Nuclear Family Trip-Let's Hope I Don't Explode!! - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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It sounds like you have a plan in place, and a back-up in case that plan doesn't work out and I think that's all you can do. Just try to enjoy yourself and being in the 'happiest place on earth' with those you love the most!
If all else fails, fall back on the wine!
Gonna be interesting but I think you can do it. Maybe think about a baby sitter for a few hours? I know we loved Kid's Nite Out when we went with friends and their 5 year old.
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Dreams, Wishes, Hopes... these are the parts of childhood we should never lose.
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Sorry about your mom, but glad to hear she is on the road to recovery.
Your trip will certainly be different, but it sounds like you have some good plans in place.
Gonna be interesting but I think you can do it. Maybe think about a baby sitter for a few hours? I know we loved Kid's Nite Out when we went with friends and their 5 year old.
I've thought about it, but we've decided to go that route when he's a bit older. He just turned four and is still gets very upset when we leave him with a sitter he knows well, I can only imagine the meltdown if we left him with someone we just met! That said, he loves to stay with his grandparents and asks to spend the night there regularly, so it's not like I don't get a night out at home. In fact, I have one tonight, with one of his preschool aides doing the sitting.
The funny thing is that left to his own decision making, he'd go with the first friendly face, but ONLY if it's his decision/choice. For example, last weekend we went to an adventure camp open house and he immediately wanted to climb on the ropes course. We went over and I directed him to the start (the course starts at 1 and then you find 2 and so on, also, not at all made for four year olds) but he didn't care for that idea and instead went and took the hand of the high school girl monitoring one of the nearby ropes sections and said "come with me and show me this." So if he thinks you have something he wants, be it information or candy, Mom might as well not exist. Unless you are the babysitter. Then Mom is the only thing he wants.
As a baby we worked so hard on swimming, taking him every week from the time he was 6 months old to about 2 years, then I started working more and we just stopped for a bit. At 2 years old he would jump in the water, go under, run through the fountains, and ask to be thrown higher and higher. He couldn't swim but he wasn't afraid. Then take 3 or so months off and wham. Deathly afraid. We made progress over that year, but then last summer he was standing on a low step in our YMCA pool, I was right next to him, and he slipped and went under and couldn't get his feet. I pulled him up (again, I was right there) but that second or two of not finding his footing was the end. He refused to swim, at all.
We still tried for awhile, once a week or so, but he mostly stood at the edge, or maybe clung to your neck with his little nails leaving marks. I let it go again for a bit and then we tried private swim lessons with Mr. Tim. Poor poor Mr. Tim. He was so young and confident, with dozens of swimming preschooler success stories. He tried everything, games, trickery, bribery, even getting me to go in too despite the point of the private lesson being to remove parental influence/sheltering. No dice with the stubborn mule I gave birth to. Wailing, screaming, snot and tears. It was awful. We went three times and I said 'F' that and we decided to never ever again mention swimming until Adam mentioned it himself.
See, potty training went that way too. Mule. That kid is a mule. Never, not once, agreed to try the potty. I bought two different potty chairs, a seat, two stools, stickers, and candy. Nothing. He told me he was still a baby and when he was big he'd use the potty. One day, at 3 years and 3 months old, he was out with my father, at a park. He said he had to go potty and that he wanted to use the big one. At the park. The gross public park toilet. My father took him and that was that. He's been 100% day and night potty trained since that day. I assumed swimming would go the same way.
As Disney approached we talked about it, the parks, the rides, the hotel. He remembered the pool and the slide with the 'traffic light' at the top. Said he wanted to go down that slide again. I just nodded. It kept coming up and he said he'd swim in the Disney pool, but not at the YMCA with Mr. Tim. (Jeez, poor Mr. Tim, I swear, he's amazing with kids, I see his swim lessons weekly when I'm doing my swim workouts). Okay.
Monday. I tell Adam we need to see if his swimsuit still fits for the pool slide at Disney. It doesn't. So, off to Target, where he is reminded repeatedly and firmly that there will be no toys purchased on this trip. None. He can look at the Rescue Bots but we are there to buy a swim suit and nothing else. He picks a Batman suit and shirt despite being 100% afraid of Batman in every other context. We look at Rescue Bots (because, duh, he's 4---these things and the marketing geniuses/assholes at Hasbro...they are taking over my house).
And then he says it.
I KNOW HOW TO SWIM, MAMA. I want to go right now.
After being stunned into silence, I regain my composure and tell him the pool is closed right now (BTW, when does that stop working as a reason not go somewhere?) but that we will go tomorrow for sure. He spends the rest of the night confidently telling me he can swim and wants to swim, but not with Mr. Tim. So we went. Of course he can't really swim, but he did put his arms over a pool noodle and kick around. He also stuck his face in the water spray fountain and jumped in to me. Then he said we should come back the next day too. So we did.
What?
Anyway, I guess we're going to have to factor in more swimming next week.
Kids are so funny! I have one that is stubborn too - and it's so frustrating, but there's nothing you can do. We just have to wait until he's ready. Kid is 4.5 and still wants nothing to do with the pool.
Wow...I don't even have anything wise except I think my 27 month old is going to be like Adam - stubborn mule. Congrats on the potty accomplishment & the swimming - guess all when THEY are ready & not a moment sooner.
I am so sorry about your mom but it sounds like she is making great progress. On a totally must prepare for everything - did you add trip insurance just in case mom relapses or that you are needed at home? Just a thought.
While this trip will be considerably different from all others that doesn't make it bad just different & leave it at that. Try to include them all that you can via text, pics, Skype whatever works for your parents. Call and tell them how much they are missed but that you are making the best of it. You deserve your trip & I hope you enjoy every minute of it.
I'm on my phone, 95% packed and ready to go tomorrow. We visited Mimi today and while she's sad she also knows that her PT/OT and dialysis with familiar techs is best right now. BUT she's exercising and walked with Adam today!
We've got two big suit cases, one carry on sized case and my travel pro overnighter (the little rolling kind that can go under the seat, I use it for work travel but the under the seat feature is great for Legos, headphones, videos, snacks, wipes etc required by small people.
Adam is soooo excited--frankly the emotional highs and lows of a 4 year old are pretty f'in annoying. He's exuberant and angry, snuggly and impatient, giggling and crying all day.
T minus 12 hours til we go to the airport. I've got to run six miles in the morning, pack our toiletries and Adam's twilight turtle and white noise machine, empty the dishwasher, oil the butcher block counter (we do that when we leave for a few days), and drag the garbage out to the curb and we're off!!
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Disney Magic - Oct 2015
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