happy campers

I am the farthest thing from an expert, but here’s some logistical information for you mommy-blog types:

• Penelope slept in a pack-n-play, with a sleeping bag, and her beloved blanky.
• Arthur slept on a 3/4 length thermarest that I had for backpacking. He slept on top of one layer of his bunting bag (bundleme), swaddled in a cotton wrap, with a knit blanket over him. If it was colder, I would’ve zipped his bunting bag up, or pulled him into bed with Case and I.
• His mat was right next to our bed, so that I could comfort/feed him quickly if he started crying in the night. Didn’t want to disturb other campers or wake Penelope. It also gave me peace of mind to have him so close, since I wasn’t sure how cold we’d get.
• We stuck to the same nap/bed times and routines.. especially for Penelope. Arthur is good at napping on-the-go, but we kept bedtime the same for him. This meant we took a break in the afternoon for Penelope to nap back at the tent, and put the kids to bed early, as usual, even though we were tempted to keep them up with us. Our kids like/need their sleep.
• Now this is ironic. We brought our beloved sound machine. It plays nature-y cricket-chirpy white noise. We actually piped in crickets/nature on our camping trip. But it served us well– the kids slept great, even though we stayed up talking at the campfire right next to them. Penelope is a terribly light sleeper, so this was a must.
• I brought cheap black sheets to drape around Penelope’s side of the tent. It stayed dark, she slept till her normal waketime.
• The kids had never slept in the same room before (we still have Arthur out in the living room at night), but I put them down at the same time, and it worked out. Arthur would’ve definitely fallen asleep earlier without his big sister jabbering on about nature, but they both fell asleep more quickly than I had anticipated. That way they fell asleep to eachother’s noises, instead of being disturbed if it had been staggered. I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, or when they’re sharing a room at home… but for this trip, it worked.
• Baby wipes. For everything.
• All of the prep-work was done for meals ahead of time, so that it was only a matter of cooking/heating them. This isn’t quite as necessary if you have extra hands to help, but with just the two of us, it was important.
• Lots and lots of snacks… being outdoors, and more active than usual, everyone was extra hungry and thirsty.
• Sand toys were great for playing in the dirt/gravel. Especially since they were new toys, it was novel.
• Overall, it was certainly more difficult than camping just the two of us… but that’s just sort of reflective of life before and after kids. Things get more complicated, a lot more planning is required, but you reap the joy of sharing something you love with your kids. If you enjoy camping, and want your kids to enjoy camping, I say give it a try. Worst-case-scenario, you pack up early and try again next season–camping is cheap– and your kids might just surprise you!