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Parenting

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Original poster

Camping with an 8mo, am I mad??? Advice please...

20 replies

lovely74 · 14/05/2010 21:26

Evening all,
Back when my DS was a tiny newborn I agreed to go camping for the weekend thinking "he'll be 8mo by then, no problem!". But it's next month and I'm now wondering if this is a silly idea.
The camp site is only a few miles from home (it's lovely as you can have camp fires there) so if it does all go arse up we can jump in the car and come home leaving our stuff behind to get the next day, no problem.
My main concern is sleeping (what travel cot to get, what tent to get) and making sure he doesn't get too hot in the morning / too cold at night.
we need to get a new tent as our old one is a small 3 man tent with just one "room". Do I just get a larger single room tent big enough to accommodate a travel cot?
Any suggestions on travel cots (up to now he's only ever slept in a moses basket / normal cot)
How do I make sure he keeps warm enough at night? He's used to baby sleeping bags and I was thinking of getting a nice snuggly warm sleep suit and maybe a little fleecy jacket over the top of it, but will that be too much? And I always seem to wake up really warm in the morning when I camp so how can I stop him from overheating?
He's BF amd BLW so I'm not too concerned re: feeding. He has a bottle of formula at bed time so I've bought some single use bottles so no serilising required.
Anything else I need to think about?
HELP!!!

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MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 14/05/2010 21:27

Well I wouldn't bother with a travel cot - can't you co-sleep for the night? At least you know he'll be warm enough then. And you will know if he's overheating because you will too.

treedelivery · 14/05/2010 21:33

We camped for a week and then stayed in a VW campervan for 10 days last June. DD2 was about 5 months and dd1 was 4.

It was fine! Easy in fact, they are small enough to flng in a washing up bowl for a wash, and they can't run off.

We co-slept. If you don't fancy that I'd just make him a little nest on the floor, on some folded up towels or something.

Wouldn't worry about all the other stuff too much. Babies are usually comfortable if the adults are, same as always.

Original poster

lovely74 · 14/05/2010 21:38

Oooh that was quick!
I worry about co-sleeping partly as we use a blow-up mattress and worry he may suffocate / we'll roll onto him. And our sleeping bags are fairly warm (I'm a total wimp and feel the cold loads)Would bbe much more comforable with him in a travel cot tbh....

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Camping Families General parenting

CrispyTheCrisp · 14/05/2010 21:41

We have used a travel cot (difficult if they wake and you need to help settle them) and then we used two thermarests on tthe floor covered in a double sheet. DD2 slept on this (no distance to fall/roll off) and if she woke one of us went in with her. We used her grobag and PJ's as normal with a fleecy sleepsuit if chilly

amothersplaceisinthewrong · 14/05/2010 21:41

Why on earth would anyone go camping (or on any holiday) with an eight month old . Don't do it would be my advice.

Actually, c ome to think of it I would rather have no holiday than go camping.

CrispyTheCrisp · 14/05/2010 21:42

Cos we are canvas loving weirdo's (as a friend calls me) . The DC's (now 3.5 and 21 months) LOVE it

treedelivery · 14/05/2010 21:48

We had a fab time! Dc's loved it, and it was easier than staying in a hotel tbh, which we have done loads too.

I'd go with nest making on the floor if you don't fancy co-sleeping. If you are absolutely going to have to have a cot for peace of mind, you'll need a fairly big tent.

There are lots of travel sleeping options, try JoJoMamanBebe webste for example.

Have a great trip, hope you get good weather

jeananddolly · 14/05/2010 21:49

I went camping twice last summer with my son who was 8-10 months. We created a make-shift bed roll made of a change mat and a bugaboo baby nest. We used blanket rolls to pad and he also had a gro-bag. If you're worried about rolling (as I was) then try and pitch on a slight slope so that he is up-slope from you IYSWIM.

If you are dead set against it have you seen those Samsung pop up travel cots that are like little tents?

I am not a camper at all - but DS LOVED it and so did I as a result. Have fun.

fireandlife · 14/05/2010 21:57

A friend and I took our 8 month old babies camping in Derbyshire for 4 nights in September. It was fun. My only concern was the cold and although we'd taken camping cots we co slept. One adult and one baby on each double blow up. We also put hats on the babies and snuggled a lot!

I didn't stop doing anything we usually did when we had the DCs, we just adapted things slightly and carried on. If it's something you did before the baby came, go for it and adapt as you go. If it's completely new and terrifying, it's not worth putting yourself through the anxiety. Just do what you enjoy, having babies doesn't mean you can't camp.

MrsWobbleTheWaitress · 14/05/2010 22:23

Wow, amothersplace, what a helpful post!

OP - you don't need a travel cot, though. Where's he going to go to? Just stick him on some towels, or a thermarest or something. He must be too young to open the zips of a bedroom, so he's not going to escape anywhere, and he can't fall off the floor!

jocie · 15/05/2010 22:38

we camp a lot (going at least twice this year) and when my 1st was a baby we used a travel cot and it was a nightmare as every time i neede to get to him i had to stand up and lean over the cot. We ended up co sleeping although i didn't really sleep cos like you i was worried as on blow up (am quite comfortable co sleeping at home) With 2nd baby we got one of those samsonite bubble cots second hand and it was great as if he woke in the night he was right next to me and i could just roll over and put my hand on his back( i kept the zip part only half way up and undid it in the night if needed) It was also good as as we have blackout blinds at home i was able to buy some lightweight black out material and drape it over the top of the bubble cot and so there were no early morning wakings.

feetheart · 15/05/2010 23:02

I would second (or third!) the fact that a travel cot and camping is a pain. Tried it with DD but for DS we had an ordinary single air-mattress next to our double one - easy to feed or stretch out a comforting hand if nec. We had lots of blankets if we needed them and fleecy pyjamas/sleepsuits.

Def great time to go camping, first took DD at 5mths and DS at 10mths. Now 7 and 4 and getting v excited about first trip of this year in 6 days time

yummumto3girls · 15/05/2010 23:07

We are going camping with 3 DD's this summer, youngest is now 7 months. I have seen a blow up matress that is a bit like a boat that I was going to buy for her as did not fancy lugging travel cot. (or you could just buy a blow up boat!) the samsonite cot sounds like a good idea though.

shantishanti · 18/05/2010 20:51

We took DD camping when she was only 3 months, and then again a few weeks ago at 10 months. She loves it!
We have a tent with a big main bedroom which divides into two with a zip. We put her to sleep on a thermarest covered in a cot sheet, in the other half of the 'bedroom', zipped in. When it got really cold at night she came into my sleeping bag with me! We sleep on thermarest type things (but cheaper, from Alpkit.com) so I wasn't worried about rolling.

PurpleCrazyHorse · 18/05/2010 21:29

Not actually been camping yet with our 8 month old but we did enjoy camping before I had her. With that in mind we bought a Nomad travel cot - we also bought a second self inflating mattress from Alpkit to go with it (as the one it comes with isn't great). Although we haven't used it camping yet, we have used it lots and it's great because we can zip DD in and know she can't clamber out. It is quite big though.

Our tent is a four-man but has a fabric dividing wall held on by toggles. So could remove it and have DD right next to us. We're looking for a 6/8-man tent though, just because of all DD's stuff.

TBH, I would probably plan to co-sleep (we also sleep on the self-inflating mattresses so they're firm and only a few inches off the floor). But I'd use the cot if DD seemed warm enough.

bearhug · 19/05/2010 11:28

We took our DS camping at 8 months. Stopped using the travel cot after 1 night as I found it impossible to get up from the airbed to put him back in it after his night feed.

Word of warning: take extra care with cooking equipment, hot drinks etc which tend to end up within easy reach when camping. Our poor DS managed to crawl to and grab a hot cup of tea in the split second someone's back was turned and badly burnt his arm.

pookamoo · 19/05/2010 11:34

We loved camping with our DD, once at 5 months and once at 9 months old. As others have said it is brilliant, they love it!

She slept in her pram top /carrycot in between the two of us in our 2 man tent, so at this stage you probably don't need a bigger tent (unless you are looking for a good excuse! )

Then when we took her at 15 months old she slept on a sheepskin next to me, and when she was cold I could just cuddle her in with us. A fleecy sleepsuit on in her usual grobag sleeping bag, plus a couple of blankets meant we could easily warm up or cool down as necessary.

Top tip for when a crawler has worked out how to undo the zip on the tent is to do it up with the zip pulls at the top, so they can't reach!

Have fun!!!

FlightofFancy · 19/05/2010 16:17

I'm glad someone has asked this, as it's saved me starting a thread! We're going camping when DS will be 6-7 months and I'd been wondering what to do about sleeping.

I've got one of the Samsonite pop up cots, and am planning to pop him in that on a thermarest to keep the cold out from below. He'll be next to me (we've just got a slightly bigger tent - 5 man - so we've got more room). We both sleep on air beds, and I'm not happy about co-sleeping on those (though I do sometimes at home on a firm mattress).

I'm thinking of dressing him in usual grobag, but with extra long sleeve top on, and taking a light-weight hat. Then just layering up with a few blankets when it gets cold - so I can whip them off in the morning when the sun comes up and it heats up. Though I must admit I'm not looking forward to the very early start when inevitably the light wakes him up - anyone know if they do baby eye masks!

Any other tips more than welcome - OP, please let us know how you get on, as I've got a couple of months before I'm going!

pookamoo · 20/05/2010 13:52

DD didn't seem to wake up any earlier, FoF

MyNameIsInigoMontoya · 20/05/2010 21:49

DS loved it when we went around that age. We used a travel cot, sleeping bag, layers of clothes and some blankets on top which we could remove to adjust temperature (given by that age there is less need for concern about loose covers etc). He actually slept better than at home!

Our old tent was definitely too small so we got one with 2 "bedrooms" and a shared bit, thinking ahead to older kids. (The 2 "bedrooms" are not really separate though, there is just a sort of screen between them but you can still peek through to check on him).

Take a waterproof picnic mat so he has somewhere dry to roll around outside, and also if you have a lightweight highchair that can be v useful (e.g. one of those Ikea ones you can take to bits) as DS loved sitting in there watching all the goings-on!

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