We're Doing Disney Again Someday...Plus One! ~ Come Read my Trip Report!!!

[Dugette]

Congratulations on your little miracle!!! Ours is due in just 10 short weeks, yikes! Time is flying.

and congratulations to you too! Wow, you don't have long left until you meet your little one! Seems like time has gone so fast during the second trimester!

I cannot believe you have the patience to wait until late 2013/Early 2014 to take baby to Disney for the first time Yes, I have the patience to wait to see if baby is a boy or girl (doesn't bother me!) but I don't know that I could wait that long for our next Disney trip!!!

Funny. I don't think we could wait to find out boy/girl, but somehow I'm (usually) okay with waiting for Disney. I think part of it is that I know this will be a huge adjustment for us and I like the idea of having plenty of time to adjust to parenting and get to know our princess before attempting Disney.

Also Congratulations on making it to viability day. That was such a sigh of relief for me. This baby is a "rainbow baby" for us that was a long time coming (over 3 years) and every day I get to be pregnant with a healthy baby is a miracle all over for me.

Such a relief to pass that point! It's so easy to have doubts about the outcome when it's been so hard to get here, as you know, but passing that point really makes things feel real. Love it! Congrats again on your rainbow baby!

So glad we're not the only crazy Disney parents to be. My DH and I joke that our children are going to hate Disney so we have to drag them to Disney as often as possible while they are still little and we can make them go

Gosh, I hope our kids don't hate Disney. I guess we're thinking "train them young!" But, who knows, they may rebel...

Congrats on feeling and SEEING the movement regularly now. I just LOVED that part. It made my days at work so much better when I could just feel her moving around the whole time. She always was very active during my long car rides to and from work!

I just love it! It's so comforting to know she's dancing around in there. The first time I felt her was while driving. I take the bus to/from work, though, and I think that lulls her to sleep, as it does me.

Yes we bring her all sorts of places!! This past weekend we went to the aquarium and she loved it! Friday I brought her to a little zoo by myself and she loved that too. She loves watching other kids. Restaurants are still a bit tricky, mainly bc she can't sit up in a high chair yet and does NOT want to be in her car seat, so we are constantly switching holding her. And frankly we must not be that interesting LOL. She would do better IMO at Rainforest or something right now, with stuff to see the whole time. I hope that once she can sit in a high chair & can interact a bit more, she'll be better at them. Also I don't feel comfortable nursing there, so I did it in the car beforehand, which helped.

Great ideas for outings! We'll definitely have to go to the zoos around here. Maybe the aquarium if we take her on a short trip up north to Duluth sometime.

I can't remember where I saw this tip, but I remember somebody posting something somewhere about bringing their Bumbo seat to restaurants, as their baby was able to sit next to them in the booth and see what was happening. Not sure if that will help or not, but thought I'd pass it along. That's a good idea about nursing in the car when you go out. I'm not sure what my comfort level will be, so I'll keep that in mind.

Anyway I'm rambling. Your newest baby bump is even cuter than the last!

Thank you!

And congrats on making it to week 24/viability week!! We were also counting down to that week, and then from there you could have a nice breath of relief as each week goes by. I think by week 27 or 28 survivability rate is at like 98%? Something high like that. Ahh the joys of trying for a baby - makes you really appreciate every little bit of the pregnancy! But it's all so scary, too.

It definitely is a breath of relief, but still so many scary things too, like you mention. Last Monday, I had some spotting and had to call the midwife, just in case. Turned out not to be a problem, but the scares never stop. Luckily, things have been mostly great. And I really do appreciate the pregnancy moments...sometimes I just want to stop time right here and enjoy the moment and the anticipation of what's to come. I would guess that's probably common with those of us who took a long time to get to this point.

Aww, your bump pic is so cute! I don't think you look exceptionally small, you look like you are right where you should be! I don't think you get really big until the last few months! Glad to hear everything is going well and you are enjoying being pregnant! It will be fun to bring your little Princess to Disney for the first time!

Thanks. I'm glad someone thinks I'm normal! I just find it so strange how everyone seems to have such strong opinions one way or another. On our appointment last Friday, though, I still measured exactly average. Although my weight gain was one pound low, which they weren't concerned about, but I'm pretty sure I made up for that over the weekend! And, yes, it will be so fun to bring the little princess to WDW for the first time!

Dugette,
Just in case you are worried about your pets accepting/loving your baby let me reassure you. When I was pregnant with our son we were REALLY worried, we had adopted a dog from the pound who (we discovered after bringing her home) really didn't like kids and would actually snap at them. It wasn't an issue for us at the time as we didn't have any kiddos and had been told we couldn't have any (my son is a miracle baby). We just made sure our friends with kids knew our dog was off limits to the kiddos. Flash forward several years later and surprise I get pregnant out of the blue. Our vet kept telling us not to worry that our dog would know that our child was part of her "pack" and she wouldn't be aggressive to him. Low and behold the vet was right. I have a great picture of my son sitting next to my dog when he is about 18 months old eating dog food out of her bowl. Sharing food is the hardest thing to ask a dog to do so I knew they would be ok forever. Yes, I know, I'm a bad mom for taking a picture before telling my son not to eat the dog food but it was sooo cute (and I knew it wouldn't hurt him).

Thanks for the story! I hope our situation will be like that too. And I'm not TOO worried, but I do see two scenarios with Bailey:
1.) She gets jealous because she doesn't want to share me. She is so ridiculously attached to me. She has to be on me almost all the time and, if Kitty sits on my lap, she sometimes gets jealous and chases her off. I'm hoping she doesn't try to crowd out the baby.
2.) She looks at the baby as an extension of me and loves her to pieces. Of course, there are drawbacks to this also, as baby shouldn't be smothered to pieces with puppy love. Bailey is aggressive and enthusiastic with her kisses and cuddles.
I do think we'll be okay, but I want to set things up/prepare the animals in advance as much as possible. I think Kitty will be okay. Like most cats, she's not fond of change, but she's adapted quite well through a lot of changes (moving several times, me moving in, getting a DOG!). As long as her food supply is not disturbed, she's happy.

I love your updates! It makes me so happy for you, each time I hear you how are feeling and doing. I will never forget the first time I felt Dylan moving around in my stomach. I also remember laying in bed, reading, with a cup of water balanced on my stomach (I was too lazy to put it on the night stand), and he kicked so hard it almost spilled the cup!

Thank you! That's so cool about Dylan kicking your water! I had the iPad resting on my stomach the other day (in the case that stands it up) and she was kicking around so much that it was bouncing. That was fun.

It's good you are doing a little at a time for her room. We didn't get Dylan's room done until 3 months after he was born. We were remodeling the house and his room was the storage room. I was not happy about that, but in actuality he slept in our room for the first few months in his bassinet.

Can't wait for your next update!

Yeah, I figure she will be in our room the first couple of months too. I still hope to have the nursery ready before she arrives, though. We had our guest this weekend and he left today, so we can maybe get some more work done now. However, Dug's sister and BIL are going to help us paint, but they can't until July, so that holds us up. Not sure if we should assemble the crib beforehand or not. I'm tempted to, just to do something. We'll see.

 

[Dugette]

Hi, hope everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend! We had a good one. Very busy, since Dug had a friend in town staying with us and we were running around doing things pretty much the whole time. Finally time to put up an update, though!

Friday marked 25 weeks:

Things are still going well. I can't believe how fast time is going, though. Getting close to the end of the second trimester already!

As far as Fantasyland, I was perusing the DIS Theme Park board over lunch the other day, specifically the new Fantasyland thread, and someone had linked to a blog with lots of pictures of the progress of Fantasyland. It looked SO COOL!!! I cannot wait to stroll through that whole new world and take it all in. Just looks awesome...and it's not even done yet!

One of our biggest issues with trip planning, though, is when to go in order to experience all of the new land. It's not all opening at the same time and, as I understand it, the Seven Dwarves Mine Ride will be the last to open in early 2014. I hate to wait that long to go, but I also don't want to miss out on it (until another year's trip).

So, perhaps we started living in Fantasyland a little bit the other day, when we started talking about getting Annual Passes again. The Year of Disney (2010) was supposed to be a one-time thing, but this COULD make some sense:

1.) We go in December 2013, as originally intended, and get APs then. We had actually talked previously about maybe getting one AP, just for the discount on a room at the Poly (if there weren't significant general public/PIN code discounts). So, this would take two APs...a bit more money. This trip would probably be about a week, if we could swing it. I love the idea of being back at the Poly with all the holiday stuff happening...it was so magical in 2010.

2.) We go back for a long weekend in Spring 2014, using our APs. We'd have to pay for airfare probably (we should have enough points for free tickets for the first trip). We could ride the new coaster and also enjoy the Flower & Garden Festival, which we've never been there for. Not sure where we'd stay...probably a value or mod. We've always wanted to stay at French Quarter, so maybe this would be the time to try to work that in.

3.) We leave the princess with the grandparents for our 2014 anniversary (October 1st) and go to Food & Wine for a few days. Maybe stay at the Beach Club. Might be nice... Again, would need to pay for airfare and hotel.

I'm thinking this all is probably out of our budget, but it's now a thought. A nice thought. But, at this point, I'm more than happy with just doing one trip. For now, I think I'm keeping an eye on the Fantasyland timeline and on our travel budget. But, how cool would that be?

ETA: Forgot to mention, at our appointment on Friday, baby was finally napping when they listened to her heartbeat (instead of dancing, as usual). The midwife described her current position as "laying in a hammock." How cool, she's already preparing to stay at the Poly!

 

[cindianne320]

Congratulations! I am also due in Sept, and am from MN! We are returning to the World/Disney Dream when our baby is 14 months old!

 

[Dugette]

Congratulations! I am also due in Sept, and am from MN! We are returning to the World/Disney Dream when our baby is 14 months old!

What a coincidence, a fellow Minnesotan with a September baby on the way! Do you know if it's a boy or girl? Looks like you're staying at the Art of Animation and going on the Dream...that sounds awesome! I would love to do a land and sea like that, but I don't think it's in the cards quite yet. Are you planning to do a Trip Report? Hope these last few months of your pregnancy go well! Thanks for joining in!

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

Glad to hear that everything's alright with little one. September is going to be here before you know it!

I love the thought of getting APs and going back for Flower and Garden (so beautiful, I'm sure your DD will love to see the butterfly garden) and F&W. At least you have plenty of time to save up.

 

[Imagineer5]

Yay for 25 weeks!

I love your AP plan. I wouldn't plan around the FL expansion being 100% done, because I'm sure you'll be back. Plus what if you plan for say, May 2014, only to have a delay in the expansion and it's not done anyway??! Besides, that's just so far away!? How can you wait that long!!

 

[cindianne320]

What a coincidence, a fellow Minnesotan with a September baby on the way! Do you know if it's a boy or girl? Looks like you're staying at the Art of Animation and going on the Dream...that sounds awesome! I would love to do a land and sea like that, but I don't think it's in the cards quite yet. Are you planning to do a Trip Report? Hope these last few months of your pregnancy go well! Thanks for joining in!

No- we didn't find out- our second surprise! I would love to do a trip report- though it may take forever to write, since I'm a teacher and will go right back to work. It may be a bit delayed!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy- and let's hope summer isn't too brutal!

 

[jc040404]

The midwife described her current position as "laying in a hammock." How cool, she's already preparing to stay at the Poly!

Awwww!!

I would so support another year of Disney! It's pretty frustrating with how everything is opening in stages, IMO. They make it so tough to plan ahead. 2014 for the coaster? I didn't even realize it would be so long for that one! I love your ideas, if the budget agrees. Nothing wrong with living in Fantasyland for a while!

 

[Dugette]

Glad to hear that everything's alright with little one. September is going to be here before you know it!

It sure is. I can't believe we only have 3 months and a day left until the due date! Yikes, there's still so much to do!

I love the thought of getting APs and going back for Flower and Garden (so beautiful, I'm sure your DD will love to see the butterfly garden) and F&W. At least you have plenty of time to save up.

Never thought about that, but I bet DD would enjoy the butterfly garden. And don't they set up playgrounds during F&G as well? She might like that too.

Yay for 25 weeks!

I love your AP plan. I wouldn't plan around the FL expansion being 100% done, because I'm sure you'll be back. Plus what if you plan for say, May 2014, only to have a delay in the expansion and it's not done anyway??! Besides, that's just so far away!? How can you wait that long!!

I absolutely would worry about the expansion not being done before our trip if I book early. That's part of what's so hard about this. I'm not used to planning so far in advance! Too many decisions.

No- we didn't find out- our second surprise! I would love to do a trip report- though it may take forever to write, since I'm a teacher and will go right back to work. It may be a bit delayed!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your pregnancy- and let's hope summer isn't too brutal!

I hope you have a wonderful surprise! I'm sure it will be well worth the wait.

As someone who is still working on an October 2011 TR, I understand taking forever to write. I think it's fine, though. I have a hard time keeping up reading on the ones that update too often.

I hope your summer goes well!

Awwww!!

I love the hammock image!

I would so support another year of Disney! It's pretty frustrating with how everything is opening in stages, IMO. They make it so tough to plan ahead. 2014 for the coaster? I didn't even realize it would be so long for that one! I love your ideas, if the budget agrees. Nothing wrong with living in Fantasyland for a while!

Yes, nothing wrong with living in Fantasyland for awhile! I'm still there for now. It is so tough to plan ahead with the gradual opening and changing dates. Especially when the thing I'm probably most interested in is last on the schedule.

 

[cinderella crazy]

Oh my goodness! Congratulations! So glad I found your PTR!

 

[Dugette]

Oh my goodness! Congratulations! So glad I found your PTR!

Thanks! I'm glad you found me too!

 

[Dugette]

So, I downloaded the pictures from Dug's iPhone so I could post last Friday's 26 week picture. I ended up with a bunch of other pictures from recent times too, some of which are at least loosely Disney-related. So, this will be a bit of a hodge-podge photo life update.

First off, I am so late posting my 26 week picture (tomorrow is 27 weeks) because we were in Vancouver, Canada from Friday-Tuesday. Went to attend a 40th anniversary party for Dug's uncle, as well as to see the sights. Pretty place. I'll show you a few pictures.

But, first, here's the 26 week baby bump from before we left that day:

Now, for some randomness. A few weeks ago, we went out to Madison, WI, with my mom in tow, to visit my grandma (mom's mom). I insisted on a "four generation of girls" photo while we were there (yes, one generation is still inside, but oh well):

My mom is actually heading back out to Madison tomorrow, as my Grandma just came home from the hospital and needs someone to help her out for a week or two. She's doing pretty well and should be fine, but needs some extra help while she recovers from various ailments of an 84-year-old.

A couple weeks ago, when Dug attended a conference, one of the other attendees presented him with a baby blanket she had made for Dug Baby. Extreme close-up of blankie:

That was very sweet!

Over Memorial Day weekend, we had a friend of Dug's stay with us. We did a lot of stuff in town, including a game of mini-golf. I got a hole-in-one:

And we went to Vancouver this last weekend, as I mentioned. Here's a loose Disney tie-in for you. At Food & Wine's Canada booth, we have had a "Nanaimo Bar". When presented with the chance to have one while actually in Canada, we had to try it:

Pretty tasty. Oh, and that particular meal was at a little cafe we found by the water. $14 total for lunch and dessert. And this was our view from our table:

Sweet! I swear, almost everywhere in the Vancouver area has an amazing view of something!

We saw a lot of these while we were there:

Is it bad that every time I saw one it made me think of the Wilderness Lodge lobby? Here's some more:

At the Granville Market, Dug saw a couple of lunchboxes that he wished he had:

Notice the Disney princesses in background, by the way.

And another Disney thing we saw:

And the BEST one:

Do you see what's on that one sign? Dole Whips!!! Not pineapple, though. There was Raspberry and Mango. We couldn't decide, so did a twist:

It was delicious! I wish these flavors were options at Aloha Isle! Oh, well, pineapple is good too.

Since I don't know whether or not we'll do official "maternity photos", we tried to take a few of our own in cool locations. Here's a couple:

I cannot believe that today is exactly 3 months from the princess' due date! Time has been going so fast!!!

One final overview (literally) of Vancouver:

In other news, I got a little Disney-brained at work today and may have started an Excel sheet for our December 2013 scenario. All inclusive, I'm running a bit under $4k for that trip right now (7 nights), including the purchase of Annual Passes and a Tables in Wonderland card. I estimated 25% off for an AP discount at the Poly. In the past, we've gotten 40% off, but I've heard that discounts are not as good lately. Any current AP holders have any insights on this?

I need to add more to my spreadsheet to calculate theoretical Spring 2014 and F&W 2014 trips too. Perhaps I'm still living in my little Fantasyland, but it's fun!

 

[AprilRenee]

Love the star wars lunch boxes! They have similar ones at old navy and I got one for Andrew for fathers day. He really wanted it so I got it. Not sure what he's gomna do with it but its really cool anyway.

 

[Dugette]

Love the star wars lunch boxes! They have similar ones at old navy and I got one for Andrew for fathers day. He really wanted it so I got it. Not sure what he's gomna do with it but its really cool anyway.

Neat! I may have to check those out if I get the chance. I told Dug that, if he had one, he could put his Lean Cuisines in there for work.

 

[Dugette]

Not a lot new to say since I just posted yesterday, but today marks 27 weeks. Two photos this week. First, the normal one:

Bailey always wants to be in the picture with me (and we make her sit by Dug instead), but since she and I matched with the black-and-white today, I thought we should take one together. Didn't turn out as cute as I'd hoped:

By the way, the shirt was from the same co-worker who gave me her maternity body pillow. She also brought me a big bag full of maternity clothes. This is the first time I've worn one of hers, though. Nice person!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

ETA: Forgot to mention, at our appointment on Friday, baby was finally napping when they listened to her heartbeat (instead of dancing, as usual). The midwife described her current position as "laying in a hammock." How cool, she's already preparing to stay at the Poly!

DS was in that position until about 32 weeks or so, I guess might as well stretch out.

 

[MinnieLovesMickey]

Never thought about that, but I bet DD would enjoy the butterfly garden. And don't they set up playgrounds during F&G as well? She might like that too.

I totally forgot about the playground. I can't wait to let DS try that out.

We saw a lot of these while we were there:

Is it bad that every time I saw one it made me think of the Wilderness Lodge lobby? Here's some more:

You know, the first thing I thought of was WL and the Canada Pavilion. I guess great minds think alike!

 

[AprilRenee]

LOL @ Bailey. One of my dogs, Holly, always wanted to be in my photos too. Most of mine have her in there somewhere. It was too cute that she wanted to be close to me. Have you noticed Bailey being extra cuddly or protective? My other dog, Elly, got SUPER cuddly once I was pregnant and Holly was pretty protective. Now that Caden is here Holly has become protective of him. Like if he cries while his carseat or bouncy seat she'll come and sit right next to him til I come help him and when I'm rocking him she sits next to my feet. It's so sweet.

And yay for hand-me-down maternity clothes! I was the first of my friends (or the smallest of my friends ) to have a baby so I ended up spending quite a bit on maternity clothes. I found some good stuff at Goodwill though! So check that out if you end up needing more.

 

[Dugette]

DS was in that position until about 32 weeks or so, I guess might as well stretch out.

Why not stretch out while you still have the room, I guess?

I totally forgot about the playground. I can't wait to let DS try that out.

Hope he enjoys it!

You know, the first thing I thought of was WL and the Canada Pavilion. I guess great minds think alike!

Glad I'm not the only one! I forgot they have them at the Canada pavilion, though. I guess it was like we were at the giant version of the Canada pavilion!

LOL @ Bailey. One of my dogs, Holly, always wanted to be in my photos too. Most of mine have her in there somewhere. It was too cute that she wanted to be close to me. Have you noticed Bailey being extra cuddly or protective? My other dog, Elly, got SUPER cuddly once I was pregnant and Holly was pretty protective. Now that Caden is here Holly has become protective of him. Like if he cries while his carseat or bouncy seat she'll come and sit right next to him til I come help him and when I'm rocking him she sits next to my feet. It's so sweet.

That's sweet! I hope Bailey is good with Dug Baby.

It's hard to say if Bailey is more cuddly or protective because she has always been both to an extreme with me (she is mushed up against me right now, making it hard to type, as usual). I do think there was a period earlier on in the pregnancy, though, where we felt like she was a bit more cuddly than usual...she kept laying her head on my belly, which was different. She's kinda gone back to normal now, though. Kitty definitely knew at that same point, earlier on. She showed her excitement by constantly stalking me, then pouncing and trying to bite my feet. She got over that, though, and seems to be back to normal too.

And yay for hand-me-down maternity clothes! I was the first of my friends (or the smallest of my friends ) to have a baby so I ended up spending quite a bit on maternity clothes. I found some good stuff at Goodwill though! So check that out if you end up needing more.

Yeah, I didn't expect to be getting hand-me-downs, but this co-worker kinda came out of the blue with stuff for me. She said she has even more things too. Pretty nice! I will say that not all of it is really my style, but there are at least some things I'll wear out and some I'll wear around the house/to bed. Most of my other maternity clothes came from Kohl's clearance racks when I had a 30% off coupon. Not bad!

 

[Dugette]

When you're pregnant, you often get questions about what cravings you've had. I have to admit that my answers to that have been pretty boring. I'm apparently the opposite of most women and have been craving salads and vegetables since the beginning. Dug Baby likes her veggies, I guess! There are occasional other things that I'll crave, but nothing too weird. It was brownies once. Bagels once. Today, it was Nutella spread on a bagel.

But what I have noticed, today especially, is that I have Disney cravings. And not (just) for Disney food, just Disney stuff. Probably all things that are in that Simple Disney Things Tumblr that I see mentioned around here. It's funny, because I like the idea of our December 2013 Poly trip (love it, actually), but I get these random intense desires for certain Disney experiences. Some of today's:

*Go SOONER. Like NOW. Or THIS December. (Don't expect any of these to happen).
*Go on a Disney Cruise (Dream or Fantasy).
*Disneyland!
*Stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge. We LOVED it there in June 2010. I could live there. Can I live there?
*Ride the Magical Express (TO WDW of course!)
*Try Sum of All Thrills (have never done this).
*Ride the Peoplemover. Repeatedly.
*Stop by the Main Street Bakery for an ice cream cookie sandwich. And also a breakfast croissant sandwich.
*Dine at Pecos Bill's.
*Ride the new Dumbo.
*Hang out at Pop Century. What can I say, we still love Pop.
*Hang out in the Poly Club Lounge during Wishes. Yes, we got spoiled that trip!
*Stormalong Bay.
*Monorail ride.
*Boat rides. Lots of boat rides.
*Just being on Disney property.

I'm sure there are many more, but those are some I remember for now. I wish these cravings were as easy to satisfy as that Nutella bagel one I had today. Oh, well. That's what the TR boards are for!