To take a 3 month old camping?

[SpottedTiger]

DH and I had booked a 2 week camping holiday for next summer before I became pregnant. It's DC1 and so all completely new to us. It's early days, but providing all goes well baby will by 3 months old. We discussed with MIL, who is a seasoned camper and thinks it will be fine as especially if breast feeding, baby won't need much at that age. DH is worried that baby will disturb other people and thinks we should upgrade to a static caravan To minimise noise travel. Money is going to be tight whilst I'm on Mat leave so I'm reluctant to spend more if we don't need to. I may well be completely deluded about the whole thing though and as DH says, by the time baby arrives and reality hits, it may be too late to change the booking. Thanks.

I wouldn’t do it.

But that’s possibly because both of my babies had tricky babyhoods... Planned to EBF both times, but had to, (and I mean had to - it’s a long story), mix feed dc1 and I am now having to exclusively pump for dc2, (such fun), which requires a lot of kit and sterilising.

We took dc1 overseas at 5 weeks old, so I wouldn’t say we’re exactly faint hearted, but I wouldn’t plan to camp with a young baby. There are just too many unknowns and if money was tight, I would seriously begrudge paying for an uncomfortable stay in a tent when I wanted to be at home. But might just be me.

I took my dc1 camping at 10weeks and my dc2 at 9 weeks. It was fine, they slept in a moses basket and needed lots of blankets because it was cool at night. I was pumping for my dc1 but took lots of batteries and Milton for sterilising.

I think campers will say it's fine-go for it- non campers will be horrified.

Do you have to make the decision soon? Cl

bertrand

Hmmm tbf, I don’t really like camping at the best of times. Maybe it would be delightful at any point pp for someone who really loves it.

mono

As a fellow exclusive pumper, you sound like a superhuman for doing that while camping! Amazing.

Having been woken every hour by a screaming baby on our most recent camping trip I’d say for the love of God don’t do it!

Being woken up by your own baby is bad enough but being woken up by someone else’s baby constantly is awful.

Tents do not sound proof for shit.

One of our 3yos then woke up ready for the day at 5am. He was quiet but sat on my head until I got up.

I have been less exhausted after a stretch of 15 nights as a junior Dr.

I couldn’t look at the paetnts the next day !

*parents

We took DD camping at 9 weeks for a weekend and then for a week at 3 months. It's totally do-able if you want it to be. When we went for a week we had to move the tent half way through as well! DS was 5months when he first went (purely because he was a Christmas baby) and he's going again at the end of the month (he'll be 8 months). I find it's easier when they're smaller as they need less stuff and aren't moving; this time we'll need the highchair in addition to everything else!

I wouldn’t the temperature can really drop during the night and newborns are vulnerable. Even in a caravan the floors can get really cold and travel cots are near the ground.

the thought of going camping with my 4 month old DD puts me slightly on edge, day trips can be a hassle, never mind camping 😩

My brother and his partner took their 5-month-old daughter camping. They used a tent. My niece loved it! There are adorable pictures where they were putting up the tent and put my niece on a blanket on the ground.

I recently took my 6 month old camping without my partner (but with friends who don't have children). It was fine! She could just about fit in the carry cot of her pram to sleep in (it's one which is safe to do that) and when I got to bed we coslept anyway. She LOVED it! Lots of things to look at, people to talk to, etc. She's not on the move yet so she could just sit and look around and play. She had later nights than usual (about 10pm) but when she was 3 months we took her to Lanzarote and she would either fall asleep when she fancied it or stay up late. At that time she actually slept through most nights! (Not anymore though!)

However, that being said, I am breastfeeding, and was fully recovered "down there" relatively quickly. If you are used to camping just do it. People grow up in less fancy settings all over the world and cope. But no harm in going a bit more upmarket this time if you would prefer!

We took DD at that age. She had a Samsonite pop up cot to sleep in. We put a sheepskin in to line it, put in on top of a sleeping mat and all was good for a few days. We had a decent sized tent which made it easier.
No issues. Did we do it again, yep!

Hi OP. I would also add that you have no idea how you will feel after the birth. I hope you will be fit and well 3 months postpartum but you dont know how you'll feel till afterwards. Perhaps easier to make your booking once baby is here and you're in the swing of things a bit.

Not one chance I'd have gone camping with my 3mo

Never mind baby what about you?!

If you end up having a difficult birth or section the LAST thing you'll want to do 3 months (potentially 2.5) after while probably still bleeding heavily, sore bits, piles, aching back, full boobs etc is sleeping on the ground! With nearest loo possibly a good 10 min walk away to be reached in open air complete with blood soaked arse and leaking tits!

Upgrade! Definitely!

I'm an experienced camper NO WAY would I have attempts this with dd at that stage.

I'm no wimp either - emcs and moved back to uk from overseas at 4.5 months!

DH and you guys have pursuaded me to look into the static option more seriously and it's looking more affordable than I thought if we can transfer what we have already paid onto it and just go for 1 week instead. What actually swung it was DH reminding me that I'm the one who knows how to put up the (big) tent, he's not got a clue I need to be 100% fit to wrestle with that or he will be in meltdown rofl

Don't do it. I'm a seasoned camper and took DC1 for a week at 6mo which was absolutely fine.

Recently took DC2 for two nights at 8 weeks old. Not fine.

Both were breastfed and easy babies. The difference was that at 6mo we'd got into our new parent groove. We hadn't at 8 weeks the second time.

I would absolutely book a static. Not for the noise transference but fit your own sanity. The baby will need shade if it's sunny and the temperature is MUCH harder to regulate in a tent. If it were a few days I'd say fine, go for it. But 2 weeks will be increadibly stressful!!!

I know this sounds like one of the I parenting top trumps brigade and it’s really not meant to - but I went camping with a 4 year old and a seven week old as the solo adult and I did it by public transport as I didn’t have a car then. I did it because I’d booked it for the older one, and because of a specific event we were attending, or I’d probably not have done it at all. I did think I might be a bit mad at the time.

It was really fine. It was annoying to have to take sterilising things even though baby was bf as they needed medication for reflux and some other issues and had to be given it by bottle, syringe etc, but I took cold water sterilising tablets and a Tupperware container so it didn’t weigh me down too much.

I actually don’t like camping, to be fair, and it wasn’t for two weeks, only four nights which is my maximum. But we all survived even in the British summer in the wildlife infested midlands at the mercy of British rail and a hand luggage tent.

Hence I think you will be fine - it will be different yes, but fine. Fingers crossed for you.

I camped with a 4 week-old and his 5 older siblings, and it was really Ok! Depends if you're used to camping. There was someone with a younger baby there too! It was at a big family camp event that I'd been going to for years so I knew that there would be other babies there. Big bell tent, with kitchen area set up outside under shelter.
I was in a sleeping bag on a camping mattress on the floor - not a wobbly inflatable, but the self-inflating Thermarest type. Baby slept in a kind of nest next to me, so he was easy to breastfeed in the night. I took a wipe-clean changing mat and changed him on the floor.
I always keep a small bucket of water + antibacterial soap & a towel just outside the tent, remind kids to wash hands constantly and change the water often, so I had easy handwashing facilities after nappy changes too. I wasn't being ambitious - just needed to sit around lots and arrange food for other kids. If you are going with a partner who can take care of food, so that all you have to do is cuddle baby, it should be fine.

I have stayed in statics as well but find tents more fun. With the static, I felt kind of disconnected from the campsite community. But that may be just me!

Should add that I knew from prior experience that this camp was noisy and people expect some babies there, so my baby was unlikely to be causing as much noise as, say, the teenagers there. I was nervous but, like @ChanklyBore, had committed to go for older children. I kept baby in a sling or carrycot, and was with friends who were happy to take a turn holding him. If he'd cried a lot, I'd have walked with him in the sling - if necessary, far away from everyone else. It was good, but my expectations were very low!

I did a Brownie camp with my 3m and 2 yr olds. 3m old was EBFed and a sleep/ feed type. Easier than the terrible twos accompanying me! Physically I wasn't perfect as I was still feeling SPD (catering for 15+ much of the day didn't help. My 3rd degree tear had settled after 2 months. I'd probably have been OK by that point in the aftermath of my EMCS too. There's a big difference between 2 and 3 months and most people feel fairly human by 3 months even if birth wasn't straightforward. The babycare side of it was fine though. He was in a Moses basket next to my thermarest (co-slept with 2 yo) and woke briefly in the night for his feeds and settled.

It's an easier age than when they wean, teethe and get mobile then begins to ease off from around 2-3.

I also did static caravans a month later which was fine too. When DS1 was 8m, we had planned camping but the forecast was for a stormy week so switched to a last minute Haven booking with a couple of days notice. Start of term so was only £100 for 5 nights. Bargain!

DS was a few months old when he went camping for the first time. He was bf so no need to sterilise bottles. He was a pain in his cry- ey arse when he was in the house. In the tent he slept like a dream.

3 month old babies are often quieter than most toddlers and young children, campsites are incredibly noisy and nobody will mind about a crying baby.

Oh dear lord no.

People absolutely would mind about a crying baby.