Camping with a baby

[Winnie87]

I’m wanting to take our baby camping in the summer. He will be about 6months at the time. We have 2 older children 4 and 7. Is there any advice we need for making camping easier with a 6 month old?
Or any camping sites around Yorkshire anyone can recommend?
thank you!

I personally wouldn't, not with a 6 month old. I don't think any of you will get much sleep!

Perhaps have a practice in the garden one weekend.

We did it with my daughter at that age, planning on doing it again this year with my son at that age, it really wasn’t too much hassle at all. We took a sleeping mat for me & baby rather than an air bed for safer sleep but other than that we didn’t do anything particularly for baby! That said though I was breastfeeding & by 6 months she was also eating some food but we did BLW so just gave her bits of whatever we ate prepared safely rather than any special puree’s/pouches- it would probably be a bit trickier if bottle feeding for sterilising/cleaning/preparing formula & purees etc

Having camped with a crying baby in the next tent only do it if they sleep reliably through the night!

Other than that I can’t think of anything specific for a baby, if you’re breastfeeding it will be super easy and you can take some food pouches if you’re weaning (I’d time it for before introducing solids personally). If you’re using formula you can make bottles fairly easily in a tent or take ready made formula, and take travel Milton sterilising bags.

I can’t think of anything worse, for you or your neighbours

Are you experienced campers already?

Personally I would not be camping if I needed to sterilise bottles or make up feeds. Or if my baby was waking in the night with a cry which at 6m they almost certainly will be. If you feed the baby yourself check that your camping chair is comfortable for this.

Sleepwise I would take a travel cot with a really good insulated layer on the bottom (travelcot mattresses are often a bit basic) and put the baby in a gro-bag and sleep suit with blankets. And hat. The air can be cold at night.

6 months is a lot younger than I would have been brave enough to try. I would be worried about keeping them warm enough at night (given the risks of loose blankets and a baby sleeping bag alone not being warm enough), or their crying in the night waking up most of the campsite.
We took DD1 when she 12 months for a night, then for 2 weeks at around 13 and a to a 4 day festival at 14mo. We bought a First Ready Bed for her to sleep on (without the cover until the following year, when she was 2) as it had bolsters down the side to stop her rolling off and a headboard. She had a vest, sleep suit, socks, thick Gro Bag and her pram blanket over the top. I remember digging out the scratch mitts from the back of her drawers to keep her hands warm. She did wake a lot at night; there were a couple of nights on the fortnight holiday where we had to sit in the car with her so she didn't disturb other campers, and the unfamiliar setting saw us pushing her round and round in the pushchair to get her off to sleep before transferring her into bed. The festival wasn't a problem as she would be asleep in the pushchair/sling by the time we got back to the tent, and any nighttime noise got lost in the general campsite sounds of people up chatting, tramping around and playing music as well as the background hum of whatever stages were still going.

I think the baby is too young for this. I wouldn’t be happy hearing a crying baby a lot if I were your neighbours camping.

We camped a lot with ours from about 4 months. But we co slept.

I took mine. They were sleeping through the night and not mobile. It was fine. They were in a travel cot

I co slept and breastfed mine when I took them camping from 9 weeks old. It was great and a hell of a lot easier than when they became mobile! But I knew (99%) my baby would be fine as they weren’t a fussy baby. Another of my dc there was no way I would have been able to take them!

ETA typo

I took my 4 month old camping and it was the first time he slept through the night. The fresh air and circadian rhythm worked wonders.

My top tips:

1. Cold water steriliser with Milton tablet and plastic tub with lid fir doing bottles.
2. Formula, I always had one hot and one cold(boiled and left to cool) thermos ready. 30ml shot of hot water and the rest cold to make up a bottle. Have it all laid out ready.
3. Camping light which has a red light function for night feeds/not waking baby
4. Hot water bottle for emergency
5. Folding baby bath

I also have a USB rechargeable blender. Marketed for smoothies but perfect for blending small weaning portions.

At 4 months mine slept in the bassist of the pram. I think layers underneath are key. And sleep in a hat as it does get cold at night.

I’ve camped with mine since my now 7 year old was 6 weeks. He first slept in the pram bassinet and then a travel cot. I did a couple of nights at home in the travel cot before each trip. He wore a vest, babygrow and fleece babygrow over the top then in a sleep sack and I took things off or put on blankets depending on the temperature. I had a chair in one corner with a blanket on to wrap us for night feeds. I used a cold water steriliser and a washing up bowl progressing up to a small paddling pool for baths. Camping has changed for us now as the owners of a 7 and 5 year old but it’s still their favourite thing to do and I’m glad we started them both young.

Please don't. We went to a campsite a few years ago, our whole week holiday was ruined by someone bringing a baby. It woke several times a night, like a car alarm going off as sound carries on a quiet campsite. Really rude to everyone around you. Have more decency, camp when your child is old enough not to spoil everyone else's break.

I took mine camping at festivals at 4 and 7 months. Not much of a problem as far as I can remember. I definitely took everything I might possibly need for the 7 month old. Probably a bit too much, but a low chair with table attached for meals was handy.

I did it and we used the pushchair footmuff thing as a sleeping bag. She was plenty warm. Probably about 8 months old and did sleep through by then, and breastfed. It was a festival.

We took some clip together foam tiles to put under baby’s roll mat as an extra layer of insulation.

Jojo do travel sleeping bags with arms, I got one of those on vinted. Lots of places now also do tog rated sleep suits. One of those plus a hat to keep baby warm at night.

We took ours camping as babies & DD first went at 8 weeks. We had no money so it meant we could get some holidays. But they were both in solid routine & would sleep through. I don’t recall them waking up especially early as I think fresh air is good for them.

We used the baby sleeping bag to start with & then when they were toddlers those pump up air beds with sleeping bag attached.

We always used cold water for baby bottles anyway so that worked out fine.

I think we used to stick to sites with decent toilet - Forest Holidays type sites.

I think you can only go if they reliably sleep the night & if you’re prepared to get up with them as soon as they make a noise. We have been camping where the neighbours have just let baby wake everyone up as they just seemed to ignore it crying. That’s not cool.

Youngest mine has been was 5 weeks for camping. To my mind it’s the ideal trip to not have to worry about neighbours unlike in hostels!

Mine was sleeping with me in their sleeping bag. Tiny pop up sleeping pod thing which folded to about toe size of my hand. Breastfed. I did have to take some medications and syringes and so some Milton tablets to sterilise those as well as a piece of Tupperware to do that in, but not all babies would come with medical kit.

The hardest part was carrying the extra water for sterilising as I wasn’t happy to use filtered water for that purpose. But really I didn’t need much extra in my pack to take the baby. I needed way more for the older one(s) but at least they could carry some themselves.

We went camping at 7 months I think. Took a travel cot and had a tent with blackout lining and she slept well. Travel cot also handy for keeping her contained if we were sorting food etc.

Had a really good cool box that kept things cool for 48 hours. Cartons of milk for her.
She ate a lot of grass I think but overall it was fine.

Older than 6mo but…

Took DD2 when she was about 18mo and she refused to sleep in the tent. She’d fall asleep in the buggy but would cry the second she was back in the tent. I ended up taking her home for the nights and DH stayed with DD1.

Started camping with DS when he was about 15mo and he has always loved it.

Depends on the child as to whether you think they’ll sleep and enjoy it. You can get long sleeved sleeping bags for babies - Jojo Manan Bebe do one.

We also have this high chair which is great for camping, both for eating and containing!

https://en.deryan.com/products/pop-n-sit-draagbare-kinderstoel?&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=EN%20-%20New&utm_content=Pop%20%27N%20Sit%20draagbare%20kinderstoel%20-%20Opvouwbare%20kinderstoel%20-%20Inclusief%20handige%20meeneemtas&currency=gbp&tw_source=google&tw_adid=715191919847&tw_campaign=21749010627&tw_kwdid=pla-293946777986&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21749010627&gbraid=0AAAAA-QvlMmo268ihnNIsm3SbbpuR6dqH&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpZja_OPdkgMVhJRQBh2Q_hirEAQYBCABEgIWNfD_BwE

This weighs over twice as much as the tent we camp in! Maybe if you had a camper van.

Huh? How light is your tent?! The highchair is 4kg which really isn’t much for what it is and how useful it’s been for us.

We go camping with a large 6-man tent because we have three kids. We’re not backpacking. We put the high chair in the car with our other camping gear (we have a people carrier) so weight is not an issue.

I have camped with a 6 month baby and older siblings. The baby was easy because he wasn’t crawling yet and so stayed sat on a blanket watching the camping world revolve around him! Much harder once they’re crawling!

If your baby cries in the night then I don’t think it’s very fair on the other campers. My babies have never really cried in the night, just woken a bit, boob inserted, and fed back to sleep.