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Hi,
I was wondering if anyone had any tips for going to DisneyWorld with a newborn. We are going at the end of September and our daughter is going to be about 8 weeks. We had this trip planned before I knew I was pregnant. It is a big family trip with about 15 going. We are staying at the WL. I know that it is going to be completely different from our usual trip, a lot slower and not seeing everything. I was wondering if anyone had any tips to give or rides the baby can go on.
Thanks :mickey:
The baby can go on anything without a height requirement. That being said, I wouldn't bring a baby on anything jerky (ex- the teacups, TSM, ect).
My tip would be to keep the baby in a sling or ergo (with newborn insert) and skip hauling the stroller around. You can throw your diapers and wipes in a backpack and have someone else carry it. Obviously if it is killer hot, watch overheating and keep baby (who won't be able to wear sunscreen yet) out of the sun.
As for you, depending on your delivery, you may not be feeling completely yourself yet, so just take it easy and enjoy a new part of Disney -- sights and sounds, memories of baby's first trip etc. Drink a ton of water to stay hydrated while nursing! Have a great time! Disney with a baby can be a really enjoyable time :mickey:
I don't have any children right now (and hopefully won't for another five years until I'm ready! :blush: ) but I've heard others mention that there are Baby Centers located in each park. It's a good place to cool down in AC, nurse and have quiet time.
Here's a link detailing their locations: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/gue...-care-centers/
Here's an answer from the Mom's Panel with a little bit more info: http://disneyworldforum.disney.go.co...pid=80&cid=104
Hope that helps! Have a great first trip with your little one. :)
ETA: Also, be sure to take advantage of the parent swap! If you and your spouse would like to go on a ride, you can actually go through the line, holding your daughter and one waits at the exit while the other is on the ride. After the one gets on the ride you swap! No having to wait in line twice!
Have you checked with the baby's pediatrician on this yet? Will your baby have had her first shots by then? Most docs won't recommend traveling anywhere for the first 2 months.
The end of September is going to be very hot and humid. I wouldn't carry the baby in that weather. Babies can overheat very quickly. I'd recommend getting a bassinet type stroller that the baby can lay flat in while you walk. A carseat/stroller combo will be WAY too hot, and a baby that young should not be in a carseat for an extended amount of time. You'll need to be careful because you can't use sunscreen on a newborn.
Honestly, if I were you, I'd plan to spend most of the trip in the hotel room with the baby. While you can certainly take the baby on most slow rides, many of them are incredibly loud and can be overstimulating for an infant that small. In addition, you might not be feeling so hot. ;) You'll be exhausted from lack of sleep, and if you end up having a c-section for some reason, you'll *just* be getting over recovery. You won't have much stamina. Since it sounds like you have a lot of family, see if someone (grandparents, maybe?) would watch the baby for a couple hours each day so you can go out and have some fun.
I'd also strongly recommend trip insurance for your immediate family. You never know what a new baby will bring and you have no idea what kind of delivery you might end up having.
Good luck to you!
I went down when my 2nd DS was only 7 weeks old. We brought a stoller that layed down so he could nap, I also had a sling for carrying him in. We did sunscreen him (our ped said that in a case like that better to be safe then sorry). I got a stroller fan to keep him somewhat cool, I also had a face cloth that I could we down and drap on his head/neck to keep him from getting too hot. I was nursing so I don't have to worry about brining formula with me, and CM are happy to help you find a quiet out of the crowd spot if they can. There is also a baby station where you can nurse/feed them in a rocker in the AC. Ride wise we went on Pirates a lot, Buzz, things like that. for the other rides we used baby swap. Bring an umbrella so when you are carrying the baby you can use the umbrella to try to keep some of the sun off you both. Get the baby into AC whenever you can to cool them off they heat up fast than we do. Good luck and have fun.
My ex and I took our youngest son when he was 5 months. We had a stroller that layed down and had a top to shade him. Of course I still put sunsreen on him. We took turns riding with our oldest son who was 3 at the time.
We didn't have a bit of trouble and really enjoyed it.
It has since been 21 years since we took him and he is now a big Disney nut just like me. He is on a mission to visit all the Disney theme parks.
I all I can say is have fun and enjoy yourselves.:mickey:
If your stoller is a dark color, make sure to bring a WHITE towel to lay under the little one. Otherwise the dark color absorbs the sun and makes baby even hotter.
Disney also sells the clip on baby stoller fans. BIG HELP!
And like my sis said, her pediatrician said that we could use sun screen on my nephew. He was fine using it, no side affects. Just make sure you wash it off completely at night to be safe.
we were down in sept with our son who at the time was 1. he was not crawling, walking or barely holding up his head yet. so he spent alot if not all the time in the stroller. i always put a white hotel towel in the seat of his stroller and i used the sport spray sunscreen on his arms and legs. i used the infant neutrogena sunscreen on his face and ears. donlt forget to put sunscreen on your newborns feet. make sure that your stroller folds down and also that the bigger the stroller is the more comfortable your baby will be. i also sprayed the stroller with bug spray when at the resort. i never saw mosquitos at the parks but i did see them at the resorts. dress you baby as you would dress. if ists hot then put your baby in shorts and a t shirt or even a onesie...... but be careful with the onsies, their thighs will bet burned easily. we used the carrier on the plane and on the busses. it was entirely too hot for your child to be on you and those things are nylon they do not breathe. and dont forget a hat for your baby. i would put the hat under the water and ring it out to keep him cool. i also put a wet cloth behind his head at his neck. good luck..... have fun.
That age maybe a challenge for you, your ped really has to help make the decision. That time of year is really warm/humid like pp said, and you can't use sunscreen on a baby under 6 months, so that maybe an issue. Plus same goes for bug repellant, even the all natural ones are iffy my ped said. At that age they really have no head control, so I don't even know what's a good ride to take a new baby on. Potc/SW are even too iffy IMO bumping boats, the drop on pirates, HM maybe the best choice off the top of my head. We took our dd at 8 months and it was perfect, when she was 20 months it was horrible(terrible two's:mad: she was cranky) Really in all honestly ask your pediatrician watch is really in the baby's best interest even though it's a big family trip. G/L
Big Question is .......IS THIS YOUR 1st CHILD???
If not, then you know already how you recover from childbirth. Also, you already know what kind of delivery you are expecting! Childbirth and healing are the only 2 things in womanhood that are completely different for every woman:blush:
As far as the 8 week old.....been there done that!!! It was a breeze, the only thing I did not have to deal with was the heat of summer. Find THIN THIN cotton crawlers with long sleeves to avoid sun exposure to much. Get the stroller fans! I had the most amazing sun blocking blanket the I bought from Strasburg...it was almost like a sheet, very thin and airy therefor cool. I My pediatrician had no problem with me taking any of my babies to Disney regardless of age or shots or anything!! Even if your baby has had it's first round of shots, the shot take 30 days to take full effect and plus there are 3 rounds of the shots that are given at 2 months anyways :mickey: It is not like you are going to another country, that would be different!!
I have taken all 4 of my babies to Disney before they were 3 months old....I SAY HAVE A BLAST:mickey:
I would like to add to the suggestions already given ...
Take a stroller net to keep any bugs out. Buy a sun shade attachment if you need it for your stroller.
Avoid taking baby in the pools due to age and lack of vaccinations. You never know what could be lurking in a public pool!
Consider visiting other resorts and walking around to check them out, which may give some relief from the heat and humidity.
Good luck and have a wonderful trip!
We took our youngest when he was almost five months old and it was so easy because he lived in the stroller. Make sure to take shade/AC breaks and the baby might want to nurse a little more than normal but he had a blast overall and LOVED the characters. Now when we took him at 15 months, ugh. That's another story... But it wasn't so bad that we're not going to take him back at 27 months this year! Good luck, listen to your inner-mommy voice and you'll do fine.
Forgot to mention to bring an extra memory card for your camera; the characters really know how to act with the babies and it makes for some uber-cute photos.
As long as your pediatrician says it's okay, then you'll have a blast. Sure, you'll spend more time in your room than usual, but is there any better place to go just after all the stress of being pregnant and having a baby?
All the tips on here are great, and the Baby Care Centers in WDW are really top-notch. They have everything you could possibly need.
Just remember, you'll have thousands of "experts" both at home and at WDW telling you you're crazy (we even had a couple tell us that bringing our 6 month old to WDW was "selfish"...they, of course, did not have kids). Just ignore all that. Enjoy what you get to do, and don't worry about all the stuff that you didn't get to do this trip.
Honestly, if it's as hot as it usually is in Florida in September, I would avoid taking the baby out at all during the hottest part of the day (say between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.) Even with lightweight clothing, shade and air movement in a stroller, a newborn's body cannot regulate their internal temperature the same way an adult (or even an older child) can.
We always buy a few of the clip on battery operated fans from wal mart (they are usually $2 or less each) and have a carabeaner on them so we attach them around the stroller shade to blow on the baby from different angles. She is 3 now and we still do it. I also highly recommend the baby care centers. I spent two hours in one just rocking the baby, feeding her, and a quick nap for us both. No one ever bothered us and it was SO quiet! Best of luck :mickey: