via GIPHY
Yeah, you read that right. Here's a little context. My first child (actually, my only at the time of this incident) was just 17 months old and wrapping up a whirlwind 10 day vacation where we sailed for a week on the Disney Fantasy and then spent three days in Walt Disney World. It was supposed to be a magical time, and, for the most part, was that ideal first visit. But on the last night of the trip, my son was particularly fussy overnight. I thought the July heat and long vacation may have just been getting to him and knew we were heading home the next day so he'd be getting back to his normal routine in no time. The next morning, we left our room at the Contemporary Resort and had breakfast inside the hotel at Chef Mickey's. I expected this to be an incredible time for my little guy, but he seemed disconnected and refused to eat almost anything. C'est la vie, right? Well, we had a few hours to go explore Disney's Hollywood Studios before heading to the airport. We took advantage of Disney's Airline Check-In service and sent our bags over to MCO from the hotel leaving just our carry on at the hotel and heading to the park with our stroller and diaper bag. I had my son on my lap on the bus to the park, and about halfway through the journey, he began vomitting. Let me tell you - this is not a fun experience.
He's covered. I'm covered. My diaper bag is covered. It smells. Everyone is watching.
My husband is in the seat across the aisle and staring in a paralyzed horror. After what seems like an eternity, but was probably more like 15 seconds, he sprang into action and alerted the bus driver who handled the whole experience like the calmest person on the planet. Does this happen often on Disney transportation? I don't know, but he certainly wasn't fazed. We cleaned up what we could with paper towels as the bus continued towards it's destination.
When we arrived at Hollywood Studios, we quickly exited and took the clothes off of my son and threw them in the nearest trashcan. Fortunately, the diaper bag was zipped during this ordeal so the spare change of clothes I had in the bag were safe and I was able to throw him in a onesie. What I didn't pack was extra socks and shoes - and those items were clearly destroyed. You want to know how much a pair of baby socks costs inside a Disney park? Well, I can't remember exactly but it was a lot more than at Wal-Mart. And we just decided to bypass shoes the rest of the day. . .I mean he's only 1 1/2 right? Fortunately, he didn't get sick any more that day, but he did scream like a madman during the plane right on our descent into Baltimore. What caused all of this? Well, we found out the next day when we went to the doctor that he had a pretty bad double ear infection.
Why am I sharing this with you?
So you can learn like I did from my travel experiences. As a relatively new mom on our first major vacation with a little one, I had some important takeaway moments from this that changed how I traveled with kids in the future. First things first, always have a change of clothes with you. I don't care if they are 5 months old or 6 years old - accidents happen and a spare change of clothes can go a long way in a crisis situation while also saving you money on buying expensive items in a theme park. Next thing was always traveling with a few key medicines for the kids - Advil, Tylenol, and Benadryl - as well as a thermometer and band-aids. In this case, I could tell my son wasn't feeling well, but didn't have anything readily available to help him out. Maybe a dose of Advil would have helped the fever he had (which I didn't really realize he had until much later) and made him more comfortable during the flight home. Kids medicine isn't as readily available as it may seem too sometimes when you're on vacation so this can be really helpful! Looking for help with a little one in the park? Check out my Guide to Baby Care Centers located inside each Walt Disney World theme park where you can find medicine, quiet respite, changing areas, feeding areas, and much more!
The final reason I'm sharing this with you is so that you know you're not alone. As parents, we can easily become overwhelmed and stressed and feel very alone when things go wrong - especially in public places. So next time your child gets sick on a theme park bus, or screams on an airplane ride, or throws a tantrum in the grocery store - know that you are not alone. We've been there too. It's not always easy, but this journey of parenthood is the best adventure out there!
0 comments:
Post a Comment