Disney with a 4 month old baby - opinions please...

[act1980]

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for a little advise as I'm expecting a baby in July. I currently have a booking for 5 nights at the Grand Floridian at the end of November which was booked almost a year ago before I got pregnant, we're then moving to WBC for a further 9 nights so 2 weeks in total. Anyway, I'm looking for some advice as to whether I should still go? I've heard taking a baby is really easy and she will be 4 months by then. One reservation is that we'll be in a hotel room initially so washing clothes, sterilising etc may be tricky as I've only ever stayed in a villa where I've had laundry facilities etc, I know the GF has laundry but I don't know how often I am going to need to wash things and I can't just put a load on and go out like I can in a villa so it means waiting around for it to finish. Also, how do you manage water parks when they're that young?

Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

 

[laughinplace199]

We brought DS10 when he was 5 months old and it was super easy. He slept and ate whenever he needed to - he was was easier than his 5 year old brother on that trip!

We did stay in a villa so we had the washer, dryer, and dishwasher. Any chance you could change your resort?

We didn't attempt water parks until a couple of years ago. We waited until all of our kids could swim well so that we could all have fun.

 

[Dismama2boys]

I find that Disney with a baby is very easy. BUT we stay at WBC so we have both a kitchen and a washer/dryer. And we don't do the water parks. I agree that both of those issues make things a bit trickier. I would think you could survive without the washer/dryer. At that age my kids were exclusively breast-fed, so not sure about the sterilizing. Hopefully someone else will chime in with some advice that's actually helpful, rather than mine which totally is not. There's also a Disney for Families board here where you might get more help.

 

[act1980]

I find that Disney with a baby is very easy. BUT we stay at WBC so we have both a kitchen and a washer/dryer. And we don't do the water parks. I agree that both of those issues make things a bit trickier. I would think you could survive without the washer/dryer. At that age my kids were exclusively breast-fed, so not sure about the sterilizing. Hopefully someone else will chime in with some advice that's actually helpful, rather than mine which totally is not. There's also a Disney for Families board here where you might get more help.

I love WBC but we have never stayed onsite which is why we booked the Poly, didn't know we would be fortunate enough to fall pregnant so quickly though I would love to breast feed but in the event that she won't latch on I figured I would ask about sterilising in the hotel. Thank you for your reply though, any help is better than none

 

[act1980]

We brought DS10 when he was 5 months old and it was super easy. He slept and ate whenever he needed to - he was was easier than his 5 year old brother on that trip!

We did stay in a villa so we had the washer, dryer, and dishwasher. Any chance you could change your resort?

We didn't attempt water parks until a couple of years ago. We waited until all of our kids could swim well so that we could all have fun.

Thanks for your reply, thats reassuring to know! We could change our resort but don't really want to as we have never stayed onsite before.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

We went when DS was 1.5 months! All had a great time.

During MSEP Alice pointed to him and said, "Awwww, he'd fit in the teapot with the dormouse."

We also went when my other DS was 9 months.

DW and I just kept taking turns with baby care. The important thing to remember is you are going to move around much more slowly and will need more time between attractions.

Your new LO will be able to go on quite a few rides with you. That was a lot of fun.

If you plan on bottle feeding I suggest bottles with disposable liners. This way you only need to wash the nipples which is a lot easier in the sink. Also disposable liner bottles results in the baby swallowing less air (which is a problem for some babies).

We didn't use the washers when we stayed on site. If LO got something dirty we just hand washed it and hung it to dry.

Biggest tip! Get a stroller that can be used as a carriage that doesn't need seatbelts. This works until LO can sit up. This way it is so easy to take LO on and out. This is ours:
http://www.chiccoshop.com/gear/trav...aadqghwYvrHp&start=5&cgid=gear_travel_systems

The part where the legs would come out folds up so baby can't slide out

Water park was easy. Just found a spot on the shade to park the carriage and he slept happily. At 4 months LO probably won't like going in the water yet so wet just took turns watching him.

 

[jwolfpack]

We did Disney with a 4 month old several years ago - it's a great age! Breast feeding makes it super simple, but bottles could be manageable too. My kids loved Playtex Drop-ins with the disposable liners. All that needs to be cleaned and sanitized is the nipple. When mine were little, Medela made sanitizing bags that could be put in the microwave. Very useful for bottle nipples, pacifiers, and breast pump accessories when traveling. Not sure if your room will have a microwave, but the quick service location might have one as a backup.

Your little one will be able to ride everything that does not have a height requirement, which is almost everything! You'll also be able to take advantage of rider swap on rides that do have height requirements. You can be very strategic when using rider swap with fastpass to make up for time you will lose by going at a slower pace.

It is super helpful if your baby will tolerate being worn either in a sling or in a baby bjorn type carrier. Practice in the grocery store and on walks before your trip so that you're both used to it. Make your husband practice too

I don't think the lack of laundry facilities will be an issue. Their clothes are so tiny, you can pack plenty of extras.

 

[HopperFan]

Took at 4 mo old in October, your weather would be even better. She was a breeze, slept, ate, got on plenty of rides.
I don't think she impacted our trip at all since we had two others, one too short for the bigger rides so one of us was sitting out anyway.
I would not take a baby that young to a water park - the sun, reflection, even in December will something to worry about.

 

[snowwhite84]

I want to chime in, even though I have yet to travel to WDW with a baby. My little one will be nine months when we take her for the first time in Sept, and is three months right now. I feel the need to add my two cents, as it seems all of the above posters are speaking from the vantage point of being seasoned parents with more than one child. My little girl is mine and DH's first, and right now at the three month mark I could not imagine traveling to Disney with her. We are just getting into the stage where showering every day is feasible, lol. For me, new motherhood was a bit of a shellshock and getting into a routine, learning to care for her while still taking care of myself, etc has been a huge adjustment. I'm not saying you should cancel, as everyone is different. In fact, DH and I actually went to Disney when I was newly pregnant and everyone said I would hate it, but it was actually fine.

Now, it is possible I would feel different a month from now, when my baby is four months. Each week brings big changes and progress is huge month from month. I just wanted to add another perspective, as it sounds like you too are about to be a first time mother. Congrats!

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I love WBC but we have never stayed onsite which is why we booked the Poly, didn't know we would be fortunate enough to fall pregnant so quickly though I would love to breast feed but in the event that she won't latch on I figured I would ask about sterilising in the hotel. Thank you for your reply though, any help is better than none

we were at WDW with a group of 14 with youngest 4 months in August. she was breast feed and we were in the cabins at Fort Wilderness. one problem we found was most restaurants did not have sling/infant highchairs for little ones who can not sit up yet. remember to count baby in Table Serve ressies. because of heat daughter was not able to use her sling as it was too hot for both her and the baby. baby did great in stroller that reclined beside her big sister. I have never used but have read about bag that can be used in microwave to sterilize. between daughter and me, baby and her sister had enough clothes that we did not do laundry. we packed each girls clothing in Ziploc bags for each outfit. just pack a bag or more for the parks that way had something to put dirty clothes in while in parks if needed. one funny story about clothes and our trip. we had gotten older sister her suitcase a year before trip but she had not seen it. she was with me when we picked out one for the baby. she got upset that baby had one and she didn't. keep telling her that hers was at my house. about 2 weeks before trip we stopped by her house to give cases and clothes to their parents. I was pulling 2 rolling bags up their drive when older sister saw me. she yells loud enough for half the neighborhood to hear " Mommy MomMom does have a case for me not just Sadie". we then spent an hour checking out all the clothes. one thing that we found helpful in cabin was a couple of folding hampers for dirty clothes esp helpful for keeping track small socks and clothes. one other suggestion take lots of pics of what you baby does at Disney then make a photo book for your child. have a grandson who was 4 months on his first trip. even though he has no true memories of trip but can tell what that baby did in the pictures and he was that baby. he is now 11 years old. have a great trip with your baby

 

[happymommy]

I traveled a lot when my kids were young babies. One was breastfed for well over a year, the other I switched to bottles after a couple months of constant allergic reactions to anything I ate (he's 20 and still has food allergies).

Don't worry about sterilizing. I mean, your nipples aren't sterile! So however you feed, I just washed bottles and nipples in the bathroom sink with a sponge and some dish soap. Pretty easy!

Breast feeding when travelling is definitely easier; you don't need to bring much with you! But whatever you choose, I hope you can go and have fun!

I do think if you want to, look into a one bedroom villa for the convenience of the space, kitchen for snacks, and washer for convenience! The Boardwalk area is nice to walk to Epcot! Since it's a fairly long trip, it would be nice to put the little one down in the bedroom and have the living room to hang out.

We also never did the water parks until our kids were teenagers, and even then it was one and done for them. The pools at the resorts are fine to cool off in! I was surprised really, as I thought they'd like them much more than they did.

 

[quandrea]

Thanks for your reply, thats reassuring to know! We could change our resort but don't really want to as we have never stayed onsite before.

You could try renting dvc points. You'd get a villa at a great price. We took our twins at three and a half months. Easy and such a joyful trip.

 

[brockash]

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for a little advise as I'm expecting a baby in July. I currently have a booking for 11 nights at the Polynesian at the end of November which was booked almost a year ago before I got pregnant. Anyway, I'm looking for some advice as to whether I should still go? I've heard taking a baby is really easy and she will be 4 months by then. One reservation is that we'll be in a hotel room so washing clothes, sterilising etc may be tricky as I've only ever stayed in a villa where I've had laundry facilities etc, I know the Poly has laundry but I don't know how often I am going to need to wash things and I can't just put a load on a go out like I can in a villa so it means waiting around for it to finish. Also, how do you manage water parks when they're that young?

Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated! Thank you

Go, it'll be fine. As long as your pregnancy/recovery and baby are relatively normal (no complications,) you and baby will be fine. I've taken kids as young as 7 weeks, 3 months, 4 months and up through now 15 and yes under 6 months is much easier than 1. Yes, it would be nicer to have a DVC with dishwasher/laundry, but it's still doable without. When we took my youngest at 7 weeks, we were just in a regular hotel room and it was fine.

ETA: We never had to do laundry and the youngest we've done water parks with was 1. I don't think I'd attempt taking a baby under 1ish to the water parks....there's just literally nothing they can do and it's just not really set up well for that young. Having said that I will say that last year while we were in the lazy river at one of them a lady had a baby, def. no more than 5 months old in their own tube (the kind with the bottom) she had him laying on it and it was so nerve-racking for me. She was in a tube next to him, holding on to his tube, but for goodness sakes, so many things could have gone wrong. The top of his head was past the tube so he could have easily hit his head, someone could have ran into him, he could have tipped etc... it was really ridiculous.

Also, we never worried about sterilizing with any of our kids and our oldest is now 15, youngest 2 and they all survived just fine.

Your biggest issue will most likely be table service restaurants. Some (not many) of them have slings for babies who can't sit up, but most don't. I will say when we took the one at 7 weeks and the one at 4 months, we were almost always asked if we wanted to bring the stroller in and we did, so while it's def. not guaranteed, it is an option and I'd ask if they don't offer. Off the top of my head, the following places we took our stroller in:

Crystal Palace
O'Hana
Sci-fi
Rainforest Cafe
T-Rex
1900 Park Fare
Tusker House
ESPN Zone

And we took it in to all counter service restaurants we ate at.

I was not asked/didn't ask at Beaches-n-Cream or Plaze (they're just way too small)

 

[DizneyLizzy]

My husband and I took our first "vacation" (not Disney though) with a baby when our firstborn was 3 months old to the day. In my opinion (and every baby is different as I'm learning with our second baby...) 3-4 months is a great time to venture out with a newborn. They've had many of their major vaccines, they're starting to sleep much better at night, and they're still very portable (not mobile yet!) Also, if you're nursing, you literally don't have to bring anything in terms of feeding them. I think I did bring my pump and some bottles though in case we were in a situation where a bottle was more convenient. Finally, after 3 months with a newborn, my husband and i were ready to do something that made us feel more normal again. We went in with very low expectations and had a great trip!

 

[DizneyLizzy]

Also, if you're really worried about sterilizing, get a place with a microwave and some of those bags that medela makes. They're good for 20 uses.

 

[kboo]

You've got a lot of good advice here! Congratulations!! Is this your first?

I would say: GO. If it's your dream to stay at the Poly, then stay at the Poly. We traveled extensively internationally when DD1 was 6-12 weeks. In fact, we traveled for 6 weeks straight, never spending more than a week in one place, always in hotel rooms. She was EBF, so we didn't bring any bottles and I also didn't bring a pump. With DD2, we went to WDW twice during maternity leave. When she was 3mo we stayed at BLT thinking that having the kitchen and w/d would be more convenient. We didn't use the kitchen at all for anything baby-related, though we did use the w/d for a few blowouts. But the second trip, when DD2 was 4.5 months, all 4 of us were in 1 hotel room at GF. We did 1 load of laundry while we were there (blowouts) but mostly just took her around in the baby carrier (boba) and a stroller. The easy thing is that they're not on solids yet, so there isn't much you have to bring, and we did no sterilizing either time.

We went to a fair number of table service restaurants, and one or the other of us would wear her and eat. It was no problem! Enjoy!

Also happy to PM if you have more questions as you get closer to your trip. But yes, go in with low, relaxed expectations. I wouldn't suggest the water parks - our kids are now 5 and 15 months and we still haven't gone to any water parks. The pool is plenty.

 

[Dismama2boys]

Also, if you're really worried about sterilizing, get a place with a microwave and some of those bags that medela makes. They're good for 20 uses.

Those microwave bags are awesome. But regular rooms don't have a microwave, do they? I think that's her whole issue with it.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

Those microwave bags are awesome. But regular rooms don't have a microwave, do they? I think that's her whole issue with it.

I can never keep track of which rooms/resorts have microwaves! Ha. But I know the food courts do. Does Captain Cooks?? If so I would wait for a slow time and use one then.

 

[Dismama2boys]

I can never keep track of which rooms/resorts have microwaves! Ha. But I know the food courts do. Does Captain Cooks?? If so I would wait for a slow time and use one then.

I hadn't thought of the food courts! That could work in a pinch.

 

[act1980]

We went when DS was 1.5 months! All had a great time.

During MSEP Alice pointed to him and said, "Awwww, he'd fit in the teapot with the dormouse."

We also went when my other DS was 9 months.

DW and I just kept taking turns with baby care. The important thing to remember is you are going to move around much more slowly and will need more time between attractions.

Your new LO will be able to go on quite a few rides with you. That was a lot of fun.

If you plan on bottle feeding I suggest bottles with disposable liners. This way you only need to wash the nipples which is a lot easier in the sink. Also disposable liner bottles results in the baby swallowing less air (which is a problem for some babies).

We didn't use the washers when we stayed on site. If LO got something dirty we just hand washed it and hung it to dry.

Biggest tip! Get a stroller that can be used as a carriage that doesn't need seatbelts. This works until LO can sit up. This way it is so easy to take LO on and out. This is ours:
http://www.chiccoshop.com/gear/trav...aadqghwYvrHp&start=5&cgid=gear_travel_systems

The part where the legs would come out folds up so baby can't slide out

Water park was easy. Just found a spot on the shade to park the carriage and he slept happily. At 4 months LO probably won't like going in the water yet so wet just took turns watching him.

I've heard they can go on quite a lot of rides, thats really good. I assume you need to take them in a baby carrier for safety purposes? I have bought a Baby Jogger for the lie flat and big hood for shade. Plus the fold mechanism is so easy!

Thanks for all the tips, very helpful!