Camping with 14 month old...HELP!!!

[McNickenChuggets]

Ok, so I'm not new to camping, have done it many a time so I know what to expect getting pissed waking up in a field

However me and DP are taking our ds who will be 14 months old at Easter camping for the first time (in North Wales).

My problem is that even in the height of summer, those British nights can be feckin' freezing!!!

I am a softie so have a big double inflatable airbed for me and DP...but what on earth does my son sleep in/on? Obviously sleeping bags and quilts are a must but does anyone have any advice on keeping him warm enough at night without 1) overheating and 2)being able to wriggle free (presumably he will be walking unaided in a couple of months as he already walks with his baby walker). Has anyone any experience of a 'Ready Bed' for camping. I am mostly bothered about the cold.

The other thing....we will be staying on a campsite with all the facilities (shower block etc). DS has never had a shower in his life, always baths....what do I do in this situation? There is a heated pool....could always chuck him in there !

All/any advice welcome!

A travel cot is your friend, if you can can fit one in. We used one with DD and it doubles as a playpen whilst you are setting up. Do you use grobags for him to sleep in? We used that with a fleecy baby grow and that seemed fine. If the temp drops you can pop a blanket over.

As for washing, I planned to take her in the shower, but ended up using the washing up bowl as an impromtu baby bath insted!

Also depending on the space, we took our high chair so she could be safe and happy when we had a BBQ etc (Ikea Antelope as the legs come off fairly easily to pack in the car)

Were not planning to go this year until the summer when the twins will be about the same age, and to be honest Im more worried about my 3yo who will be running rampant!

Currently trying to convince DH that with 5 of us and 2 dogs a roof box isnt enough we NEED a trailer

Baths-wise, if there is room in the bathrooms you could take a plastic trug with you and fill it from the shower and wash him in that. Or he might enjoy the novelty of a shower if you go in with him and don't let the water get too hot - DD used to at that age. Or the pool is a great idea - should keep him clean enough for a long weekend at any rate.

As for sleeping, I would recommend you put him in a fleece all in one, possibly with a hood if you can find one, or a hat, and feet. With a vest and pyjamas underneath he should be fine even if he comes untucked from his blankets or his sleeping bag if you go that route. Then he can either sleep between you and DP, or in a travel cot if you have one?

I wouldn't use a ready bed on its own as they are airbeds so absorb cold from the ground. But you could put something under it, like a foam mat or a SIM maybe?

These look quite good for avoiding him rolling onto the floor of the tent during the night (as DD used to) - www.camping-intl.com/details/Kampa_Airlock_Junior_Airbed_Blue_or_Pink/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=Product_Search&utm_campaign=google_base&gclid=CO_T3t_n7LwCFYWWtAodjkQA4Q - again, as they are airebds, you should put something between the airbed and the ground or the airbed and DS in order to absorb the cold.

Thanks for the responses. I may try DS in shower with me. I have a travel cot but am reluctant to take it due to space/weight in the car considerations. I may be being thick here but what is SIM?

It's a Self Inflating Mat. Much better (I think) than an air bed as it does not create a layer of cold air between you and the ground. Very comfy and you can get singles and doubles. I second the idea of taking travel cot though - it worked for us when ds was little.

We have a ready bed and used loads. Still in use with a 4 & 2 year old. Also great for sleep overs. Cheap in Argos. At that age I put mine in fleecey sleep suit. Now I use Asda kids thermals under PJs (they do size 12m +). Shower will just be a camping adventure. When kids tiny we used a flexi bucket (Asda £5) which was also used for washing up etc :)

If you decide to have him on your air bed (or just for your comfort) I would suggest you get a thermal under blanket which is brilliant for keeping you warm. We got ours from Dunelm Mill.

Oh and regards showers etc, at the campsite we use they have a Belfast sink in the laundry room for bathing infants. We used it up until DS was 2. So they might have one where you're going. Definitely worth checking as easier than showers.

We took a big plastic box with various kitchen items in it - emptied them out and bathed the baby in the box.

Babies seem to love camping!

We've just been with our very active 11 mo, who both walks and climbs, unhelpfully for camping! We coslept most of the time but for his naps used our friend's KinderKot, which was like a mini pop up tent, and not too high. It zips up at the side, so does feel a bit baby-prisonish, but I left the side open and he seemed very snug. Not sure if they're stocked in the Uk, but if not there must be something similar.

Re showers, couldn't you get him used to them over the next month? DS hated them at first but was fine after a few goes. Or alternatively you could just do a top and tail type wash with a flannel in a dishwashing type bowl. We took our Stokke folding bath, but only ended up using it once as it was a bit of a faff to fill and empty.

Our main learning was to bring more baby snacks next time, as I'd forgotten that it's easy to run late with meals, and how intolerant small people are about waiting on a hungry tummy!

Thanks you so much for the responses, you have given me loads to consider. I'm sure I will find a way to manage .

I don't want to wish the time away but I do look forward to the day when I don't have to bother with things like cots, nappies, wipes etc. In all I'd like to make camping as fun and comfortable as possible for him as it will probably be a regular pursuit in our lives.

Thanks so much for the replies, I might put him in the shower with me this weekend to get him used to it, plus ring the campsite to check what baby-friendly facilities they have.

Note to self: Buy tent big enough to fit travel cot in

I wouldn't worry about a shower tbh when camping. A wash down with a cloth would be ample

Airbeds are cold. You'd do better with a thermarest.

Or a travel cot.

For washing, get one of those flexible gardening buckets in a large size, fill it up and pop him in!

The issue we had was that our DS would just wriggle out of his child sleeping bag, be freezing cold and wake up. The first time we went he was little enough for travel cot - he slept in his down snow suit which was fine. Second time we tried him in sleeping bag on a Kampa airbed - disaster. He couldn't stay in the sleeping bag and ended up crawling off the bed in his sleep and onto the freezing cold groundsheet. We gave up last year.

This year will try again - he is now in a bed at home and hopefully will manage sleeping bag better.

I found air beds to be freezing - we will all be on thermarests this year. Firmer to sleep on of course but at least you don't feel your underside is being chilled (this was in Aug even with blanket over the airbed).

PS you can use the flexible gardening bucket to transport/store things in too, so its quite a good trick.

I'm another one who suggests just topping and tailing with a flannel or taking him into the showers with you. Could you co-sleep? When we go camping we make a gigantic wall to wall bed in the sleeping area out of 3 Thermarest Base Camp XL and it keeps everyone cosy and in place. Good luck and have a lovely time.

Those thermarests look brill, I had never heard of them! Do they make a big difference to the warmth factor when camping?

Yes yes yes to self inflating mats!

We had a double inflatable air bed as a co sleeping family and it was a whole world of crap. Cold. No space. Wobbly.

The mats let you have space. You don't semi-wake because you're on the edge. It's so much warmer. We still have a kingsize sleeping bag for us all and it works well.

It may depend on car space though. SIMs can take up a lot of room and airbeds less so. The trick is to sleep on top of something warm like a fleece blanket or opened up double sleeping bag if you have a double bed and that stops the cold air getting through to you.

SIM s definitely are more durable though. If you might have more children in future it could be worth splashing out on a Littlelife arc. 2 travel cot or a pop up one like Decathlon's baby tent as they take up relatively little boot space compared to a regular travel cot.

It may depend on car space though. SIMs can take up a lot of room and airbeds less so. The trick is to sleep on top of something warm like a fleece blanket or opened up double sleeping bag if you have a double bed and that stops the cold air getting through to you.

SIM s definitely are more durable though. If you might have more children in future it could be worth splashing out on a Littlelife arc. 2 travel cot or a pop up one like Decathlon's baby tent as they take up relatively little boot space compared to a regular travel cot.

Odd

We have a little tent pop up travel cot which both mine have slept well in chilly weather (we froze our arses off in the open tent the kids were toasty) they come with Thermarest type mattress, essential zip! and suit up to age 3. We use normal grobag sleeping bag and layer underneath depending on the weather plus a blanket (this always gets thrown off) They're also really useful in sunny times as factor 50 so we take it the beach too. My 3 year old is now on a thermarest but invariably rolls off and out of her sleeping bag so fleece pyjamas over normal pyjamas stop her chilling when this happens.

Brilliant replies folks. I shall definitely look into bedding etc as the next step. We have booked our hol for a weeks camping at Easter in North Wales so it's all paid for. And we've won an EBay auction for a large tent (5berth - should house all our luggage comfortably) in which the seller sold 2 airbeds plus 12 volt pump and accessories... All for a bargain £88 .

We may or may not use the air beds, will see what they are like when they arrive but at least i'llbe able to pitch the tent at home and see if travel cot fits. Iv got about 6 weeks to find our bedding solution for bubs but will definitely look around based on your replies. Thanks all, I cannot wait for our trip

Late to the party, but when mine were tiny I used to take a small inflatable paddling pool (one of the really tiny ones from the pound shop) and fill it from the shower so that they could still have a bath.

We also used a small inflatable paddling pool - they loved having a splash around in it.

Travel cot if you can fit it in is a godsend for keeping them in one place as well as sleeping, although ds1 slept fine on a SIM in between us. We had a popup travel cot and they are great (although a more classic travel cot is more useful as a playpen tbh).

We went camping the other weekend with our 2 yr old and 10 month old- it was bloody freezing.

We both done camping as our holidays forever but hadn't gone with the dc before.

Dd1 had: vest, onzie, fleece onzie , proper sleeping bag and was just about warm enough

Dd2 had: vest, baby grow , fleece baby grow, blanket under and grow bag and blanket on top. She was freezing so came in with us. We brought a baby sleeping bag for the next night but she wriggled out of it and then was cold.
We didn't want to over heat her but nest time we might do grow bag and sleeping bag

I double sleeping bagged mine, so his normal gro bag x 2, fleecy jammies, then threw an extra blanket over him when we went to bed. Travel cot vote here too. It was brilliant.