First timer with a lot of questions

[Countrymomof1]

We're pretty much 2nd shifters. We like to wake leisurely and have coffee and breakfast in the room, or else swim in the morning, eat lunch poolside, change, and hit the parks in the late afternoon when the stroller gangs are leaving.

Since you're staying Poly, if you do hopper tickets, you could do a park midday-evening, and then hop over to Epcot Monday night for the EEH and bang out GoTG/Ratatouille/Soarin/Frozen (probably not all four, you'll have to pick your priorities.)

Wednesday, you could get to AK midday-ish and do the Lion King show (runs hourly until around 3 p.m.ish, check the times,) and Tough to Be a Bug and the last afternoon safari for the animals, Nemo show (really cute,) see the animals and exotic birds, musicians playing, and then when the park is cleared out, do FoP/Everest and be home by 8:30/9:00 for an evening swim.

Does your daughter stay up late enough to function? Our friend's son passes out on the pavement by 9 p.m. no matter if he napped, slept great, took it easy -- he's just OUT. Our daughter can hang late nights, but our son wanted to go home after fireworks, had too much ice cream in the heat, and ended up barfing on the bus on the way back to the resort, LOL. My husband tried to clean it up but the driver shooed him away and said they'd take care of it. He was wicked embarrassed, but they seemed completely unphased.

Disney is tiring. Don't fight against the stream too much. If she's not a morning person, she'll remember having a great time swimming or looking at Christmas decorations in the morning more than any ride she was hustled to see at 8 a.m. It's so hard!

Her morning mood/routine depends on a few things.

One is if she had a long day prior. Usually that happens on weekends (soccer game day) and soccer practice days.

Two is if she fights bedtime and doesn't actually fall asleep for quite some time after getting in bed. I try to be lax about that. As long as she is in bed tha'ts it...no TV or no lights on other than her night light. She is already a heavy sleeper so the more tired she is, the longer she will want to sleep.

And three obviously is her still wetting the bed. If she wakes up in wet sheets, she is a total bear to the point where she wont even change out of her night clothes right away. She will whine and pout and sulk for a good 30 minutes and by then I usually have to make her change. She has been a little bit of a better mood the last few days once I got her own air mattress and she got to pick out her own sheets, bedding and pillow. She understands why she has to wear a diaper to bed but doesn't like it and lets me know it. She was wearing pull ups for a while and she got used to them and knows they aren't diapers. We are slowly working through her feelings. She will let me know that none of her friends have to wear one. I try to let her know that it might be true but I am sure that there are other almost 8 year olds that do. Even though I don't know any. She agreed to wear one as long as I got her the air mattress but that mutual agreement has worn off which I understand. I do try to limit her drinks like after 6:30 ish. I don't stop drinks, I just ask her to cut down. That's probably not gonna happen while we are there either. That is one thing I have to get on her about. I catch her all the time trying to sneak drinks. A small drink is OK, not a full cup.

I hope we wont have that issue while there but like I said as long as we don't stay out ALL day, I think we should be good. As long as she has some to wind down in the poop or in the room, that will help as well. I think the night and morning routine is pretty much thrown out the window while we are there. I am hoping it wont be hard to get back on track once we are back home.

I am the morning person. I can wake up at 4:30 without an alarm. NOT a good trait to have! haha Her...I have to practically drag her out of bed.

She LOVES going to the zoo so the animal safari will be awesome.

 

[Miffy]

@Countrymomof1! You seem like a wonderful, loving mom with a terrific daughter, so I have every confidence that you and your daughter will (a) be able to solve the bed-wetting problem at some point and (b) have an amazing time at WDW.

Your posts prompted me to read a bit about bed-wetting and it's not all that uncommon among 8-year-olds.

I was also thinking about the stroller idea, and the strollers they rent at WDW are extremely sturdy and they work really well as a place to put your stuff while you're cruising around the parks as an added bonus. Just something for you to consider since there's a tremendous amount of walking at WDW. A slow park-touring day at WDW could mean you walked "only" 5 or 6 miles. I'm not exaggerating.

You will be amazed at the size and scale of things there.

 

[3gr8boys]

She LOVES going to the zoo so the animal safari will be awesome.

I am so excited for her! Kilimanjaro Safaris is a must do Animal Kingdom is such an awesome park, especially if you are able to savor it slowly. The theming is great- it really transports you across the world. The animal trails are wonderful. Pandora is a neat area to take in and, because you are going in December, you will be able to see it after dark when the bioluminescence kicks in!!

 

[Countrymomof1]

@Countrymomof1! You seem like a wonderful, loving mom with a terrific daughter, so I have every confidence that you and your daughter will (a) be able to solve the bed-wetting problem at some point and (b) have an amazing time at WDW.

Your posts prompted me to read a bit about bed-wetting and it's not all that uncommon among 8-year-olds.

I was also thinking about the stroller idea, and the strollers they rent at WDW are extremely sturdy and they work really well as a place to put your stuff while you're cruising around the parks as an added bonus. Just something for you to consider since there's a tremendous amount of walking at WDW. A slow park-touring day at WDW could mean you walked "only" 5 or 6 miles. I'm not exaggerating.

You will be amazed at the size and scale of things there.

I can easily rent a stroller as an excuse to be able to carry our stuff. Then if she decided to be lazy, she can haha I know there are others that would say she is too old for a stroller but I will just play it by ear and watch her queues. I want her to have the time of her life. And the same with me too! haha I'm allowed to have fun too right?

I did make the mistake of asking for advice on a different website/forum about her still wetting the bed when she turned 7 and I was basically persecuted. That I was a bad mom to let it go on this long. That she is lazy. That she is doing it on purpose and I need to punish her and it went on and on. I was leery about asking here but I thought I would give it a try. And not to sound sappy but I actually went in my bedroom and cried. Not only did I get some good advice on her bedwetting, I also got great tips and suggestions about our trip to Disney. Everyone here has been amazing and kind! I never in a million years thought I would get this many responses. I will keep taking everyone's tips and strategies as long as they are offered to me. I just have to focus on how to keep her from getting down on herself every morning. For a couple mornings I was like wow, she is a totally different person after I promised her the air mattress. But that excitement is wearing off.

GOD bless everyone here!

 

[Countrymomof1]

I am so excited for her! Kilimanjaro Safaris is a must do Animal Kingdom is such an awesome park, especially if you are able to savor it slowly. The theming is great- it really transports you across the world. The animal trails are wonderful. Pandora is a neat area to take in and, because you are going in December, you will be able to see it after dark when the bioluminescence kicks in!!

The safari is a must! Do you get to actually feed the animals?

 

[3gr8boys]

The safari is a must! Do you get to actually feed the animals?

Kilimanjaro Safaris is basically a jeep ride through an African Savannah... but in Orlando. No feeding, but a large variety of animals and the drivers share lots of information.

 

[Countrymomof1]

Kilimanjaro Safaris is basically a jeep ride through an African Savannah... but in Orlando. No feeding, but a large variety of animals and the drivers share lots of information.

That sounds like a lot of fun!

 

[princesscinderella]

Have you looked into her diet as a cause of her wetting the bed? I say this because my youngest was also a bed wetter and I had to change my diet and go Gluten free and in turn only cooked GF meals at home because I can’t have cross contamination. Very shortly after adopting the GF diet her bed wetting completely stopped, it was quite unbelievable. After searching the internet there is a link between gluten issues and bed wetting. This is a good link I found on the UK Huggies site about possible food issues causing bed wetting.
https://www.huggies.co.uk/parenting-advice/baby-development/bedwetting/can-food-cause-bedwetting

 

[Countrymomof1]

Have you looked into her diet as a cause of her wetting the bed? I say this because my youngest was also a bed wetter and I had to change my diet and go Gluten free and in turn only cooked GF meals at home because I can’t have cross contamination. Very shortly after adopting the GF diet her bed wetting completely stopped, it was quite unbelievable. After searching the internet there is a link between gluten issues and bed wetting. This is a good link I found on the UK Huggies site about possible food issues causing bed wetting.
https://www.huggies.co.uk/parenting-advice/baby-development/bedwetting/can-food-cause-bedwetting

We have been to her doctor numerous times. It just boils down to her being an extremely deep sleeper. Medication was brought up but was not recommended to kids her age. Not to mention it does have some side affects.

Thanks for the tip about a possible Gluten problem. I never heard that might cause bedwetting. Thanks for sharing!!! How old was he/she when it stopped?

 

[princesscinderella]

We have been to her doctor numerous times. It just boils down to her being an extremely deep sleeper. Medication was brought up but was not recommended to kids her age. Not to mention it does have some side affects.

Thanks for the tip about a possible Gluten problem. I never heard that might cause bedwetting. Thanks for sharing!!! How old was he/she when it stopped?

I have been GF for 8 years so that puts her at about 7 when she was still wetting the bed. You could try cutting out gluten for a week or two and see if it helps, it’s a very inflammatory protein for your whole body. It needs to be eliminated completely as a crumb can set off a reaction in someone who is sensitive.

Unfortunately in medical school most doctors only take one semester of nutrition/diet science but take years of pharmacology. I have a friend who is a gastroenterologist and we have had this conversation about drs not correlating diet to health issues. He agrees it’s insane because what we put into our bodies as food has a profound effect on how it functions, but handing out medicine instead is easier than getting someone to change their eating habits. It’s a lot to go into on a post on a message board but it’s eye opening when you feel better by eating the right foods for your body. I literally had a friend tell me at a party the other night that a friend of his is 40 and suffered from horrible eczema for most of their life on their trunk and a new dr they went to suggested it may be caused by a gluten allergy and sure enough it completely went away when they went GF. He said his friend feels like a new person. Not sure if it’s still on Netflix but there was a documentary called “What’s with Wheat” that’s very informative. Best of luck! Raising kids isn’t an easy job, I’ve got three teens and I wish I could say it gets easier but I’m not there yet myself.

 

[🍀TwinsMom]

I don't have any tips on the bed wetting stuff, but it sounds like you've tried a ton of things and are willing to try a million more! All good.

Definitely try to get something in that YOU want to do. It's very draining to be "on" solo as a one-man band of entertainment and cruise director and pep squad all rolled into mom. Early morning coffee/tea/water on your balcony/patio at Poly (or any resort, really,) is great. IDK if you're a bath person, but at the Grand Floridian they have a store on the 2nd floor, Basin & White. They sell these bath bombs that smell amazing. I put in the Grand Floridian bath bomb while staying at the Grand -- OMG, I came out of the tub in my jammies and robe to the balcony, and my husband and cousin smelled me from 15 feet away and were like, holy cow, you smell amazing and totally like the lobby, LOL. Don't be scared when the water turns screaming Heineken green! It doesn't transfer to anything, but those jetted tubs are NICE.

The gift shops sell wine and spirits, too;-) Maybe you could have a relaxing bath at night and/or coffee and read in the morning watching the sun rise.

Disney has CORI-checked babysitters, too, that can watch your daughter for an evening if you wanted a little quiet time to explore or shop or grab a drink. I forget their name, but I have only read good things about them.