WDW through an 8-month-old’s eyes &10m &13m &16m...New 10/30!

[Chelley00]

Being back 3 days isn't TOO bad, kinda gives me a break I guess, but having 4-day weekends is pretty darn fantastic!

Honestly, I think people who work part time (like me too) have the best of both worlds. We're able to be at home often with our kids, but we still have that other side of us of working, adult conversation etc. I hope people are more careful when they post things about not being able to leave their kids behind etc because some of us don't have a choice and it's a very difficult thing to do, especially with babies so young and there's enough self-imposed guilt to deal with without having stay at home mom's make us feel like we are abandoning our kids. Now, off my soapbox.

I wouldn't hold out for the 5 minute nursing sessions. None of mine were ever that fast, even as they got to where they'd only nurse a couple times a day. I either had really pokey eaters or I'm slow Once she starts on cereal she probably will cut back the frequency of feeds (maybe 4-5 hours) but I wouldn't plan on 5 minutes sessions...maybe 5 minutes per side?

As for nursing and walking, I never mastered it, especially as the kids got older. I had a Moby that I could use on the fly, but it just seemed impossible for any of us to get comfy. I figured I deserved the break so I would sit the 15 or so minutes to nurse.

 

[Imagineer5]

As far as nursing goes, I think she will be going longer between feedings and she may speed up. Not 5 minutes fast, maybe 15? I suppose it all depends on their solid food intake at that time, as well. If she is eating solids well, it may be 4 hours between nursings. As far as feeding on a bench, I think that will get easier as well. She will have a lot more spine control by then and she will be a lot bigger. My nephew isn't really "held" anymore by nursing. Sure, his mom has her arms around him, but that is for comfort, not for support. He is so experienced that he just lays across her lap for the most part-- very little pressure/weight is on her arms. I think you will be just fine! =)

LOL okay. Sometimes Aria will eat in 8 minutes or something crazy fast (usually first thing in the morning when I'm really full) and she'll get 7 oz out. So that's sort of why I thought that she *might* get down even quicker, later in the day when she has to work a little more. Interesting, I can't even imagine not having to hold her, direct her mouth, etc. That would be nice just to hold her for comfort while she does the rest!! I can definitely relax on a bench to do that then Right now i feel like I'm always looking for a chair with armrests, back support, etc etc just to nurse her. That's awesome - thanks for the info

I haven't been on the October thread much. There are so many people and I just cannot keep up. Are you part of the FB group?

There's a FB group?? LOL nope, not part of it! How do I join in?

Honestly, I think people who work part time (like me too) have the best of both worlds. We're able to be at home often with our kids, but we still have that other side of us of working, adult conversation etc. I hope people are more careful when they post things about not being able to leave their kids behind etc because some of us don't have a choice and it's a very difficult thing to do, especially with babies so young and there's enough self-imposed guilt to deal with without having stay at home mom's make us feel like we are abandoning our kids. Now, off my soapbox.

I wouldn't hold out for the 5 minute nursing sessions. None of mine were ever that fast, even as they got to where they'd only nurse a couple times a day. I either had really pokey eaters or I'm slow Once she starts on cereal she probably will cut back the frequency of feeds (maybe 4-5 hours) but I wouldn't plan on 5 minutes sessions...maybe 5 minutes per side?

As for nursing and walking, I never mastered it, especially as the kids got older. I had a Moby that I could use on the fly, but it just seemed impossible for any of us to get comfy. I figured I deserved the break so I would sit the 15 or so minutes to nurse.

I totally agree. I don't WANT to leave Aria, of course, and given a choice I would definitely choose not to, but I don't have a choice. We do what we have to do! I didn't want to start "something" with a comment made previously so I let it slide, but I definitely hear ya regarding how some people approach this subject!

LOL thanks for the info on nursing too - see above for my response on that but I guess I was just being overly optimistic - but I agree that I could definitely use a little break every few hours anyway! Not a big deal! Especially if some of those could be in a show or something like that. I keep thinking I should get a Moby for that purpose, interesting that you didn't really like nursing with it. Did your LO's start being able to adjust themselves, as oboedm mentioned? I feel like I have to have the perfect posititioning with one arm holding her, with my other arm holding myself (ah-hem) and that just gets very tiring, especially without any support. At home I use the My Brest Friend pillow, which maybe I should stop using to get used to nursing her without it, but it's just so easy! And I get an arm free too, which is nice.

 

[Imagineer5]

I forgot to mention (bad mommy!!!) that Aria hit a big milestone!!! She's rolling over!!! Woot! She started last Friday. I told daycare to please tell me when they see any milestones, so I know that she can do things. Christina (daycare) said she had just seen her on her side, trying to get over. So, I officially got to see her roll over for the first time!! Woot!! I even got a video of it to show DH.

Last night was the first one she rolled over and then slept on her tummy. She hasn't quite mastered tummy-to-back yet (just back to tummy) so she got stuck there. We do have one of those movement monitors, so I feel okay with letting her sleep on her tummy if that's where she ends up (I certainly am not getting up 5 times a night to flip her back over!).

She is working on mastering it. I keep hearing about babies rolling all over the living room floor, so I am wondering when that will start, bc that will be so cute! Our dogs and cats are going to be in shock that this little person can finally move herself around.

 

[jenny105]

There's a FB group?? LOL nope, not part of it! How do I join in?

PM me your email address. I'll find you and then add you to the group.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Don't feel bad about not being able to nurse in the becco, I never was able to master it either. I think that the infant insert makes it more challenging, and maybe the Ergo would be easier for nursing on the fly? I don't know.

Also all the baby care centers have rocking chairs with good back and arm support, so if you need it, you can go nurse there. When we went with DS when he was 4 and 6 month, I just made sure we planned to be around the baby care center every two hours or so, for a good nursing session.

One other thing you might look into is the travel my breast friend pillow. It might be too much to bring into the parks, but its great for back at the resort. It inflates and deflates easily, so it doesn't take up much suitcase space.

Here is a link to it on amazon http://www.amazon.com/My-Brest-Friend-Inflatable-Nursing/dp/B002WGI5NO

There is apparently also a new travel boppy that might be easy to use in the parks, I don't have any experience with it though. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12310204

 

[khertz]

Oh man, do I remember the first day back at work after having Paxton. It was AWFUL! I cried and felt sick to my stomach the whole morning, and I wasn't even dropping him off at a daycare, he was staying home with DH! I just felt like the worst mother in the world for leaving him. But it does get easier. I am actually happy that it worked out the way it did for us, and now he is at the sitter 2 days a week with other kids to play with, which is great for him, and then I get him all to myself on the days I'm off!

Yay for Aria rolling over! It is always so exciting when they finally hit those milestones. I suggest you start babyproofing now, because it won't be long before she is moving all over! A friend posted a picture of her baby on facebook, and I told her that I first noticed how cute he looked, and second noticed the DVD shelf in the background with movies on the bottom row for him to pull out!! She got a good laugh when I told her about it. You do what you can, but they always find something to get into that you have to go behind them and babyproof later!!

 

[Imagineer5]

PM me your email address. I'll find you and then add you to the group.

done- thanks!

Don't feel bad about not being able to nurse in the becco, I never was able to master it either. I think that the infant insert makes it more challenging, and maybe the Ergo would be easier for nursing on the fly? I don't know.

Also all the baby care centers have rocking chairs with good back and arm support, so if you need it, you can go nurse there. When we went with DS when he was 4 and 6 month, I just made sure we planned to be around the baby care center every two hours or so, for a good nursing session.

One other thing you might look into is the travel my breast friend pillow. It might be too much to bring into the parks, but its great for back at the resort. It inflates and deflates easily, so it doesn't take up much suitcase space.

Here is a link to it on amazon http://www.amazon.com/My-Brest-Friend-Inflatable-Nursing/dp/B002WGI5NO

There is apparently also a new travel boppy that might be easy to use in the parks, I don't have any experience with it though. http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12310204

Thanks for the reminder - I wanted to get a travel nursing pillow but forgot about it. I'll look into those, never liked my Boppy so IDK if I'd like that but it might be nice to have it at the parks. Esp if we decide to take the BIG stroller with lots of room under for random stuff like this...

As far as the infant insert - IDK if Aria is just super long or what but I really don't know the point of that infant insert. She screamed and screamed in the Beco until I took it out and then we got it right. But yeah it still holds her up really high and then there is that front panel, which isn't actually that bad, it's just that her head is super high so she has to kind of lean down to one side, and I have to hold that side up, and it's just awkward LOL. Add to that trying to keep covered and I might as well just sit down since I'd show a lot less!

Oh man, do I remember the first day back at work after having Paxton. It was AWFUL! I cried and felt sick to my stomach the whole morning, and I wasn't even dropping him off at a daycare, he was staying home with DH! I just felt like the worst mother in the world for leaving him. But it does get easier. I am actually happy that it worked out the way it did for us, and now he is at the sitter 2 days a week with other kids to play with, which is great for him, and then I get him all to myself on the days I'm off!

Yay for Aria rolling over! It is always so exciting when they finally hit those milestones. I suggest you start babyproofing now, because it won't be long before she is moving all over! A friend posted a picture of her baby on facebook, and I told her that I first noticed how cute he looked, and second noticed the DVD shelf in the background with movies on the bottom row for him to pull out!! She got a good laugh when I told her about it. You do what you can, but they always find something to get into that you have to go behind them and babyproof later!!

Ah good tips for baby proofing!! I hadn't really thought about it beyond getting the furniture that could tip over screwed to the walls. All our TV's are wall mounted except the one in our bedroom wasn't until last weekend, so that's all set. But yeah, the furniture screwed to the walls is my biggest to-do. Other than that, IDK what else to baby proof. I guess it's time for the drawer/cabinet latches and plug things. Wow. Crazy to think that she's nearing that stage - wasn't she just a floppy little baby??

Sorry to hear your first day back was awful too, but I definitely agree that a couple days a week at daycare IMO is beneficial. Thankfully I love our daycare, and that isn't something I worry about.

Tonight I get to do pick up for the first time, since DH is out of town for business for 1 night. I can't wait!

 

[Imagineer5]

So for the December trip - anyone have any thoughts on doing early December (which I LOVEEEEEEE) OR late January??? DH actually brought up the idea of going for Aria's first birthday. Which I thought was super cute of him so I want to give it some thought. But January sounds COLD and early December could definitely still be warm enough for the pools. I just love the christmas decorations, and haven't seen them since 2007 on our Honeymoon. But going for her 1st birthday would be really special too...

Thoughts???

 

[jenny105]

I've been in January a couple of times and the weather was always nice. In the mid 70s at least. I remember I was sitting on the curb waiting for a parade sweating so it can get hot! Since the pools are heated, we took advantage. There can always be the chance of a freak cold spell though!

 

[Elleshoodat]

Yay, Aria! Way to roll over! Luckily Andrew saved all of his milestones for when he was home with us. At least, I don't think he did anything major at daycare first...

Mainly because I'm dying to see Christmas at WDW, my vote is for December. We were actually going to take our Disney trip last October for Andrew's first birthday, but things came up and I'm glad we spent it closer to home.

Thanks for the photobombs, too. Soooo cute.

 

[kmedina]

So for the December trip - anyone have any thoughts on doing early December (which I LOVEEEEEEE) OR late January??? DH actually brought up the idea of going for Aria's first birthday. Which I thought was super cute of him so I want to give it some thought. But January sounds COLD and early December could definitely still be warm enough for the pools. I just love the christmas decorations, and haven't seen them since 2007 on our Honeymoon. But going for her 1st birthday would be really special too...

Thoughts???

I am coming along for the ride. We have done both the early December and late January trips at WDW. They offer different benefits. The parks are very low volume in January, except MLK weekend where it picks up a little. It was not cold at all in January 2010 when we were there although that is not always the case. We were less cold at the pool in January than we were this past December. Early December gives you the Christmas magic without the prices or crowds, so it is very nice too. I love the idea of a first birthday trip. We are taking Connor to Disneyland for his to see the new Carsland. If I had to pick between the three, I would pick the first birthday trip. It looks like she was born in February, so the crowds should still be low. It will be fun no matter what you decide.

I love the name Aria. The Aria hotel here is very beautiful, so I think of that when I hear it. We went there to see Viva Elvis by Cirque. Congrats on your new bundle of joy. She makes a lovely addition to your beautiful family.

 

[CandleontheWater]

Florida winter weather is so unpredictable. I remember early December's with freeze warnings and January's that hit 90 degrees (and vice versa). I'd just pick whatever worked best for your schedule and just cross your fingers about the weather.

 

[Imagineer5]

Yay, Aria! Way to roll over! Luckily Andrew saved all of his milestones for when he was home with us. At least, I don't think he did anything major at daycare first...

Mainly because I'm dying to see Christmas at WDW, my vote is for December. We were actually going to take our Disney trip last October for Andrew's first birthday, but things came up and I'm glad we spent it closer to home.

Thanks for the photobombs, too. Soooo cute.

Aw glad to hear you got to see the major milestones first! That's one of those things about daycare. Since I requested she tell us if she witnesses anything new, I hope we can be certain whether or not we see Aria's firsts too. Like rolling over - that was so exciting, while it would have been super awesome either way, it was pretty cool knowing that I actually was the first to witness it!

I need to get back to your TR btw, sorry for slacking... you went in May? Have you been in October before? I'm thinking of taking our 3rd/last AP trip in April or May just to finally see the Flower & Garden show.

I am coming along for the ride. We have done both the early December and late January trips at WDW. They offer different benefits. The parks are very low volume in January, except MLK weekend where it picks up a little. It was not cold at all in January 2010 when we were there although that is not always the case. We were less cold at the pool in January than we were this past December. Early December gives you the Christmas magic without the prices or crowds, so it is very nice too. I love the idea of a first birthday trip. We are taking Connor to Disneyland for his to see the new Carsland. If I had to pick between the three, I would pick the first birthday trip. It looks like she was born in February, so the crowds should still be low. It will be fun no matter what you decide.

I love the name Aria. The Aria hotel here is very beautiful, so I think of that when I hear it. We went there to see Viva Elvis by Cirque. Congrats on your new bundle of joy. She makes a lovely addition to your beautiful family.

Hi!! thanks for coming over! I love your TR, and thanks for all the tips on nursing. Your LO nurses a lot and it's so impressive how you just do it wherever you are. She was born 1/30 so it'd be the last weekend of January or so - and yeah we'd probably plan it around MLK weekend. But I think I am really leaning towards December, if only because I will still be working part-time (January I start back up full time...ugh) so I won't have to take any time off.

Aww I hope you do a TR for DL! I can't wait to see Cars land, now that it's finally opening we can made the trek back there at some point hopefully soon... I have heard of the Aria hotel in LV - glad to hear it is beautiful! DH and I looove Vegas but haven't been in...8 years!!?! Wow. We'll have to go again soon and stay at the Aria. She'll get a kick out of that!

I've been in January a couple of times and the weather was always nice. In the mid 70s at least. I remember I was sitting on the curb waiting for a parade sweating so it can get hot! Since the pools are heated, we took advantage. There can always be the chance of a freak cold spell though!

Hmm good to hear the weather might still be fine - and yes there could be a freak cold spell in either month unfortunately!

Florida winter weather is so unpredictable. I remember early December's with freeze warnings and January's that hit 90 degrees (and vice versa). I'd just pick whatever worked best for your schedule and just cross your fingers about the weather.

LOL Yeah I guess I can't guarantee the weather with either month. Thanks for your input!!


I am waiting on a call back from Disney regarding using that free Mod night for the first weekend in December. I am sort of indifferent for POR or POFQ - but POR does have the royal rooms which would be pretty fun. I did do a bit of research on each. The only reason POFQ might be tipping the scales is due to its small size and the fact that we won't have a rental car, which is a big thing for us. I called Disney last Thursday and was told to expect a call back with price quote Fri or Mon and didn't get one...so looks like I need to call again today. She said she *could* get me the free night in the more expensive royal room though AND that the rate should be better than an AP discount would get. So now IDK if I should take that royal room discount, or stick with the smaller POFQ...guess I need to see the pricing first!

Also - Happy Mother's Day (belated) to everyone on here! I had a pretty good weekend. DH made me breakfast in bed, and he got me a Dogwood tree to plant and made a sign that say's "Aria's 2012 Dogwood" and planted it in the back yard. Aria, on the other hand, totally surprised me with a little flower pot with her handprints on it & "flowers" coming out that were traces of her hand. She did it at daycare - it was so amazing! We don't pay daycare enough! I need to put up some pictures of it.

After that, I *thought* DH had something special planned. He had told his father, in front of me, that he has a surprise planned for mother's day. So I kept waiting for this surprise, while we went about our business (actually, went car shopping - not a surpirse considering I pay all the bills). Nope, no surprise. So I asked him about it and he said that he told his father that just so that his parents wouldn't stop by randomly on Sunday to see Aria. WTH??? I was PO'd.

And if you're wondering about car shopping - we hate our Audi Q7 (SUV). We traded in my old Expedition for it. It's too small, for one, and Audi's SUCK, for two, so we plan to trade it in for an Expedition EL - "extended length" - because apparently we are crazy ppl and can't pack a car properly with 2 dogs and a baby. We filled the Audi on our 1-night trip to the Cape (an hour away!). Unfortunately there isn't one Expedition EL within 200 miles that has everything we want, so now we're just waiting for one to go for sale. We looked at similarly sized vehicles (Suburban, Yukon XL, Escalade SRS or whatever the extended one is) and still like the Expedition best.

 

[Imagineer5]

UPDATE: Royal room is only $128/night!!! For only 2 nights since the 3rd is free!! I asked her to look into a POFQ room cost, which should be less, but now IDK if I should take advantage of the super cheap royal room? It's $214/night on the disney website! Regular rooms are $184, so it'll be interesting to see what she says for the price of that.

 

[Joyciemc]

Happy Mother's Day (a little late....)

Aria is adorable, loved the photo post!


The royal rooms look so neat- lots of little magic touches. I've only stayed at POFQ, and loved how compact it is. I have visited POR plenty of times, and think it is just gorgeous... so, no help there That is a pretty awesome rate, though!

I've been in December and in January before, and on both trips there were days I was sweating, and days (nights and mornings, mostly) I was freezing.

 

[kmedina]

Happy belated Mother's Day to you as well. Sorry DH did not really have a surprise for you. Can you just order the car you want? I know it takes longer that way but I like having everything I want in a car. It only took 4 weeks the last time I ordered a car. The deal in the Royal room sounds awesome. You really cannot go wrong with a December trip if that is what you have your heart set on. I am going to write a Disneyland trip report.

 

[Imagineer5]

Happy Mother's Day (a little late....)

Aria is adorable, loved the photo post!


The royal rooms look so neat- lots of little magic touches. I've only stayed at POFQ, and loved how compact it is. I have visited POR plenty of times, and think it is just gorgeous... so, no help there That is a pretty awesome rate, though!

I've been in December and in January before, and on both trips there were days I was sweating, and days (nights and mornings, mostly) I was freezing.

Thank you! LOL thanks for the help on POR. Yeah I'm totally at a loss for where to stay, though I think that price is pretty awesome. It was for the standard view, and I talked to them again today and it'd be 110 at POFQ, and 146 for a river view royal room.

I just don't know what to do!! DH is not really any help, though I haven't sat down with him yet to look at pictures and such. Maybe I'll try to do that tonight. I've been so sick that I haven't been doing anything productive in the evenings.

 

[Imagineer5]

Happy belated Mother's Day to you as well. Sorry DH did not really have a surprise for you. Can you just order the car you want? I know it takes longer that way but I like having everything I want in a car. It only took 4 weeks the last time I ordered a car. The deal in the Royal room sounds awesome. You really cannot go wrong with a December trip if that is what you have your heart set on. I am going to write a Disneyland trip report.

Well we plan to buy a used one. 2011 models are about 20K cheaper than brand new 2012 ones, and I can't cough up the extra money, esp since it's a 3rd car! My every day car is a MINI Cooper S, and that was sure fun to build. MINI made it pretty fun because you can go online and track it, then track it's shipment from the UK to the dealership. But anyway, yes we could build one, but don't want to buy brand new just bc of the huge markup.

Good to hear you'll write a DL TR. I grew up on the west coast and went to DL many times before going to WDW. It is still my fave park, though I am dying to visit DL paris.

 

[Elleshoodat]

Happy belated Mother's Day to YOU! I'm sorry DH didn't have a real surprise for you. I don't like surprises to begin with (I'm a full-on Type A control freak of a planner), but I really hate when I hear that someone has a surprise planned and then it doesn't happen.

I have been to WDW in October before (late October), but it was on a Food & Wine weekend and I think we just did Epcot, so it was pretty darn crowded. The weather is certainly nice that time of year, though.

I am dying to visit in early December and also the slow part of January or February. I've done Easter week, Thanksgiving week, the summer and random weekends in the spring and fall, but I'm curious to see Disney in the winter.

 

[kmedina]

Well we plan to buy a used one. 2011 models are about 20K cheaper than brand new 2012 ones, and I can't cough up the extra money, esp since it's a 3rd car! My every day car is a MINI Cooper S, and that was sure fun to build. MINI made it pretty fun because you can go online and track it, then track it's shipment from the UK to the dealership. But anyway, yes we could build one, but don't want to buy brand new just bc of the huge markup.

Good to hear you'll write a DL TR. I grew up on the west coast and went to DL many times before going to WDW. It is still my fave park, though I am dying to visit DL paris.

I have never bought a used car before, so I did not know you could save 20k for a one year old model. That's awesome. We've never owned three cars at once. I want to get a bigger family car as well, but DH does not want to drive a big car around. My car is only a year old, so I cannot get rid of it smartly any time soon. Three cars may be in our near future, especially if we try for another kid.

I love Disneyland too. DH thinks I am nuts when I say it is better than MK. Yes, there are things at MK that are better, like the castle, Monsters Inc Laugh Factory and others. Disneyland has more things that are better than MK though like a nicer looking Fantasyland (for now anyway), Toon Town, PotC is better, etc. Overall, I think Disneyworld is better than DLR. I really want to see Disneyworld Paris too. While it is in my list of our next six trips, I do not know exactly when we will go yet. We will just take one trip at a time, and start planning and saving for the next.