midjd
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Post by midjd on Jan 23, 2014 17:51:56 GMT -5
A spinoff of the 12 kids and college thread...
DH and I go tent camping twice a year with a group of 5-6 other couples. We skipped the fall trip last year because I was 7 months pregnant and DH had just had surgery, but we're scheduled to go again in July - DD will be about 8 months old. A few of the other couples bring their kids, but they are in the 6-8yo range.
I figure there are 3 options - bring DD, leave her with ILs for the weekend (MIL has begged for an overnight since DD was born) or convince ILs to bring their camper down to the lake and have them keep her at night.
I'd like her to come with us, but I'm worried about the lack of a/c (although, we didn't have a/c til I was 13 and survived somehow, lol). Anyone go camping with very young kids? Any tips? Or should we just make this an adults-only weekend?
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 18:05:49 GMT -5
Make sure you have a pack n play and some netting if you decide to bring her. I prefer adult-only camping, myself.
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gooddecisions
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Post by gooddecisions on Jan 23, 2014 18:11:18 GMT -5
If it's only a weekend, you'll be fine either way. Neither option sound good for a whole week. So, do what will make you happy.
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Formerly SK
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Post by Formerly SK on Jan 23, 2014 18:16:57 GMT -5
I wouldn't do it. At that age a baby wants to crawl everywhere and put everything in it's mouth. Your DD will want to follow the other kids around and won't like being contained in a pack n play or on your lap. Also, you never know what kind of sleep stage your DD will be in by then and you certainly don't want DD screaming in the night in your tent (or camper). Even if she sleeps well now, kids temporarily regress all the time (especially during teething, etc).
I've camped with people with babies and it's horrible. They never really got to relax. DH and I love camping and we didn't take our kids camping and we didn't take them camping until they were 3ish years old. It just wasn't worth the hassle to us. YMMV
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Spellbound454
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Post by Spellbound454 on Jan 23, 2014 18:18:52 GMT -5
Yes we put the baby in a travel cot. She could use it as a playpen too. Used to take the kids all the time when they were a bit older...they loved all sleeping in the same place and having family time.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Jan 23, 2014 18:26:14 GMT -5
We did a camping trip with DD and DS last fall when DD was 8 months old. It was fine, but we had help. We have a cheap pop-up camper. Sleep kind of stunk the first night. It was actually cold. We have a now recalled PeaPod for DD to sleep in. But that first night she ended up sleeping between us. The second night, DS was having nightmares because he was so tired, so we divided and conquered and one of slept with her and the other with him (and we actually switched in the MOTN). The biggest problem was that we were formula feeding and we typically fed at room temp. Well, it got down in the 50s at night and the water was cold and DD wanted nothing to do with it. She also didn't nap that one day. But we put her in the carrier and took her everywhere. The friends were with had a boat and we took both kids out on it. We went fishing. Just had a blast. I was thrilled. If it had been DS at that age, I couldn't have done it. I didn't have the confidence in myself that I could manage. But DD, even the lack of sleep wasn't bad. We just rolled with it and had so much fun that we are taking the kids on 10 day vacation/camping trip to Florida in May.
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jeep108
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Post by jeep108 on Jan 23, 2014 18:26:28 GMT -5
We took my daughter at 6 months she stayed in the play pen. We also had a concrete pad so she could ride around in her walker as well, this was 16 yrs ago. Do they even have walkers anymore? My daughter was fine as long she was around everyone else.
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Jan 23, 2014 18:37:37 GMT -5
Do you want to bring the baby, or are you feeling like a little time away? I haven't decided yet
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 18:45:34 GMT -5
Mid, I haven't. I'm totally fine with camping but I'm not a fan of communal bathrooms. One of my best friends is from NZ and they have ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, camped with their two kids, from the time they were infants. (They are now both in their early 20s, and both grad students. So the kids survived LOL.) Both kids were both born in fall / winter so they were 6+ months old when the camping trips started, and both still breastfed. To my NZ born beach / sailing friend, a summer without camping wasn't a summer. Unless Gd forbid Baby Hannah has health issues, by next spring or summer, she should be fine with a short camping trip (my friends went for 3 or 4 weeks at a time, pretty much my idea of hell LOL). If camping is important to you, I'd go for it. But if you can get a weekend off, I'd do that LOL! Your lovely Baby Hannah will be fine either way!
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midjd
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Post by midjd on Jan 23, 2014 19:20:46 GMT -5
Three or four weeks?!? A weekend is about my limit, even with a climate-controlled camper We went camping when I was a kid, but my brother and sister are 7 years younger than me and I think we took a hiatus til they were about 3. Those were some great trips though. If she is sleeping thru the night by then (please God) I think it would be fun to bring her, otherwise probably more disruptive than anything else.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jan 23, 2014 19:25:39 GMT -5
I don't know. I would tentatively schedule getting help from your ILs..
We tried a couple of times when our older kids were 2 and under. It didn't work so well, and we ended up coming home.
I wouldn't take this LO camping. But, mostly out of the courtesy for others. Normal people like getting 5-7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. We figured other campers weren't keen on a child waking up and crying a few times a night. And, while I'm not particularly high maintenance, I didn't want to try to get her back asleep without some creature comforts (entertainment for me) and something other than a $20 camping chair to rock her in.
Some of my kids were OK with being in a play pen all day. The one who was mobile at 4 months and doing steps by 7 months wasn't happy being contained all day long...
We did, however buy a backpack at REI to tote the kids in. We did take them hiking etc. And that has been one of our best gear purchases.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 23, 2014 19:42:47 GMT -5
I am not camping PERIOD unless it involves a fully stocked RV.... and even then I probably wouldn't do it.
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teen persuasion
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Post by teen persuasion on Jan 23, 2014 19:48:12 GMT -5
We camped a lot when the kids were young and it was always a blast. We've always used a tent only; actually we've gone to more than one tent for the last few times - the kids liked the idea of their own tent, and we didn't object! I can remember BFing more than one kid in the evenings around the campfire. Our biggest challenge was sunburn for the little ones, being outside all day. We haven't been camping in a few years, now that the kids are older. Sports and school schedules are a bigger issue later, so enjoy camping while the kids are younger.
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Happy prose
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Post by Happy prose on Jan 23, 2014 19:50:53 GMT -5
I was too nervous when my daughter was a baby. How far would you be from her doctor?
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Gardening Grandma
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Post by Gardening Grandma on Jan 23, 2014 19:57:25 GMT -5
I've done it. If you are going to camp with babies/toddlers, I would start while they are infants. It is certainly easier if they are sound sleepers. The first time I took my oldest camping he was about 18 months. He was terrified of the pitch black when we turned off the lamps. When I had the younger one, we took him camping starting at about 6 months. He was a sound sleeper and was fine. He still likes camping in the rough (in his mid 40's) Part of the equation is - how well does the baby sleep? If they are fussy and/or colicky it's going to be difficult for everyone. But if they are easy sleepers go for it.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jan 23, 2014 20:14:10 GMT -5
::shudder:: for the record in my world "camping" means spending a couple days out in the woods with no electricity or running water getting so drunk/impaired you don't remember any of it but maybe have some painful body parts from some stupid something you did while impaired. I've never gone camping but have witnessed the horrors.
I'm not sure what 'normal' people do while camping... but if I was trying to decide to take the baby (6 -8 year olds can pretty much take care of themselves while their parents are impaired - mostly because they are probably already pretty good at taking care of themselves) anyway, I'd probably think about the things that one normally does while camping and if the baby (or kids) will impact your ability to do those things.
Sure would suck to be the only non-impaired person in the crowd. Or might suck to be the person who has to stay behind because you can't take the baby and do X.
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lynnerself
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Post by lynnerself on Jan 24, 2014 0:05:42 GMT -5
I think 8 months is a perfect age to spend a weekend with grandma and you to get a weekend without worrying about what the baby will get into.
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Jan 24, 2014 1:54:05 GMT -5
A spinoff of the 12 kids and college thread... DH and I go tent camping twice a year with a group of 5-6 other couples. We skipped the fall trip last year because I was 7 months pregnant and DH had just had surgery, but we're scheduled to go again in July - DD will be about 8 months old. A few of the other couples bring their kids, but they are in the 6-8yo range. I figure there are 3 options - bring DD, leave her with ILs for the weekend (MIL has begged for an overnight since DD was born) or convince ILs to bring their camper down to the lake and have them keep her at night. I'd like her to come with us, but I'm worried about the lack of a/c (although, we didn't have a/c til I was 13 and survived somehow, lol). Anyone go camping with very young kids? Any tips? Or should we just make this an adults-only weekend? You are such a whimp. To answer your question - *I* wouldn't take an infant. I just don't see the point. And of course, I am lazy and just thinking about packing all the crap things that baby needs would make me tired. And I've never been "OMG I can't be away from my baby for 5 min" kind of mom, so that wouldn't be a problem for me either. You should really ask HoneyBBQ, though, I think she was doing all kinds of crazy nature travels with her young daughter. Some people are brave like that.
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skubikky
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Post by skubikky on Jan 24, 2014 7:16:47 GMT -5
I figure there are 3 options - bring DD, leave her with ILs for the weekend (MIL has begged for an overnight since DD was born) or convince ILs to bring their camper down to the lake and have them keep her at night. I'd like her to come with us, but I'm worried about the lack of a/c (although, we didn't have a/c til I was 13 and survived somehow, lol). Anyone go camping with very young kids? Any tips? Or should we just make this an adults-only weekend? 1. How about you use the camper instead of a tent? Bring her pack n play and you're good. 2. Or just do the tent and put the pack n play in it. Sounds like a family outing as your friends will be there with their kids why leave her out? She'll probably love seeing and interacting with the other kids. 3. Babies don't "need" ac. 4. Most of doing stuff with babies or kids is about attitude. If you think that it's gonna be a big deal then it becomes one. If you just get on with it and bring her along, it'll be fine.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 24, 2014 8:17:36 GMT -5
my advice - rent a condo :-)
camping as a fully functional adult sounds like hell on earth....add in a crawling kid and there is not enough alcohol in the world. My ex and I used to go up to his parent's campsite and stay in the cabin on the property (with his siblings and kids) and that was tolerable (although every single time it rained) but I am not a camping person.
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raeoflyte
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Post by raeoflyte on Jan 24, 2014 9:01:21 GMT -5
Assuming camping site is cheap, I'd reserve a spot now but wait to decide if you're going until closer to the trip. Decide how dd is sleeping, exploring and how you're feeling. I love camping, but it was too much work for me to think about until ds was 2.
If you go, make it easy and have a quick escape plan.if it doesn't work out.
Depending on drive time you might drive up to hang out with everyone for a day and still come home to your own bed.
Sent from my ADR6410LVW using proboards
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cael
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Post by cael on Jan 24, 2014 9:14:08 GMT -5
Can't give any experience of tent camping with babies/small children, but my parents were huge campers and took us for the first time when I was 4 and brother was 2ish. He whined and cried and didn't sleep in the tent, ended up sleeping in his car seat in the car with my dad slumped over the wheel, lol. Otherwise we enjoyed it and camped every year from there out (it got easier obviously!). It probably sucked for my parents though, esp my dad and his poor back! Unless I have a popup or something I'd probably wait on tent camping with my kids until they were 3-4. Oh also - if she cries and doesn't sleep, you can hear everything right through tents so she'd keep everyone else up, then you'd put her in the car, and someone would end up slumped over the wheel to sleep like my poor father.
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muttleynfelix
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Post by muttleynfelix on Jan 24, 2014 10:08:22 GMT -5
Mid - My experience is that you are not going to know how you feel about it until much closer to the time. I would not leave either kid at 8 months with others because DS was still up twice a night and DD had MAJOR separation anxiety (and was still up between once and twice a night). It came down to how confident I felt taking the kids out and at 8 months with DS, my confidence was absolutely shot. That said - don't do what DH and I did and not do anything you love for like 4 to 5 years. We hadn't been fishing or camping from the time I got pregnant with DS until DD was 8 months old. When we got DH his fishing license on our anniversary trip the lady saw his old license date and ask "where have you been" and we responded having kids. It really felt like from 2009 until last fall we just put our lives on hold. It happens with little kids, but don't do it indefinitely. When we finally got back to doing the things we really like to do, it was like a weight lifted from our shoulders.
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milee
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Post by milee on Jan 24, 2014 10:22:39 GMT -5
A spinoff of the 12 kids and college thread... DH and I go tent camping twice a year with a group of 5-6 other couples. We skipped the fall trip last year because I was 7 months pregnant and DH had just had surgery, but we're scheduled to go again in July - DD will be about 8 months old. A few of the other couples bring their kids, but they are in the 6-8yo range. I figure there are 3 options - bring DD, leave her with ILs for the weekend (MIL has begged for an overnight since DD was born) or convince ILs to bring their camper down to the lake and have them keep her at night. I'd like her to come with us, but I'm worried about the lack of a/c (although, we didn't have a/c til I was 13 and survived somehow, lol). Anyone go camping with very young kids? Any tips? Or should we just make this an adults-only weekend? Your fun is going to be highly dependent on both what your baby is like at that time and what the primary activities of the camping trip are.
For example, I'm not a huge fan of camping, but some friends just convinced me to go this last weekend and it was so much fun I can't wait to go again. I didn't even own a tent before now, so that will tell you how converted I am. But it wasn't rustic camping - it was nice, old Florida shaded sites on the water that had a little privacy and electric/water plus clean bathhouses. There were 5-6 families we knew with kids all in the same age range (5-13) and the kids were able to explore and enjoy themselves freely while the adults joined in, hiked, (could have swam if it was warmer), sat around, visited or even napped. It was super fun for kids, adults, everybody. More like a big slumber party than a "roughing" it thing. If your baby is low key then you'd probably have a great time on a trip like that.
But if your baby is a little higher maintenance, then you might have a miserable time since you won't be able to join in a lot of the fun, plus hot babies can be even fussier. If she's going through a stage where she needs to touch everything and put it in her mouth, that's also going to be a challenge while camping.l Also, if your baby gets really worked up and cries a lot at night, you'll be very unpopular around the campground. It will probably be a few more months before you have a good feel for this.
If you don't mind leaving her at the ILs, sounds like a safe, easy option. Might be a welcome break for you, too.
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Wisconsin Beth
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Post by Wisconsin Beth on Jan 24, 2014 10:25:50 GMT -5
We've tent camped, stayed in my parents (perm. parked 40+ year old) RV in Door Co. and done popup camping. In general, tent camping and popup camping with the kids sucked. Door Co. has has some good trips and some bad trips. So you may have a rocking awesome time and it may suck. Most likely, it's going to be somewhere in the middle.
The group we camp with is also 5-6 couples and the kid range is 5-10 years older than my kids. Some of them camped when the kids were babies and DH and I were DINKs. We were never bothered by the other kids and babies.
For what it's worth, we've never actually made it then entire stay of the group camping trips. We always book for 3 nights and end up leaving after 2. Last summer was more because DH and I wanted to be in our own bed as our air mattresses just didn't cut it. The kids were doing ok.
And I've more than once packed up a kid in the middle of the night into a car seat and driven until the kid fell asleep. Then sat/slept in the car because there was no way in hell I was risking him/her waking up and starting to cry again.
So again, this may be the start of an awesome tradition with your kids or a PITA that you'll never forget. Most likely, it will be in the middle.
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8 Bit WWBG
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Post by 8 Bit WWBG on Jan 24, 2014 10:49:59 GMT -5
For a weekend, I say give the in-laws their request. Camping already requires enough packing, without having to bring a weekend worth of baby supplies.
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alabamagal
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Post by alabamagal on Jan 24, 2014 11:20:33 GMT -5
I think you would be fine with the kid camping. But if IL's are REQUESTING an overnight stay I would go with that option. Gives you time away from baby and ILs time to bond with grandparents.
We did not go camping, but never let having small kids stop us from doing anything.
But we also sent them (as a group when youngest was 2) to the ILs in Florida for at least a week in the summer and spring break when they were in schoool.
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sarcasticgirl
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Post by sarcasticgirl on Jan 24, 2014 12:31:57 GMT -5
I think it is too risky. your DD may be sleeping through the night then, but changing her environment so drastically could change that. what if she's fussy and not sleeping well? Other campers wouldn't be pleased.
but then again, I don't camp and I don't procreate, so what do i know?!?
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Phoenix84
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Post by Phoenix84 on Jan 24, 2014 12:36:01 GMT -5
Personally, I would have thought you'd enjoy a weekend without the baby, but that's up to you. I guess what I'd do is see if the in laws can bring their camper down, and if they can do that. If not, leave her with them.
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zibazinski
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Post by zibazinski on Jan 24, 2014 12:48:01 GMT -5
I'd rather pick fly poop out of pepper than camp and having children/babies would only add to my work. Give me a nice condo with clean facilities for sleeping and changing, please.
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