BF'ing on plane, in Disney World, etc...vacation Q's

DH and I are thinking about taking DD on her first vacation this May,
when she will be 8 months old. We will be traveling by plane (a roughly
2.5 hour flight) to Florida where we will be staying on property at Walt
Disney World. We have been there many times before, but never with a
baby. A few questions...(probably way too many...sorry!)...

It will just be DH, DD and me on a 5 day trip. We will be flying ATA
(which has cramped seating) with DD sitting on our laps...any advice on
making the flight more pleasant for all 3 of us? Should I nurse her
during takeoff and landing to help her ears?

DD is eating solids 2 times a day and nurses about 8 times a day. The
weather in Florida will most likely be hot...should I nurse her more
often to prevent dehydration? Should I offer her water?

And about solids, if I carry around unopened jars of baby food do I need
to keep them in some kind of cooler, or will they be fine in the diaper
bag (in say, 90 degree weather), since they are sealed? I would feed
her what she wants from the jar and then discard the rest, rather than
save the leftovers and try to keep them cool. I'd also be offering her
other fresh things, depending on what she eats well over a month from
now (right now she just eats pureed stuff, but then she might go for
other things (fresh fruit or cooked veggies I can smash up, etc).

Obviously with an 8 month old, we will be putting her needs
first...going back to the room mid-afternoon for a good nap, staying in
the shade and air conditioning, using sunscreen and a hat. We realize
we can't take her on most of the rides, but does anyone have any
experience with taking a baby on things like the Flying Dumbos or It's a
Small World?

Any general advice about what to pack, advice on flying, specific things
about Disney World with a baby, etc is very much welcome! I have a hard
enough time packing for myself...packing for DD is going to be
interesting!

Thanks in advance-
Kathy

"Kathy" wrote in message
...

DH and I are thinking about taking DD on her first vacation this May,
when she will be 8 months old. We will be traveling by plane (a roughly
2.5 hour flight) to Florida where we will be staying on property at Walt
Disney World. We have been there many times before, but never with a
baby. A few questions...(probably way too many...sorry!)...

It will just be DH, DD and me on a 5 day trip. We will be flying ATA
(which has cramped seating) with DD sitting on our laps...any advice on
making the flight more pleasant for all 3 of us? Should I nurse her
during takeoff and landing to help her ears?

DD is eating solids 2 times a day and nurses about 8 times a day. The
weather in Florida will most likely be hot...should I nurse her more
often to prevent dehydration? Should I offer her water?

And about solids, if I carry around unopened jars of baby food do I need
to keep them in some kind of cooler, or will they be fine in the diaper
bag (in say, 90 degree weather), since they are sealed? I would feed
her what she wants from the jar and then discard the rest, rather than
save the leftovers and try to keep them cool. I'd also be offering her
other fresh things, depending on what she eats well over a month from
now (right now she just eats pureed stuff, but then she might go for
other things (fresh fruit or cooked veggies I can smash up, etc).

Obviously with an 8 month old, we will be putting her needs
first...going back to the room mid-afternoon for a good nap, staying in
the shade and air conditioning, using sunscreen and a hat. We realize
we can't take her on most of the rides, but does anyone have any
experience with taking a baby on things like the Flying Dumbos or It's a
Small World?

Any general advice about what to pack, advice on flying, specific things
about Disney World with a baby, etc is very much welcome! I have a hard
enough time packing for myself...packing for DD is going to be
interesting!

Thanks in advance-
Kathy


wow - i will be going in a few weeks with DD who is almost 10 months and DS
3!! I thought we would just be taking DD "for the ride" basically - whereas
DS will be able to really have fun.

i have the same questions as the OP - but if anyone has tips for a toddler
flying & traveling in FL and Magic Kingdom i'd really appreciate it!!

my friend who's done this says to nurse on take-off and landing so i was
planning on it. i thought i give DS3 something chewy like gummy fruits.

"Kathy" wrote in
Any general advice about what to pack, advice on flying, specific things
about Disney World with a baby, etc is very much welcome! I have a hard
enough time packing for myself...packing for DD is going to be
interesting!
I dont say this to be rude or ugly, I have never been to Disney World so I
dont know.
Why would someone take a baby there? Are there activities for such small
children? For some
reason I imagine it to be just a lot of walking around.
Nina

Drop45 wrote:

wow - i will be going in a few weeks with DD who is almost 10 months and DS
3!! I thought we would just be taking DD "for the ride" basically - whereas
DS will be able to really have fun.

i have the same questions as the OP - but if anyone has tips for a toddler
flying & traveling in FL and Magic Kingdom i'd really appreciate it!!

We were in Florida with DD last fall, she was about 2.5 years (so I
don't have much advice for the original poster). Flying with a 3 year old
shouldn't be too bad, just bring stuff to do and snacks. I always let
DD pick something out at the airport gift store, too - usually a coloring
book, or a sticker book and that occupies some time. You can google
flying with toddler, there have been several threads lately.

As for Disney world, DD had a blast! She loved Dumbo and the
teacups. She got scared in the Winnie the Pooh ride because it
was dark. We were able to prepare her for the Peter Pan ride
so she wasn't scared there. Definately do hats and sunscreen.
It was really hot when we were there. I wish we had stayed at
a WDW resort hotel, and could have gone back to the room
at the heat of the day (DD fell asleep on the train that goes around
the park so we rode that around quite a few times). The lines
were pretty bad, especially for Dumbo. The fast pass is
fabulous - definately do that for whatever rides you can.
I'm looking forward to taking her back, maybe in a year
or two, but we will definately stay at WDW.

Have fun.

Mary

nina wrote:

Are there activities for such small
children?

I can't imagine any vacation spot that has amusing activities for an
8-month-old. But there's plenty to see and do in Disney that doesn't
involve riding on rides or walking endlessly. And they have a good
method of letting both parents ride a faster ride (separately, while one
rides, the other holds the baby) without having to go through line twice.

Phoebe

"Phoebe & Allyson" wrote in message
...
nina wrote:

Are there activities for such small
children?

I can't imagine any vacation spot that has amusing activities for an
8-month-old. But there's plenty to see and do in Disney that doesn't
involve riding on rides or walking endlessly. And they have a good
method of letting both parents ride a faster ride (separately, while one
rides, the other holds the baby) without having to go through line twice.


Sounds cool. I'd never thought about the line thing. My baby is 5 months old
and when she is about
8months we will be heading that way, her 1/2 brother and sister live in
Orlando so myhusband wants to go
to Disney World.

It will just be DH, DD and me on a 5 day trip. We will be flying ATA
(which has cramped seating) with DD sitting on our laps...any advice on
making the flight more pleasant for all 3 of us? Should I nurse her
during takeoff and landing to help her ears?


Yeah, buy her a seat. :-)

Nursing during takeoff and landing may help, but she may not fuss anyway, and
remember that those are the most dangerous parts of the flight, so it's really
better to leave her in her carseat, see what happens, and if she gets unhappy
try a pacifier or some other form of comfort first.

DD is eating solids 2 times a day and nurses about 8 times a day. The
weather in Florida will most likely be hot...should I nurse her more
often to prevent dehydration? Should I offer her water?

At 8 months, there's no reason not to give her water. Of course you can nurse
her as often as she'll cooperate, and you should certainly ensure you don't
nurse her any *less* than usual, but giving her a sippy cup of water while
you're tooling around the park is a good idea.

And about solids, if I carry around unopened jars of baby food do I need
to keep them in some kind of cooler, or will they be fine in the diaper
bag (in say, 90 degree weather), since they are sealed? I would feed
her what she wants from the jar and then discard the rest, rather than
save the leftovers and try to keep them cool. I'd also be offering her
other fresh things, depending on what she eats well over a month from
now (right now she just eats pureed stuff, but then she might go for
other things (fresh fruit or cooked veggies I can smash up, etc).


I'd think unopened jars carried around for a few hours would be okay, but if it
were me I would carry non-perishables like crackers and Cheerios, plus perhaps
some fresh fruit. At 8 months my DS was eating enough finger foods that I
never bothered to carry food with me other than snacks; I could always find
*something* he could eat in a restaurant.

If you're going to carry around jars of food anyway, why not toss a
lunchbag-size ice pack in with them? Better safe than sorry.

Come to think of it, though, you may not be allowed to bring jarred food into
the park. I don't know about DW but some such places tell you that any kind of
cans, bottles, and outside food is forbidden.

Obviously with an 8 month old, we will be putting her needs
first...going back to the room mid-afternoon for a good nap, staying in
the shade and air conditioning, using sunscreen and a hat. We realize
we can't take her on most of the rides, but does anyone have any
experience with taking a baby on things like the Flying Dumbos or It's a
Small World?


Small World should be fine. Not sure about Dumbo. We took DS to Legoland at 7
months and he went on a boat ride and a couple other sedate things. I would
suggest using a sling or carrier of some kind; she'll be more secure that way
than if you try to just hold her while on the ride, and you can't take your
stroller in the lines.

Holly
Mom to Camden, 3yo
EDD #2 6/8/04

Kathy says:

We realize
we can't take her on most of the rides, but does anyone have any
experience with taking a baby on things like the Flying Dumbos or It's
a Small World?

We took our sons to Disney World in early Dec. last year -- our baby
Quinn was about 7 1/2 mos. old. He went on Small World, the train (and
nursed him on that one :-), Winnie the Pooh, the Riverboat, and we took
him through Mickey's Toon Town. He was fine with all of it. We took him
to see the characters at Toon Town and also the ones that were stationed
around the front of the castle. I know some kids and babies are afraid
of the characters, but he got a kick out of it and the characters were
amazing with him. We would have taken him on Tomorrowland Transit
Authority but it was down. There are a couple of other attractions a
baby could likely experience without problems, like Tom Sawyer's Island,
the carousel, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Aladdin's Magic Carpets, and the Carousel
of Progress. Besides motion, the thing to be careful of is sound -- many
of the attractions are surprisingly loud.

Keep in mind the Baby Care station near Main St. -- it has a dark, quiet
room for nursing, and they sell supplies like baby food jars, juices,
diapers, and I believe Tylenol too. Plus, it's a comfortable place to
let baby crawl around, get out of the heat, and just take a little break.

We also took our sons to Chef Mickey's, which is a character dinner at
the Contemporary. Big, big hit! And the video and pictures we have of
Quinn interacting with the characters is priceless. He started nursing
on Mickey's nose. :-D

At one point we were waiting to meet Pluto in front of the castle, and a
man passing by loudly said to his girlfriend/wife, "I don't know why
anyone would take a baby to Disney World!" Well, his mom and dad and
older brother enjoy Disney World, and he goes where we go. :-) Both of
our sons have been to Disney World when they were infants, and both
really enjoyed the experience. They may only be little folks, but they
get amazed when they see all the crazy sights and out-of-the-ordinary
things there. We had a ton of fun and only wish we could have stayed a
little longer.

If you haven't seen it already, this site
http://allearsnet.com/pl/infant.htm should be helpful. It's the Infant
and Toddler FAQ of the Unofficial Walt Disney World Information Guide.

Have a great time!

-- Alpha
mom to Eamon and Quinn

HollyLewis wrote:

At 8 months my DS was eating enough finger foods that I
never bothered to carry food with me other than snacks; I could always find
*something* he could eat in a restaurant.

With Luke, every cafe we went to was happy to bring him a quarter to a
half an avocado. I think we were only ever charged for it once! It is
easy to carry dry cereal and fresh fruit.

Lara

On Mon, 05 Apr 2004 22:23:46 +0000, Dave {Reply Address in.sig} wrote:

I find it interesting that US airlines don't have lap belts available for
small children for takeoff and landing. Having flown both Virgin and United
to the US, (and some other shorter flights in both Europe and the US), lap
belts are offered as a matter of course for small children without seats by
the non-US airlines. Thinking back, it might only be United with this lack
of belt policy (we only flew NorthWorst and Delta when he was outside the
0-2yr range) but it's still a deficiency.

A friend who has worked as an airline crash investigator says these
lapbelts don't make the child any safer. All they do is make the infant
easier to identify - if the adult to whom the child is attached can be
identified by their seat-number, the infant is then identified too. So I
suppose they do serve a purpose, but we shouldn't think our babies are made
any safer by their use :-\

--
Hedgehog