Disney Baby Tips: Part 2 Feeding Time

Today is a continuation of my favorite baby items, as my sister-in-law prepares her registry for her first child.  I've appreciated the help from other parents in the many reviews I have read and it's my turn to pass along some lessons learned.  I make nothing off these recommendations.  They are simply products I use and love.

For nursing, I can't say enough good things about My Brest Friend.  This pillow provides proper support for baby, improving latch-on and saving mom's back.  I got one when Tink was a few weeks old.  I was so tired of struggling with sliding pillows and I hated the boppy.  I made sure that I took my nursing pillow to the hospital when Minnie was born and used it from the second feeding on.  I've even thrown it in the van when we've traveled to make on-the-go feedings easier.

For older kids, I love the Bumkins Super Bib.  It's thin but really stops messes from ending up on clothes since it lays flat on the child.  The little pocket catches a good bit of the crumbs.  The best thing is how easy it is to clean.  Simply rinse it off after a meal and hang it up to dry.  It will be ready for the next meal.  From time to time, I put it in a mesh bag and wash it with the girls' clothes.  Ideally it shouldn't be machine dried but will survive just fine if you forget a few times.  We only have one and that's been enough.  I've used disposable bibs for travel while we are on the road or out at the parks, but I always carry along my Bumkins bib for use in the DVC villa or at Grandma's house.  It's so much easier than the stack of cloth bibs I traveled with (and had to wash) when Tink was very small.  I recently bought the starter bib which is a smaller version for Minnie.  So far I don't love it.  It's the same great fabric, but she's a brand new eater and things tend to slide down her neck past the starter bib.  I'll try it again when she's a little bigger.

The Munchkin Snack Catcher is terrific for keeping snack time cleaner.  The lid allows the kiddo to slide her hand in but stays shut in case the bowl is turned over.  Tink uses these around the house, in the van and at theme parks, the zoo, the farm, etc.  When we are out with the stroller, I've used a No Throw Strap (got mine at Walgreens) to attach the snack catcher to the stroller.  That way if she dropped it, we didn't have to worry about loss or dirt since it didn't reach the ground.  My pack had two straps so I attach one to each side of the stroller so we can secure snack cups, sippy cups or toys.  I do put these cups in a ziploc bag before putting them in the diaper bag.

Another little gizmo I like for snacks on the go is the Philips Avent Formula Dispenser/Snack Cup.  While I wasn't crazy about this as a formula dispenser, it seals tightly and is great for carrying small snacks in your diaper bag.  With Tink, I kept this loaded with three different toddler friendly snacks.  It was really handy at Disney World.  If she got cranky on the bus, I could give her a few bites without making a mess.  I also like that this can be used longer since the divider comes out and you can use it for larger food, like apple slices.


I hope this helps another parent (or someone doing baby shower shopping.)  These items have all made my life a little easier in their own way.

All of the photos in this post were obtained from Amazon and are property of the manufacturers.

"Mommy Needs A Drink" Brownies aka "Nutella Makes It All Better"

It's been a trying afternoon in my house. Since a glass of wine isn't a good idea when home alone with two small kids, I remembered the brownie mix and the jar of Nutella in the pantry. I tweeted about making Nutella brownies and got several responses. I decided a quick blog post was the fastest way to share the instructions. There's not really a recipe to it.

Simply prepare your favorite brownie mix according to package directions. Spray a mini muffin pan (or 4) with baking spray. Place a heaping spoonful of brownie batter in the bottom of each well. Place about a teaspoon of Nutella on top and cover with another spoonful of brownie batter. Bake according to your mix's directions. I think baking cups might be helpful but I didn't have them handy. I only have one mini muffin pan so I poured the rest of my batter into a small baking dish to make regular brownies.

I wish I made this up but a friend shared this on Facebook recently. I don't think it was her idea either but I'm glad she passed it along.

Sorry, but I dug in before taking the shot. Once you try them, you won't blame me.




Update: definitely use muffin cup liners. However if they break, the brownies make an excellent ice cream topping, or so my husband says.

-Amy

"Best Of" Week: Minnie Moms: Cranky Kids Part 2

This is part 2 of the Minnie Moms' response to Windy, who was looking for help dealing with tired kids at Walt Disney World.

Janine: Although we haven't been to WDW yet with Felicity (F), we have had plenty of long days out both here in England and on our vacation in France. As F is only 8 months old, I have to say that at this age we tend to let her dictate our travel plans.

She still has both a morning and afternoon nap (usually) so often we time our outing around this. For example, if it is a short journey somewhere, then we let her sleep and then go out afterwards, or if the trip itself takes more than, say an hour, then we time leaving the house to coincide with nap time so that she sleeps in the car on the way there.

She'll generally be pretty good for a few hours this way and won't get cranky again until it is time for her afternoon nap. Again this may mean leaving where ever we are so that she sleeps in the car on the way back.

When we had the buggy in pram mode - with F lying down (up to about 3 months) she would also happily nap in there while we went out. Alas, now that she is sat up in the buggy (stroller style) and forward facing, she is way too nosey to drop off no matter how tired and cranky she is!

F is quite choosey about how and where she will fall asleep too. As I am still nursing, her favored place to sleep is while feeding. This can be met with all sorts of problems if she does not get to do this. We have even had to stop a car ride when she has refused to sleep, so I can nurse and she has dropped off straight away!

If I was in WDW this would not be a problem of course. Nursing is not an issue in the parks and I have spoken to many moms who say Disney is a pleasure to feed in. There are of course the baby care centers with comfy rockers (as mentioned already in an article by Amy) or indeed many moms have told me that they have nursed on rides! No not TOT or one of the mountains, but places like Ellen and Great Movie Ride are perfect!

When we do go to WDW, hopefully in 2014 and possibly to DLP before that, we will still work to incorporate Fs nap if she needs one with our schedule. We also plan to stay onsite so that we can go to the parks at rope drop when F is quite lively anyway, return to the hotel for a rest (a nap, swim whatever is needed) and then return to the parks later for dinner and fireworks etc. We have already decided that we won’t push nighttime activities when she is young. Yes it would be great to see Wishes and Fantasmic, but if she so tired that she's not enjoying being there, then that'll just be something we save for a return visit.

I will still take a stroller for her too as even at 4; the parks are too vast for a little one to be expected to walk about all day. This again could be a way to get a younger child to nap if they are tired enough without having to leave the park. I have many a time sat next to a family during something like Illuminations and seen a little one sound asleep in their stroller while older children and grownups enjoy the show; this seems to be the perfect solution, if your child will do it that is :-)

Of course, this is all geared at a small child. For parents with older children who still get tired after a long day, I would suggest almost the same plan as DH and I have had when touring the parks as a couple and with our parents. That is that we all have something we really want to do, so we head to that ride, get fast passes etc and everything else is a bonus! Especially being pregnant in the parks last year I really learnt the importance of doing a ride and then resting up or choosing a sit down and relax attraction such as The Hall of Presidents where you can recover and cool down in between queuing for popular rides. That and factoring in plenty of rest stops (especially if you're on the DDP and can use up your snack credits) to keep you and the kiddies well hydrated and full of food for energy. I mean, really, what better excuse is there to HAVE to go to Main Street Bakery for one of their famous cinnamon rolls, go on - you need your energy!

A very short extra tip for DHs - mine always takes a newspaper (something like Sports Weekly) into the parks. This means while I'm off pin searching or suchlike, he can sit on a bench and read up on the baseball scores. Next time we'll hopefully be taking an iPad or iPhone also so he can use that too!


Kelly: The theme here for us is that everyone gets to do things that are important to each member of the family. This keeps the crank away in my family….well most of the time anyway.

• I like to get up early and hit the parks and then take a break during the day. We go a lot in the summer so the kids do not miss school and it is very hot. This way we get out of the heat and recharge before going back to the parks for a late night.

• We will each take one of the kids somewhere they want to go and make it all about them. I usually take Anthony, my six year old, and we do things that he wants to do that my eleven year-old couldn't care less about. My husband, Chris, will then take Shawn out and do the same. This way the boys get some time away from each other, which they need sometimes.
• We plan a day where we will sleep in and take it easy; sometimes we don’t even go to the parks.
• We plan a day at the water park and then some time that night at Downtown Disney.
• We plan a night to go thru all the shops at Epcot and also have some of the snacks and drinks in each country while the kids do the masks and passports at the Kidcot Stations.
• If we get a 2 bedroom villa, I like to order some food and snacks this way everyone has those things that they really like. Shawn really loves bagels in the morning….
• I make sure I pack everyone’s favorite clothes and hats. They are boys but still if I don’t have Anthony’s Star Wars t-shirt it’s going to be a tough vacation.
• I let the kids bring books, games and other things that help keep them happy. It comes in handy on a rainy day or even at the airport if there are any delays.


Amy: All of the other ladies have provided such great tips that I will keep mine simple.

For Audrey, we try to work naptime into the day’s activities. If we’re traveling, we try to be on the road at a normal naptime. If we’re at Walt Disney World or any other full-day activity, an after lunch stroll can allow for naptime. In April, she had just turned a year old and took two short naps a day, usually in her stroller. We’re going back in October and we’re down to one nap a day. The one nap is normally about two hours, so we may need to go back to the room. We’ll stay flexible and see what works best for her. Flexibility is key with toddler travel.

We went to a Scottish Festival here in town recently and arrived right about naptime.  Audrey stayed awake almost until we left and then had a short nap and went to bed early.

We’re planning on eating lunch a little earlier than usual on our upcoming trip. A tired and hungry kid (or grown-up) is no fun! I’d rather Audrey eat a little less at an early lunch than have a meltdown because we waited too long. There are plenty of opportunities for snacks if she needs one in the afternoon. I try to carry kid-friendly foods in our backpack.

There’s no need to stick to a strict schedule on vacation, but you’ll pay if the kiddo stays up late every night.

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Thanks to our Minnie Moms for sharing such helpful tips!  If you have a question for us or a topic you'd like us to cover, please leave a comment or email Amy.

What ideas do you have to keep your travel party (kids or adults!) from getting over-tired while on a Walt Disney World vacation?

Guest Post--Travel Tips from Nine, Part 2

First Family Vacation with Teeny Tiny Tinkerbell, Part 2

This is part 2 of Janine's lessons learned traveling from England to France with her 6 month-old daughter, Felicity.  Click here for part 1.

4.  Feeding your baby on holiday is obviously a very important issue.  Amy has written a comprehensive article regarding formula versus milk but I’d like to touch on nursing (breastfeeding) versus introducing formula.  I have nursed F since day one and it has been a very rewarding but very time consuming activity.  As she would be 6 months when we took our first trip, it gave me the chance to consider switching her over to formula or at least combine, to make it easier when going out and enabling others to feed her.  As it stood F never really liked the bottle that much and her evening formula became a bit of a battle.  Add her first tooth into the mix and I decided the best way forward would be to resume to exclusive nursing.  This actually worked out really well for us.  The French are a baby loving nation and no one blinks an eye at a nursing mother.  I was able to do it everywhere, in restaurants, cafes, park benches and had no issues (asides from F being very nosey!)  I am very discreet and always wear a nursing cover to hide my modesty and it doubles up as an extra sun cover for F!  I also found in a lot of places that there would not have been the facilities to heat up a bottle either so it really did seem the best way for us.  I would also have done this is if we had have gone to WDW.  There are plenty of mother and baby places in Disney for both nursing mothers and places to warm bottles and food.


5.  I would also like in include a small bit on changing stations.  I am certain that the previously mentioned mother and baby areas in WDW are fantastic and that there are plenty of restrooms to do an emergency diaper change.  However, I can not say the same for France.  So please make sure wherever you go somewhere new, you have plenty of disposal changing mats in your diaper bag!  Thank goodness I did as F is now at the rolling about on the floor instead of cooperating stage.  I changed her in the car a few times but on the occasion I had to change her in the restroom, I was mightily grateful for the soft Pampers pads.  One time however I refused to change her on the floor as there was just not enough room.  Of course changing her stood up whilst my mother-in-law changed her would have always ended up with the same outcome … yes, she peed on me.

6.  So just to round things up, what has this vacation taught me to take with you on a day trip?  As mentioned, make sure you have a fully stocked diaper bag (again, Amy has already written an excellent blog regarding this) which is extra especially important when abroad.  I have no doubt I could get the Pampers diapers and wipes I use in the UK in the US but I was unsure about France.  Turns out I could get them, for literally double the price!  Definitely make sure you have any preferred or prescription creams (F has a special cream for her bottom as she is prone to nappy rash) and as number 1 states, any sunscreen and hat/rain cover/poncho/sweater etc.  I tend to use a backpack as a change bag when we’re out for the whole day so that anyone can carry it and any purchases can go in the bottom of the buggy. That reminds me, consider your buggy carefully too. We have a huge Graco travel system for use at home, but we ended up buying a second more lightweight stroller to take away with us.  It folded up much smaller in the car and was lighter to carry.  Make sure you have a favourite toy/book and for goodness sake make sure it is tied onto the buggy!!!  I take a whole load of cleaning wipes with me too in case a toy does fall on the floor, these also are used to wipe off any table I sit at before Fs hands are all over it.  I know some germs are good for kids but hey I like to be careful.  A must have for me was my nursing shawl, but equally ensure you have the correct bottles/formula/food.  And bear in mind if you’re abroad, it may not always be as easy to warm it, maybe a thermos flask of hot water could be the answer?  And of course, you’re bound to have your trusty iPhone/iPod with you anyways for some travelling entertainment.  That and babies favourite Playhouse Disney CD of course!!!

Contributed by Janine Pipe from Swindon, England.  She is a proud wife and mommy to almost 7 month old Felicity.  You can follow her on Twitter, @Disneynine.