brooklynnbaby
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2006
So, I knew as I started packing this trip would be very different than our previous (which was our first). At that time, our three girls were newly 4, almost 6, and 7.5. Since then, we've had two more and GEEZ LOUISE! The stuff ya have to pack for the little ones is ridiculous. Necessary, but ridiculous. And for an overpacker like me, it was just downright laughable. 
BUT.
We were prepared and by golly, we used every last thing I packed. Every "what if" situation happened... a major blow-out diaper at lunch in HS that required countless wipes and a change of clothes (luckily, just the baby), plus a tummy bug that wiped out the entire family and utilized all those Arm & Hammer plastic bags I justified buying off of Amazon a couple of days before we left. Whew.
So, for those planning a trip with little ones, I'm going to tell you what we took and what we used and didn't use.
We packed: Everything.
We used: Everything.
But really. Things I was SO glad to have:
OXO On the Go Wipes Dispenser
Filled this with a pack of these WetOnes each day and left it strapped onto the handle of our stroller, whom we affectionately call BOB. Original, I know. But he's a member of the family. These were easy access for everyone and we used them constantly. I kept bum wipes separately with the diapers in the backpack in packs like these (not this particular brand, though)... one for each girl. So I knew which one to grab depending on which one needed a change (we usually just did both at once).
These Arm & Hammer diaper bags were a LIFESAVER. Not only did I use them in the hotel room after a stinky diaper, but they became an essential part of our trip when we got the barfs. Yes, we were "that" family that had a child throw up at the gates of Magic Kindgom. But you try telling a 7 year old she has to go back to the hotel room when the rest of the family is having fun.
Luckily, it was only once and she was able to enjoy the day, but anytime someone looked even remotely ill or made any kind of "ugh, I don't feel well sound", I whipped one of those babies out just in case. AND, when we had the blow out, I wrapped the baby's clothes up in one of those bags and stuck it in the backpack without so much of a whiff of it all day. They work!
Disposable bibs. Dude. I stuck one of these on my 7 year old when she got Mickey ice cream or a popsicle. She's still young enough to think it was cute (the 8 and 10 year olds, not so much), but I used at least two of these every meal... on the 2.5 year old and the baby. Saved them from looking like raggamuffins by mid-afternoon after messes from meals and snacks. Less stain spraying for me at the hotel later, too!
Disposable changing pads. I didn't use a lot of these, but I was so glad to have them when I needed them. I've mentioned the blow-out diaper... I was not about to truck across the park to a baby care center, so I found an out of the way spot to plop down and strip her. It was up to her neck people. It was horrible, lol. Yay for breastfeeding babies that poop once a week. HA! This pad allowed me to make sure she wasn't on the gross ground, but it was plenty big enough for me to maneuver wipes and clothes and diapers without feeling I was contaminating the entire area. And I think people appreciate that when it's obvious you're cleaning up a huge mess. When I was done, I wadded everything up in that pad and threw it away. Beautiful. Then I washed my hands and we were on our way. Crisis mostly averted. Plus, when there's a line of five people to use the changing station in the bathroom, I spread one of these babies out on the top of the stroller and whipped out two diaper changes in three minutes, flat. I changed the 2.5 year old in her reclined stroller seat, too, no problem. Oh, and thank goodness I had a back-up outfit. Not that you can't find clothes to buy in the parks, but it saved me the trouble and $50 from having to do just that.
I took lots of these and used, like, two. Just not necessary, really. When a family of 7 sits down to eat, there's not a lot of extra room anyway. Maybe if your party is smaller they might be more beneficial.
Got a small one of these straw sippies for the baby and a larger one for the toddler. Baby didn't touch hers (just too young, I think... she's still breastfeeding, so that was her preferred drink). Toddler used hers all the time. I hooked it to the stroller with something like this sippy grip and tucked it away in her cup holder in her seat of the stroller so she could get it when she needed, but didn't worry about losing it.
Packed snack ziplocs with a handful of stick pretzels and travel Nutella packs. One of my few moments of genius of which I'm happy to take credit. If your toddler is anything like mine, she loves to "dip dip". A little messy, yes, but not horrible. Same cooncept as the snack packs, just cheaper. We ALL ate one (or three) at some point).
And last, but surely not least, the Baby Bjorn was just... I can't even begin to think what it would have been like without this. Carried the baby everywhere. She got to go on rides. When she got sleepy, I turned her around and she slept on my chest. It was heaven. She did get put down when the opportunity presented itself, but when you're on the go-go-go, that's not often.
OH! I was all bummed because I forgot to bring my Thirty-One About Town blanket, but I'm kind of glad I did. I wanted to have something to lay out for fireworks or if we wanted to all sit for a snack or something. We made a pit stop at Target on our drive down, and I grabbed a basic bath towel and while it wasn't as big as the blanket, it was super duper easy to fold up (the blanket is not hard, just a little more involved), and compact enough to stick in the stroller basket. It was nice to be able to let the baby sit down and have some unattached time now and again, too. And every time I got it out, the toddler sat down, too. A good $6 investment.
Um. That's all I can think of right now. Other than we do NOT plan to return to Disney 'til the two little ones are potty trained. Maybe another 2-3 years. Just too much stuff for us. I'm glad we went and we had a lot of fun and watching all my girls together was just awesome. Could have done without Norovirus going through the *entire* family. And if it was JUST the little ones, I might consider another trip sooner. But with the three older ones and all their stuff... it's just too much for me, lol.
BUT.
We were prepared and by golly, we used every last thing I packed. Every "what if" situation happened... a major blow-out diaper at lunch in HS that required countless wipes and a change of clothes (luckily, just the baby), plus a tummy bug that wiped out the entire family and utilized all those Arm & Hammer plastic bags I justified buying off of Amazon a couple of days before we left. Whew.
So, for those planning a trip with little ones, I'm going to tell you what we took and what we used and didn't use.
We packed: Everything.
We used: Everything.
But really. Things I was SO glad to have:
OXO On the Go Wipes Dispenser
Filled this with a pack of these WetOnes each day and left it strapped onto the handle of our stroller, whom we affectionately call BOB. Original, I know. But he's a member of the family. These were easy access for everyone and we used them constantly. I kept bum wipes separately with the diapers in the backpack in packs like these (not this particular brand, though)... one for each girl. So I knew which one to grab depending on which one needed a change (we usually just did both at once).
These Arm & Hammer diaper bags were a LIFESAVER. Not only did I use them in the hotel room after a stinky diaper, but they became an essential part of our trip when we got the barfs. Yes, we were "that" family that had a child throw up at the gates of Magic Kindgom. But you try telling a 7 year old she has to go back to the hotel room when the rest of the family is having fun.
Luckily, it was only once and she was able to enjoy the day, but anytime someone looked even remotely ill or made any kind of "ugh, I don't feel well sound", I whipped one of those babies out just in case. AND, when we had the blow out, I wrapped the baby's clothes up in one of those bags and stuck it in the backpack without so much of a whiff of it all day. They work!Disposable bibs. Dude. I stuck one of these on my 7 year old when she got Mickey ice cream or a popsicle. She's still young enough to think it was cute (the 8 and 10 year olds, not so much), but I used at least two of these every meal... on the 2.5 year old and the baby. Saved them from looking like raggamuffins by mid-afternoon after messes from meals and snacks. Less stain spraying for me at the hotel later, too!
Disposable changing pads. I didn't use a lot of these, but I was so glad to have them when I needed them. I've mentioned the blow-out diaper... I was not about to truck across the park to a baby care center, so I found an out of the way spot to plop down and strip her. It was up to her neck people. It was horrible, lol. Yay for breastfeeding babies that poop once a week. HA! This pad allowed me to make sure she wasn't on the gross ground, but it was plenty big enough for me to maneuver wipes and clothes and diapers without feeling I was contaminating the entire area. And I think people appreciate that when it's obvious you're cleaning up a huge mess. When I was done, I wadded everything up in that pad and threw it away. Beautiful. Then I washed my hands and we were on our way. Crisis mostly averted. Plus, when there's a line of five people to use the changing station in the bathroom, I spread one of these babies out on the top of the stroller and whipped out two diaper changes in three minutes, flat. I changed the 2.5 year old in her reclined stroller seat, too, no problem. Oh, and thank goodness I had a back-up outfit. Not that you can't find clothes to buy in the parks, but it saved me the trouble and $50 from having to do just that.
I took lots of these and used, like, two. Just not necessary, really. When a family of 7 sits down to eat, there's not a lot of extra room anyway. Maybe if your party is smaller they might be more beneficial.
Got a small one of these straw sippies for the baby and a larger one for the toddler. Baby didn't touch hers (just too young, I think... she's still breastfeeding, so that was her preferred drink). Toddler used hers all the time. I hooked it to the stroller with something like this sippy grip and tucked it away in her cup holder in her seat of the stroller so she could get it when she needed, but didn't worry about losing it.
Packed snack ziplocs with a handful of stick pretzels and travel Nutella packs. One of my few moments of genius of which I'm happy to take credit. If your toddler is anything like mine, she loves to "dip dip". A little messy, yes, but not horrible. Same cooncept as the snack packs, just cheaper. We ALL ate one (or three) at some point).
And last, but surely not least, the Baby Bjorn was just... I can't even begin to think what it would have been like without this. Carried the baby everywhere. She got to go on rides. When she got sleepy, I turned her around and she slept on my chest. It was heaven. She did get put down when the opportunity presented itself, but when you're on the go-go-go, that's not often.
OH! I was all bummed because I forgot to bring my Thirty-One About Town blanket, but I'm kind of glad I did. I wanted to have something to lay out for fireworks or if we wanted to all sit for a snack or something. We made a pit stop at Target on our drive down, and I grabbed a basic bath towel and while it wasn't as big as the blanket, it was super duper easy to fold up (the blanket is not hard, just a little more involved), and compact enough to stick in the stroller basket. It was nice to be able to let the baby sit down and have some unattached time now and again, too. And every time I got it out, the toddler sat down, too. A good $6 investment.
Um. That's all I can think of right now. Other than we do NOT plan to return to Disney 'til the two little ones are potty trained. Maybe another 2-3 years. Just too much stuff for us. I'm glad we went and we had a lot of fun and watching all my girls together was just awesome. Could have done without Norovirus going through the *entire* family. And if it was JUST the little ones, I might consider another trip sooner. But with the three older ones and all their stuff... it's just too much for me, lol.
