Camping with 13 Month Old

YAY, I have no advice for you because I had the same question! I also have a 14 mo. old and must get out of this house now that it is getting nicer by the day. All these ideas are great tips and I thank you for asking the question before I did:)

Hi S., we took my oldest son camping when he was about 11 months old, and had a great time! We drove up to Madeleine Island in WI (with friends)...absolutely beautiful! The only problem is it dipped down into the 30s at night (we went over Memorial Weekend)! A tad bit chilly, let me tell ya! We had 2 air mattresses that hooked together, and 2 sleeping bags we zipped together, and put our son in the middle, with a LOT of blankets and since it got so cold, his coat, winter hat, and mittens! :) Ahhh....the memories. My son really enjoyed it and was really good.

Anyway, we're looking to go again now that we have 2. Should be interesting!

I am not sure if you are talking about tent camping or in a camper, but we bought a camper when our daughter was 6 weeks old and have camped ever since. She is now 10 months old and we are very anxious to get back at it. If you are tent camping, you could do a playpen or have him sleep with you on an air mattress. Something similar to what he is used to at home. Get a hiking backpack that will hold him so you can hike and do the things you love to do still. We went in a row boat last year, but not a canoe, and that worked out just fine. She had her own life jacket of course.

Go for it. My husband and I took our son camping when he was 13 months old and he did awesome. We drove throught the night to Wyoming and he slept most of the way. When he was awake we had the DVD player to keep him entertained. I couldn't believe how great he did, he was happy playing in the dirt when we were setting up the tent.

We also took our daughter for the first time last summer, she was 15 months. It was a much longer drive, as we ended up in Colorado. She also did awesome and had her big brother to play in the dirt with. Both the kids had hiking sticks. Don't forget the baby carrier, they have an erog baby carrier which you can order online which is the best thing I have ever seen. It holds kids up to 60 pounds and it is so small you can just fold it up.

Good luck.

A friend of mine used snow sleds for beds. You know the cheap ones with the sides. Just put blankets in there for padding and the kids couldn't roll away.

When our baby was a couple months old we used his changing mat that had sides. Worked great. Not sure what we're going to do this year. We already have 2 kids on sleeping mats, so there is no room for a play pen for our little guy to sleep in. We'll have to see if we can find a sled :)

We just took our 13-month old camping in Yosemite. She slept in a pack-n-play with all her animals and blankies from home. We used a "hook-on" highchair for the campsite picnic table for meals. Milk was heated over a propane stove. Had a blast! Suggest bringing lots of toys from home and many clothes. Next time I'll bring a large tub to try and bathe her (heating up water over propane stove) since she got quite dirty. We also brought the jog stroller and backpack - she liked those familiar things. Have fun!

Hi S.,

I took my (now 3yr old) to the BWCAW when he was 5 1/2 months old. Not bragging... just want you to know that if you have the right mind set, you can do ANYTHING! He was a wonderful camper, but not the best canoe rider... but we had a good time anyway (I think he disliked his life jacket). The other ladies had great suggestions. I can only say that if you are carrying in your gear, try to limit the number of toys that you take for him... there will be plenty of stimulation from Mother Nature. If he has any particular favorite toy, make sure to bring that for his comfort! I had my baby sleep with me in my sleeping bag for his warmth (we went in August, but it was still cold at night).

With canoeing, my suggestion would be to get a small paddle (they sell them at outdoor stores) to let him have his own so that he doesn't feel he has to have yours (my little guy would NOT accept just sitting in the canoe when we went... he had to paddle). Take him out for a short ride and explain about sitting in the canoe (make sure he has a cushion or something to keep his clothes dry... just in case there happens to be any water in the bottom of the canoe). I also suggest making sure he is comfortable with wearing his life vest (we let our little one wear it around the house for a couple of times before going out)and being in the water (again... just in case a capsize situation occurs). The more comfortable he is up front, the better for all of you! Have a GREAT time!!! ;o)

Our first camping trip was not a very fun experience. My husband doesn't pay much attention to some details which hurt us at bedtime. He had left the door open to the tent! Our son was having a lot of trouble going to sleep because it was still light. And when he would fall asleep he would only sleep for like 15 minutes. My husband did a lot of driving around with him to get him to fall asleep. When we went to bed that's when we learned that there was a ton of mosqitos in there. Our poor little guy was getting chewed on! No wonder why he wasn't sleeping! We finally got him to sleep between us on an air mattress - that way I could keep him covered up. Also, we went in the middle of July - too hot. To make a long story a little shorter we ended up taking Levi to my moms for the remainder of the weekend!

We'll probably attempt in again this summer now that he'll be almost 2. I would also stress making sure you have lots of extra things...clothes. It was super hot during the day but got pretty cold at night.

Have fun!

We took our son when he was 6 months and 18 months. We purchased a larger tent that would fit a pack 'n' play and that worked great for him. He slept well because of all the activity and fresh air he took in all day. Have fun!

Hi, S.!

We went last year with our then 2.5 year old and 8 month old. The 2.5 year old slept in a sleeping bag right next to us. For the 8 month old, we put our divider down in the tent and put her in the pack-n-play on the other side. Worked fine. I did her normal bedtime routine and she went down pretty easy every night. Not sure how we'll handle this year. She might do better sleeping next to us or with us this year.

We had a hook-on chair for the table that worked well. You might want to invest in a screen for around the table if you don't already have one. We didn't and could've used it. I'm not crazy about covering the little ones in bug spray.

Good luck1

Close to home is a good idea. I packed my playpen and lots of toys. Plan lots of activites, like swimming, hiking, parks, fishing, ect. My daughter loved the beach area.
She also had fun playing in our car while we were eating and bon fires. I was right there supervising her, and she would pretend she was driving, lol.

I went camping when my daughter was 9mos.old and I made her a little nest with blankets next to the airmattress I was on. I kept her in her stroller alot and brought alot of little things to do. I also put her warm pj's on and put her in a fleece snowsuit to sleep with blankets. It was in May so a bit chilly at night.

My daughter's dad took her camping at age 3 and he did the same made her a little bed out of a ton of blankets. I packed her lot's of clothing,socks and lot's of warm clothing like coats etc. I even packed her rain boots and rain coat which came in handy as it rained.

My daughter has done just great camping. But be ready for anything. My nephew screamed his lungs out the entire night and kept the whole camp ground up when he was about a year old. He hated camping.

I would also bring a alot of emergency type items like a first aid kit but make your own and add baby tylenol and things like that.

S.,
We took our son camping when he was 12 months and he had a blast!!! For sleeping we just brought along his play pen and put him in that with his pillow and blankets. We did the same thing when my daughter turned 11 months. Just make sure you take enough stuff in case it gets really cold at night. Other then that, we had a really fun time. ( hope you do to ) :o) Its a good thing to stay kind of close just in case your son doesn't like it, we took a big chance and went 3 hours away the first time...but thank god they were both having so much fun there were no problems. ( good luck!!)

My family and I do a lot of camping and have with our children since they were little. We did a tent for the first few years keeping out bags in the car and only the babies things in the tent. Before we went we put the tent up at home in the yard. Made sure that he knew what it was and then on the weekend before we went we did nap time out there. It was a really good practice run. It allowed us to see what things we would need for him during the night out in the camp ground. Like for example we needed an extra blanket just to put on the side of the porta crib to block the direct view of mom and dad laying next to him. The other things that helped was a radio we plugged in just to have as background music. We slept with it on all night the first night and by the second night we only needed half the night...that and the batteries went out. Good Luck and have a great time!

My first was only about a month old the first time we went camping. We are fortunate enough to have a pop up camper with plenty of room, so it worked out just fine. Now my oldest is 6 and my youngest is 3 1/2 and we're expecting #3. We've had tons of fun, done canoe trips, etc. If you are active enough, in combination with that fresh air, by nighttime they are so worn out that you'll be surprised if you have to lay down for even 5 minutes with them!

For the camper, we brought the bed rail from her bedroom and used that on one side of the mattress. On the other side, we set baggage so she wouldn't shimmy out the end of the bunk in the middle of the night!!

One thing we have found helpful that took us a bit of adjusting is to check out the campground amenities. Not so much a problem when they are younger than 2, but, now we need to have a play structure, water feature, trails, etc. Pre-child years we loved camping at our fine MN state parks with nice wooded, secluded sites. Now that our kids are more active, the state park amenities can be challenging.

Good luck and Enjoy!!

DO IT!!! I camped (In camp grounds)with my kids as toddlers, and it was nice. Just be prepared for MUCH more work. It is amazing how many things there are for a 13 month old to "eat"! Tips... if you aren't going to want to hold/follow him around every minute, bring a port-a-crib or one of those circular outdoor gate/cage systems. And get a site near the playgroud if they have one. Even if your kid can't play much yet, there will be other kids for him to watch, and more families that won't complain about any crying. If you are going to hike in potentially dangerous areas... cliffs or water - get a "leash" that is held onto the kid with a harness. (I know, some people say they are cruel, but safety is a priority!) As for sleeping, a softly lit or glowing toy is great. When they are a bit older, getting them a special light is nice. Don't count on just a sleeping bag. Little ones tend to wriggle out of them, and you don't want to have to wake him to push him back in. Having blankets on hand is easier! It is also nice to have a stocking cap to keep their heads warm on cool nights. Good luck!

I took my son camping last year when he was 5 months old. It was really wonderful. I plan on many more trips this year. He really seemed to enjoy living outside for those couple of days. Now that he is walking, I was worried about how he will be around the fire-pit. I took him to a bonfire at a friend's house last weekend and was really impressed with his understanding that the fire is hot and to keep a respectful distance. As we co-sleep anyway, camp-bedding was not really an issue. If you're comfortable with your son sleeping with you, I would recommend that, otherwise you can always put a 'pack-n-play' in your tent. Be sure to choose a site with plenty of shade to limit sun-exposure on tender skin. Also, I highly recommend using some kind of carrier/sling - cloth or the metal-framed backpack type - so that you can still go hiking without lugging a stroller and hoping it'll make it over the trail. Your son will love the 'bird's eye' view too!

Happy camping!

We took our kids camping by 6 months! They are now 4 and 1 and love camping. It's a nice, cheap vacation, and gets you away from the tv and the house for awhile - as you know!
We take our Pack-N-Play for the little one to sleep in. This tends to keep her warmer, and contained. We sometimes use the stroller with a snack tray for mealtimes. Remember lots of kid-friendly snacks and foods, and short hikes and activities. And be careful of the campfire - they love to get too close! Also, if you tent, bring some rainy day books and games or plan nearby indoor activities, since it will be a LONG day with a toddler in a tent! :) Good luck and have fun!

We LOVE camping, and our oldest went for the first tiem whe nhe was only 2 months old! He's been camping at least once a month every summer since!

Just be prepared for later bedtimes, and early mornings. Even now at almost 5(and our youngest is 19 months) camping throws bedtime out the window, which is fine.

Just remember snacks, drinks, cups, warm clothes, familiar bedding liek blankes and pillows, and you'll be all set!

i took one of my boys when they were only 5weeks old and it was in a tent we used a pack n play for him worked out great and all the fresh air realy made him sleepy.we only did three days two nights but we have been going eveey year since and i have 4 sons now and they all love it even my 1 year old. good luck and have fun