Camping with an Infant.

It looks like you've already gotten lots of great suggestions, but I thought I'd still add my two cents. My daughter was a little older the first time I took her camping, she is used to sleeping in a crib, so i took her pack and play and I brought her momma bear for some familiar go to sleep noise.
I have a friend who is a much more experienced family camper than me. She also takes her pack and play for the baby. AND she took the jumper because her baby LOVES it and practically lives in it at home. And here's the big one.. on a recent trip she brought a sled for the baby. She has a bad back, so she put the sled on the picnic table for a changing and wash up station. Her little one was just sitting up and she said everyone loved having the baby sitting in the middle of the table in her sled while they all hung out.
I've also had friends set up tarp or a carpet reminant for outside play.
Do what you think will work best for you and keep key routines most normal for you baby and HAVE FUN!

Hi H.
Camping is the best. I have 7 kids and they have all been camping as infants. AS everyone said take the pack and play. You won't get much sleep if baby sleeps with you. We had a 4 room tent and it worked great. We bought a second hand exersaucer to take camping as well. Gave baby something else to do. No baby has lived until they have sat and ate camping dirt. It is a great right of passage. I say that so you can relax about the baby getting dirty. Have a great time. The memories will be awesome.
It is work with baby, but you two can tag team.
Stac

Also take a back/ front pack to carry her in and a large blanket can be laid on the ground for her to play on while you are nearby.

hi H.! we love camping and travelling, too, and we've NEVER been sorry we brought along our portable crib/play pen; it's great for sleeping, a clean place for baby to play, a safe place for baby to be whenever, etc. and if you guys don't have a tent yet, those 3 room numbers are niiiice :) although, a simple large and tall tent would work real well, too (we can't stand up in our 3 room and i wish we could) -
have fun and good luck!
p.s. hubby will be glad not to share a camping sleep bed w/baby in the end: air mattresses/sleep pads are hard enough to get comfy on w/just two people!!!!!

When we took my daughter camping when she was 5 months old it was actually really easy. She slept in the pack and play at night and then played inside it during the day in the shade. If you go to a lake or beach a blanket will do and bring a stroller for naps and for transporting all of her things.

We camped with my son starting when he was 5 weeks old. I recommend camping before they start to be too mobile. We just made a pad for him to sleep on in the tent and brought extra pillows/blankets. Or, you can have her sleep in her car seat.

We had both the car seat and a bouncy chair with us to put our son in during the day. Plus the sling. With others camping with us, we were able to pass him around quite a bit too.

I agree with everyone. Bring the pack n play, a stroller and blankets to put her on the ground. I camped with my first son when he was 1 mo. old, my 2nd son 5 mo. and now my newborn will be 1 mo. this July when we go again.

My kids stayed in the pack n play during the day, went for walks either at night or early mornign with the stroller and slept with me and my husband at night.

Hi H.,

My DH and I have been camping several times when our children were infants. We had a 6 person tent and just set up the pack and play with a blanket on the side so that they could not see us. We did not let them sleep in the carrier because it is not that comfortable all night. And, if they start to associate the carrier with sleeping they will be adverse to it when it comes to rides in the car. (My oldest had that problem because we did the infant carrier thing at three months and then she would not go into it without screaming her lungs out for even short rides in the car.

The pack and play was the way to go for us. However, we did attach a blanket to the open side and my husband rigged some pool noodles for the feet of the pack and play so that it did not rip the bottom of the tent. It worked out great and my kids would sleep the whole time in a familiar place.

My 2 cents.

D.

Get the large tent and Pack 'n Play...your daughter will not be little forever and then you will definitely need to contain her. I suggest buying one of those bouncy, vibrating seats with hanging toys for during the day so you won't have to have someone hold her every minute. This is what we did with ours for camping and it worked great.

When she was 2 our daughter transitioned to a little toddler size blow up bed with attached blanket and that is what she still uses. Eventually we will get her a self inflating camp pad and child size sleeping bag.

So what you need to do so that you all can have fun and enjoy your family camping experiences!

Hi H.,

We took our baby camping for the first time when he was six months and it was great. Not sure if you two camped 'pre-baby' but the one thing I'd recommend is that YOU (the parents) want to go and have a good setup that you're comfortable with. If you enjoy camping then your baby will too! Logistically, if you don't have all the gear and want to do sort of a trial to see if you'd like to do more in the future, you could rent stuff from REI instead of buying everything. As far as details, we used a sleep sac and a hat at night so baby would stay warm even if he kicked the covers off. (We were in Santa Cruz with cold and foggy weather.) He slept with us - we have a two person sleeping bag. You could setup the pack n play if you had room if you thought he'd stay warm enough (which you could also use outside during the day?). A baby carrier is great since it allows you to sit, stand and do things with baby on board. We used the stroller a lot for sitting while we weren't holding him and for naps. A good thing about camping with other families is that there are usually other people that want to hold the baby! :) We were camping with a lot of other families with older kids and everyone was impressed that we were starting so early but admitted that babies are so much easier to handle in some ways since they're not mobile yet etc. And technically camping should be relaxing and should give you lots of good, quality time to just hang with baby!

We took our son camping when he was about five months old. I had him sleep in the same tent as my husband and I, but then I also brought another tent that I put a foam mattress in (with a sheet of course) and used that durning the day for a play pen, I brought along his play pen but he had loved being able to play in the tent. I set it up in the shade, and of course he was only in there off and on, but i have adorable pictures of that camping trip, we had a camping chair set where two chairs were connected and there was a net basket in the middle (for books, sunscreen, etc) well my husband and I would set our son in there when we were all hanging out and relaxing and our son thought that was so awsome! It was great, kids love to camp, when they are little you may have to take more stuff but it is well worth it in the long run!

H., I agree with so many who have already spoken. Go Camping and bring the pack n play. We took our daughter camping for the first time when whe was 5 months old and we LOVED having our pack n play. It served so many functions for us. We used to even give her a bath in an empty rubbermaid tub that had been used for storage. Of course, I used Clorox wipes to clean it out and then rinced with boiling water first. She just loved it!!! I think our first camping trip we did bring too much "stuff" but we learned from it we were able to fine tune it as the years went on. I also learned not be stressed about the little stuff. If I'm stressed the baby is stressed. Just roll with the punches. My daughter is now 11yrs old and loves camping!!!

Good luck and have fun!!! M.

Hi!
We took our daughter camping for the weekend when she was two mos. old. She slept in her playpen, and she spent most of the time we were gone sleeping.She was no problem at all. It seems that when they are that young, and in the great outdoors they tend to sleep a lot. You probably won't have a problem with her. I think we put mosquito netting over, and all around the playpen, just to be sure the bugs didn't get to her. You probably wouln't have a problem at all with her. I was nursing her, so had no problems there.
Enjoy!
M. Neider

As the mother of 5 and a big camping enthusiast, first enjoy yourself. Our babies/toddlers and sometimes big kids have always slept with us but we don't use a crib at home. If your baby is used to sleeping in a crib at home then sleep them in a pack n play if they are used to sleeping with you then let them sleep with you. We usually do not take a pack n play but lay out a tarp with blankets/toys on it for the baby as a safe place to put them down during the day. It's also nice to have a rubbermaid container or large basin to bathe them in. Even if there are showers msot babies don't liek them, but we have taken the rubbermaid into the shower to bathe the kids. We mostly hold our babies but that is what we do at home as well. We take a good baby carrier our favorite is the ERGO and a sling for a newborn. Have a great time and don't stress.

Your instincts are right. Get the 3 room tent, but leave the room dividers off. Set up the pack n play and your own set up for your selves. Also, use a plastic bin to pack your dry goods and it doubles as a bath tub. The pack n play is the way to go. You will see how mich your baby loves camping!

I am a mom of four and avid camper. I however never took them camping until after one year of age. Just too difficult! You won't enjoy yourselves and will be consumed with baby care. Too cold at night and too noisy. For other campers too. It is hard enough at home when they are this young. I would wait and then we would always use pack n play and drive around at night to get to sleep then put down in tent. Get an infant carrier for day use and use the pack and play for a play pen. Good Luck.JC

Hi H.,
We do alot of camping, and when my kids were that little, we did go camping. I set the pack and play outside during the day for them to be outside and not eat dirt. and then in the tent I took a side sleeper bed and had them sleep next to us. During the day, I also took a carrier and kept them close to me. Hope this helps.

Hi H., I camped all Summer with my babies. We did bring a pack n play. They slept in it and we put them outside in it when we were all outside. We did hold them, they played inside the tent when it wasn't hot. We also had a babycarrier/ front or back pack. They spent time in that too. We also brought our excer-saucer. We only had that with the last one. She loved it!! She could turn around and look at everything. They did try to eat bugs and got dirty, but we had a good time!! Good luck and have fun!! Oh and don't feel bad about asking for help with the baby. She does not have to be your appendage the whole time!

Hi H.!

I used to put a huge tarp on the groung at our Tent's entrance. This would be eaiser to sweep clean to put a blanket down for the baby to lay outside. You can even add a shade canopy, too :O)

Other ideas that I have brought camping was a tree swing. Have your hubby screw those "eye-screws" into a tree and then you have another place to her.

Palmolive also has travel dish wipes where you can add a little bit of water and have a wash cloth full of dishsoap instantly. I loved that for bottles :o)

Clorox Wipes and baby wipees' will make you feel much better trying to control the dirt :O) After the first day or so, you will get more used to it.

Your baby will absolutely LOVE the air and all that nature has to offer!

Be patient! It's alot of work to camp, and even more so with kids. Just put your "camping hat on" and be ready to flex the rules and you will enjoy yourself. Have so much fun!

~N. :O)

I am camping right now with a 4 1/2 month old. We have used a backpacher (snugli) and a front pack. Also a stroller and yes holding. He has slept with us most nights just easier on us. (nursing) Good luck to you. We also had his bouncer chair and a jumpy we hooked up for jump time he LOVES that. Happy camping.

R.

Defintaley take the pak n play, you will want it even for the day to sit outside under a tree while she is napping so she can stretch out. Also she will sleep better in it, and it will keep her up off the ground and away from bugs. Take an infant carrier like a baby bijorn etc. to carry her around during the day, it will save your arms, keeping her in her infant car seat will be too hot for her. Also get a bouncy seat so she can sit up, slightly reclined, and look around. At babies r us or Target they are inexpensive. Also mosquito netting that you can put around the pak n play at night or during the day to keep the mosiquitos off of her. Get that at the same places as the carrier. When we camp we always take the netting so my girl doesn't get eaten alive sitting in her bouncy on the picnic table. good luck and have fun. Oh we took both our kids camping when they were 2 months.

the pack n play would be fine outside during the day, you could put a tarp under it. A sling would be great as well! But you'd want to get practice with it first if you don't already have one. A tarp on the ground with a playmat?

Bring the pack and play! It will prove invaluable. You can just drag it in and out of the tent as needed. Your daughter will stay a little cleaner (don't pack any cute little white outfits though ;). If yours has a changing table feature it will save your back as well. We have a pretty large tent, I think its a 2 room - sleeps 10 (it actually sleeps 2 - 4 comfortably) as well as a place to store your stuff, and a place for the pack and play. We placed the pack and play in one corner and were able to dress, etc. with out worrying about where to put my son. Usually the ground is uneven in most camp sites, so I felt better knowing my son was in a safe place while sleeping. The carrier will be great for hikes, but we even brought our sons stroller with us when we went. Great place for the baby to sit under the trees, eat (if on solids), etc. The more comfortable the baby, the better the camping trip :). Have fun!

I took my daughter camping when she was 2 months old. We just had her sleep on the ground with some blankets to keep her comfy, that way I didn't have to pick her up to nurse her at night. I just rolled over and that was that. The one thing that, to me, was a LIFE saver was this portable "travel" swing. It sat close to the ground and she really enjoyed it. I didn't have to hold her and yet she could see everyone instead of just looking up at the trees.
Have fun!

Dear H.,

I am a camping mom myself, and some of our best family times have been together in the woods. My children went with us as infants and the pack n play works great not only for sleeping, but outdoors while the grown-ups are sitting around, or cooking, etc. I know you didn't ask, but you don't really need separate "rooms" in a giant tent. Just buy a good-sized (4 person) regular tent and there will be plenty of room to open the pack n play inside along with a queen or king sized inflatable for you and your husband. Believe me, you can get loads of use out of the tent, even if you don't camp regularly. The kids will love it as a "fort" in the backyard when they get older. It's a good investment. Oh, and don't forget to take the backpack or Snugli or whatever to go hiking. It's a blast with babies. You can see nature through new eyes. BTW, my sons are now 19 and 16.

Regards,
L.

We just went camping with our 3 month old and he slept on the ground between me and my husband. I put him in the Ergo the rest of the time.

We have taken both my kids camping as infants. My son was 3 months old the first time he went and my daughter was 4 months old. It is the best time to take them because they don't run off and they don't get as dirty. We put them in a pack n play to sleep unless we were worried they were cold then we would bring them to bed with us. During the day we would use a front pack and carry them around or put them in the pack n play outside with a net over it so the bugs couldn't get them and let them play in that for a while. We also took our jogging stroller and used that to put the baby in while we were in camp or going on a walk. I hope that helps. Have fun camping it is a family tradition for us and the kids love it!

Good Morning H.: As the mother of 5 and a big family camper- long before pop up tents and tent trailers were just a new idea. I took many babies camping.
Believe me it is alot of work but the memories are worth it (several months later when you are looking at pictures). My son has taken his child since birth but they have a toy hauler. My son that has a 3 month old is going in one big tent and planning on the baby just sleeping either in carrier or in moundds of sleeping bags like we did with him.
If you are going to be gone long ( we went for weeks at a time) locate the laundry mat in town as you will need to wash clothes. Since town was an hour away for me I just had a wash system in camp and hung everything up too dry.
I have 30 years of camp memories and cheish all of them. So I am grateful that my children all camp as well withtheir children. As for the holding the baby-- what do you do now?? If you hold the baby alot then yes hold her. But you can take a baby swing, johnny jump up that your husband hangs somehow, we took a playpen or play yard so that the baby was safe. You will do just what you do everyday. My daughter in law had the baby out hikeing in a pack when the baby was only weeks old and she loves to be in the pack and go now. Be creative and open minded. You can have alot of fun. Nana G

Totally take the Pack N Play. It fits very comfortably in a 4-person tent with enough room for you and your husband to sleep. We did and were very thankful. She could take naps in there - and when she was more mobile was containable at the campground.

We go camping with our three children and have been putting the youngest in his pack and play crib. We all set up our sleeping bags in the tent and his crib. So he's now 2 1/2 and will not go anywhere without this crib - he is almost outgrowing it. :) But he feels so secure and happy to have it when we are staying outside the home. It really does make the tent cozy and I can be sure he is safe and secure...and happy/cozy. Good luck!

We've used both two- and three-room tents (either work fine), and our daughter slept in her pac-n-play. During the day, she played in the pac-n-play, was held, or cruised around in a cheap blow-up pool we brought (and filled with toys rather than water). The inflatable pool worked great to keep our crawler out of the dirt--we called it the kiddie corral! Make sure you turn it over at night so it's not full of dew in the morning. Don't forget a battery-operated night light, and we brought a battery-operated sound machine to help mask outside noise for her naps. Camping with babies is fun if you think ahead and bring plenty of clothes, and remember a hat and sunscreen!

J.

I tried camping with my kids when my youngest was a baby, and it put me off of camping for quite a while. Of course, I am a single parent, and most of the couples I was camping with were occupied with their own kids, so I wound up holding the baby the whole time, and was just too tired to do much else.

Then I tried camping again when the little one was a toddler, and that was just a disaster... he would disappear whenever I set him down, and there was a road on one side of the campsite, and a creek on the other. I had way too many close calls with the campfire. The mosquitos just loved him, and he hated having insect repellent put on him. The worst of it was that I brought pullups with me instead of diapers, but I forgot that although it's easy to just rip off a dirty pullup, you have to take off shoes and pants to get one ON, and it was such a chore to have to undress him, then dress him again several times a day... . I still haven't quite recovered from that trip, and the little one is twelve now. I have sworn not to go camping again, unless it is in a big RV!

I have 4 kids and have gone camping with all of them - including as babies. What worked for me was to have the baby sleep in their car seat, or next to me in the double sleeping bag - this worked just fine. During the day, I had a baby backpack and the baby just stayed in there most of the time - we would be hiking or playing at the beach - wherever we happened to be at the time. The only time this did not work was with canoeing or water rafting - in that case you should leave the baby with another adult who is not doing the activity. Or my husband and I would take turns doing different water activities with the other kids and the other person would get the baby. Good luck!

You do need to be able to put her in the psck n play during the daytime and if there is room in the tent then put her in it at night as well or just make her a little space by you guys. Dont forget bug guard.

hi H.! go camping! it will be great! your idea of the pack and play is good.(is that like a playpen?) we would take a playpen with us and the baby would sleep in it at night inside our tent and then we'd move it outside for the baby to be in during the day. it was great and my kids loved it!!! keep in mind that your baby will get a bit dirty but "dirt don't hurt"! go for it and have a wonderful time!!! V.