Camping with Baby?

[snowshoe]

My wife will be having our baby anyday now. All this advise is very helpfull. I plan on starting out with day hikes then move up to car camping and then to the backpacking. I am looking forward to this new adventure with a young one. I already have the Kelty Kids pack with all the extra bags to carry my baby. Cant wait to try it out. Plus it will get my wife more involved with hiking as well.

 

[AlpineZone]

This is all great advice. We'll be car camping with our 18 month old for the first time over Labor Day weekend. We may try to do an overnight camping trip before then to see how it goes. We wanted to wait until she was walking and stable. She's so active now exploring around the yard that I think she's really gonna love it. I don't think we would have been daring enough to camp with a four month old, but if you follow some of the advice here you'll probably be fine.

 

[Bee]

Thanks All for the Advice & Encouragement

I appreciate everyone's 2 cents and support. It's good to know that we're following in some great hiking footsteps with the baby. We've done some day hikes but never had insect problems so I completely overlooked that point - thanks for the reminder!

We have a huge tent - I think we can even get a pack and play in there although I wasn't sure if there were other creative sleeping options. He's not crawling yet but I think he might wiggle his way off of a sleeping pad, and I definitely want to keep him off of the ground esp. if it rains. Any ideas other than carting the pack and play?

He still fits in a Bjorn but it's hard on us to carry him around in for long stretches. Anybody want to chime in on some advice on picking out a good baby backpack carriers? Right now he's 4 months and 18 pounds...I think he's going to be a big guy at the rate he's going!


Thanks again

ps - Snowshoe - good luck to you and your wife! It's the best experience there is!

 

[AlpineZone]

Re: Thanks All for the Advice & Encouragement

Anybody want to chime in on some advice on picking out a good baby backpack carriers? Right now he's 4 months and 18 pounds...

I hope Darren doesn't mind me posting this link, but this discussion helped me a lot when I was shopping for a kid carrier:

http://forums.alpinezone.com/viewtopic.php?t=520

I've seen the Kelty Backcountry at Costco for ~$140. Hope this helps. Oh, BTW, my little 18 month old daughter is just over 20 lbs at best!

 

[nietzschescat]

camping with babies.

The only time we had a little difficulty was taking my younger daughter across Forked Lake in the Adirondacks in a canoe. She had strong objections to the life jacket and screamed the entire trip to the campsite ruining any sense of solitude anyone might have had and scaring any wildlife within miles.
Generally car camping was no problem. I just brought a lot of extra clothes and you can't worry too much about getting dirty.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

A few posts above, I mentioned the kid now carrying 80-100 pound packs. Here are some pictures of when I could carry more than him.

http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/tmpadk/liljr1.jpg

and

http://newmud.comm.uottawa.ca/~pete/tmpadk/liljr2.jpg

The youngest in these pictures is now carrying the big packs.

On the way back from Tabletop the other day, I met Stephan (I think) who was 5 years old, and who was working on peaks 8 and 9 that day IIRC. He was with an older guy, probably his father, and a slightly older guy, probably his brother.

 

[Brien]

I bought "Buzz-Off" for my daughter who will be two later this summer because it is all natural. I tried it to see how effective it is and I must say it does work well. Two things of note though, 1. It's a roll on, so you can only effectively apply it to open skin. 2. It's effectiveness is short term, an hour maybe a little more. If you sweat a lot, take some more time off. The label says 2 hours plus but that's like walkie talkies that have a 5 mile range. The plus side is that it is all natural and it works! The smell isn't bad either. Acutally it is a hell of a lot more pleasant than any DEET spray I've ever used. It is a bit pricey at 12 bucks a bottle but it lasts!

 

[percious]

About backpacks.

I would not recommend the Kelty Backcountry. It is the one I have. I am kind of suffering with it until I have the time to explore alternatives. Here are a few of the problems:
1. The shoulder straps move up to their fullest extent. I believe this has been fixed in the new version however.
2. The child sits, VERY far away from your back. The pack that zips on is useless, and puts weight even further away.
3. The accessories you can buy for it are overpriced, and not wasteful. I made my own sack for the bottom, and a bug net for the whole shabang. Total cost < $100, including a used sewing machine. Kelty charges 50 for the netting, and 20 for the cargo bag, but the bag wastes a lot of space under the pack, and again forces the weight away from you.
4. The pack is heavy. 8 lbs of dead weight is just wasteful. I think you could do the same thing for 1/2 the weight.
5. The straps give you bruises on a long hike.

I would be interested to hear if anyone has found a better solution.

-percious

 

[wally2q]

Make It Happen

This is a photo of Ethan, on his first camping trip.
- 4 days
- 45 minute canoe paddle from the car

He was 8 months at the time.


the wall..........

 

[wally2q]

Make It Happen

This is a photo of Ethan, on his / our first camping trip.
- 4 days
- 45 minute canoe paddle from the car

He was 8 months at the time.


the wall..........

 

[AlpineZone]

Sorry to hear you haven't had good experiences with the Kelty Back Country, percious. It's been fine for me, but I haven't used it on long hikes. To confirm, I did see it again at Costco this weekend. The price was $145.

 

[Rick]

Wow Pete, Looking at your pics makes me feel sad just thinking that my 3 year old will grow up soooo soon.
I know you have a lot to be proud of.
Cheers
Rick

 

[Pete_Hickey]

makes me feel sad just thinking that my 3 year old will grow up soooo soon.
Rick

Yep.. first you're carrying them.. Then, you're
walking, waiting... Then they're walking with you, Then they're walking faster than you. Then they're saying, 'Let me take some of your weight to make it easier for you.

It happens REAL fast.

 

[percious]

On a more positive note. I just purchased a Tough Traveler carrier. MUCH better! I just took it this weekend, up Killington, Abraham, and to Lye Brook Falls. ~20 miles over 3 days. I love the new pack. I think my son likes it better too. Its good because he can't slouch left or right as much in it, because the head pads prevent that. Furthermore, his weight is put right up against my back, and the attached storage compartment is also right up against me.

Most importantly, I have no bruises, which wasnt the case after 2 hikes with Kelty's offering. Did I mention it only weighs 4.25 lb! The kelty was 8lb, and that didnt even include a pack for underneath. The pack has enough storage for more then a few items.

My only complaint is the buckle system for the shoulder straps could be improved. On ascents when you are leaning over, the buckles rub against your backbone a bit, but its not really that uncomfortable.

I highly recommend this pack.

-percious