November 2015 Moms
jdal1206
member
Going camping with baby
jdal1206
member
I'm starting to plan ahead for a family trip in June...my niece is turning 16 and is having a big party near my parents house in Upstate NY (near Cooperstown), we are about 3.5 hrs away so going up just for the party isn't really an option and neither is staying at my parents house (they downsized once we all moved out and it's just a bit too small for us to stay there with the baby)...my DH and I are thinking about camping for the weekend (it would be a lot cheaper than a hotel) but as first time parents we aren't really sure about the logistics with a baby. LO will be 7 months old when we head up there.
Have any STM's done this before? Or anyone gone camping with your LO yet? Does this sound like a good idea or should we just budget better and get a hotel? Any tips/advice/suggestions on what we should bring or do to make this work smoothly as well as any cautionary tales would be greatly appreciated!
Have any STM's done this before? Or anyone gone camping with your LO yet? Does this sound like a good idea or should we just budget better and get a hotel? Any tips/advice/suggestions on what we should bring or do to make this work smoothly as well as any cautionary tales would be greatly appreciated!
Re: Going camping with baby
If it was me (I have camped, but not really a fan), I would sign up for the Groupon that is close to your family and see if you can get a deal on a hotel.
While we're in the mountains (about 8hrs away from home) we will tour gold mines, pan for gold and gems, visit waterfalls, and my 10yr old birthday girl will go on a zipline across a mountain. I think I may be completely insane to attempt any of this. Wish me luck. If you don't hear back from me, we were all probably eaten by bears.
Good luck! Have fun!
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there are other brands out there like California Baby that make all natural buy spray. With my first we also tried the repeling bracelets. It couldn't touch their skin so she would wear socks and put the bracelet around her ankle. They didn't seem to really work all that well though.
What Worked -
1) Baby Wearing and back wrapping especially (1yr is the suggested timeline for putting baby on your back in an SSC.) I was able to hike to the highest point in GA and to hike to the middle of some gorgeous waterfalls where I needed my hands to hold onto branches and rocks while climbing. If I wasn't wearing her, everything from touring gold mines/panning for gold, to hiking, to making dinner around the camp fire would have been nearly impossible.
2) FP Sit Me Up - It was great for us because the car was packed to the brim and it is collapsible. Basically though any place for baby to sit is necessary so you can start the fire or do any of a number of things that you can't wear baby while doing (like giving yourself a rest!)
3) Keeping bottles of water in the sleeping bag with me (so they didn't get super cold since she now refuses cold bottles and the temps dropped into the 40's and 30's at night.) I formula feed now and so bottles of water were necessary to make her food. If you breastfeed, you'll have a MUCH easier time.
4) Keeping her supplies organized. Trying to find diapers in the middle of the night in 40 degree weather when your baby is screaming is not fun.
5) Figuring out whether baby runs hot or cold. My little one runs hot. For bed the first night, I had her in a hat that covered her ears, socks over her hands and on her feet, a fleece footed pajama, and a long sleeve fleece sleep sack over that. I then brought her into the sleeping bag with me when I went to bed. She woke up screaming in the middle of the night soaked in sweat which is quite dangerous in 40 degree weather. The next night I left off the sleep sack and she was still sweating after coming into the sleeping bag with me. Finally I ditched the socks over her hands and the hat when I brought her into the bag with me and that worked.
6) Skeeter Scat - It's an all natural bug spray that a family friend makes and sells. It uses essential oils and works incredibly well. It's also worked well for us in hot muggy 80 degree weather (over Christmas!) in coastal GA which is buzzing with gnats and mosquitos.
What DIDN'T work
1) Overbundling
2) Pack N Play - This is probably more a function of the fact that Bridget doesn't even sleep well in it at home than it is against a PnP in general. It would work beautifully for a child who does not regularly co-sleep. It would work especially well for a crawler or a walker as a place to move but be safely contained.
3) Over scheduling - Bridget did really well but every time she would nap, whether on me or in her car seat, we would be off to the next activity and need to move her. Next time I will definitely schedule more down time so she can sleep better. Especially considering her extreme case of FOMO combined with the 4mo sleep regression.
The kids and I had a great time. It was a lot of fun. We made a lot of memories and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I'm even considering doing primitive camping next time! If you've got any questions, feel free to ask.