Camping with babies

[highlife4me1]

Two years ago we bought a Jayco 23.5 5th wheel and it was the perfect size for our family, wife, 14 year old daughter and myself. But now kinda unexpectantly we have added a son who is now 5 months old. This has been a lifestyle change to say the least but we are enjoying every minute of it. We also have a 23 year old daughter too so raising children is not new to us but camping with a baby sure is. So I am looking for a few tips. What kind of toys to bring and where to have them sleep, keeping the bugs from biting them up, stuff like that and maybe a few things I haven't thought of.

We do have a pack and play that we can use as a crib too, but floor space is a little limited. I have though about getting a larger camper but I am sure in a few years our daughter will not be joining us on as many trips so this one will be just right once again, just need to get by until then.
Any tips would be appreciated, thanks!

[rbpru]

We started canoe camping when the oldest grandchild was 11 months; this was followed in two years by a brother who was out at 6 months and in another year by a sister who was out at 5 months. My daughter and son-in-law love the Boundary Waters Wilderness.

We would either take the PUP or rent a cabin and canoe out for a night or two to give them a taste of the wilderness. We always stayed and camped where there was a beach to play on. A few toys from home or DVD movies were all they needed. As they got older our canoe trips got longer.

They would carry their toys in a back pack, then fishing pole or paddles. Now 20 years later, the oldest leads wilderness trips, the middle boy and girl take expeditions of a week or more at summer camp. When we go family canoe camping now; Grandpa carries the fishing poles.

Do not miss a minute, the memories out live all the hassle.

[manualman]

Rats, never mind. Somebody on page 2 stole my thunder. Gotta remember to read BEFORE posting! 🙂

[Skelshy]

great tips! I can't wait to try camping with baby!

[highlife4me1]

Thanks every one for all the tips. My family cannot wait for camping season to begin and we are looking forward to having fun with the new addition. Thanks again.

[bout2buy]

Congrats on the baby!

Pack n Play's are great but they do take up a lot of space. We used a pea pod travel bed ( http://www.amazon.com/PeaPod-Plus-Travel-Tent-Color/dp/B00BWIPC6G/ref=sr_1_4?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1397245294&sr=1-4&keywords=peapod )
They can be easily folded up, and you can use them outdoors for shade/bug protection or indoors, you can place on the bunk or dinette for a more secure sleeping area for the little one. We found ours slept better because the tent gave a little privacy.

Also nice to have are the portable "clamp on" high chair seats. They can work on a sturdy table inside, or a picnic table outside, and take up much less space than a regular high chair.
http://www.amazon.com/Inglesina-2013-Table-Chair-Ibisco/dp/B006JV4HFS/ref=sr_1_4?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1397245433&sr=1-4&keywords=portable+high+chair

As far as toys, ours always seemed to like to play in dirt or mud more so than actual toys! LOL Hence we always had a huge supply of baby wipes.

Rubbermaid totes make for a nice bathtub too.

Happy camping! 🙂

[GaryWT]

It has been awhile, our youngest is a freshman in college but his first trip was ar 4 weeks, in a pop up. He slept through the night at 2 weeks so all was good. We would set the pack n play on the benches with the table down between them, we had the playpen in a screenhouse outside, had a net for the stroller and as they got a little bigger the walker for them outside. We contained the kids especially when cooking etc. My daughter camped at 5 months and my oldest was 1 when we started. Back then it was tough with bottles as we were using glass and had to boil water to sterilize them, I thing for my youngest we switched to the plastic bags.Good luck, have fun and congrats.

[minn_camping_fa]

I have two daughters, one started camping when she was 4 months old and the other at 6 months. As long as you don't expect much sleep or downtime you'll be fine LOL

There is a lot of great advice on this thread already. We had a pack-n-play that was smaller than most and it was easier to use in our camper. Look for one of those, search "travel pack-n-play" and compare measurements.

I noticed that Camping World now has a portable high chair- if they had that when mine were little I would have loved it. We also used the backpack for hikes, a bolt-on bike seat for biking, and the stroller or once they could sit up, a wagon for walks around the campground. We would bring along one of those little hard plastic pools and they loved sitting in the water on warm days.

We used Avon Skin So Soft original lotion for a bug repellent and it worked pretty well. You could also ask your pediatrician for recommendations.

[Spappy]

We have been camping with our daughter since she was roughly 4 or 5 months old. We use a pack and play as well and also have a shade tent that we can put the pack and play in when the sun is bright outside. We have a few options for when we are walking around the campground. We have a backpack, a wagon, and a bike trailer that converts to a stroller. I get some of my best exercise biking around the campground with her in the trailer and most of the time she gets to take a little nap. Congrats on the new baby and enjoy!
Spap

[Oaklevel]

Congrats,
Our grandson is one as of last week & been camping 3 times in his first year. We have a TH so room is not an issue the Pack & Play is great & we got him a Disney play jumping thing that he has now outgrown but was very helpful to entertain him. Having a garage / bedroom for the grown ones is great. We got the TH for family outing more than just carrying the toys.
Our boys never stopped camping with us now that they have graduated college they still come with us often.

[Merrykalia]

We had a son that was in his 20's (we started early) and then had two daughters who are now 9 and 6. Both the daughters started camping when they were 4 months old.

We bathed them in our large crab pot and they slept in the pack n play. We would take the pack n play outside during the day and we used a mosquito net over it.

We, too, had a baby backpack that we utilized when we went hiking. We used it when we biked within the campground. (We would not have gotten on the highway with it, but inside the park was great.)

Once it warmed up, we had a small pool that we would put a few gallons of water in and placed under our canopy let them play in all day. We used plenty of sunscreen and never left them alone.

A large flannel-backed tablecloth is a great play yard for paints, playdough or many other play toys.

Good luck and just go with the flow. Let the fun happen.

We used many, many DVDs and a small DVD player. VeggieTales and Barbie movies were favorites.

[Tiger4x4RV]

Congratulations on the addition to your family! And be glad you have a TT. My daughters, who each began camping in a TT at 6 weeks, grew up to be tent campers. Both of them tent camped with their babies. Those babies are now grown and some of them are still tent campers. We'll see if they pass it on to the next generation.

The ideas above are great for camping with an infant. When he gets older, my best guess for a hazard is the TT steps. Protect him from falls.

[tsetsaf]

We have found it very beneficial to inform the park that we have a baby with us (he is teething). They usually place us out of the way to avoid disturbing neighbors. As for what to bring it depends on the child. With our son he is happy with one toy at a time for 20-30 minutes. We keep a rotation on hand to keep him happy.

[memgrove]

We used a pack and play for both outside containment and bed for night and naps. A small oscillating fan blowing into it keeps baby happy and also provides a little white noise during nap time.

The graco brand mosquito net for the pack and play was better than the coleman one.

We also took an actual area rug for the ground. It was like one college students use in dorm rooms with rubber backing. Yes it was a little heavy but it was nice to have the protection from the sharper rocks and dirt.

A good backpack style carrier for the little one was awesome for hiking just remember the kid is in the sun so protect him.

A bumbo seat with the food tray sits nicely on the pick nick table for feeding But they usually grow out of them around 6 months ish.

When baby gets his own bed a pool noodle stuck under the sheet but over the mattress makes a good anti roll out device BUT when Jr gets to climbing it wont stop him.

[dewey02]

X2 on the pack'n'play. We used it when we had a small 1978 Wilderness TT which I am sure had less interior room than your 5th wheeler. We had 4 people, including the baby.