Three Month Old?

[dsneygirl]

If you have taken your 3 month old to WDW please give me suggestions and/or advice. DH and I orginally planned on going in Oct '06, mother nature had other plans and we will have a 3 month old at that time. At first we said "absolutely not, no way we won't go" Then we realized friends of ours had taken their 3 month old and he did awesome on the trip.

My fear is we will plan on going and have a very high needs infant that will not be able to handle the trip.

Thoughts?

 

[epcotfan]

We avoid Oct/Nov/Dec at WDW because of the crowds and beginnings of flu season. With a child that young, I would worry about their immunity. We like January a little bit better because even though people might be sick, the parks aren't as crowded (therefore getting coughed and sneezed on less)

 

[tinaluis]

We went in October, 1996 when our oldest DD (now 9) was just shy of 3 months. WE HAD THE BEST TIME!!!!! I'm not kidding, it was a blast. Babies that small are so portable. We had her stroller (with infant carrier base) and a Snugli carrier and didn't have any problems at all. We've gone back several times since then with her and her 2 younger sisters, all at varying ages, and have never regretted the decision to make the trip. Maybe your DH will reconsider?

 

[PrincessMommy2]

First of all, congratulations!!

We went in October with a two month old, a five year old, and a two year old. The baby was the easiest! The baby care centers in each of the parks are great - take advantage of them. It's a quiet place to take a break from the heat. They have a room with rockers and dim lighting where you can feed the baby. I can pretty much nurse discreetly anywhere, but this was a nice break for both of us. DH would take the other two on his own while I would stay there for about an hour. If you are using bottles, I did see mothers store the bottles in a refrigerator there. At that age, they nurse about every 2-3 hours. Even eating so frequently was not an inconvenience.I would feed him before we left in the morning, go to the baby care center for the next feeding, nurse him wherever we were eating lunch, I would nurse him during some of the longer, darker sit down attractions and nobody would even know I was doing it . You will find the opportunities to nurse if you don't want to go back to a baby care center.

I was most concerned with the sun. I bought an attachable sun shade that hung very low over the front of the stroller and attached a stroller fan to keep him cool. I also brought a baby carrier and wore him a lot - he liked that, he slept most of the time. Make sure baby wears a hat and I tucked a lightweight blanket around the carrier to shield arms and legs from the sun. And this was an easy way to bring him on the rides. You can take baby on any ride that does not have height restriction. If you want to do any of the rides that the baby can't go on, take advantage of the baby swap, that's easy too.

A lot of the restaurants had the highchairs with infant seats attached, just bring a blanket because the are hard plastic. The ones that did not have a high chair allowed us to bring our stroller in.

Bring a blanket for baby because many of the restaurants and indoor attractions are cold.

I can't think of anything else right now, but if you have any questions, please feel free to ask me.

Good luck!

 

[dsneygirl]

Thanks ladies for the great feedback. Were your babies pretty easy going though?

 

[liv4god4evr]

We just got back from WDW last week and our baby daughter turned 4 months while we were there. She did fantastic! I did what a pp did. We had a big stroller and a front carrier and any time I wanted to go on a ride or show that we couldn't take the stroller into I would just put her in the carrier. She went on almost every ride our three year old did and that meant I was able to go too! And we took advantage of the parent swap for some of the bigger rides like Soarin' and RnR. It works just like a Fastpass, except that you can take 3 other people back on with you... Our oldest daughter loved that b/c that meant she was able to ride everything twice!

Dec is a little cooler than Oct. and I was a tad worried about the cool night air and the sun during the day. I got some baby sunscreen and put on her. But you might want to ask your pediatrician about that for a smaller baby.

I would go but be sure to take a variety of clothing options from a onesie to something a little warmer in case it gets a little chilly in the evenings. And definitely receiving blankets to cover the baby's delicate skin from the sun.

Good luck and have fun... and if you do decide to go, don't let anyone let you feel bad for going with such a small infant. I got a few disapproving looks, but I feel like she could come in contact with germs at the grocery store, so the risk is not that much greater.

Amy

 

[WIDisneyFan]

Add us to the list of those who traveled to WDW with a 3 month old. We were there this past June for a shorter trip (4 days 3 nights) and stayed at the WL. Overall things went amazingly well.

On the advice side of things just a few points (from a dad's point of view)

1) Locate the baby care center in each park - they were wonderful for my wife and son when he needed a break or needed food
2) Make sure your pace is not too crazy - we found that an afternoon nap did wonders - the only "meltdown" we had was on a day where we tried to skip an afternoon downtime
3) If possible a resort with easy transportation options works best - WL was ok but this summer will will be headed back to the Polynesian with out then 16 month old

Have a great trip ! and if there is anything else I can try to answer please don't hesitate to ask

 

[liv4god4evr]

Thanks ladies for the great feedback. Were your babies pretty easy going though?

I forgot to mention that... It seemed to me that she cried less a WDW than she normally does! I don't know if that was really so or not but she did great! I guess it kind of depends on the baby. Some babies are just more fussy than others.

Good luck and Congratulations!

 

[jorodopo]

When my first DS was about 3 months we had a Christmas trip planned to NYC, no rides but a lot of walking and a lot of in and out of places with coates on/off etc. He came down sick two days before we were to leave. I put the question to the pediatrician. A seasoned doc and mom, she pointed out that babies are really so self centered that they don't really notice where they are. Her advice was that we would be the same caring/worried parents wherever we were so we should go and have a good time. We did and all was well.

We took DS#2 and DD to San Diego to visit family at 8-10 weeks and they did fine with all the sight seeing we did on the trips (Zoo, Sea World, etc). Both boys were somewhat high needs for sleeping issues and we had some feeding issues with #2. DD is very easy.

Loud noises would probably be the only thing that a 3month old would notice so maybe watch the fireworks from a distance. With that said if you think that Mom and Dad will not have a good time because they are worried too much than postponing might be a better choice for your family. I would suggest going before the baby gets too mobile cause once they want to crawl/walk around it adds another thing to plan around.

On a side note, aim for boats and monorail - you can leave them sleeping in the stroller, you have to fold the strollers on the buses.

Have fun whatever you decide and CONGRATULATIONS!!

 

[dsneygirl]

Thanks again everyone for all your comments. I showed DH this thread and we are talking about doing it. We have our APs still and are DVC so we can always cancel if we change our minds.

 

[robinb]

Congratulations!

I brought my DD when she was 4 months old. It was a very magical vacation for us. Make sure to book at least one character meal. The characters love, love, love babies!

 

[ujpest_doza]

We took our DD to Disneyland Paris when she was 5 months old as a test run before taking her to WDW when she was 13 months and again when she was 23 months.

While i was checking in at the Sequoia Lodge Hotel my DW and DD were approached by Pluto in the hotel reception. He proceeded to lick DD on the face and make a fuss of her. She laughed and giggled and kicked her arms and legs in excitement and we knew then that she was going to be okay.

We used baby swap for the bigger rides and anything such as IASW or Animagique we took her on. She absolutely adored all of the characters and had a wail of a time.

She loved her subsequent trips to WDW and began to walk during our first trip to WDW with her in May 2004. She still loved/loves all of the characters and loves watching videotape of our trips to Florida.

 

[amarberry]

We took DD when she was almost 4 months old. It was in November. We had a great time! It was right before I went back to work and I wanted to take a vacation somewhere that was baby friendly. IMHO, there isn't a more baby friendly place than WDW!!!

Like everyone else has said, take advantage of the Baby Care Centers. They are great. We didn't bring a full size stroller like others have mentioned. A smaller one that reclined well worked fine for us. Invest in a good baby carrier, like a Baby Bjorn. Our DD probably spent as much time in the Bjorn as she did in the stroller.

Not to get controversial, but keep in mind that if you are nursing you won't have to worry about cleaning/sterilizing bottles and bringing formula to the parks. It was SO easy from a feeding perspective on our trip when DD was 4 months old and exclusively breastfeed rather than our last time when she was 14 mo. old and full of dietary restrictions (allergic to eggs, vegetarian, and VERY picky ).

Good luck and congrats!

 

[jennifer293]

We went in May of this year and we had just eaten at Ohana and ready to board the monorail. I saw a lady carrying a carrier and I saw my MIL talking to her so nosey me comes walking over and there in the carrier was a 5 week old baby. I was thinking quietly to myself "oh my this lady has lost her mind". But as she continued to talk they were DVC members and they also had a 3 year old and she stayed in the room with the baby while DH took their DS to play and then she and the baby came out for dinner and such.

So I would say taking a 3 month old is perfectly do-able.!!! Just know the baby and what limits you have with he/she and you will be fine. There are nice cool places all over the parks to feed and change the baby, and a lot of rides to take naps on.. I am 29 and I took a lot of naps on the rides...LOL


Congrats on the baby and have fun!!!!

 

[BlueFairy]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but I'd love to get more advice from the pp's. I may go at the end of Feb. with a 10 mo. old. My DH will be at a conference (in class all day) and we would stay at the Swan-Dolphin. Other family may join us and stay elsewhere. Advice for a crawling/walking/solid eating baby? Great thread! Thanks.

 

[dsneygirl]

Well we took the plunge and booked for October. We have AP's that will expire at the end of Oct and we are DVC members so if it doesn't work out and we have to cancel it won't be too big a deal.

I've already got my eye on a Baby Bjorn and I will be asking tonnes more questions as it gets closer. Thanks everyone for all your advice.

 

[nucpharm29]

I'm glad I found this thread. We leave tomorrow morning and will be taking our DS who is almost 3 months. My mind has been set completely at ease about bringing him--now who can help with advice for a very headstrong 2 year old. LOL!

 

[dsneygirl]

Be sure to post back here when you get home with your report and tips.

 

[Tracey1974]

I went in October with our then 3 month old and got a lot of good tips from the boards. If I can figure out how to post a thread, I'll show you my responses. The baby did much better in the Bjorn carrier than in the stroller but he had a hard time with the heat. We did go back to the resort to rest and swim though. He had a blast at the character breakfast and seeing him with Pooh was priceless. We took him on IASW, Peter Pan and Pooh's honeypots and he was great. He slept through most of the EPCOT rides. We used organic sunscreen and only on his arms and legs and had a big hat for him. It was fun, but now that he is 6 months and sitting upright by himself in the stroller, it may have been better.

Also- get the Mickey ears! They have them in small sizes and they fit perfectly!

 

[D L and K's Mom]

and she did great!!! We also bought a sun shade that hung over the stroller. She was in the shade the entire trip. We had a fan in the stroller and she did great!!! We rented a crib from A Baby's Best Friend as well as a swing for when we were in the hotel so she could swing. The crib at the Dolphin was horrible..... (we had 2 connecting rooms so we rented one and used the one the hotel provided in the other because we were unsure as to which room she would be spending her nights). We got quite a bit of use out of the swing in the room. The crib from the hotel was horrible, and the mattress was just awful. I dont know if they are better now but the crib we rented was so easy to put up and the bedding was clean and it had bumpers etc. It was all Mickey and Minnie!! Taking the baby was easy just remember to bring dish soap or something to wash out your bottles and nipples if you bottle feed. Also if you are using dry formula buy a bottle of water when you arrive at the parks so it has time to get warm for when you need to mix the formula. Our DR told us that the baby may have some trouble with Water from the tap since it is different then what she was used to. Have a great trip!!!!