Camping with an infant?

@ecclesiastian We went when our 2nd child was 6 months it was surprisingly good
For a sleep surface we used some foam mats from playroom and a thick but not soft blanket folded over ( I think of it as a horse blanket not sure why!)
We did lots of layers socks &vest under normal sleep suit with feet then cardigan and really thick all in one thing and a hat more socks I think and socks ( think we used her 5 year old sisters) at gloves they stay on better
We brought her playmat from home. She slept amazingly and had a lovely time luckily she wasn’t crawling yet that made it easier
 
@ecclesiastian Amazon has to inflatable toddler beds that might work if your babe isn’t rolling over yet.
Edited to add we stayed off the grid for a week and rinsed poopy flats in the ocean, hand-washed with biodegradable soap, and air dried them. It worked great since flats are so thin.
 
@ecclesiastian I would recommend a pack and play, not just the mattress. Too many moving parts/fabrics from other people to be safe otherwise. We have used fleece pajamas underneath a wool sleep sack for warmth. Have layered socks underneath jammies and brought a hat for chilly nights but LO never seems to keep the hat on. We also use cloth and have used it just fine while camping. I pack extra diapers and wet bags. One large wet bag to hold everything and some smaller ones to hold dirty diapers. I just planned to do diaper laundry right when we got back. We did bring disposable wipes to keep that simple. Honestly my baby was good about staying away from the fire from the get go, but we did bring a bouncy chair when baby was that age and I wore him a lot. We also bought a little camping chair with a tray when he was a bit older and he enjoyed sitting in it and eating snacks and meals by the fire. Enjoy!!
 
@ecclesiastian I used this website for good tips to help us camp overnight. We had a portable crib (Phil & teds) and a Patagonia down suit with a wool base layer for sleep.

We brought a tarp for her to sit on and stay dry in the day. I mostly wore her in the baby carrier around camp. We also used biodegradable disposable diapers and wipes on our first trip. I’ll do cloth on the next trip because we aren’t far from an outhouse.

Camping is so much fun and totally worth the effort! Being surrounded by nature is great for everyone. Just be prepared for early nights (if you’re like us). Once the sun was up, so was my baby, since all the birds were singing.

We were going to get a pea pod but were recommended not to for overnight sleeps.

https://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/recall-alert-rappel-avis/hc-sc/2012/15562r-eng.php
 
@ecclesiastian Hi there, my only question is how long will the trip be to get to your destination? I wanted to take a trip with baby too but then from what I've read new babies are not supposed to be in carseats for longer than 2 hours and I think 30 minutes is the recommended amount of time.
 
@clmorgan My understanding, from my pediatrician, is that you can take a longer car trip you just want to take them out of the car seat every two hours to change their diaper and let them stretch out and get in new positions and stuff for a while.
 
@ecclesiastian Everyone has some great tips, but I’ll share one thing I loved.

We set up an old two person tent with baby safe toys and padding for a safe play area when we had to prep a meal or something.
 
@ecclesiastian I put a flat heavyweight sleeping bag (coleman's or one like it) over my ground pad to make it less smothery-seeming. We've always coslept with blankets so didn't think of that as an issue, but I guess if you don't like blankets just put the baby in lots of clothes?

With my first I guess we just watched her constantly so keeping away from the fire etc wasn't a problem. For the second baby I bought a secondhand pack n play and it was really nice to have. Also I brought the high chair because why not if you're car camping.
 
@ecclesiastian We went camping out of "necessity" (long distance moves and didn't want to stay in hotels because of COVID) when our baby was 5.5 and 6.5 months old. We have a truck camper but stayed on BLM, so no hookups or amenities. For us, the experience was really stressful and exhausting, but that's probably because of our circumstances and the fact that our kid was only sleeping for 20-45 minute stretches at the time.

If you stuck to a close campground and are getting some kind of rest then I think it could be really fun and not too different from camping without a kid. We used a snowsuit for warmth at night, and put our baby in a portable chicco bassinet to sleep. You could get a giant tent and put a similar bassinet inside, or co-sleep using a dock-a-tot or Boppy (depending on your comfort level with these, they are technically not safe for sleeping) or straight on a backpacking pad, which I think would be firm enough to be safe. Our kid is now 11 months, crawling a little, and walking while holding on to ledges, etc., so depending on your kid maybe he won't be too mobile yet this season. If he is, I wonder if a couple of x-pens (like for dogs) would work to secure a larger area, like your entire campsite?
 
@ecclesiastian We are planning on going camping with our 4 month old in a month so I dont have the nost advice but here is what i have done to prepare thus far:
.We purchased a guava lotus pack and play for both safe sleep and safe play. It is only 13 lbs and had backpack straps. You can also purchase a mosquito net and sun shade accessories for outdoor use. I have started putting him down to nap in it to adjust to being in there. We have also been taking him on hiking and climbing adventures to help him adjust to spending large amounts of time outside.

I plan on purchasing an infant sleeping bag for sleeping at night. They exist. Check out rei or a local used outdoor gear shop if you have one. Its the only way i see possible to keep baby warm without unsafe sleeping circumstances.

I use disposable so I’m not sure about taking cloth outside but that seems like it would be a lot harder when you are already going to be dealing with a lot. I personally would switch to disposable for the trip as hauling back 2 day old poopy diapers sounds awful but that seems like a personal preference.
 
@ecclesiastian We camped starting at 8 months, no problem!!

Bring a blanket or mat for playing on. Portable boosters make for a great high chair / place to feed and contain for meals. (I have the fisher price one)

Sleep - no matter what we did my kids never slept great. Finally my oldest at 3 started sleeping well (we tent camp) - so bring looots of coffee. We just did thermarests for the kids, and a kids size sleeping bag (stuff the bottom with blankets to insulate any empty space and prevents them from sliding down). I’ve heard of snow suits too. I have a pea pod thing, but no one successfully slept in it. Best success was just co sleeping - I wore lots of layers and shoved a kid into my bag; you can also get double size bags that worked well for friends.
 
@ecclesiastian Did this with my 6mo. Used blankets ,
warm jammies, and footiees, feece jamies or wool pants . Yoga mats are nice . Or even a foam pad. I hea4d that the square foam pieces like the numbers or floor mats are a great pad too. Put them down, a blanket over then blankets of choice on top. Co sleep as usual, maybe set up the tent in the living room for a few nights to figure out whats comfortable. I feel its no different other than you have a cloth wall next and a bit above your head.misquito bracelt can be easily found at the dollar store, and can eev go on the waist :}, toys that can get dusty and dirty, if you guys have a blue swimming pool its a great throw all in spot! The fire is kept going morning and evening, so not a constant threat, though the pool would be a great containtment, or sibl8ng and unbusy spouse keep a eye on.
 
@ecclesiastian We got a pricey baby sleeping bag with arms from rei for our kid, and she slept on a one of those backpacking mattresses that's like a foam egg carton if you know the one? That was when she was 8 months to about 14 months.

Naps were really hard because of light so now that's she's a toddler, we got a pack n play for 30 bucks on fb marketplace and a bigger, darker tent. The walls of it mimick her crib plus she can't just unzip and leave hahah, which she'll do for naps if she can.

Cloth is fine while camping, just bring a few really good wet bags and do them right away when you get home. 😬

For safety, we did no fires while she was awake. And for the rest of it, she wasn't fast so she just crawled in the dirt and had a blast.
 
@ecclesiastian We had a collapsible kid activity chair. Kidco the same people who make the peapod someone else recommended makes them. It was great for sitting around the fire with a little one.
 
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