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Family Camping with 9-mo old baby!!


LauraMO

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My Tiger Cub son will be crossing over into the Wolf Den at an upcoming Pack Family Camp Out. This is our 1st experience camping & we're bringing along the little 9-mo. old sister. You know whenever you go some place overnight with a baby it seems you have to pack the entire house. So I'd really like some suggestions on what baby supplies have been helpful for others. Yes, the stroller will get packed (don't know if my back is up for a backpack or Baby Bjorn carrier).

 

Also, what about sleep arrangements in the tent since everyone else will be in sleeping bags? 'Can't take the crib! (And no, leaving her with grandma isn't an option.)

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I've never camped with a 9-month old, but have seen a few others do it. Does the baby move around a lot or is she a sound sleeper? For sleeping, I would just make her a pad of blankets to sleep on and put her so no one getting up in the night will step on her.

 

I would recommend a playpen for the daytime. I've seen pictures of myself in a playpen about that age....many, many moons ago.

 

Somewhere online is a website done by a lady who has camped a lot with her small children. I think it is called "camparoo.com". You may need to do a search on camparoo to find it. Or search for "camping with children."

 

And remember, it's only for 1 night (2 at the most), you will all make it through just fine.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, we survived family camping with the baby. The baby wasn't too keen about camping on our first day but she got into the swing of things the following days. A baby backpack was especially useful while packing & unpacking gear . . . as long as someone else was around to pick up anything on the ground. The downside is that the pack kept pinching a shoulder nerve & I would lose a little feeling in one arm, so a trip back to the house was made on Day 2 to get the stroller. There were plenty of scout moms willing to hold the baby so that I could eat or help one of my Cubs.

 

Again, thanks for the Camp-a-roo suggestion. They have a GREAT packing list!

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LauraMO

Congratulations on a successfull Pack Campout. Sounds like a future Scout (Girl Scout or Boy Scout - it doesn't matter)was "born". I've found that our family campouts are wonderfull they are especially good at getting people to know each other. Hopefully you will continue having a good time in Scouts.

 

Paul

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  • 1 month later...

I haven't went to camparoo, so I hope this isn't duplicate info. When we went camping with 3 boys 4 and under, we carried our playpen. Padded with blankets, it makes a great bed for a little one. Of course, like you said, the stroller is indispensable. It doubles as a highchair. Last night it kept our 18 month old corraled while we had a Lone Scout Troop meeting at the lake. Also, those "leashes" are good for toddlers around water. Our little one kept trying to run back to the parking lot, so that helped him explore closer to us. A two room tent helps the little one take naps, and we can still get to whatever's in the tent.

 

Hope that helps!

 

Marcy

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We've camped with our daughter since she was 3 months old... Cheap vacation!

 

The Baby Bjorn we found especially useful, since we could do camp activities with her right there, and she loved being a part of the action. We usually had her facing out, but when she'd get sleepy, we'd face her in. As she got bigger, I splurged and bought a baby carrier/backpack from a thrift store for $5. She'd ride in it when I did yard work, so having her in it at camp wasn't a big change.

 

As for sleeping, she'd fall asleep in her carseat. Otherwise, we had a bassinet from an old-fashioned baby carriage that we'd lay her in, and it'd only take up a corner of the tent. I've seen people make a round bed with blankets and an innertube.

 

First solid food was a burnt hot dog... :)

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By the time I was old enough to remember much, my parents were camping in a pop-up camper. Until I was about 10 years old, my "bed" was my old crib mattress on the floor of the camper. My parents had one of the camper beds and my brother and sister the other bed. Taking the crib mattress is not good for tent camping, but if you have a pop-up or plan to get one, save that crib mattress. They come in handy.

 

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