Camping with Baby?

[Bee]

I was wondering if some of the parents out there could share when they started camping with their children. We have a four month old and he does great outdoors so we are considering trying a car-camping venture sometime soon. Has anyone else done this? Is it too young? Too difficult w/baby gear? Just want to know that we aren't being "crazy".

Thanks!

 

[Grumpy]

Car camping with a four month old baby . . .

Q. Is it too young?

A. No.

Q. Too difficult w/baby gear?

A. No. But how difficult (or easy) really is up to you, your attitudes, etc.

Q. Just want to know that we aren't being "crazy".

A. You definitely are not being crazy. Have a blast camping with your child, and please share with us what you learn from the experience!

G.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Car camping with little kids wasn'T too bad. At least I don't have emmories of it being bad. It was a bit easier when they were very young. You could set them down and they would stay put. Once they start to crawl, you have to be more careful.

I didn't take kids backpacking until they were 4. Camp at Marcy Dam, and climb Phelps.

 

[crazymama]

Go for it...

I think we did take our son car camping on the beaches of Texas when he was about that age.

You just have to think it through...

Things to consider:
1. Baby needs to be safe and comfortable (where will baby sleep, temperature, bugs, cleanliness, food storage, etc.)
2. Babies are a lot of work whether at home or in the woods, and probably more so in the woods since you don't have the conveniences of home. You have to be willing to accept that.
3. Baby might not sleep well in an unusual environment like a tent.

I would suggest a short overnight "test trip" just to work out some of the kinks and see how baby likes it.

Thinking back, I can remember a few "problems":

--faithfully covering baby with sunscreen only to have him reach for the sand, instantly coating his hands with sand and immediately rubbing his eyes. Not good.

--having our 5 year old daughter practically eaten alive with black flies (bug spray didn't help, and actually I think you would want to avoid those toxic sprays on a young baby.)

A plus if baby is being breastfed---no food storage or preparation issues!

Have fun...let us know how it goes!

 

[Grumpy]

Non-DEET Bug Dope . . .

--having our 5 year old daughter practically eaten alive with black flies (bug spray didn't help, and actually I think you would want to avoid those toxic sprays on a young baby.)

Just recently Mrs. Grumpy found a product called Off! Botanicals, an insect repellant that contains no DEET. It goes on like skin lotion. We tested it on a recent 6-mile out-and-back flatland hike in swarms of mosquitoes.

I'm no fan of insect repellants loaded with DEET, and for years have just borne the misery of insect swarms without repellant. In our little test Mrs. G lathered up when we set out. I got thoroughly drilled and drained, she never got a bite as we walked.

Mrs. G is a very persuasive woman when she wishes to be, and at the turnaround point used her best sweet talk on me to sell the new bug dope: "Don't be a jerk," she cooed, "The stuff works and you don't always have to be such an (unkind anatomical reference deleted) about things like this."

So to keep peace in our little family I meekly gave in and slathered the stuff on arms, hands, legs, neck, ears, cheeks and forehead.

It worked fine. I managed the three miles back to the trailhead without a skeeter or deer fly ever landing on me. So I guess I recommend the Off! Botanicals potion as effective for skeeters and deer flies. Don't know about back flies, though, since we didn't run into any.

It might be a good alternative to DEET-loaded products for babies and young children, although you should check label warnings and other sources for advisories.

G.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Re: Go for it...

--having our 5 year old daughter practically eaten alive with black flies (bug spray didn't help, and actually I think you would want to avoid those toxic sprays on a young baby.)

Interesting. I never had bug problems with the kids. The bugs would always go for me and lleave the kids alone, so I never thought about it. I did bring 'natural' bug stuff for them, but I don't remember if they used it or not.

All goes to show... YMMV

 

[Rob S]

Regarding bug sprays

..... someone from VFTT posted a link a few months back to this site. Buzz-off claims to be as effective as DEET and safe for children, adults, and even animals. I haven't bought the stuff yet so I can't endorse it, but the original poster of the link swears by it.

 

[WalksWithBlackflies]

Go for it. Have fun.

Just two things to consider:

1. Campers near you may not be happy with a crying baby
2. Large predators (bears, coyotes, etc.) look at a small child differently than a full-size person... but I don't think your 4-month-old is going to stray too far.

 

[Jaytrek57]

It's ok as long as they are leashed!

I would add a "tick" check in with all the other great advice. Also, now that I think about it...be very aware of dehydration...been my experience that this issue happens quite a bit with the toddlers in the outdoors. Nothing to serious...just general crankiness (wait that could be me!)

Peace and enjoy!

 

[percious]

Car Camping is a great idea with your son. I went a few weeks ago with my 1 year old. We camped at Wildwood, and did two day trips. First trip was a 10 mile loop including Moosilauke. The second trip was Techumseh, out and back (5 miles). I have been hiking with Colden (my son) since he was 6 weeks old.

Recommendations:
A warm kid is a happy kid. Keeping them warm is harder then you expect. Mittens like to fall off... etc. Remember that they are just sitting there while you hike along, so they will need warmer clothing to stay warm. Balaclavas and wool socks work great. An adult size wool sock over mittens work especially good for all appendages (and looks funny ha ha).

Playpen in a 3+ man tent. The playpen takes up 2 men worth of space. Sleep out in the back yard before you try it out for real. Its alot easier to go inside if you determine you are over your head. Remember to insulate the bottom of the playpen as well as putting blankets over your child.

Do smaller dayhikes first. I hiked with my son for a year before we ventured out for car camping. The ultimate goal was to take him into JBL this summer, but I am forgoing that trip, due to the bears...

Above all. Have fun!! Children are amazing at picking up how you feel, and reacting to it. If you aren't having fun, change the pace, the plan or whatever to keep in the right frame of mind.

Good Luck
-percious

 

[KZKlimber]

Brings back memories....

About 17 years ago, my wife and her sister decided to plan a family camping outing. Our son was about 18 mos and our nephew was about 3 months. Just about everything that could have gone wrong did...

1) It was humid and in the 90's the entire time

2) There was thunderstorm almost every night which made it even more humid and distrupted what little sleep we were able to get

3) My son kept getting into the wild blueberries which made for the most vile diaper changes I've ever had to make. Talk about "blowouts"!

4) One night my son would not stop crying, so we put him in the car and drove for a few hours hoping it would put him to sleep - didn't work, but we did get a few hours of AC.

5) The wives left us with the kids for a while - my nephew cried the entire time.

6) The mosquitoes were horrid - my son was covered in bites.

7) I barbecued chicken on a Hibachi and gave my brother in law salmonella.

To this day we refer to that trip as "Death Acres" - It has been the source of many laughs over the years.

 

[peak_bgr]

We took our daughter camping for the first time when she was eight months old. As you, we needed all the baby gear. It was great, she loved it. We stayed at Lost Pond Lean-to; which is roughly 2 miles in. We actually took turns carrying her, there were four adults as well, that helped lighten the load. Don't think twice about it, just do it.

 

[Rick]

Hi Bee,

We have a 3-year old boy (his proper response is 3 and 3 quarters).
We started camping with him while he was about 8-months old (He was born in August and due to a job transfer, we couldn't get out til the following spring).

It is easier than all of the worst fears which you are probably thinking about.

He loved the mesh netting of the tent and seemed to enjoy just crawling in there, though the sleeping pads made it a little harder.
Once we had a problem where he cried for a while in the evening, but I don't think it really bothered other campers
Even though we had reserved a site, We had asked for the quietest and more remote area so that if he did cry a lot, few would be disturbed.
The hardest part was when he was awake and we were doing campchores, was having him somewhere where he could see us.
I found his 3-wheel jogging stroller with pillows was perfect (we never bought a traditional stroller). He could sit up and watch what we do while babbling & cooing to us.

While hiking the AT this spring, I ran into a couple with a 4 month old that were backpacking the AT. They started in Virginia and had 500 miles on them by the time I ran into them.
She carried the baby and he carried a 40-45 lb "ultralight" pack with all their gear.
What I did find intersting is that they didn't use diapers but instead used a couple of larger size quick dry backpacker towels folded over and pinned on. they absorbed the liquid and could be wrung out and when pooped on, could be cleared of solids, quickly cleaned (in a ziplock with soap) and hung to dry on the pack. I was very impressed.
Good luck. Our 3-year old loves to camp now and usually spends around 20-25 days per year now camping somewhere (trail, campground or yard).

 

[brianW]

I would suggest two things:

1. a big tent for "car camping" since weight shouldn't be a real concern.

2. go to a local campground a few times before going on any extended trips. This way you can iron out any unforseen problems close to home.

have fun.

 

[SherpaKroto]

We took our son car camping when he was 1 month old. We had the luxury of going in a trailer for the first trip. Highly recommended - it makes everything a lot easier, and the view is the same once you leave the trailer. As far as bugs are concerned, we had a bug net that covered the Aprica stroller/carriage, so it proved not to be a problem.

I hear you about "driving around for a few hours" wehn the child cries. We had to do that with our daughter Kayla many times when she was young.

It was great being able to sit by the fire while the kids slept. Very therapeutic!

 

[MrOysterhead]

My parents started me off at about that age and look how I turned out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

peace
Oysterhead

 

[percious]

A buddy of mine and my son (1 year old) are heading up to Killington VT (Gifford Woods) for the 17th. You are welcome to stop by or grab the site next to us, we are in #5.

-percious

 

[carole]

Oh, the memories!!

We had a VW pop-up camper before the first one was born. So you could say we started them young. I remember standing outside rocking it from side to side because she always went to sleep when we were driving.

My favorite photo is when the girls were a bit older and my son was the little one. He loved to get wet, roll in the sand, and come running for the girls lathered in sunlotion.

Just remember to have food and water when you do one of those little hikes. Somehow they are a lot longer then what you think.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Oh, the memories!!

Somehow they are a lot longer then what you think.

Oh yeah. You just brought back some memories.... When it took two hours to reach Marcy Dam from the loj.... and one of the kids who took those two hours recently made it to Indian Falls with an 80 pound pack, in a bit more than two hours. They do get faster as they get older.

This was him and his pack for the Indian falls hike

http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/jr_pack.jpg

Don't know if I have pictures from the trip to Marcy Dam... Have to look, but heading down to the loj area now... later.

When they were little, there were lots of M&M stops along the way. Also toad stops, flower stops, etc. Slow going.

 

[jbreen]

Definitely do the tick check.

Also, while breastfeeding is a convenience, any hiking done prior may change the taste of the milk due to lactic acid being released (that thigh burn you sometimes feel). If the baby does not feed, *everyone* will pay the consequences. If your baby will take formula from a bottle, that can be a plus.

Other than that, the usual sun warnings, insect repellent (e.g. grandmotherly advice) applies.

Enjoy,
Jim