Planning a trip w/ a 6 month old...Questions!

[two-foxes]

First, in my mind, it is never to early to plan! I was actually working on our registry and was wondering what lightweight stroller to get, if any...which brought on some questions....Please keep in mind this is our first baby! We have selfishly traveled WDW just as adults, so I am clueless about the baby details!

We will be traveling in Dec with my parents, and staying at SSR in a two bedroom. We will definitely rent a car. That being said....

- Do most take a travel system for your stroller and car seat needs? We will be traveling from Colorado...about a 3 hour plane trip and I am considering purchasing an extra seat for the baby's (okay, and our!) comfort. Any pros and cons?

- If we decide NOT to take the travel system (which I am thinking for ease of travel, carrying the stroller, etc) can a six month old be in lightweight stroller? I was thinking of getting the Chicco C5, but I have no idea if it is even appropriate for a 6 month old all day. We will bring a bjorn as well, though.

-Where in the heck does the baby sleep in a pack n play in the resort rooms?? I have seen these, heck, even registered for one, but isn't the baby too heavy to sleep on the adjustable "platform" in there?

-Any feedback on the baby stations in the parks? We stopped by one in December, but seeing and using are two different things!

Thanks for any advice in advance! I need all the advice I can get from the experience moms and dads of WDW

 

[SaraMc]

Hi there, congratulations!

We just got home two weeks ago from our anual winter trip this time with our DS who is 6 months old.
Let me say that it was actually really easy to travel with him. He's a happy go lucky kinda guy anyways but really Disney makes it easy to travel with little ones.
We flew down and he sat in my lap, he's a long and solid little guy and no longer fits in his snug ride carrier for length. So he's in a non removable car seat. We used magical express and disney bus service with him. No problems what so ever, we dont ever really leave Disney property once we are there so we dont ever get a car.
We did however bring the stroller that's part of our travel system ( We have the Graco Quatro Tour) and Im so very very glad we did. While yes its heavy, DS was able to lie back and nap in it and we had lots of storage space and cup holders for us too.
If you have gone before expect to see less, we found that we had 2 hour gaps where we could do stuff with him then he would pass out. All that fresh air.
Parent swap is great for this. With a fast pass and its awesome. We saw lots and lots of characters and they are so wonderful with infants.
The baby centre's are wonderful, you will love them, so handy and help full.
In the resturants we were able to bring the stroller in most times because DS would be asleep half the time went to dinner. When we went to the podoiums to check in for our ADR's we would let them know and they made room for him. Also some resturants have infant highchairs which are great if your little one isnt great at sitting up. We also used the regular type of highchairs and while DS can sit up, he likes to lean to the right, so we just brought a blanket and stuffed it around him to prop him up.

We had not started him on veggies until after the trip because I didnt want to carry all that extra with us. However we did have him on cereal, CM's at TS and CS rest. were great if we needed water or whatever for DS.

If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me.

Have fun!

 

[LglBlonde]

http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Snugrider-Infant-CarSeat-Stroller/dp/B0007KMUH4

Get a stroller frame!!! They rock! We just got one for a trip to FL with DS, age 6 months. It worked great in the airport! (We did not take him to Disney). Anyway, the frame was big enough to hold one of our smaller pieces of luggage, DS's infant seat, and his diaper bag strapped around the handle. It freed our hands to carry other stuff! I even rolled a suitcase while pushing him!

This worked in the airport and WE DID NOT PURCHASE A SEAT FOR HIM. We knew we were taking a risk, but it paid off because the flights were not full and Southwest was great about letting us have an empty seat for him anyway. So, we strolled him right up to the plane, removed the infant seat, carried it onboard and strapped him in. Then, we gate checked the stroller frame. Had we not had a seat for him, we would have gate checked the infant seat too.

Re: pack n play. They are designed for portable sleeping. We have the Graco Travel Crib - this one in fact

http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Baby-90...ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1173457686&sr=1-3

and we took it to FL with us. DS has long outgrown the bassinet, but you just put them on the bottom at that point. This is a lot lighter than the full size PNP.

The PP make a good point about your kid outgrowing the infant seat. Make sure you get one that goes to 22 lbs & 29 inches. Jacob at 7 months old is about 27 1/2 inches and he's 95% for height. Some seats are 20 lbs and 26 inches! he would have outgrown that 2 months ago! Weight is an absolute, but height depends on their proportion. As long as there is an inch or more of plastic above their head its okay.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

Hey there mom to be! Congrats! My junebug didn't get to WDW until he was over one. We foolishly thought it would be too hard to travel with him as an infant .

So, first let me say that I wouldn't get a monster travel system. At most, I would go with an umbrella-fold midweight stroller that would accomodate a baby bucket.

Don't plan on your little one fitting in the bucket at 6 months. Most of the babies I've seen outgrow those seats before they hit 6 months. Of course, your little one may fit in a bucket much longer, but I wouldn't count on it.


Stroller recomendations:
The one stroller that will do it all (fold, medium weight, complete recline):
- Peg Perego P3
- Inglesina Zippy
- Maclaren Techno

The lightweight stroller you can use at home and on the road:
- Maclaren Quest (deep recline, sun shade, great handling)
- Inglesina Trip or Urbe (same idea)

The pack n play suited my 2.5 year old in December, so I think you'll be fine. We were at BWV in a one bedroom and we set up the pack n play in the master closet. Our little one liked having his own "room."

Baby centers rock. Great places to stop, feed, change the little ones. Unfortunately, they're not always the most convenient places in the parks. All of the bathrooms are baby friendly. One thing we noticed, though, were lines for the changing tables! My DH started to take our guy to the men's room to change him. There's never a line in there and the changing stations are virtually untouched. Get daddy in on the diaper changing!

Congrats again and good luck.

 

[Schachteles]

Honestly I thought that the baby care centers at WDW SUCKED...but that is just my opinion. When I went in there with my DD, there were like 5 rocking chairs and each of them were full so a bunch of us ended up sitting on the floor. I would think that since so many people visit Disney with young children they would have better facilities. SeaWorld hands down had the best ones.

 

[Honeymooner04]

Congrats on your little one! We have taken our daughter to DL twice and WDW once so far and she JUST turned 1! I think it's a great vacation for baby AND parents! That said, I wouldn't count on your 6 month old being able to still fit in a travel system. My daughter outgrew hers at around 4 months. We let our daughter sleep in a pack and play on vacation and she does fine. The platform is more than sturdy enough to accomadate them. I've really been pleased with our Peg Perego Pliko stroller. It's been on countless plane trips and has survived 3 trips to Disney and is still going strong. And if your budget allows, I would definately get a seat for the baby one the plane. The extra room is SUCH a big help. And we loved the baby care centers, yeah, sometimes they were crowded but most of the time they were not. We were able to buy extra wipes when I forgot ours in the room and they're a great place to cool down, calm down and relax during a day in the park! Hope you have a great vacation!

 

[dvcnewgirl]

We went to disney in December with a 2 1/2 month old and we went back when he was 4 months old. We did bring our travel system because if the baby was sleeping we could bring the carseat part on many rides and did not have to wake the baby up. We stayed at SSR as well and requested the Springs section 1st floor. Very convient to everything(pool, food, bus). We NEVER took the bus. With a baby and all of their gear we found it much easier to drive to the parks. GOOD LUCK and have fun!

 

[dsneygirl]

We took our DS at 3 months and 5.5 months. In Dec at 5.5 months we just took our Mac Quest, the Graco Quattor would have been a PITA to fold. The Quest reclines quite well and DS slept in it no problem.

We hadn't started on food yet still only bottles. And our DS had no problem sleeping in the PnP the whole week.

 

[ryan840]

I'm going to go a different route as far as advice for your trip- you can have a great time with the baby but be prepared for things to take waaaaay longer than you think they will, even after factoring in feedings, diaper changes, etc... We took our then 2.5 yr and 9wk old boys last year and had a great time, but man it was slow going! At 6 months a lightweight stroller will be fine, we loved our Combi Savvy Soho (or was it a Sport? almost the same) because it was so small, easy to fold up (had a great carry strap!) and had a generous recline, even a small storage basket. I think you'll be much happier with something like that than a full size, you do sacrifice some storage space though but I found that I could get away with a lot less in the diaper bag than I thought. Anyway, back to my unsolicited advice :silly: Especially since you're used to going on your own, this will be a very different trip with baby involved. Just mark your must sees and take it at a snails pace from there and you'll have a great time- the baby will likely love to see all the sights and is quite portable/content at that age. Have fun and CONGRATS!

ETA- Almost forgot about the play yard: At 6 months the baby should be fine sleeping in the bottom of the ones provided by the resort, you just might want to bring a sheet or two for it. And as far as the babycare centers go- They're nice but not at all worth going out of your way for.

 

[two-foxes]

Thanks for the congrats and amazing advice! I never thought it would be a problem getting a stroller in a restaurant....I just never paid attention before! I will be refering to this thread and other great threads out there for the great advice in the time coming before our trip. Thanks!!!!

 

[Ariel8676]

Have you considered getting some type of carrier for the baby???
Check out http://thebabywearer.com/ to get some ideas...maybe consider a sling or Mei tei or Ergo????
I wouldn't bank on the baby still being in a bucket seat..my girls were way out of them by then..but when they were real small i had a snap and go for the seat..so much easier than the travel system!!! Good luck and congrats!

 

[dsneygirl]

Have you considered getting some type of carrier for the baby???
Check out http://thebabywearer.com/ to get some ideas...maybe consider a sling or Mei tei or Ergo????
I wouldn't bank on the baby still being in a bucket seat..my girls were way out of them by then..but when they were real small i had a snap and go for the seat..so much easier than the travel system!!! Good luck and congrats!

Good point about the bucket seat. DS was out of it at 7 months but he was so heavy that last month. No way I would have lugged it all over WDW.

 

[two-foxes]

Have you considered getting some type of carrier for the baby???
Check out http://thebabywearer.com/ to get some ideas...maybe consider a sling or Mei tei or Ergo????
I wouldn't bank on the baby still being in a bucket seat..my girls were way out of them by then..but when they were real small i had a snap and go for the seat..so much easier than the travel system!!! Good luck and congrats!

We are registered for a baby bjorn...I was for sure going to bring that. Okay, I have to ask a stupid question....a bucket seat is the infant car seat, right? The one we have will hold a baby up to 22lbs. My friends 10 month old is still in his, although I am pretty sure he is about out of it. I was really comfortable with the lighter Chicco C5 and a bjorn, but my mom started getting me concerned about it. It sounds like from here, I would be fine either way, but it may be a bit more convienent to skip the travel system. I suppose after I have the little man, I will get a better idea on it all, too! I can't preplan everything, right

 

[BlueFairy]

I haven't read all your responses . . . but here is my experience:

Airplane - YES!! Buy the seat and carry the carseat. If you hit major turbulence it is very dangerous to have the baby unrestrained, and you can't strap the baby to you in takeoff and landing. We got a seat on Southwest for 1/2 price (ask for youth fares). Having her carseat made getting DD to nap during the trip so easy since she sleeps in the car. If you are renting the car or using a towncar service you will wish you had the carseat, too.

Stroller - I would take the travel system. Especially if you take the carseat. It makes the airport doable with all that luggage. And I don't know about the chico stroller, but you may wish for one that reclines for napping on the go. Also, a frame is fine for when you are carrying the carseat along, but I would think for in the parks yourbaby will be uncomfortable in the carseat. It gets so hot and my DD was 9 mos (a tiny girl) and her carseat would have been too restrictive on a frame in the parks. Also, you won't want to rely on rental strollers for that age since they are oversized and offer little support. Plus it is a long walk carrying an infant leaving a park.

GET A BABY CARRIER!!! We used a sling at home and took that with us. It was the only napping DD did on our 7 day trip. She wouldn't nap in the room (an unfamiliar "crib" at the Dolphin) or in the stroller, but would sleep in the sling. And it's easier to me than the baby bjorn type things. Your baby will have a carrier preference, so practice with different ones as he grows to find the best for you.

I thought the baby centers were awesome little refuges in the parks. They feel like a normal nursery, without all the hubub, comotion and distraction of the surrounding area, which could be a lifesaver with a burned out infant. And the ladies are super nice.


The pack-n-play - At 6 mos. you can't use the "adjustable" platform that sits about 8 inches below the rim. Babies are too big and sitting up by then. But you can use the bottom section. It has plenty of room and support. My DD is 2 and still naps in hers (or sleeps overnight) at grandmas. Just practice with one at home so that he is familiar. Take a blanket and whatever else he normally sleeps with. DD will sleep anywhere in a familiar pack-n-play.

Ask away about nursing, baby food and formula in the parks. Folks here will have lots of tips.


Here is a thread I really enjoyed and got lots of help from:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=718912


Enjoy!!