tips/packing ideas for 8 month old?

[beckysko]

DH has a work convention at the Grand Floridian in June, so myself and DS are coming along! DS will be 8 months old by then. What tips can you offer me, or suggestions/things to be aware of? What about packing ideas? I'm working on a packing list now. We are flying, so any tips for the plane would be helpful too.

 

[marlynnp]

I'd suggest just carrying him. I don't think the TSA agents will let him through if he's packed! Sorry, couldn't pass up on your title!


Put twice as many diapers in your carry-on as you think you'll need.

 

[MyKidsMom1820]

I was there with a 7/8 month old last spring and I will say that I am so glad we had our stroller from home and not a disney issued stroller. You could also rent one if you dont want to bring yours.. We were so glad we had a stroller that had a comfy reclining seat and a big sun shade.

Also- (my husband will kill me for typing this) Hold on to your baby tight on POTC!! it had been a long time since either of us had been to disney and we totally forgot about the little drop on this ride.......he nearly chucked the baby....we laugh now but he was really freaked out when it happened... I mean he was nearly in tears...Poor man.

We did bring in a small soft cooler for formula and bottles, since we were using nutramigen and it gets melty in high heat.. also we brought baby food, but baby wasnt interested in slowing down to eat or be fed. he wanted more finger foods he could eat off the tray of his stoller while enjoying all the sights!


Have FUN!!

 

[SweetMissy]

To Marlynnp, lol!

We're going next month but our baby will only be 4 months so there's a tiny difference. I breastfeed and he won't be on solids at that age yet, too young for toys, I wear him, so that all makes things easier....so all we have to worry about is diapers, wipes, clothes, bibs. Babies really don't need much. I would definitely bring more clothes and bibs then expected. Unless you plan on doing laundry at the resort...that's what we plan on. But an 8 month old doesn't spit up as much as a 4 month old, ok then bring more diapers then expected, lol. You just never know with a baby.

 

[1983disneykid]

You'll have a blast. We took our then 7 month old in July. It's HOT! I would make sure you both stay very hydrated (especially if you are still bf).

Pack an extra outfit for you (and DH) as well in the carry on. If DS doesn't take well to the plane, you don't want to be smelly as well.

We bought a stroller fan for about $15 and it was well worth the investment. Make sure whatever stroller you plan to use is easy to collapse and put on the bus.

The baby centers at the park are wonderful and if you forget anything for the day or at the hotels you can find it in the gift shop. The only thing that I didn't see were swim diapers in size small.

I was doing homemade food so I packed a bunch of take and toss containers and spoons along with a hand potato masher. I would just grab food when I saw it that she had eaten before, mashed it up and then brought a cup with us in the parks in a small cooler and the rest stayed in the hotel fridge. I made sure not to introduce any new foods that week. If you do jarred food, that would make it super easy.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[PrincessDaisyDuck]

Pack lots of wipes! I underestimated how much my 7 month old would want to touch everything and then promptly stuff his hand in his mouth - I used up way more wipes on his hands then I had thought.

For the plane he was extremely entertained by our fellow travelers and some toys.

Oh, and for the parks I suggest a toy that you can clip to your stroller - I did not bring one and ended up buying a little Stitch for about $7 - well worth it though!

Have fun, honestly this was our favorite trip ever, we had so much fun and so did the baby. Definately go to the baby care centers! They were awesome, sometimes it was like a mini baby convention in there, so cute

 

[TLCdisneyfan]

Bring a comfy baby carrier. I used mine all over Disney. I found some disposable stick-on placemats at Target that were really nice to put on tables for a clean surface (and also less cleanup for the CMs). Remember a sunhat for baby and yourself. It seemed like I spent most of my Disney vacation bfing my 9mo son and watching him nap, so plan on taking it slow. He loved the dark rides, though - so much to look at!

The pack n play was really nice at the Disney resort. Clean, came with a sheet, and had the thickest padding I've ever seen on one.

 

[Kari710]

The pack n play was really nice at the Disney resort. Clean, came with a sheet, and had the thickest padding I've ever seen on one.

That's good to know

The stroller fan is a good idea! and pack extra batteries for it. We camp during the summer and used a fan on my son during his naps. Works great, but uses a lot of battery power.

We took our kids on a 12 hour trip and stayed for a few days... my DD was 8 months and I remember being thankful that I had a lot of snacks and toys that made noise or played music. Good thing is, babies that age usually are just fine in a stroller for a while

Oh and pack lots of clothes/onsies. I remember going through them quickly when we traveled, GL!

 

[Disneychix]

Best thing we did with our almost 8month old was get a cheapo ($25) baby seat from Walmart. At 8 months he wasn't really crawling yet and we needed somewhere to keep him when we were getting ready or just hanging out in the room. You can probably have one delivered from Amazon for cheap.

Also, a BIG blanket to keep on the floor for when baby is rolling around!

 

[capeseal]

Lucky you, staying at the GF! DS turned 9 months during our Disney trip last week.
We brought:
Our stroller (Bob Revolution)
7 diapers per day
wipes
diaper cream
Ergo carrier
clothes (I packed outfits in individual plastic bags. Normally, I don't waste bags like this, but it was much easier than turning the suitcase upside down looking for baby socks. Each bag contained an outfit, spare onesie, 2 pairs of socks, and four diapers. Enough to do a day at the parks.)
baby food- My DS is still breastfed and eats table food, but I'm picky about about his diet so I brought some organic pouches of food and organic puffs
two hats (extra in case one was lost, he's fair skinned and bald .)
baby sunscreen
swim diaper
infant ibuprofen
earmuffs (in case the fireworks startled him like they do my DD...they didn't)
new toys/books for the plane
disinfectant wipes
straw sippy

I wish I had brought:
outlet covers for the hotel room
something (maybe heavy tape?) to secure the bureau drawers because he wanted to open and close them all the time
disposable changing table covers for the airport and plane
a seat on the plane! It has always been my policy not to fly my children as lap babies. I let DH convince me that it would be okay this one time and I regretted it. DS was restless in our laps and I had trouble getting him to nap.

What we didn't need:
toys (our flight was three hours and he was more entertained by the magazine I brought, a plastic cup the flight attendant brought, and the folks around us than the toys I brought for him. Maybe I'd bring a one board book and a car or something next time, but not nearly what I brought.

 

[beckysko]

awesome tips!!! thanks so much! keep 'em coming!!

 

[SweetMissy]

Capeseal....I'm stealing your idea about the individual bagged outfits! That's a great idea! Oh and the earmuffs for the fireworks....didn't think of that. Thanks!

 

[2binak]

I know it seems like alot but I packed 24 hours worth of formula, baby food & diapers for the flight, as well as any OTC baby meds that we might have needed.

Change the baby as close to boarding time as possible to hopefully avoid having to change him during the flight.

Let the baby nurse or drink a bottle on take off & for about 20 mins before landing. This will help the baby's ears pop & ease any pain (which is a big cause of babies & kids crying on planes).

Bring some new toys, books & snacks with you for the baby. Pull them out 1 by 1 during the flight to keep baby entertained.

We brought disposable changing pads, table covers & bibs. We also used the Take 'n toss spoons, but washed them after every use & reused them throughout the day.

We also used Sippy Pal sippy tethers. We used them to attach sippies & toys to the stroller. It was so nice not having to stop every 2 feet to pick something up off of the ground.

Rayshades are invaluable in the Florida sun & heat! HIGHLY recommended!!!!

As a pp mentioned, using ziplocs for individual outfits - it saved us so much time & effort.

OP - I sat down one night & walked myself through our day. I wrote down every item that I used during that day & that became my packing list. When they're this age, you really do need to bring it all with you when you're away from home for so long.

 

[beckysko]

awesome, thanks! I wrote down all of your ideas on my packing list!!

 

[jpeka65844]

Anytime we traveled with kids in diapers/needing sippy cups/snacks, we sent down a box to our resort ahead of time.

Pack it up with anything consumable/disposable. That way it's not taking up space in your luggage.