What special considerations for taking a 3-month-old in September?

[jenmsmith]

DH and I are very close to booking a four-day trip for mid-September to get one more trip in on our annual passes (they don’t expire until November, but, alas, not much is open hotel-wise for November or October).

My parents will stay with our older kids, but we would need to take the 3-month-old with us. We go often (three times while I was pregnant with this baby) but have never traveled with an infant. We would fly - a direct two-hour flight - and stay at the Yacht Club using Disney transportation. She’s not a big fan of the stroller, but will do pretty well with baby wearing. Will that be just too hot? Should we take a stroller regardless? Rent one from an offsite company?

What other special considerations should we take under advisement?

 

[QueenIsabella]

Yes, it will be hot. We took a 6mo in July, though, so it's do-able. We used a baby sling with great success--our boys were sling babies, our girls hated being worn. So, go with what works for you guys. We found the sling was great because he was up and could see the world when he was alert, but if it was nap time, we could kind of pull the sling up a bit to block his view, so he could sleep. We could even wear the sling on some rides--the "kiddie" ones like Small World. Make full use of rider swap/singles lines to maximize your time.

If you have a stroller she likes, I would bring it from home. The WDW strollers are molded plastic--not so good with a smaller child. A clip-on umbrella for extra shade would be nice. Maybe a fan, too. A stroller will help you not feel like such a sherpa, lugging the baby and the diaper bag and whatever else.

I breastfed everywhere, but this was kid #4, and I have no modesty left. There are plenty of shady benches. I know people swear by the Baby Care stations, but I never used them--we were never nearby at the right time.

Good luck, you can do this, and have a great time.

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

I would be super careful about germs. My 15 month old and 3 year old both got sick last year on our trip. Idk if it was the airplane air with all the germs or if I wasn't diligent enough with hand sanitizer and wiping tables down, but I'm sure it would be scary if your 3 month old got sick. Of course, with her being that little you'll be able to control everything she touches, so that should help. But I would recommend becoming a germophobe just for the trip so everybody stays healthy!

Also, idk which rides you'll take the baby on but Frozen and Toy Story Mania don't have height limits- however, I wouldn't recommend them for baby. In Frozen there's a drop that felt scary to me with my little lap rider. I just keep thinking that if my arms were lose he would have flown out of the boat. And TSM was very jerky, I was worried about my little one getting whiplash. If you're holding your baby upright on TSM I would provide a lot of neck support, or rather, I would skip it entirely.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My bestfriend took her son when he was 3 months old in June. Very hot and humid. And September is very humid too. She said it was awful and would never do it again. She said the baby was uncomfortable most of the time even with the fans and cooling stuff she bought for the stroller. Her son never got sick, thankfully.

 

[jenmsmith]

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.

 

[DisneyAbsolutely]

I would be super careful about germs. My 15 month old and 3 year old both got sick last year on our trip. Idk if it was the airplane air with all the germs or if I wasn't diligent enough with hand sanitizer and wiping tables down, but I'm sure it would be scary if your 3 month old got sick. Of course, with her being that little you'll be able to control everything she touches, so that should help. But I would recommend becoming a germophobe just for the trip so everybody stays healthy!

Also, idk which rides you'll take the baby on but Frozen and Toy Story Mania don't have height limits- however, I wouldn't recommend them for baby. In Frozen there's a drop that felt scary to me with my little lap rider. I just keep thinking that if my arms were lose he would have flown out of the boat. And TSM was very jerky, I was worried about my little one getting whiplash. If you're holding your baby upright on TSM I would provide a lot of neck support, or rather, I would skip it entirely.

Oh so sorry to hear that, when did you go? Time of year makes a difference but I also endorse being a germaophobe!!

 

[Ladyandthepuppies]

Oh so sorry to hear that, when did you go? Time of year makes a difference but I also endorse being a germaophobe!!

Thanks! Yeah it was a shame. We were there the week after Labor Day- got stuck there for Irma, in fact. We ended up spending 8 nights at the Contemporary. My 15 month old had a fever around day 6 and my 3 year old got it the next day. They don't go to daycare so I definitely think they picked up the germs while on the trip. Maybe with a 3 month old it will be easier to avoid the germs, if you can wear the baby then you can control just about everything she'll come in contact with.

 

[brockash]

We go every year and have gone with babies as young as 7 weeks, also at 3, 4, and 6 months. We always go last week of Aug. first week of September. It'll be fine. Just as you would at home, keep the baby hydrated, out of sun, cool, as much as possible. We also like to do inside shows/sit down meals etc. during the hottest parts of the day.

 

[KrazeeK120]

Thanks! Yeah it was a shame. We were there the week after Labor Day- got stuck there for Irma, in fact. We ended up spending 8 nights at the Contemporary. My 15 month old had a fever around day 6 and my 3 year old got it the next day. They don't go to daycare so I definitely think they picked up the germs while on the trip. Maybe with a 3 month old it will be easier to avoid the germs, if you can wear the baby then you can control just about everything she'll come in contact with.

On our last Disney trip, my (at the time) 18 month old caught a cold that turned into a horrible respiratory infection and he ended up in the hospital for a day (thankfully, the hospitalization was after we got home). So yeah, I definitely think it’s A-OK to be a germaphobe at Disney! I’ll be doing more thorough cleaning/hand washing & sanitizing on our upcoming trip!

 

[jwolfpack]

I took my youngest when he was 4 months old. I would certainly bring the stroller, even if it ends up mostly being a place to store all your stuff. Planning to wear the baby is a great idea. They'll make you take the baby out of the sling / carrier on most rides, so be prepared for that. The baby rooms are great places to rock, catch your breath, feed, change diapers, etc. They have lots more space than restroom changing areas.

Our biggest issue was in restaurants as our little guy was too small to sit in a high chair, and we obviously didn't have our infant carseat with us in the parks (which is what he'd sit in at home in a restaurant). We ended up either holding him, filling a high chair with lots of blankets to stuff around him to help prop him up, or very rarely being able to push our stroller up to the table. Not all sit down restaurants will allow this, but a couple did.

You will have a great time. I've taken kids of all ages through the years, and I was really surprised at how much a baby can do at Disney. On this particular trip, our baby could do just about everything my 3 year old at the time could do!