopted our 3rd just days before a scheduled trip to visit family for Thanksgiving. DD was already 2 months when we adopted her, so we didn't have the newborn issues. But I Will say it was stressful being around a lot of family for a week. Everyone wanted to hold her and I was still getting to know her, concerned about bonding, and trying to adjust to having 3 kids. We survived, but I don't have the fondest memories of that time.

 

[blessedby3]

Congrats on the adoption!! We are traveling with our 3 1/2 month old in Jan. and cant wait. I have traveled with a small baby before to Disney and it is really quite easy. We also used the front pack and rode lots with our DD in it. When we went in Oct with our infant it was EXTREMELY HOT. I couldnt believe how hot it could be in Oct. She was sweating most of the time and I felt really bad. We only travel to Disney from Nov-March now. Our family prefers the cooler weather. Have a great trip and take lots of pictures of your new little one for him to remember!!

 

[elderfam]

Thank you all for your great ideas! We are adopting in state and have already been told it wont be a problem for us to travel to Florida.
I have a front carrier (bjorn?) but it sounds like a "sling" might be better for a newborn.

We have been going to Disney the end of October for the last 5 years, but I must say, I never gave the heat a second thought. Where do I look for the clip on fans for a stroller? Speaking of which...We went to look at them and OH MY GOD...they are so much more complicated than I thought they would be. How do you choose?????? I'd like one that has a baby carrier that clips into the car seat, then clips into the stroller. Does that make sense?

THANK YOU!!!!

 

[highoctane]

I would say go for it and have fun, but check with your Pediatrician (sp?). she or He may recomend against it but if they don't enjoy yourself and don't let the rest of your family bother you. We had a trip planned for December with a Premie DS will be eight months then but his Dr. sad to cancel due to RSV. Good luck to you and congratulations.

 

[LadyShea]

Congrats on your adoption. We were blessed with our son 20 months ago via adoption.

I don't have any advice for you, as his first trip is coming up 9-22, but I wanted to congratulate you and wish you the very best

 

[JAM3]

You can buy a fan that clips on the stroller at Walmart.com with free shipping for in store pick up (they do not carry them in the store regularly though). It is the same fan you can order from Onestepahead. We have ordered from both. Walmart just saves you a little money with the shipping.

As far as strollers go. There are a lot of threads on the board on which one is the best. I would say to consider where you will be using the stroller first. We originally purchased a Graco stroller in which the car seat would fit. My dd did not like to stay in her car seat while in the stroller, even at a young age. It took me awhile to figure out that was the problem. She never fussed when placed in the stroller without the car seat. Who knows why? However we decided that the stroller was too heavy and big to bring with us to Disney. We ended up purchasing a Maclaren Quest and love it! We use this stroller 99% of the time! It is lighter, and takes up a lot less space in the car and on the bus at Disney. My dd started using it when she was 3 months old. I would highly recomend this stroller.

I am sure you will have a lot of fun!