My daughter’s first camping trip was at eight weeks old, at a music festival ten minutes from our house. After our first attempt, I now recommend waiting until your baby is around six months old.
As I’ve only ever breastfed, I turned to another mom for advice on bottle feeding. When Joanna took her baby camping at nine months old she used a cold water sterilizer for washing bottles and pre-mixed formula.
Camping is no time to try to force your child to eat new and unusual foods. Let her try whatever you are having but if she will only eat cucumber sticks and yogurt at home, why would she suddenly accept spare ribs out in the woods?
Don’t worry too much about bringing lots of toys, as there is so much to see and do while trying this new activity. Keep it simple with a book, some stacking cups, and a stick.
There are articles out there that will tell you to bring a travel crib, a basin to wash the baby in, a high chair – for goodness sake! It is overwhelming. If I need all this to have a good time, it’s not worth it.
Camping is as fun as you make it, and it’s meant to be a holiday. As long as you have shelter, warm clothes, sleeping bags, and a couple of snacks, you can improvise the rest.