stressing, trip in 10 days

[ryleesmom]

I am really stressing over our first family vacation. Our daughter is 18 months and I am really concerned on how to deal with her. My first concern is how to keep her occupied on the plane. We have an early flight, which means waking her up early and usually is cranky if she does not wake up on her own terms. Which leads to the next problem of nap times and bedtime. She really needs time to herself to fall sleep and wake up, and my concern is we are staying at a moderate resort, which means no privacy for her, and I'm afraid she will not fall asleep if she can see me. I also, planned on hitting some early entry days, but am wondering if that is a mistake. Lastly, I don't know how to keep her occupied while waiting for the rides. She does not like to stand still and is always running around. Sorry for the long post, but I have been planning this trip for a year and now feel like everything I have planned is wrong.

 

[BevS97]

Hi, welcome and relax!

We just got back frmo a trip with our 14 month old dd, I had many similiar concerns.

There is a seperate thread with ideas for getting baby to sleep in your room, you might want to look at that. for us, most nights Molly was tired and sleep was not a problem, on the few nights it was, we put her pack n play behind the curtain in the bathroom area and that worked fine.

for naps, we have a stroller with a hood, and if I reclined the stroller and pulled the hood right over and threw a cloth over the front, it was quite dark and boring and pretty private, and most times she would fall asleep like that - didn't work everytime but it was pretty good. I was worried about this, because at home she has a 3 hour nap in her cot every afternoon, and without it she is cranky, but she managed a decent nap in her stroller most days. A couple of times she fell asleep on a ride (Spaceship Earth springs to mind), but that wasn't so good as I couldn't get her off the ride and into her stroller without waking her.

We used FP and rode early or late and so we didn't wait in many long lines- only one that I can really think of was the Great Movie Ride - I used a sling for those few long lines we did wait in.
We also had a set of reins (leash/tether), which we used to allow her a small amount of freedom to walk around either in lines, or just in a quiet corner so she could get out of the stroller and stretch her legs.

On the plane, I would suggest sticker books, they were a big hit with my elder dd when she was 18 months and kept her occupied for ages.

 

[swilshire]

Not to discourage you, but my oldest son (16 now) was about 18 months on his first visit to Disney. The line thing was miserable. My husband ranted and swore that he would NEVER take a child to Disney again who couldn't stand in line without being held.

As for naps, I've found that usually if I turn out the lights and lie down with my youngest, he'll be out in five minutes and I can get up and do other things. If he doesn't doze off right away, then forget the nap and suffer the consequences.

The bottom line is that it will all work out. Just pay attention to the signs she gives you and try to accomodate her as much as possible. You'll have fun regardless and the memories will be magical.

Good luck!

Sheila

 

[takemetoo]

As far as getting her to the plane in the morning, any chance you can dress her for be the night before in a comfy daytime outfit? Then in the morning do everything you possibly can (load the car, shower, eat, start the car even) before you get her. If it's cold where you live, have the car warmed up, heat on, toasty inside. Then as gently as possible transfer her to the car. If you are really lucky she'll sleep right through, or fall right back to sleep. You can have a portable breakfast ready for her once you get to the airport.

Stickers, a roll of tape, or bandaids are all great for the plane.

 

[leise]

We went to Disney when my younger DS was 18 months, and my older one was 3. We had a 9 hour flight from the UK, and much to our amazement, DS (18mo) slept for a fair proportion of the flight, both ways.

We hired double strollers in the parks, and he would frequently fall asleep for what would be his middday nap (taking jetlag into account), in the stroller, which was great as it meant we could carry on round the parks.

I used to carry bubbles to blow for the boys while waiting in lines, and I also have a stock of small light books to read to them if they get bored (such as the Mr. Men books). Even if something distracts them for just a few minutes, it helps. I think I only had to resort to singing once .
For the flight I got some little stamps and an ink pad, and he loved that. And you can't go far wrong with crayons and a notebook.