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Camping

Our UK Camping forum has all the information you need on finding the right equipment for your tent or caravan.

Original poster

Taking baby camping for the first time, HELP!!

22 replies

tibsy · 14/08/2007 09:44

DH, DS (nearly 13) and I are all keen campers and in particular like the Pembroke coast. We're going away this weekend and are taking the new member of the family, DD (11 mths)
I am looking forward to it, but am a little apprehensive as well, as taking a bubba along for the ride is a new experience to me.
Just wondered if any of you seasoned campers had any hints, tips, info for me.
ie essentials to take, ideas for keeping lo amused on long journeys etc
tia

OP posts:
Tigana · 14/08/2007 09:45

11 month old will probably sleep most of the journey anyway.
Take blankets etc for over night.
Is dd mobile yet?

Original poster
tibsy · 14/08/2007 10:01

hi tigana, unfortunately, dd not a big fan of the car so i'm not looking forward to the journey. will take stuff to occupy her and we can stop off as well i suppose. she is very mobile

i know it seems a bit over the top, but i'm also a bit worried about being out in the open. i know she'll be in with us, but i have this irritational fear of someone being able to get into the tent. cant believe i said that, but its really been bothering me and i havent voiced it to DP yet.

OP posts:
MegBusset · 14/08/2007 10:08

I am v , want to take DS but will have to wait til eczema has cleared a bit I think.

Anyway just wanted to say that I too have the paranoia about someone stealing LO from tent! Despite the fact that I wake as soon as he so much as twitches. Anyway presumably you won't leave her in tent on her own, unless you are sitting right outside... when you go to bed, you could hang some windchimes or something just inside the tent flap so will sound if any intruders? Just remember they're there when you go for a wee in the night!

KaySamuels · 14/08/2007 10:12

Have you got an all in one for her? These are great for in a morning when the ground is damp and they are crawling/cruising/alking/falling.

regatta

Our camping holiday when ds was 8months was the best ever. We had him in our sleeping pod away from the zipped end and as I'm a light sleeper I knew no one would get by me!

Original poster
tibsy · 14/08/2007 10:21

thanks ladies, thought it was just me being a berk

meg - great idea, but am a bit concerned, can just see me falling into the windchimes after a glass or two of vino/cider/beer....

KS - thats a great idea! hadnt thought about crawling round on damp grass

i'm feeling better about it now. meg, hope lo's eczema clears soon so you can get off too

OP posts:
UniSarah · 14/08/2007 22:18

Sleep her with you betwwen her and the door if that makes sense, or with a bag or something betwen her and door, it'll help put your mind at rest over intruder .Highy unlikey to happen, have you ever had someone come into your tent before?

purpleturtle · 14/08/2007 22:31

Travel cot and pushchair for keeping her where you want her, and away from the dangerous stuff. Ds2 eats sitting in his pushchair too.

feetheart · 14/08/2007 22:37

Be aware that other campers may not be very 'baby-friendly' DS (10mths and just walking on his first trip last year) was magnetically attracted to fag butts, hot cups of coffee, beer bottles, etc He had a brilliant time!!!

madamez · 14/08/2007 22:41

Definitely travel cot as it doubles as a play pen in the day time when necessary. More clothes than you think you'll need and definitely extra warm clothes as cmaping gets v cold at night. If you are ff then get those cartons of ready-made formula as they don't need refrigerating or anything. Oh and Mothercare do (or did a couple of years ago) these amazing trvel-sterilising bags - basically large plastic bag with a couple of tablets in, you fill the bag with water and dump in the cups, spoons etc, leave for an hour then rinse vigorously.

Oh, and put any noise-making toys out of reach at bed time or you will get hte sort of rude awakening I and half the Gathering got last summer when DS rediscoverd his toy radio at 6am...

harleyd · 14/08/2007 22:47

we went a few weeks ago, ds2 is 11 months. i was a bit apprehensive and thought he wouldnt settle at night. he loved it! think the fresh air knocked him out. we took a load of the ready-made milk cartons which saved a lot of hassle. have a great time

Original poster
tibsy · 15/08/2007 09:58

thanks everyone.
am really starting to look forward to it now. hopefully the fresh air will improve dd's crap sleep patterns too

OP posts:
Impatience · 15/08/2007 12:32

Our sleep-repellant ds sleeps like a dream when camping. Beware the early start though. The all-in-one splashsuits are brilliant, and get an all-in-one fleece suit for evening and sleeping: Ds goes in normal pjs, then fleece suit, then grobag. If it's v cold I'll stick a hat on him and his car blanket over him. He sleeps on a self-inflating mat between us. If it's really REALLY cold, and when he was little and not on an insulating mat (just the thin mattress of his sleeping pod) he also went in his pushchair cosytoes.

I'm also paranoid about snatchers. You could peg your doors shut from the inside. Our tent has a door on either side of the living area, and I even peg shut the one that's on the other side from where we're sitting so that no thief can steal in through the unseen side. Sometimes a bit of paranoia is healthy

Enjoy - I'm dead jealous!

UniSarah · 15/08/2007 22:13

the early start is not automatic. while camping boy went to bed about 9 and slept till 8am ish, he was 15 m/o. I on teh other hand was awake at 6 with the dawn chourus :-(

Original poster
tibsy · 16/08/2007 20:08

thanks impatience will definitely try that with the pegs. just hope i dont need to dash to the loo in the middle of the night
uni - i expect i'll be the same!!

well, we're off tomorrow and i'm really looking forward to it now. thanks all

OP posts:
BrownSuga · 17/08/2007 21:27

we took our 10 week old last weekend. found he was quite cold (thanks uk for the lovely summer!), so lots of warm things, a hat to sleep in at night, we used in the day for his naps too as we could pull it down over his eyes which helped him get to sleep. we have 2 entrances to the tent, so we put a combination lock on the "backdoor" and even though we took his travel cot, he ended up sleeping in with us. but could lock the "frontdoor also. (in an emergency, i'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to rip thru.).

swalesie · 18/08/2007 22:54

Me and my dp are off camping in a couple of weeks with our ds (10 months), he was on ebay looking for a tent and wanted one that had two compartments in it, so to put baba in one section and us in another! Isaid no and that i would sleep with baby then, and he said i was being neurotic to think someone would steal him! Am i the only one who would not be comfatble doing this? Or am i just 'neurotic'?

satine · 19/08/2007 19:43

You hear everything in a tent, so even if your baby is in another compartment, no-one would be able to sneak into get them without you hearing, I promise.
And that's the voice of experience - I've just come back from a camping holiday with my two children and my friend, who camped next to me, had her 3 (including a 3 month old and a 20 month old - but then she's hardcore! )

MaeBee · 19/08/2007 20:10

this would be inspiring me greatly if it wasn't for the weather! im dying to take my lo camping and im nervous too, but need some dry days! we don't have a car so its all a bit epic too. he's 10.5 mths and walking damn him, and STILL at the everything in the mouth stage, so im a bit frightened.
tibsy - let us know how it all goes!

Original poster
tibsy · 21/08/2007 11:59

well. we're back!!!! we had an absolutely fabulous time, despite the crap weather. so much so that we're going again next week before dp has to go back to work

swalesie, you're not the only one, it was my main concern. in the end, i slept in one compartment with dd in the middle and ds on the inside wall. dp slept in the other compartment, alone

didnt manage to get hold of the waterproof allinone suit that kaysamuels recommended. but def getting one for next week.

would also like to recommend plenty of toys if youre stuck in a traffic jam for 90 mins as we were

OP posts:
Original poster
tibsy · 21/08/2007 12:02

maebee, i'd go for it!!! dd not walking yet, but wanting me to walk her around everywhere holding on to her fingers. kills the back!!!! shes a great one for puting everything into her mouth too, but it was ok.
the campsites we were on were very child friendly and everyone was lovely. met some other families with lo's too

OP posts:
MaeBee · 22/08/2007 19:33

great that it was so good for you...despite the weather!
we just got back from a misty couple of days in Filey, where we were borrowing a house from a friend. managed the beach with hats and coats! boy was blue lipped, but happy.
what do you do about naps when camping??!!
will try and persuade dp (who's oddly reluctant) if weather looks good in next couple of weeks.

Original poster
tibsy · 27/08/2007 09:40

mae, dd napped in the tent (as it was raining!) or in the buggy or car if we were out. didnt seem to bother her

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