Camp with Ky
- Victoria
- Aug 22, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 17, 2023
Camping with children can sound daunting to even the most avid adventurer. There can be more perils than at home, especially if the child is mobile. There are bugs, animals, tripping hazards, LOTS of dirt and we can't forget the fear of a screaming child driving your neighbours to create a voodoo doll of you. It doesn't have to be frightening though, kids of any age will love being outside and the fresh air can lead to some great sleeps all around.
From a personal standpoint, for as long as I can remember, camping has been a huge part of my life. My parents took my siblings and I camping at young ages and I still have lots of memories of playing with them outside.
Last summer, I introduced Shane to camping and now that Kymani is here, I was keen to share these experiences with him so we took him camping for two nights at the Voyageur Provincial Park in Ontario. In my family, I have the honor of being the youngest to go camping, having started at 4 months but Kymani has me beat by a long shot as he was only 7 weeks when we took him.
In order to prepare for camping with an infant we did lots of research in order to pick the proper - safe and comfortable - gear for him. Below, I'll tell you about my favorite and provide some tips to help you be successful on your adventures.
Stay close & don't go alone!
We choose a campground that was close by so that we could easily return home if there were any issues. Thankfully we didn't have to, although a family at a neighbouring campsite did when their 3-year old was not having a good time. We had never been to this campground, but online reviews said it was family friendly with private sites - two key features to camping with children.
We also invited my parents (in their trailer) to camp with us on the same site. Anyone with children knows how helpful an extra set of hands can be. The added bonus to this was that Kymani's grandparents got to experience some firsts and spend some quality time with him.
Invest in a good travel sleep system!
There are lots of travel cribs and bassinets available to purchase however, the majority of travel sleep systems are actually not rated for safe sleep, especially in Canada. After doing tons of research, we decided to go with the Lotus Guava .
Even though this travel crib conforms to play pen standards here in Canada, it does not meet the country's safety standards for cribs. Therefore, since it is marketed as a travel crib, it is not sold here. Ultimately though, we decided it was still a safe sleep system to use as Pack n Plays are commonly used without issues.
We chose this travel crib over the typical pack n play for a few reasons. Most importantly was the ease which we could travel with it. It is easy to assemble and disassemble, comes with a backpack that it fits easily into, weighs only 13lbs, and meets most carry on size allowances. This means that we can easily take it on any adventures around the world! Comparatively speaking, most pack n plays fit into a bag close to the size of a full suitcase and weigh around 30lbs.
There are other travel cribs that have similar features, like Phil & Ted's, but the Lotus Guava really ticked all of our boxes. For example, while traveling we wanted quick and easy access to Kymani. The Lotus Guava is equipped with a side zipper and this has come in super handy while camping, especially for night feedings. I was able to sleep with the zip open and reach him easily without rousing him inadvertently.
Eat well!
If you're familiar with reading my blog, you'll know that I tend to do more backcountry camping which means limited supplies. My camping food is often simple or instant meals - ramen, instant rice, etc. A major perk of not going alone (especially going with my parents and their trailer) is that we had some nice hearty meals. This allowed us to keep our strength and energy up to carry Kymani on our hikes.
Pack Extras!
When you're exploring with children you never know how much of something you'll actually need so you should always pack extras. Since we were only going for 2 nights, we packed one extra item of everything (i.e - 3 swaddles, 3 pjs etc.,). One item you can never pack too much of with young children though is diapers! Since we use cloth diapers, we brought our whole stash!
We were able to set up a changing station in my parents trailer and this made changing him feel normal and easy. We didn't have to wash the diapers since our trip was so short, they just went into a wet bag until we returned home. For longer trips though, we will most likely have to hand wash the soiled ones at campgrounds as we go.
Don't overstimulate the baby!
It's easy to add the baby to your activities, but we often forget that things that we take for granted are new and interesting to them. Babies themselves thrive on routine so breaking their habits can have unintended consequences. We definitely learned this the hard way. On our first night, Kymani had arguably his best night ever sleep wise. He slept for a solid five hour stretch. Flushed with joy from our sound sleep, we spent the next day hiking and canoeing, neglecting nap times and wake windows. Needless to say, Kymani's sleep on the second night was less than ideal. He woke up every hour and seemed fairly miserable throughout. The lesson here was to keep to a schedule as much as possible. New stimulus is needed for a baby to learn about the world but too much stimulus leads to a cranky baby.
Luckily for us, our first camping trip with Kymani went well. There were ups and downs on the journey but we learned valuable lessons and we'll be applying them on our next camping trip. Hopefully, these tips can help you on your next adventure.
He’s the cutest camping buddy!