My husband and I LOVE camping and we finally got to take our little 9 month old with us for his first camping trip this past weekend. I'll be honest, I was extremely nervous leading up to the trip. I had literally lost sleep stressing over questions in my mind like: WHERE does the baby sleep? What should he WEAR to sleep? How will we know he is warm enough at night? How do you keep them clean? Where do you PUT them? I did tons of research before we left and all I really learned was you just have to go with the flow and everything will be fine - babies are resilient. No matter how many blogs I read, probably the best piece of advice I got was from a personal friend who recommended the use of a tent heater at night. That was lifesaving advice for me because it gave me piece of mind about keeping him warm at night. I will be blogging later with my own tips and must-haves for camping with a baby in another post later this week, but for now, I just want to reminisce on our little weekend getaway in the mountains...
We decided to camp in Sedona/Oak Creek Canyon because the wind forecast up on the Mogollon Rim (where we typically go) was cold and super windy, so we decided to steer clear of that area. We had our hearts set on camping at Cave Springs campground in Oak Creek because we had stayed there in the past and liked it, but unfortunately by the time we got there Saturday afternoon it was full. All of Sedona and Oak Creek was surprisingly busy so we decided to go for Plan B and head further north toward Flag and around toward Mormon Lake as a last resort. Not long on our "Plan B" detour, we stumbled across Forest Road 237 off of Route 89-A near Fry Canyon that had some dispersed camping available; so we picked a spot and set up camp. It ended up being a really nice camping area and we both agreed that it would be especially good for larger groups. We would definitely go back.
As soon as I put Gavin down, he was overjoyed with the feeling of dirt and pine needles between his fingers. If I learned anything on this trip it is that he is a total BOY! I pretty much already knew that bout him, but seriously, give him a stick, some dirt, and a dog to pester and he is HAPPY. It was so adorable to watch and I was pleasantly surprised to see that he wasn't whining and crying about the new, potentially overstimulating environment. In fact, it didn't take him long to find a favorite stick that I let him hold onto and play with for the rest of the weekend.
As soon as we got there and I put Gavin down on his blanket and saw how thrilled he was, I thought to myself "What was I so worried about? This is going to go just fine!"
As soon as I put Gavin down, he was overjoyed with the feeling of dirt and pine needles between his fingers. If I learned anything on this trip it is that he is a total BOY! I pretty much already knew that bout him, but seriously, give him a stick, some dirt, and a dog to pester and he is HAPPY. It was so adorable to watch and I was pleasantly surprised to see that he wasn't whining and crying about the new, potentially overstimulating environment. In fact, it didn't take him long to find a favorite stick that I let him hold onto and play with for the rest of the weekend.
As soon as we got there and I put Gavin down on his blanket and saw how thrilled he was, I thought to myself "What was I so worried about? This is going to go just fine!"
Not long after we arrived and set up camp, it was about time for little G to take his afternoon nap. It turns out all the fun of playing with sticks and pine cones can wear a baby out pretty quickly - who knew? So into the tent we went. I decided not to bother with his travel crib and just nursed him to sleep on top our air mattress. Once he was out I tip-toed away. Side note: Turns out, sneaking away from a sleeping baby in a tent is A LOT harder than I anticipated! Those zipper doors and crinkly floors are a momma with a sleeping baby's arch-enemy. Good thing I thought ahead and packed our white noise machine to help drown out that nonsense. But even with that thing blaring it took some super mommy ninja stealth to escape without disaster. I definitely felt like I 'leveled up' in my mommy status from that one.
Once little G was out for his nap, we gathered and chopped firewood (and by "we" of course I mean my mountain man of a husband, Eric chopped the wood - pretty sure chopping wood is a requirement if you have a beard), we threw dinner in the dutch oven (Hobo Stew!) and sat back with our books by the fire while it cooked. One of my FAVORITE parts of camping is being COMPLETELY disconnected from technology - except for my camera, of course - but relaxing, enjoying the peace and quiet nature provides, and spending quality time with loved ones is better therapy than anything you can buy in town - if you asked me.
Once little G was out for his nap, we gathered and chopped firewood (and by "we" of course I mean my mountain man of a husband, Eric chopped the wood - pretty sure chopping wood is a requirement if you have a beard), we threw dinner in the dutch oven (Hobo Stew!) and sat back with our books by the fire while it cooked. One of my FAVORITE parts of camping is being COMPLETELY disconnected from technology - except for my camera, of course - but relaxing, enjoying the peace and quiet nature provides, and spending quality time with loved ones is better therapy than anything you can buy in town - if you asked me.
After dinner we had S'mores and Hot Chocolate (obviously), and went to bed.
Ah, bedtime... The moment of truth, the part I was most worried about. Gavin actually did pretty good the first night. Not as good as he does at home of course (he sleeps 10+ hours straight at home!) but overall he did good for a first time camper. The tent heater definitely made a difference and is something I will always have with us from now on - especially for babies because they cant exactly be shoved down into their own sleeping bag (um, have you heard of SIDS?!) and expected to keep themselves warm on a 30 degree night out in the woods.
Even with the tent heater though, he did wake up a few times in the night. I suspect it was mostly because he was in a different environment and he couldn't find his pacifier easily in the dark. The first two times he woke up all I had to do was give him his pacifier back and he immediately went back to sleep. The third time he woke up though (around 4 a.m. or so), Eric pointed out that our tent heater had ran out of propane - so without hesitation, I grabbed Gavin and brought him into our sleeping bag to snuggle up between us for the rest of the night and keep warm. We have one of those large two-person sleeping bags which worked out perfectly.
Ah, bedtime... The moment of truth, the part I was most worried about. Gavin actually did pretty good the first night. Not as good as he does at home of course (he sleeps 10+ hours straight at home!) but overall he did good for a first time camper. The tent heater definitely made a difference and is something I will always have with us from now on - especially for babies because they cant exactly be shoved down into their own sleeping bag (um, have you heard of SIDS?!) and expected to keep themselves warm on a 30 degree night out in the woods.
Even with the tent heater though, he did wake up a few times in the night. I suspect it was mostly because he was in a different environment and he couldn't find his pacifier easily in the dark. The first two times he woke up all I had to do was give him his pacifier back and he immediately went back to sleep. The third time he woke up though (around 4 a.m. or so), Eric pointed out that our tent heater had ran out of propane - so without hesitation, I grabbed Gavin and brought him into our sleeping bag to snuggle up between us for the rest of the night and keep warm. We have one of those large two-person sleeping bags which worked out perfectly.
The next morning for breakfast we had Pancakes, Sausage Links, and Hot Chocolate. Daddy did all the cooking while mommy was on "make sure the baby doesn't eat too much dirt" duty. That was probably the biggest challenge for us on the trip - just the simple fact that I wasn't able to be as helpful with things like cooking, tending to the fire, packing/unpacking, etc. because I had to keep an eye on the baby so much. I mean, it wasn't a HUGE deal - Eric swears he loves doing all the cooking and tending around camp - but I like to be helpful so there were times I felt bad that I wasn't able to do more. We didn't bring a pack 'n play with us because, well... we didn't own one! And I honestly thought we would be OK without one. Which we totally were. I had a nice big durable outdoor blanket that I was able to keep him contained on most of the time; but let's be honest, I have a crawling 9 month old who goes after what he wants, and in the mountains he wanted to get his hands on the earth and explore. Which was totally fine with me! I'm not afraid of letting him get dirty - it just meant I needed to keep a close eye on him to make sure he didn't eat the entire forest. We made a mental note on the way home that having a pack 'n play would have been good for keeping him out of trouble while we needed to just walk away for a few minutes to tend to other things.
After breakfast, Little G took an early nap while daddy read in the hammock and mommy started playing around with her camera. I have been taking some photography classes so I try and get as much practice with my camera as I can. Plus I love pictures so even with an iPhone I'm constantly snapping photos - it drives Eric nuts but I know deep down he loves me anyway and the precious moments from our life I capture.
I've been playing around more with manual focus these days and experimenting with light, so please excuse some of the photos that are out of focus or overexposed - like I said, I am learning! But for the most part, I was really happy with some of the shots I got. They're sooooo much better than what you can take with an iPhone. I just love photography for some reason. I'm such a visual person, and I especially like capturing precious, candid life moments.
After breakfast, Little G took an early nap while daddy read in the hammock and mommy started playing around with her camera. I have been taking some photography classes so I try and get as much practice with my camera as I can. Plus I love pictures so even with an iPhone I'm constantly snapping photos - it drives Eric nuts but I know deep down he loves me anyway and the precious moments from our life I capture.
I've been playing around more with manual focus these days and experimenting with light, so please excuse some of the photos that are out of focus or overexposed - like I said, I am learning! But for the most part, I was really happy with some of the shots I got. They're sooooo much better than what you can take with an iPhone. I just love photography for some reason. I'm such a visual person, and I especially like capturing precious, candid life moments.
When Gavin woke up we decided to go on a small hike/walk to stretch our legs and explore a little. Gavin sat in my Tula carrier and Eric walked our dog, Schizo, on his leash. The forest was really green with lots of tall grass and pretty wild flowers blooming. We saw some cute squirrels and also came across a random tree that had a green alien spray painted on there.
While on our walk I decided I wanted to try and get a family photo. Unfortunately I didn't bring my tripod with me so we had to improvise instead. We came across a tall stump and decided to give it a try. I lined up the shot, hit the timer button and ran for dear life across the grass. Each time I had barely made it in time but I am really happy with how the photo turned out. We are slightly out of focus but, hey, I'll take it! Better than having nothing but selfies from the whole trip.
While on our walk I decided I wanted to try and get a family photo. Unfortunately I didn't bring my tripod with me so we had to improvise instead. We came across a tall stump and decided to give it a try. I lined up the shot, hit the timer button and ran for dear life across the grass. Each time I had barely made it in time but I am really happy with how the photo turned out. We are slightly out of focus but, hey, I'll take it! Better than having nothing but selfies from the whole trip.
When we returned from our walk, we had Hot Dogs for lunch, then baby and I continued exploring while daddy chopped more wood and did his thing. We picked flowers and played in the grass and looked at the birds. We saw Squirrels, Red Robins, Caterpillars, and lots of bugs - boys love that! Soon enough though it was nap time again - which meant more relaxing/reading/cooking time for mommy and daddy.
Dinner that night in the dutch oven was White Chicken Chili. Can I just take a quick minute and express how impressed I was with ease of cooking with a dutch oven? Especially if you prep everything beforehand - which we did. We chopped everything up before we left, put it all in ziplock baggies, and when it was time to cook all we had to do was dump it all in the pot, throw it on some coals, set the timer and wait for dinner to be ready! I loved it and we will definitely be using the dutch oven for more of our camping trip meals. I've linked the recipes we used this trip and will be sure to post any of our own creations as we make them up.
Dinner that night in the dutch oven was White Chicken Chili. Can I just take a quick minute and express how impressed I was with ease of cooking with a dutch oven? Especially if you prep everything beforehand - which we did. We chopped everything up before we left, put it all in ziplock baggies, and when it was time to cook all we had to do was dump it all in the pot, throw it on some coals, set the timer and wait for dinner to be ready! I loved it and we will definitely be using the dutch oven for more of our camping trip meals. I've linked the recipes we used this trip and will be sure to post any of our own creations as we make them up.
After dinner I spent some time taking evening/dusk photos for my photography class homework before we chilled by the fire and ate more S'mores. What is it about S'mores and camping? I literally cannot help myself and eat way too many of them. It is seriously one of my favorite parts of camping. You have to make sure you get a good char on the marshmallow or else it just isn't right. I love burned marshmallows, Eric thinks I'm nuts but I swear they're better burnt. If you haven't tried a burnt marshmallow you're missing out on life.
That night, we all slept better than the first. Gavin slept almost the entire night, until around 5 a.m. after the heater had ran out of fuel again, at which point back in our sleeping bag he went. No big deal. As much as I don't like sleeping with baby all night long because I don't sleep as well, part of me secretly loves it and soaks it all in because I know those kinds of things are fleeting and I never want to forget how good it feels to have an adorable mini me cuddled up next to me in bed. But as for the heater goes - we made another mental note to bring a larger propane tank for the next trip that will last us through the whole night - especially if we'll be in as cold of weather at as high of elevation as we were (6,000 feet give or take).
I guess I should mention that this was the first trip we had our dog, Schizo, sleep in the truck instead of in the tent with us. He has a travel kennel we use with a big comfortable mattress pad and warm blankets, so I felt confident he would be perfectly fine in there. When my family camped growing up, we always had the dogs sleep in the truck, and I am pretty sure they didn't get kennels and fancy Martha Stewart doggy mattresses back then, so I was sure Schizo would be more than comfortable in there. The reason I decided to put him in the truck this time was because in past experiences camping with him, he oftentimes wakes us up in the middle of the night whining, and I didn't want to risk him waking up the baby so it looks like the truck will from now on be his new sleeping place when we camp. Dogs really do become more like just dogs than your "babies" once you have children, don't they?
The next morning we ate breakfast (Huevos Rancheros in the dutch oven), and slowly loaded up the car so we could head home in time for Eric to work that evening. Gavin earned his "Happy Camper" t-shirt I put on him that day (I didn't want to jinx anything so I waited until the last day to let him wear it - haha). Overall, it was a successful, easy-going, first time camping with a baby. We have a big, week-long camping trip comping up in July with my entire family up in the White Mountains, and we wanted to at least have one "test run" with G before then, and we both agreed everything went even better than we had expected so we are optimistic for our trip in July. We may even squeeze another little one in before then, we'll see!
I guess I should mention that this was the first trip we had our dog, Schizo, sleep in the truck instead of in the tent with us. He has a travel kennel we use with a big comfortable mattress pad and warm blankets, so I felt confident he would be perfectly fine in there. When my family camped growing up, we always had the dogs sleep in the truck, and I am pretty sure they didn't get kennels and fancy Martha Stewart doggy mattresses back then, so I was sure Schizo would be more than comfortable in there. The reason I decided to put him in the truck this time was because in past experiences camping with him, he oftentimes wakes us up in the middle of the night whining, and I didn't want to risk him waking up the baby so it looks like the truck will from now on be his new sleeping place when we camp. Dogs really do become more like just dogs than your "babies" once you have children, don't they?
The next morning we ate breakfast (Huevos Rancheros in the dutch oven), and slowly loaded up the car so we could head home in time for Eric to work that evening. Gavin earned his "Happy Camper" t-shirt I put on him that day (I didn't want to jinx anything so I waited until the last day to let him wear it - haha). Overall, it was a successful, easy-going, first time camping with a baby. We have a big, week-long camping trip comping up in July with my entire family up in the White Mountains, and we wanted to at least have one "test run" with G before then, and we both agreed everything went even better than we had expected so we are optimistic for our trip in July. We may even squeeze another little one in before then, we'll see!
It really wasn't as "hard" to camp with a baby as I thought it would be. While yes, you have to plan things around nap times and someone has to keep a constant eye on the little one and keep them out of trouble, you also get to explore the forest and nature through the eyes of a baby, and that is always fun for a parent - it was for me anyway. I loved watching Gavin's face light up while we sat around the fire, when we found flowers, or spotted squirrels... Or even just big boulder rocks he had never seen before and wanted to pull himself up to a stand with and smack his hands against. Everything is new to him! He started pointing recently too so he practically pointed at everything he saw - it was really cute and I loved every second of it.
I can't wait to put more of these trips under our belt and watch him continue to grow and explore the beautiful earth God created for us. Our little guy is going to appreciate nature just like his parents, and he will remember these camping trips for the rest of his life, just like I remember my childhood camping trips with my family. I cherish those memories more than most. These are the kinds of family traditions life is all about and I look forward to continuing on with them with Gavin and the rest of our children for years to come.
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