So this weekend we went camping... Leading up to it I was really nervous and had cruised Pintrest more than one looking for 'camping with a toddler tips'. For the most I didn't find much that helped, it seemed to be for Americans who didn't want their toddler to be eaten by a bear, understandable but unlikely in Dover. So here is my version of this, but with less bears...
1. Company : We went as a group of 4 families, with children ranging from 7 to Tom as the youngest at one! What worked well with this is the communal living style. The children all played together, including Tom. And the adults could watch each other's children for loo breaks and a bit of mummy time. If you can, go as a group. I think I would have found it much harder of it was just the 3 of us, especially when the car ran out of battery!
2 : Packing : I will do a separate post on what I packed as I think it would work better. What I will say is that you will not pack as much as you think. Consider how much you already carry around in your nappy bag, that's usually enough for two days in a pinch, so you are working from solid foundations!
3 : Lifesavers :
A. Travel Cot : Tom slept in bed with me, so this was not used at night. However, during the day this was flippin great! Tom could play safely as we put up the tent, made food, when he was winding down or when he needed to be kept out of the sun. It was also a place for extra storage when not in use.
B. IKEA Torkis bucket : This is a 9 gallon oval rubber bucket, and it is so frickin useful! We used it to carry stuff from the car, washing up, a splash pool for Tom and again general storage. We was lucky to have great weather and Tom was really warm so it was great to have a way to strip him off and cool him down without having to inflate something, and it wasn't so shallow that he was climbing in and out. It could have also been a baby bath but we was roughing it!
C. 0.5 tog GroBag : I found this helpful to put Tom to sleep in so he was covered in a warm tent in the evening and then when the night cooled I added an extra layer. At home Tom is currently just sleeping on pjs so this was a good equivalent as an extra layer to balance out being in a tent. I think this will be really good for out Spanish holiday next month for similar reasons.
D. Fisher Price Booster Seat : We borrowed this from one of the families we was camping with as their babies are not so much babies any more (sob). This was great for not having to bring a highchair with us or wresting Tom to stay still to eat. It strapped onto the benches we had rented and had a lap strap so his top half was free. Tom didn't seem to mind being in the seat and it made our lives much easier!
4 : Food : This is most likely what I worried about the most. I was aware of Tom's allergies and him not necessarily eating at the same times as everyone else, so I brought along a big selection of foods. I stuck with weetabix for breakfast as it was small and easy to pack. Then I had a big selection of snacks that could be make into a meal, these included crackers, individual cheese, raisins, Cheerios, individual positions of Nutella, fruit pouches and actual fruit! Tom did join some of the communal food but this was really handy!
5 : Fun : (lame title, but couldn't find another way of putting it!) The joy of camping was letting Tom have a good roam of the field and just to practice waking and expel all that energy! It was an animal free site so no worries about poop or dirty ground. I really liked watching him explore his surroundings! Tom doesn't like dry grass against his legs so he crawls like Mowgli from Jungle Book, and it's hilarious!
If you are thinking about camping or are worried about it, then I would say, DO IT! You could easily overthink it and talk yourself out of it, or pack everything in your babies room, but in reality you don't need much and you will get a sense of simplicity in being with your little family with no electronic distractions. It's flippin great! And there wasn't any bears...
Have you got any good camping or travel tips?
