Camping when 8 months pregnant - tips?!

[robino]

Woohoo! Finally I get to indulge in my only real craving (how common is it to want to camp in pregnancy? both me and best friend have suffered badly!)

Friends are having a wedding party in Devon on Sat and have arranged for guests to camp in a field if they so wish. I have decided this is a perfect way for us to test the water of camping with 17mth DD (didn't happen last year due to awful weather and a family wedding in Canada) even though I am 8 months pregnant. If all goes well on Sat night, then we'll travel half way home to Yorkshire and camp for 2 nights at the same place - if not I'll be wimping out and travelodging it!

I feel really well - have had/ still have SPD but have a magic chiro who has all but fixed me completely. I'll be taking a hospital bag, my extra pillows, hot choc given that I won't be drunk when I go to bed and a nappy bucket to avoid those night trips to the loo but is there anything I haven't thought about that could make heavily pregnant camping life just that little more comfortable?! My main thought is that I'm uncomfie at home and in bed anyway, can't be too much worse, surely!

Um. I don't want to rain on your parade but it is not as easy as it sounds.

I did it at 7 months and the two biggest problems were (1) getting up and down off the ground again and again - agonising after a while (take a folding chair and take someone else to chase your DD) and (2) I completely overlooked the fact that you cannot just get up in the middle of the night to go for a pee and leave your DD sleeping whilst you do your ablutions (so you need a bucket for yourself, too, or - even better - some of these

I camped at about 6 mos, first child though so a bit easier.

The main thing is the getting up and down ... getting out of bed in the morning involves a lot of rolling around, so try and have stuff where you need it not where it would normally be.

Have a hunch that the biggest problem you'll have is not being able to move quick enough to retrieve DD! Just been for a camping weekend with DDs (2.8 and 1.2) and was thinking of getting some extendable dog leads after about an hour!

Good luck!

I did it at 7mths gone (bump was massive) and it was traumatic to say the least lol. Mind you I did have a 6yro and a 21mth old with me and my hayfever was a bitch due to my not being able to take anything.
The peeing in the bucket was just hilarious
I was boiling in the morning and freezing at night so may be worth taking something to counteract this as I did not anticipate how extremely the temperature changes would affect me whilst pg.
I did cry a few times,mainly due to how shit the hayfever made me feel and my spd.The last night I couldn't even turn over without wanting to scream.The shower block closest to us (10min waddle away lol)was shut down which ad me in tears again pmsl.
Overall I had great fun though and I'm sure you will too. That said we did invest in a caravan soon after she was born...
Good luck!

did i understand correctly that you have never camped

i love camping and think you are mad

Camped when over 8 months pg with DS (DD then 2.8) and slept better than I had for the previous 3 months (and the next 14 months but that's another story )
Was very unsure but as wasn't sleeping much at home didn't think camping would make much difference and where we were going (circus festival) there would always be someone up throughout the night to talk to!

Seem to remember lots of rolling around but no difficulty in getting up/trips to the loo/etc
Did take notes and numbers of nearest Maternity units/hospitals.
Make sure other people are around to look after/chase DD. Mine was much older and did have some sense!

Be prepared to really freak out people without children who, when they hear how much longer you have to go, expect you to go into labour there and then

Go for it and have a wonderful time!

Zippitippitoes - I have camped before, quite a lot, but not with DD!

OH is coming to run around after Smallfry (well, he'd be coming anyway but that is his main job, and waiting on me hand and foot!)and on Sat lots of friends will be there too.

If Sat is a disaster we'll just travel home, via a Travelodge if need be, if it goes ok we're trying for another 1 or 2 nights. Deliberately keeping plans flexible but really fancied a break from the norm

You must be crazy! you have the perfect excuse to be booked into a b & b and you're not taking it!!!! wow, just think it's gonna be months before you get a rest like that if not years. If you were anything like me, i was like a beached whale by 8 months so getting up from ground level would have been a nightmare. and trying to hover over a bucket in the middle of the night, NO WAY. I couldn't see my feet so hovering over a bucket would have serious risk factors involved for anyones head whose sleeping near me. You can get someone to drop you at the b & b later in the evening and you could be with them early in the morning so you don't have to miss out on anything. If you really want to give it a go, heres a plan b;-
set your car up with spare pillows, duvet and torch, so that if you get to uncomfortable you can put the seats down flattish and kip in there the rest of the night.

ah I would do it, but ds4 was born in the spring- he camped at 6 weeks though (ie 2 weeks ago lol)

tip: either one of those double height airbeds, or 2 piled up will help yu get up better.

This thread is 10 years old!! why are you dragging every thread about camping up??