Camping with a baby

[morjaluzi]

Planning on camping no. MN, then southern Ontario in mid-september with a 10 month old baby. (We are planning for a 3 weeks vacation - staying with a friend for a week in Newyork, the rest is camping -) Overnight lows expected in the 40's, possible upper 30's. What to do?  What do you think about an electric blanket for the cold nights? I feel nervous about EVERYTHING (sleeping, eating, driving in the car for hours, cold/cool weather, etc.)I think it is imperative to use the pack-n-play for her to sleep in, because she is accustomed to a crib and needs to be confined. Any suggestions, experiences, hints, tips would be appreciated for the camping as well as driving long distances as well. Thank you.

[anniedooday]

That is the cutest travel bed ever!!!

[Aunty Vi]

Can't help with some of the questions (e.g. long-distance driving), but we took our LO camping recently at about 7 1/2 months I think, and he loved it - it was warm weather luckily but it really seemed to agree with him.  He loved watching all the campsite activity - so a busy site with kids, dogs etc. running round may be better than a quiet one with no activity!  Some other tips - we found a small collapsible highchair very useful, it helped with feeding him (less mess all round) and also gave him somewhere safe to sit and watch all the goings-on, both inside and outside the tent.  We used his travel cot so he would feel at home, and he slept through till 7 both mornings.  Our tent has a divider so he could not see us if he woke which probably helped, if he woke and saw us he would not have gone back to sleep!  I could still peek round the side to check on him though which was handy.  We took mostly jars of food for him for convenience, and cold-water sterilising liquid. Also found the babycarrier (backpack thing) very useful, not only for walks but also as a safe place to put him and carry him round while doing things like packing up our gear as again it meant he had a good view of everything going on but was out of trouble.  Also try to get a tent with enough space to sit/play in if it rains, as well as storing all the gear!
If it's cold I would NOT use an electric blanket personally, not convinced this would be safe for a baby - I think the previous poster was right to say just layer up, first with clothes, then baby sleeping bags (if you use them) and then blankets if needed; maybe a warm hat if it's really cold, and maybe some gloves if her hands are likely to be sticking out, possibly bootees too if it's very cold, I always get cold feet if we camp in chilly weather. 
That's about all I can tell you as we still have only done one short camping trip ourselves, but I hope it is some use!

[morjaluzi]

I am feeling relaxed after I read your message. You encouraged me. Thanks a lot for the very helpful advices.

[Emma-Rose's mom]

I went tent-camping with a 5 month old, and it was very, very cold at night. Some nights it was down in the 30s. We layered, layered, layered, especially since it was never that cold when it was bedtime but got progressively colder as the night went on.

You can use a blanket as a sheet for the pack-n-play for some insulation. Works better than just a regular sheet.

For clothes, 1st she had on onesies, socks, of course.
Then, we added on long sleeve footsie.
Then we added long-sleeve sleep blanket.
Then added sleeveless sleep blanket.
Several socks on hands to act as gloves
Definitely need a cap or two to keep the head warm.
And if that was not enough, we swaddled her with a blanket.

The trick was to add layers when you needed to feed. I always added several layers at df.
Then added another layer around 2 AM or so. She didn't need to feed, but since we were camping and had to keep her quiet, I fed her (definitely was AP) but, it easy to break her of her habit once the trip was over.

Some nights if it was REALLY cold, I did take her layers off and I let her sleep in my sleeping bag. She slept, even if I didn't. So this is not recommended, but was good for last resort for those super exceptional freezing nights.

Have a GREAT time. 
Mika

[morjaluzi]

Layers, layers, layers... I am going to keep it my mind. Thanks a lot Mika 

[Emma-Rose's mom]

Oh, for driving long distances...

Feeding in the car helped. Are you bfing? I found that if I pumped in the car and gave bottle, and gave solids while we were on the drive (I sat in the back seat with the carseat), then that was one less stop we had to make. I just fed Emma while she was in her carseat. Eating in the car kept her occupied, since she would have been sitting down anyway even if we stopped.

And, the drive was impossible if one of us wasn't in the back seat with DD entertaining her. Otherwise, she would cry and scream.

Definitely NOT RECOMMENDED, but.....sometimes, I loosened the straps to the carseat so DD could lean forward and sit more upright in her carseat and play. She was still strapped in, but still probably a safety hazard. We, however, were driving 12 or more hours on some days, and we had to do SOMETHING. I felt okay about it only because I was sitting right next to her, and I would tighten her straps again once she had settled down enough.

Of course, take advantage of 2 hour naps to drive...

Always take your lo out everytime you stop for gas. Those mini-breaks help, even if it's only 5 minutes.

But, even with all of that, you will be stopping a lot and taking breaks. There isn't anything you can do to avoid that. I can tell you that DD got used to the long drives, and was doing better and better every day. The 1st few days were hard, (had to stop every 2 hours) then she started to settle into the long distances after we started to do all that I've already suggested, and by the end of the trip, she could go 6 hours at a time w/o needing to stop.

Good luck!
Mika