Camping with a baby...

[AnnieO]

It was a BLAST.

We had a few rough patches... A club father in law belongs to has a private camping area about 35 minutes south of us... He reserved it, and another member asked if it was OK if they shared the area. Sure, no problem.

Wrong answer. When he arrived - and us, a little bit later - 4 large vehicles, at least 20 people and the only place left for our tent was in the sun, and no room on the small beach for anything. They informed him that this was a yearly tradition, every Labor Day for YEARS. Except... It has to be approved and this was the first time anyone requested it... And it's only been available for 4 years. father in law is super angry about being a nice guy.

So we decided to go to a nearby State Park. Yes, nearby. Took nearly 3 hours to get to the campground because... husband's GPS had us going the wrong way, and it's very close to the middle of nowhere.

Once there? Awesome. There was a spot left, amazingly, and it was pretty good. Within a 2-minute walk of the bathrooms, 10 minute walk to the beach.

Rose didn't want to put her feet in the grass (no surprise, she hasn't been outside a whole lot)... By the time we left she was digging in the dirt, eating grass, and walking pretty steadily all over the place. She loves air mattresses. Her Pack N Play fit nicely into the tent.

Pat... Didn't have as much fun. His allergies went berserk, and there wasn't much in the way of video games. Swimming was, for him, a bust because there was no deep end (nothing much deeper than his chest). He didn't particularly want to be there... But it was family time.

husband makes awesome camp food... And even though we had to replace our air mattress on Sunday morning (went to the flea market and then to the Wal-Mart very close to where Hound Dog lives), it wasn't a very expensive trip.

I can't wait to go again...

 

[Hound dog]

You went to the walmart (I know which one) and you didn't swing by?? I'm hurt, truly hurt.

joking.

Glad you had fun.

 

[JKF]

Camping is the best!! I love it. Sounds like you guys had a great trip! Yaaaaayyy!!!!!!

 

[1905]

It sounds like a fantastic weekend! Glad you had fun.

 

[AnnieO]

Lol Lisa, be glad we didn't. With father in law and a sullen teenager... Yeah. I did think about it, though! Especially when we went by Polaris...

 

[DammitJanet]

Glad you had a good time but my idea of roughing it is going to Motel 6!

 

[Hound dog]

I could've handled a sullen teen........been there done that for many years. lol Not sure about father in law though.......maybe I could've won him over with a home cooked meal.

You're braver than I, though. I love camping but no way in hades would I attempt to do so with a baby, especially a walking one. Did that enough with my sibs and their kids to know never to try it with mine. No camping until at least age 5.

 

[AnnieO]

Staggering around is more like it... She still doesn't go fast enough to get away.

 

[donna723]

You're a lot braver than I am too! I have been camping exactly one time in my life, just enough to know that I never want to go again. This was back when my daughter was six and my son was 18 months old. We went with my demented (now ex) brother in law and his equally demented pregnant wife. They had a brand new tent and we used their old one. The spaces they had reserved were just feet from a huge lake - and we had an active toddler who seemed to be able to go in three different directions at once! I was terrified that he would wake up at night and wander off, with that lake right there. I did everything but sew the door to that tent closed! I finally got the kids settled and to sleep and thought I might be able to get a few hours sleep ... then came the storm! This HUGE nasty storm blew in from the lake, heavy rain, wind, lots of lightning and thunder. Water was coming through the tent and under the tent, getting every single item we had soaking wet! We spent the rest of the night and the rest of our money at the laundromat trying to dry our bedding and clothes. The next morning we went to the rec building where the bathrooms were - my son tried to run under a ping pong table and cut his eyebrow bad enough that we though he'd need stitches. Then we tried to make some breakfast. My crazy sister in law screamed at me and accused me of trying to kill her unborn baby because I had offered her a cup of coffee! Time to go! Yeah, we had a great time. So, no, I am NOT the camping type. I have to have a real roof over my head, my internet, my satellite TV and my coffee pot! Doing without any of my 'necessities' is not my idea of a good time!

 

[InsaneCdn]

I have to have a real roof over my head, my internet, my satellite TV and my coffee pot! Doing without any of my 'necessities' is not my idea of a good time!

Well, I guess I'm half-way in between.
I need a real roof and real walls. A stove, a furnace... and my own washroom.

But... it's fine if it's on wheels...

We go out into nature to get away from technology... and love that part of it. Hiking, canoeing (not with toddlers... ), cooking over a campfire in fair weather. But... come night or come storm, I'd rather be a turtle, safe in my "shell". It's not immune to every possible problem, but then, an house isn't either.

 

[AnnieO]

We had a coffeepot... I'd never survive without one.

husband and Pat slept in a tent during a near tornado once at Relay For Life. The rest of us had been herded into the school gym... They were already asleep.

I do believe in somewhat roughing it. For instance, tent for sure. But am air mattress is necessary. I have a portable camp toilet but prefer an actual restroom... And husband can cook almost anything on a camp stove or fire.

 

[SuZir]

Hey, coffee boiled on campfire is the best coffee anyway. No coffee-maker or brewing system gets even close.

We have always done lots of outdoorsy stuff, also when kids were young. There were times, when I stopped and wondered if we were sane or not, like middle of one three day, 15 mile hike, I carrying toddler aged easy child and a bit of stuff (still closer to fifty pounds all together), husband having all the other stuff (insanely heavy backpack in other words) and four year old difficult child deciding he didn't want to walk one meter more. Or that extremely bright idea of two weeks of sailing with 25 feet boat and adding to it a one night trip (we slept at a tiny island in a tent though, thank heavens) with cruising dinghy (e.g. very small, open sailing boat), when easy child was just about to turn one and had just learned to walk and difficult child was a bit shy of four.

Thinking back, we would had not lost much, if we had kept just a year or two break from more adventures stuff during the most difficult ages and just done day trips, or one night at tent or sailed only two or three day trips and other than that done only day trips. But at that time it did feel like ages before the boys would had been bit older. And midst of all those "and whose bright idea this was, again" we did have some great fun too.

 

[helpangel]

My whole childhood I camped all summer every summer, tried to keep that going with my kids but last year Angel got kicked out of campground by one of the sheriff's and haven't been back since; so I'll take camping with toddlers over teenagers any day.

Nancy

 

[svengandhi]

I'm with Donna. We went camping when the boys were 6, turning 2 and 3 months and daughter was 4 1/2. I was nursing the baby (now PC17) and got the air mattress, which kept deflating all night. It was difficult child's 2nd birthday and he jumped on to the air mattress and yelled "Appy burfay" so we sang to him - THIRTY NINE times! It was his birthday the other day, I called him at college and said: "20 more to go...!" Then, a hurricane came and we had to evacuate... I have not camped again but all of my kids were in scouting and love the outdoors. difficult child is even an Eagle Scout. When H takes the kids camping, that's MY vacation.