Our First Time Camping with a Baby

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Before we added our daughter to our family, I was really worried that having a baby meant we’d be trapped at home forever. No more adventures? Noooo!

That might be why I felt compelled to try to take her camping as soon as it was warm enough. We didn’t want to ask too much of her. But we also wanted to make sure that we weren’t giving up on different things that we enjoyed without even trying to see if she might like them too.

We decided that somewhere close to home would be the ticket- we wanted to be able to bail out if she was having a horrible time, or if she was just too loud for any neighbouring campers.

So, we figured that Murphy’s Point Provincial Park would be perfect. Close to home, with hiking trails right in the park, we thought it couldn’t get much better. Spoiler alert: we were right.

We booked a campsite for mid-May, on the weekend BEFORE the long weekend. This turned out to be a brilliant plan- there weren’t any other campers in sight!

Here are some of the things we did to help our trip go smoothly…

Staying Organized

When we go car camping, its super tempting to bring everything we own! But then it’s really easy to feel disorganized when we’re actually at the campsite, because we have so much stuff.

We normally toss everything into one huge bag when we go, but we wanted to feel a little more organized this time around. So instead, we decided to divide things by where we would need them while we were camping/what we would need them for.

We used a big hockey-style bag for everything tent and sleeping related. We also brought a tote bin with everything we needed for cooking and eating (food went in the cooler). Finally, we had a smaller bin that had everything our daughter needed for her day to day care.

That way it was really easy to just cart her bin into the tent, and then we had all her clothes, diapers, wipes, creams (and other supplies, like her white noise machine), readily at hand. As a bonus, it acted as a great little table top to set things on and to help us stay organized (i.e. formula stayed on top so we knew exactly where it was during the night). Our tent is intended to sleep eight people, so we had lots of room!

Finally, because we knew we were planning on hiking, we had our hiking packs filled with everything we would need for the hike. That meant we were doubling up on bringing certain things (like wipes and diapers in two spots), but it also meant that we didn’t need to shuffle things around and always knew where everything that we needed was. We found this very helpful!

Eating

Our daughter is still young enough that she only really needs milk or formula, making things a little bit easier than they might have been otherwise. We packed up every single bottle she owned, as well as a fresh tub of formula. We also made sure to bring along a big container of water from home so that we didn’t have to use water from the park.

Daytime bottles were easy, because it was pretty warm out and we could see what we were doing easy. For the night though, we needed to make a plan for if she wanted a bottle. We certainly weren’t going to be measuring out water and formula in the dark. And if there’s one thing our daughter hates, it’s a cold bottle, so we couldn’t just pre-measure and then leave the bottles out in the cool night air. I mean, we could, but then we ran the risk of waking up anyone within a ten mile radius!

What we ended up doing was pre-measuring formula into her little powdered formula dispenser, and pre-pouring water into her bottle. Then, we just put a cap on the bottle and slept with it in one of our sleeping bags to make sure it stayed warm enough for her discerning tastes. It was the baby equivalent of sleeping with your boots in the winter!

We also made our meals as easy as possible. For dinner on Friday we brought leftover stir fry that was easy to reheat, and on Saturday we had quesadillas I had made ahead of time at home, and salad that was already chopped up. For lunch we just had snacks and classic peanut butter and jam sandwiches. Breakfasts we took our time with, cooking up eggs, pancakes, and bacon. Yum!

Sleeping

Sleeping was, of course, the thing we were most nervous about. Well, technically, we were worried about any CRYING that would accompany a lack of sleep. We really didn’t want to keep other campers awake.

We felt a lot better about things when we realized there was almost no one else tenting in the entire park.

We’ve taken our daughter lots of places, almost since the day she was born. So we’ve had our Phil and Ted travel crib for a while now, and we still really like it. It was important to us that she was comfy and warm. But we also wanted to make sure she was still safe, because she was just under six months at the time.

The travel crib was a great option for this camping trip because one side zips down. That allowed us to get close to her to comfort her when she woke up like “where the heck are we??” But then we were also able to zip the side back up once she had nodded off again, so we knew that she had her own safe space to sleep in.

For the week before our trip, we tried to do at least one nap a day in her travel crib because she hadn’t had to use it in a while.

Staying Warm While Sleeping

Checking the forecast, we knew that it was supposed to go up to 20°C during the day, and drop to 5°C at night. That’s a big temperature spread to plan for!

We brought a TON of layers so that we could figure out what would work best for our daughter. I can’t wait until she’s older and we can feel more confident just pulling her into a sleeping bag with us. Some people might feel okay with this, but I sleep like a LOG (but a log that rolls around and thrashes a lot) so I’ve never felt confident I would wake up if she needed me to.

But for this trip, we brought FIVE different layers to make sure our bases were covered. From inside to out, she had: a onesie, a regular sleeper, a fleece sleeper, her normal “love to dream” sleep sack, and then a winter Halo sleep sack.

And we brought doubles of everything except her sleep sacks, in case she leaked thru her first few layers.

She felt too warm in all five layers, so we dropped her lighter sleep sack and then she was more comfortable. Her little face and hands were a bit chilly, but her core was toasty warm. We were also mindful of not letting her get OVERHEATED with all those layers. All her hats fall off her big head and I haven’t found one that works for her yet, so we didn’t end up using one.

We also brought extra layers for ourselves, just in case one of us had to sit up with her throughout the night to help her feel safe. Those newborn days must have still been on our mind! We brought a camp chair into the tent in case we needed it (told you the tent was huge), but we lucked out and never needed to use it.

Playing

We scored a four sided bug tent off Kijiji before we left. And since it was May in Canada, it came in super handy! The black flies were out, so we set up the picnic table inside that tent, and put down a blanket for our daughter to play on too. We put a tarp underneath the blanket to keep away some of the moisture and cold from the ground. Other than that, we just brought along a few of her usual toys and it was just like being at home.

Murphy’s Point Provincial Park

We were really happy with our choice of campground for this experiment. Murphy’s Point Provincial Park had a really cool feel to it. The campsites were set in amongst rocky, tree covered hills throughout the park. There was also a ton of deadfall, giving the forest an older feel.

We stayed at site 104, and it was amazing! It was huge, and had a perfect combination of sunlight and shade. Our tent is really big, and we had no problems finding the perfect spot to put it.

The outhouses (with sinks) were on the opposite side of the campground from our site. If the park were busier, it probably would have been easier to stay closer to them. Instead, we drove over a few times.

We also drove out to the “comfort station” a couple times. There, they had real washrooms, showers, laundry, and a wash tub. We used the tub to wash out her bottles, and our dirty dishes.

We stopped by the camp store once, to see if they had any bug jackets. I only remembered one, and obviously the baby was going to get it if needed. Bug jackets were on back order, but they had just about everything else you could ever need!

Firewood was available for purchase at the store, and they had canoe and kayak rentals as well. We didn’t take the time to paddle on this trip, but hopefully we’ll get around to it next time.

What I Would do Differently

We honestly had such a good time that there’s not much I can think of that I’d do differently.

But, would I would DEFINITELY do next time around is try to get our daughter more comfortable being in the tent ahead of time. Normally before we go anywhere, we set up her traveler crib at home and let her have some naps in there so that she remembers it’s an okay place to be. With camping, you have the same opportunity with the tent! Unlike when you’re staying at a hotel or somebody’s house, you can get into the tent ahead of time and help babies understand that it’s a nice place to be.

During our daughter’s night time wake ups, I think she was a little bit thrown off by not knowing exactly where she was. So there was a little bit of extra crying and cuddling involved to help her get back to sleep.

Unfortunately, we moved recently and our backyard is still a construction zone so I wasn’t able to help her acclimate to the tent ahead of time. For future trips (when we have grass), I’m definitely going to set up the tent at home and spend some time with her in it so that she feels extra comfortable when she’s spending the night there.

Success!

Ultimately, we really felt like our trip was a success. Our daughter had just as much fun as she normally does, and seemed to be pretty comfortable with the whole idea of camping. And she got a ton of fresh air!

We didn’t get as much hiking done as we thought we might, but that’s okay. I figured that since we were staying so close to the trailheads, we’d be able to get out on the trails much more quickly, and hike both the trails in the park that we hadn’t explored yet.

I kind of forgot how long everything takes when you’re camping though. By the time we were done cooking breakfast and cleaning up, it was already time for our daughter’s first nap! On the flip side though, that’s the nice thing about camping. There’s nothing to do but take your time with whatever you’re doing. If we were at home, I would have spent that time running around doing the million little things that need to be done. But at the campsite, it was easier to relax and unwind.

It was great to be outside all weekend, and a nice chance for our old dog to bark at some chipmunks. Murphy’s Point Provincial Park was absolutely perfect for our first camping trip, and we’ll definitely be back!

Do you have any tips when it comes to camping with babies?

Gear We Brought

• Everything

Seriously Though

For Sleeping and Campsite:

• Eureka 8 Man Tent
• Straw Mat from Dollarama (for vestibule, to take shoes off, etc.)
• Sleeping Bags
• Thermarest Sleeping Pads
• MEC Camping Pillows
• Large Quilt (for under crib)
• Phil & Teds Traveller Crib
• Coleman Classic Rechargeable LED Lantern
• Hushh White Noise Sound Machine for Baby
• Solar Charger (we left this one out in the rain once and it still worked after- we were so happy! Turns out it’s waterproof.)
• Wet Bag (for diapers during the night)
• Clear Storage Bin
• Diapers
• Wipes
• Penaten
• Onesies
• Sleepers
• Fleece Sleepers
• Love To Dream Transition Sleep Sack
• Halo Winter SleepSack
• Dog Bed
• Dog Winter Coat
• Long Rope (for dog)
• Dog Harness

For Eating:

• Formula
• Baby Bottles(so many!)
• Powdered Formula Dispenser
• Water Jug (with water from home)
• Coleman Classic Propane Stove(and propane)
• Frying Pan
• Coffee Percolator
• Plates, Mugs, and Cutlery
• Spatula and Tongs
• Non-stick Cook Spray
• Dishsoap and Sponge
• Microfibre Drying Towel
• Two Breakfasts
• Two Dinners
• Two Lunches
• Snacks
• Coffee
• Condiments
• Plastic Bags (for garbage and to carry dirty dishes to wash)
• Paper Towels
• Dog Food
• Dog Water Bowl

For Playing and During the Day:

• Tarp
• Small Quilt
• Books
• Toys
• Wool Knit Jumper (from 1988)

For Hiking:

• Hiking Boots
• Wool Socks
• Leggings
• T-Shirts
• Light Jackets
• Cell Phones
• Sunglasses
• Baby Sunglasses
• Baby Polyester Sleeper
• Infantino Up Close Newborn Carrier
• Baby Sleep Sack (Fleece)
• Pacifier(and back-up pacifier!)
• Mountain Warehouse Day Pack
• Coghlan’s Bear Bell
• Snacks
• Nalgene 32 Ounce Bottle
• Bottle + Formula
• Diapers
• Change of Baby Clothes
• Coppertone Waterbabies Stick Sunscreen
• First Aid Kit with Tick Removal Tool
• SOL 2-Person Emergency Bivvy
• Compass
• Fire Starter Kit
• Bug Lotion
• 55 Litre Day Pack (for carrying dog if she got too tired)
• Dog Water Bowl
• Dog Waste Bags
• Leash