Camping with an infant?

[baffin]

@ecclesiastian We car camped at developed campgrounds (running water and pit or flush toilets) when baby was 6-9mo.

We used a pack-n-play and doubled up on fleece sleep onesie and fleece sleep sack. We brought a travel noise machine. Baby cried longer than usual to go to sleep, but slept through the night. Well, slept the usual amounts for that age.

We planned our overnight trips around projected overnight low temps. One night was colder than expected, and I laid awake all night while baby on my chest. There is a brand that makes (expensive) baby sleeping sleep sacks, Morrison, I think.

Summer Infant makes a great travel high chair that can also be used as a camp chair. Also, a great place to strap baby while you pack up the tent.

Edit: Wording

 

[viviangendernalik]

@ecclesiastian We have camped with a baby.
Sleeping - pack and play as most people have said. If you don’t have the pack and play bottom, the commentator who suggested the yoga mat was probably onto something.
Warmth - we live in Alaska, so warmth. So many layers, a onesie close to the skin with socks, long footie pajamas over it, fleece bunting layer above that, etc.
Diapers - An overnight trip? Cloth sure. More than that and I’m switching to disposable.

Have fun!

 

[gigi0202]

@ecclesiastian Pack and play suggestion:

https://www.guavafamily.com/product...n-gK7Fu6hUCLOx1-7Kwm4b9MYXiP9FgRoCBXQQAvD_BwE

The guava mattress sits on the floor, and has a zip open component at the floor. You can easily access baby when you go to sleep, and manage to cosleep and check on temp and stuff. We found one on the marketplace for a fraction of the price! Also has some nifty accessories that can make camping easier.

 

[jd4christ]

@ecclesiastian I think you have tons of good tips but I want to take an opportunity to plug the Cali beach co pop up playpen. We use ours constantly. Good source of shade and the mesh sides help with bugs. It’s super comfy and easy to put up and take down.

 

[sue94]

@ecclesiastian We would bring the bouncy seat and the walker for outside.

I never cloth diapered, but the disposables would be convenient.

If you bed share, could he/she not sleep with you in the tent? Honest question, no hate.

You could always ask to borrow a pack n play, or check yard sales or consignment shops.

 

[ecclesiastian]

@sue94 Yes he can sleep in the tent, but my sleeping mat doesn’t fit two people and he needs something to insulate from the ground. Most sleeping mats are quite squishy, thus a risk for suffocation if he can’t roll over reliably. I was wondering about semi-firm but packable surfaces that would work for this.

 

[dwc]

@ecclesiastian Could you just fold up like a quilt or a yoga mat or something?

 

[billfojesus]

@ecclesiastian Definitely scouring this thread for tips bc I so want to go camping with my 19 month old. My main concern is getting it dark enough to nap and what scares me is keeping him safe from a campfire.

When I was a kid I went camping w a family and the toddler got into the ash after the fire was put out. Of course it was still hot and we had to go to the ER for the burns on her hands. I’m terrified of something similar happening with us.

 

[petemar]

@billfojesus

When I was a kid I went camping w a family and the toddler got into the ash after the fire was put out. Of course it was still hot and we had to go to the ER for the burns on her hands. I’m terrified of something similar happening with us.

That'll be enough. You know the risks, you won't let your kid unsupervised near campfires. Trust yourself.

 

[443098/]

@ecclesiastian I tried camping with my daughter when she was about a year. It wasn’t successful, but that was due to a heat wave. It was too hot for her to sleep, so we sat in the air conditioning of the car until she conked out, absolutely exhausted, as soon as she cooled down. I packed up the car while she slept in the car seat.

Even though I wasn’t successful, here are some wins that I recommend:
* Bring a small kiddy pool. For us, it meant that elsewhere in the campground wasn’t as interesting, and it kept her cool during day.
* we have mateable sleeping bags, so the plan was to have her sleep in two of them zipped together with me while my husband had his own bag. We did a test run on the living room floor a couple times to make it more familiar. At the campground, we were lying on top of the bags sweating because it was so hot.
* have a box of activities to pull from when they start getting bored, and only pull out one at a time. Don’t let them see what else is in there.

Good luck!