Camping with a Baby

We're trying to hold on to the last bit of summer in every way possible and take advantage of the beautiful weather we've been having.  Matt and I love camping, but to be honest, I got really paranoid when we went just the two of us when we were first married.  I mean, bears, creepy people, snapping sticks in the dark, you get it.  And then last summer I was dealing with morning sickness which meant no camping.

Matt and I decided before Adam was born that we weren't going to let a baby keep us from doing the things we love.  Now, that sounds super selfish, and maybe it is, but we really didn't want to ever view our kids as a burden.  If we wanted to go camping, then we weren't going to stay home just because camping was now inconvenient or our baby might get a mosquito bite.

So, we did a little research on camping with a baby and found some pretty good advice, the most useful of which was simply that babies are adaptable.  We took that advice and off we went.  Here are some things that we learned and tips for those wanting to try it.

 1. Keep baby warm.  It gets really cold in Utah in the evenings, so we made sure to pack socks and a hat for Adam, as well as long pants and a sweatshirt.  I started with just a onsie and put more and more clothes on him as it got colder.  I changed him into regular jammies for bed though so he could be in something clean.  I just made sure to wrap him in his own blanket and then had him in bed with me under several other blankets.

2. Bring things for baby to do. Adam doesn't quite crawl yet, and I knew I didn't want to be carrying him around everywhere. We used a moving blanket to lay out on the grass because sticks and things don't stick to it easily. We put a softer blanket on top and dumped out some of his toys for him to play with. This kept him very happy.

3. Make sure that you and baby are both comfortable when you sleep.  I advise not sharing an air mattress.  The first weekend we went out, Adam and I slept on the twin air mattress, and Matt slept on the ground next to us.  This was no bueno because I was so paranoid to move because every time I did, Adam would wake up.  Half of my body was asleep and tingling when I woke up.  I think next time we tent it, will just all sleep on foam pads.  Matt can't sit still for longer than 3 minutes, so we don't do too well on an air mattress either.

4. Bring extra of everything.  We first got to our campsite and Adam had peed and it leaked out of his diaper soaking part of his onsie.  Luckily, I brought several of those, and wipes, and diapers, and socks, and everything else that he might have needed.

5. Don't stress about it!  There were so many things that I could have worried about, but I just accepted that if Adam ate some dirt or got a scratch that he would be ok.  And he was!  We all had a great time.