camping with a baby- what travel cot/bedclothes to use? Also, am I mad?

[silverten]

Mr siverten wants to go camping in a couple of weeks. Our daughter will be eight months old.

We have a massive mum-and-dad tent so I'm not worried about that, but am wondering about what she should be sleeping on/in.

Up to now when we've gone away she's slept in the carrycot bit of her pram (we have a Bugaboo so it's quite big) but she's getting rather long for that now!

I'm wondering about getting a travel cot- don't fancy the playpen types because the sides look so very, very high- hard to get a sleeping child into, surely? OTOH can't imagine the tent-style ones being all that useful for longer-term use as I can imagine them 'zorbing' all round the tent once she starts to crawl...

Also what on earth do you put a baby to sleep in in a tent? Can't quite believe that her usual gear (vest/babygro/grobag) will be quite enough- although we leave the window open in her nursery so maybe it will??? Or should I be more concerned about over-heating than the cold- it is terribly warm at the moment and tents do seem to get really stuffy really quickly....

Does anyone have any recommendations for good travel cots for camping? What sort of bedclothes are good for a small child in a tent?

I'd rather not be too anxious about all this- I'm sure she'll survive just fine. But in my experience camping is much more pleasant with the right equipment, so I'd like to try and get it right. Are we setting ourselves up for a trip to hell here??

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Hi there,

This thread is quite old and some of the product recommendations are a little of date.

If you're looking for a travel cot, take a look at our round of the mumsnet best travel cots for this year.

Hope that helps,

MNHQ

Just taken DD2 aged 11 weeks camping and she survived! First time she slept in her carrycot, and was toasty warm, latest time she was in her travel cot as too big for pram now - my back is sore due to high sides and lifting her in and out. She slept with long sleeve vest, gro, and grobag plus blankets as needed. She was warm enough, but her hands were little blocks of ice, so rethinking for next time. Have bought a Nitestar baby sleeping bag, so will try this, also trying to find a bassinet to fit travel cot to save my back. They sell smaller travel cots with bassinets (Graco I think)

I took a thermometer to monitor temp and was shocked that the tent got so hot once the bedroom was zipped up during daytime nap. Was 16 deg when I put her down, and 28 plus when I checked her about 30 mins later. She needed her layers adjusted as her cheeks were rosy!

Make sure you put insulation under the baby as you would for yourself.

Baby was deffo the happiest of us camping, and slept so well - DD1 age 4 was a bit more challenging, so 'no', it will not be the trip to hell!

I personally think the playpen type is worth getting, and the 'trouble' as when you get to site, you can pop baba in while you pitch, or at any time when you need a few moments to do something, knowing she will be safe and happy.

At 8 months, it won't be long until she is crawling and a proper travel cot will be invaluable - doubles as a play pen and somewhere to put them while you are cooking etc.

We used the pop up kind with older daughter when space was an issue - if you have plenty of room, then go for the proper travel cot.

My daughter was just 9 months when we went last weekend - first night was very warm and she slept in vest and blanket, second night was cooler and she slept in baby grow and grobag. It was no cooler at night in the tent than in her bedroom in the winter (about 15C then) so really no need to worry too much. I never bother dropping the sides on her regular cot (have moved the base to lowest setting as she is standing and crawling) so getting her into the travel cot is not really any harder.

I did bring extra blankets with us, but didn't use them.

Have taken dc's at all ages (from 4 months up) camping and they have only ever slept on airbeds with us (well at 2.5 and 6 this year they will be sleeping on an airbed together).

We would never fit a travel cot in the car with all the other stuff we take.

Warmth wise just make sure you have too much rather than too little, at 18 mo last summer dd slept in vest, p'j's socks, gro-bag, in a Vango baby bag with blankets on top and inside.

After a day in the sun tents get chilly at night, not really comparable to having a window open, make sure you have lots of layers you can remove, rather than realizing they are cold.

Have a wonderful time

Have never, ever had a travel cot or playpen in four children. DD4 was about 9m when we took her camping last year. Recommend a double self-inflating mattress or simple bedroll and have her in bed with you. Lovely hot water bottle for you and you'll be able to tell if she's too hot or cold.

We took DD1 for the first time at the end of June and had really hot days. However, the nights do tend to cool down more than you expect so having plenty of layers is important. DD slept in a Littlelife arc2 travel tent thingy which was brilliant as you can access it from the side so if she woke at night I was able to roll off my airbed and get my head and shoulders in wih her to give her a cuddle and get her back to sleep. Plus they don't take up a vast amount of space in the car which was useful. DD has slept in normal travel cots but doesn't seem to like them as much.

We put a sheepskin from IKEA in the cot with her and a sheet over the top which protected her from the cold of the ground. She slept in a grobag fleece sleepsuit and her usual vest and babygro. As I say, the nights are a lot cooler in a tent than a house because the walls of your house tend to retain the heat a lot more (I understand).

Anyway, camping with her was great, although during the day plenty of shade is vital and if you can't camp under a tree, a gazebo or at least a tarp on the front of the tent works well.

Have fun!

We have camped with our DS from babyhood in places such as Scotland and the Alps I second the idea that a hot water bottle is the way to go, easy to fill, stick it at their feet under the covers/duvet and the heat radiates keeping them nice and toasty!

I meant the baby acts as a hot water bottle!

Took our DD from about 8m old, had a travel cot which was very useful from when she was older to keep her in one place! She slept in vest, sleepsuit, fleece sleepsuit like thisand grobag with a sheepskin underneath and was toastier than the rest of us!

Am taking my 6 week old for the first time on Thursday for a week and am not worried about her, more about me as my c-section is still a bit painful!

She'll be fine.

Oranges - do mind your scar with the travel cot if you are using it for baba... I really felt it at 10 weeks, even though I had healed perfectly. Then again my DD was 10lb 3oz at birth, and loves her food!

Thanks Stinky, am going to make DH do any lifting in and out as I went for my 6 week check today and got told off by the doc as scar is really not healing as well as it should. DD also quite big - was 9lb 10 and off the charts for length!

Thank you all- very helpful! I have laid my hands on a play-pen style cot and will get hold of a sheepskin I think- although I may have a spare Thermarest I could use...

Can't believe you are going camping 6 weeks after a caesarian, though, Oranges- that is proper hard!

Don't you mean stupid????!!!

I use one of these and they are fantastic. You can access from the side or the top, and zip the whole thing up so mosies can't get in.

They fit in one small bag and that's it. .

We have a Nomad travel cot, just perfect! Its ligth en smal packvolume and safe (and nice colours...!!

nomad-store.com/en/assortment/global-family-gear/sleeping-gear/12294/kids-t ravel-cot-polyester/

oops..thsi is the link
www.nomad-store.com/en/assortment/global-family-gear/sleeping-gear/12294/kids-travel-cot-polyester/