Tent Camping With Babies

This week I had a friend, who is preparing to have her second child, ask about helpful hints on camping with new infants and small children. Her and her husband already have a camping trip planned and their baby isn't even born yet...high five from across the U.S. Sadie!
This got my wheels turning in my rusty cobweb filled head and I had to refer to my journal for reminding...
September 13, 2004 - This is an entry I wrote when Corbin was almost 3 months old.
"Corbin slept through the night for the first time on Friday. The funny thing is we were camping out.

(Valley of Fire 2005)

All four of us squished inside our tiny tent. But it was fun. He slept 8 hours straight. It was so nice."
*What I do remember from this trip, besides my first restfull night as a new mom, is what he slept in that night. I got Corbin's car seat and put it in the tent and lined it with warm blankets. I had him sleep in his normal pajamas and then put a fleece bunting over the top. I then topped it off with a little beanie on his head. Once I laid him in the car seat I just put a couple more layers of blankets over him. Fleece and synthetic down materials work best, I think. Because he was raised a little from the ground inside the car seat I knew I wouldn't roll over on top of him. It allowed me to sleep better because we were pretty crammed...but warm!
April 28, 2002 - This entry was written when Cru was almost 3 months old.
"We're on our way home from City of Rocks right now. We had a blast! I wasn't too excited to go because the forecast said it would be rainy and cold; and it was, but not too bad. Cru was great. It was his first camping experience. We made the tent nice and cozy so we could all sleep in it. The first night was kind of rough but last night we stayed really warm and Cru slept all night. The climbing was rad!"
*I totally remember what made the difference between

(Bear Lake 2002)

the first night and the second night. We learned a new trick that we still use to this day. When we set up our tent, and know it's going to be cold and wet, we put a tarp under it. then we lay a fleece blanket over the top of the tent, where our air vents are. Then we put the fly on over that. It works extremely well. The heat stays in better but so does the stale air. Gets kinda stinky in there with three boys!

PART II

Sleeping Pads - Children can pretty much sleep anywhere because of their rubber bones but it's still important to make their outdoor sleeping arrangements as comfortable as possible. I had a sleeping mat I bought in college called a Therma-Rest Z-Lite. It's a foam material that folds up accordion style. (you can see a portion of it in the picture above) For my 3 year old we fold it in half and let him sleep on that. It's fairly inexpensive, compared to an inflatable Therm-a-Rest, and doesn't take up a lot of room like those huge inflatable mattresses or the fat foam mats you have to roll up. Putting a sleeping pad under your childs sleeping bag also gives them an extra insulation level. It can get cold sleeping directly on the ground.

Sleeping Bags - When we first started camping with our kids we came to find out that there weren't many options, as far as sleeping bags went, for them. We started off with bags we found at Walmart, consisting

(Maple Canyon 2007)

mostly of nylon material and a thin layer of batting. Not ideal, but they worked with some help from layered blankets. This summer we're looking into purchasing children's bags that are higher quality. Amazon.com has some good options. When you're buying a sleeping bag keep in mind what kind of weather you'll be in. If you don't plan on camping in cold weather you probably have no need for a bag that is less than 30 degrees. Otherwise I would go for a 0 degree bag. They tend to cost more but can be used through all seasons (Three cheers for snow caves!) Also, if your kids are like ours they wiggle from one side of their bed to the other at night. Purchase a bag that will keep them in one spot and covered throughout the night. Bags that help with that are contoured to the body and have a hood and drawstring that goes over their shoulders, otherwise known as mummy style.

Sleeping Arrangement - When you lay out your sleeping bags in the tent try to keep the kids away from the outer edges. Lay the bags towards the middle. Otherwise they may get a little damp if it rains. Even the morning dew and precipitation can make the walls of the tent damp.

Odds and Ends - If you're in an area that is known to have more wildlife roaming around, be sure to take dirty diapers out of the tent and away from camp. It's disgusting, but something like that will tempt bears just as much as a steak dinner.
The only other word of advice I have is...WIPES! Baby wipes are the miracle camping tool! Little rug rats can play in the outdoors all day and you don't have to worry about them getting all dirty. Just wipe them down and put them in clean clothes and they're ready for a good night's rest and another fun filled day.

Leave a comment about any tips you've learned while camping with your family!