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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To take baby to a music festival with camping?

94 replies

sunnysunchild · 21/03/2012 16:53

Just throwing this out there...

My friends have planned a summer boozy weekend in july at the Rewind festival (cheesy 80s music). I was all enthusiastic about it without thinking it through, and they got me a ticket. My baby will be about 7m old by then. Problem is I don't want to leave her at home with daddy. Shes exclusively Breast fed, and has had no bottles or formula at all. I havent even expressed yet. I can't imagine leaving her and pumping all weekend, and to be honest I dont want to either. Ib don't want to introduce bottles just for one weekend, So iabu to take her with me? We'd have our own tent, so i wouldnt disturb my plastered friends. Is this feasable? All I can hear is my mum's voice in my head telling me what a bad mum I am for considering taking her!
What do you think?

OP posts:

queenrollo · 23/03/2012 18:06

I've been taking DS to festivals since he was 2 and he's 6 now. I'd always encourage people to take their kids to festivals because it's a great experience to share as a family.

I wouldn't however encourage you to take your 7 month old to this festival and i'll tell you why.
You will be the only one in your group with a child, and that will make it hard work. You have the choice of camping on your own in the family field (which i doubt you would want to do) or camping with your friends in the general camping.
By mis-fortune and bad management we ended up in a vehicle camping field at one festival that was mixed with families and general punters. I was kept awake all night by my 'neighbours' partying hard, and then they got stroppy with me when my 4 year old woke them up at 9am
It is the only bad experience i've had with taking DS to a festival, and it was so bad that we ended up going home a day early.

We have one festival per summer where we don't take DS so we can camp in general camping with our mates and have a wreckless weekend.
All the other festivals we attend is with a group of other families so we can camp together, share the load with the children and the adults take it in turns to do babysitting/late night out.

Realisitically I don't think you will have a good time with your baby at this festival.

BertieBotts · 23/03/2012 18:09

I so wish I'd done this when DS was younger! He's 3 now and would probably be bored. A baby won't care as long as they're with you. Go! It will be great!

I also second whoever said invest in a DECENT sling - not one of those huge framed backpacks, or a baby bjorn/tomy/mothercare type carrier, go onto the sling boards and read some threads and get a feel for the different types.

BertieBotts · 23/03/2012 18:10

Ah although queenrollo has a good point - I missed that you were planning to go with friends.

Would going with DH be an option? Or perhaps even meeting up with some other MNers, and then meeting your friends in the daytime?

webwiz · 23/03/2012 18:16

Rewind isn't a particularly family festival as its very small and last year it rained and rained and rained for hours on the Saturday which was a bit grim. I had to wear a Cagoule over my Madonna outfit.

RitaMorgan · 23/03/2012 18:22

I took ds to a pretty not-family-friendly festival last year when he was 12 months and it was great. Ear defenders, all in one waterproofs, and a decent sling. We also took a bike trailer which was great for carting our stuff to the campsite, and meant we could put ds in it to sleep in the evenings/night so we could stay out late.

No problem camping either.

moosemama · 23/03/2012 18:22

Aribura

I personally don't think I'm cool taking my baby to a festival at all. I don't particularly think about or care what other think. We go because we enjoy it and as her parents its our decision to make, as are all our other parenting choices/decisions.

She has ear defenders on the whole time the music is playing and actually really likes wearing them to the extent she often puts them on at home.

We don't go down to the front of the crowd, we enjoy the music from the outer fringes, where we are not in anyone's way and there is absolutely no problem having dd there. In fact we are often one of a number of families with pinic blankets and chairs set up right at the back out of everyone's way. In the evening, as I have already said, we park dd at the back of the music tent we are in, along with lots of other parents and dh and I take turns to dance or stay with her while she sleeps.

None of our friends bring their own dcs with them, but then none of them smoke (anything) or drink excessively and they all take delight in her enjoyment of the festival. We don't expect them to stay with us, they go down the front and get stuck into the dancing and move from tent to tent or stage to stage more than we do - but they also choose to meet up at our camper regularly for meals and some time to chill out and enjoy the atmosphere.

The good points are that my dd gets to enjoy a weekend spending lots of time outdoors with her parents, listening and dancing to music - which she loves - and spending time with much loved friends, as well as enjoying all the childrens' activities that are on offer.

HotBurrito1 · 23/03/2012 18:31

Took DS2 to a festival at 6 months, it went fine. Take several sun hats, suncream(outside all day and very hard to find shade) good sling, big raincoat to fit round sling and lots of clothes for the baby. Should be fun.

ifancyashandy · 23/03/2012 18:40

I agree with some of the other posters about the choice of festival - try one of the family friendly ones like WOMAD, the Big Chill, Latitude, Winterwell etc.

MissBetsyTrotwood · 23/03/2012 19:34

I've nothing against (some) festivals and taking children. There are some lovely, family friendly festivals and with planning, forethought and appropriate expectations of your festival 'experience' it's perfectly easy to do them in a way that suits everyone.

Personally, my DSs would have been difficult to take to a festival at 7mo as once they had crawling mastered they clamoured to do it ALL the time. If it's muddy, and at festivals it's next level mud, it can be nightmarish. We did a wet Bestival one year with a nearly 4yo and a 2yo and it was hard work. We stayed off site though, which was great.

Aribura you can buy ear defenders for children, sported most famously by the Coldplay children at Live 8 (was it that?) that are industry standard effective.

And FWIW, all the families we've ever met at festivals take their children because they know they will have a great time. Or, in our case, because DH is performing; I want my children to watch and feel proud of their daddy and his friends making an entire, massive field of thousands of people dance and enjoy themselves. It's only at festivals that it's at a time of day that is appropriate for them.

MadameChinLegs · 23/03/2012 19:39

where is OP?

Aribura · 23/03/2012 19:47

lol@post implying I'd be no fun at a festival, I'm hedging my bets I'd be a damn sight more fun than a woman walking round with a sobbing baby, miles away from the action trying to avoid getting knocked into.

HandMini · 23/03/2012 19:55

I'm with the nay-sayers. Festivals are for relaxing, having a cider or two and drifting as the mood takes you from band to band. I wouldn't be able to do any of that if also concerned about how/when baby was going to sleep/feed/do whatever. But there you go, I'm a stress head who lives by routine now I have a baby.

I don't think there's anything inherently dangerous, wrong or evil in taking your baby to a festival, but if I did it, I'd want the back up of my other half being there and/or good friends who might agree to go easy on the ciders just to keep you company/give you a hand. I do think the camping / sleeping thing sounds like it could be a shocker and I'd be doing B&B plus day ticket.

DialsMavis · 23/03/2012 20:09

Pooh Betsy, are you going to spill about who your DH is then?

darlingdds2 · 23/03/2012 20:09

We have been to festivals with all our 3, with no problem. We've been going since my 2 girls were 3 and 7 months. Last year when I had my little boy, he came along too. He was 3 and a half months. My eldest daughter had her 3 birthday the first year we went with them. We go in a campervan which we like for sleeping. Only point I would say is make sure your baby is warm enough at night as it's often lovely in the day but very cold at night. We use baby sleeping bags and but the baby on our pullout bed in a carrycot, next to me so I can be right next to them and feed as necessary, check they are warm enough etc.
I use ear defenders for all 3, although they don't always want to wear them. The eldest is now 8 so isn't so keen on them. They look forward to going each year and ask when we are getting tickets.
I hope you have a lovely time if you are going.

DialsMavis · 23/03/2012 20:10

Agggghhhh bloody sausage fingers and i phone typo, that should have said ooh not pooh obviously

MerylStrop · 23/03/2012 20:13

I've taken all three of mine to festivals (Big Chill, Green Man etc) as tiny babies (youngest was 4 months), and it was great.

BUT - wouldn't have done it without DH

and second BUT - these were mellow family friendly festivals. I think you would have to be plastered to enjoy half of that line-up, and you and your childless mates will end up on different timeframes, and it won't be fun.

Can you all take a B&B nearby and just go for the day?

MissBetsyTrotwood · 23/03/2012 20:20

Ha ha - nope! And you can say pooh to me anytime. It's not as though no one else does!

I guess I just brought us up as an example; there are a lot of people with families who work in these environments too. DH and I have friends who work as crew and in festival management as well as performing and the kids just hang around together and get to see their parents at work. If you have an OH who is on tour a lot and away from home you leap at the chance to do something together.

MissBetsyTrotwood · 23/03/2012 20:21

YY to not doing it alone and a BIG YY to the Green Man. Now that's a super festival.

Stangirl · 23/03/2012 22:03

Took DD to Glastonbury when she was 4 months - we all had a great time. Do it.

Original poster

sunnysunchild · 23/03/2012 22:16

Really no need to pull faces Madamchinlegs Im still here.
Ime just pretty flummoxed as to what I should do. A mixed bag of opinion.
I think im being bit naive, thinking it could be easy to bring her on my own. I think Il probably procrastinate on making a decision until close to the festival itself. I think the camping might not be such ad good idea.

Does a weekend camping ticket usually let you off site? Maybe i could just use it like 2 day tickets and go home at night?

OP posts:

RosieBooBoo · 24/03/2012 00:06

I imagine it wouldnt be a problem but the festival i go to only allows you to re-enter the festival through the campers entrance which is miles from the main drop off point and general entrance, its nick-named the walk of death here so i would get that checked out :)

Mia4 · 24/03/2012 00:17

I think it's totally up to you but only if your friends are completely on board with it, since they got you the ticket it's only fair. They may well be but you really don't want them uncomfortable or put out when they invited and got you the entrance in the first place.

mimimomma · 24/03/2012 07:49

A tricky one, and it depends upon how badly you want to go to this. As lots of people have said, it's totally 'do-able', but how much fun is it going to be, and how much are you going to worry about it in advance?

We've booked to go to Latitude for the day this year and baby is only going to be 2 months old, am already slightly worried, less about the baby, more about me spending a long day on my feet post baby. However, my husband is coming with me and my parents live half an hour down the road, and we're going to leave dd (aged 2.5 with her Grandparents). See how you get on, lower your expectations, plan that you might only stay for 1 night and try and rope in your husband. Have fun!

pictish · 24/03/2012 07:57

Yeahbutnobutyeahbut....

I'm a festie goer, and often see lots of families with toddlers and babies in attendance....so it is done.
However, when we go, we only take our eldest who is 10, because I can't be bothered to spend a weekend chasing little ones around - I want to relax.

I would much sooner take a wee baby to festie than a toddler mind you...a baby will sleep and feed in a sling quite happily, whereas toddlers....well, you know what toddlers are like.

Go for it I say!

WoTmania · 24/03/2012 08:03

YANBU - camping with a baby at that age is easy peasy. Lots easier than when they get a bit bigger and can work zips on doors etc. we went camping when DD was 4.5 months and it was fab. DH had the DSs in one tent and DD, the one who didn't wake at 5am, and I got a tent to ourselves.

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