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Post by mamabeargreen on Oct 2, 2016 18:46:17 GMT -8
In a few weeks we will be taking my 13 month old son on his second smokey mountain adventure. We took our first backpacking trip when he was about 8 months old, maybe a little younger. I blogged about it the first time with the hopes of encouraging others to get out and do the same. Here is a link to my blog post. Let me know if you have tips to add or suggestions on what I should change now that my son is a little older. mamabeargreen.wordpress.com/2016/04/27/backpacking-with-baby/ |
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Post by lostwalker on Oct 2, 2016 20:31:36 GMT -8
Its funny that you took a blanket, Not because you took it but because I wanted to do the same thing and my wife looked at me and said " just let him be a kid for a couple days."
Our 6 year old now likes to hold his brothers hand and teach him everything that he knows. Its so rewarding.
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Post by mamabeargreen on Oct 3, 2016 5:03:11 GMT -8
It was actually meant to be the dog's blanket. The dog is a bigger baby than the baby! And the dog carried it the entire time, so I didn't have to add it to my load. It was nice to have though since Konnor was in the eat all the thinfo stage. A little dirt won't hurt, but he would have eaten the entire forest!
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 3, 2016 7:36:37 GMT -8
If you haven't already, I'd suggest getting trekking poles. I started using them when our boys were babies, after I twisted an ankle while carrying one, and thought about what would happen if I fell. Is he walking yet? At 13 months you are entering a period when we found it especially tiring to take the kids, because a mobile kid requires SO much watching. That was best when we had other family/friends along. But it's totally worth the extra effort. Our boys are 19 months apart, so we had two to carry for several years (we used packers to drop our gear for a base camp, since we simply couldn't carry two kids and all our gear).* There was just one year, when they were 2 & 3, that we couldn't pull it off. Too little to walk, too big to carry  We used the tent as a big playpen when they got older--kept them out of the dirt (though a bit of dirt never hurt anyone, right?)--and out of trouble. Diapers were a huge problem, and for a long time since we had some potty-training issues, but we avoided the whole bottles and formula thing, as I was lucky enough to be able to breastfeed exclusively--sure made that part easier. My mother-in-law made us a wonderful sort of bunting suit that, unlike most on the market, didn't have separate legs, so it was a sleeping bag with arms and a hood. That was a good warm way for the babies to sleep, with an added blanket. When it was cold, we used an old down jacket as a sleeping bag for little people. *Using a packer also means that we didn't have to think so much about keeping everything to the lightest and smallest end, though we backpacked 'solo' with Eldest Son his first summer (at about 8-10 months) and dealt with that then. The year Second Son was 14 months, we let the packer haul in a port-a-crib and his little feeding chair, which was a huge luxury :D |
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Post by mamabeargreen on Oct 3, 2016 10:21:49 GMT -8
I will use poles this time. I usually do when I'm dealing with uneven terrain.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 3, 2016 16:14:56 GMT -8
I am totally in love with my trekking poles. I have no idea how many sprains and strains they have saved me from in the 17 years since I started using them, but I bet it's a big number (so, yeah, I'm a klutz!).
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tarol
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Redding, CA
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Post by tarol on Oct 5, 2016 5:13:05 GMT -8
Yay for backpackin Mamas! Definitely no need to put your backpacking life on hold when you have a child. You do have to adjust your trips, of course, because of the heavier load. And rethink what you bring. I bought a tent after our son was born specifically for trips with him. It's a 2 person tent with only one side door, as I figured I would use it like a playpen, and I didn't want him to even attempt to leave at night without having to crawl over me. When he's with me he uses my down quilt as his sleeping bag, in addition to dressing very warmly at night. I found I couldn't rely on his fleece beanie staying on at night, or him staying in a sleeping bag, so best to wear warm layers to bed! The small tent did help him stay on his Thermarest. Once we went car camping when he was little and in a bigger tent which was a mistake because he took advantage of the bigger space by rolling off his pad. I took our son out first when he was 6 months old, next time at 9 months old, then 22 months, 3 years, and 3.5 years. At 6 and 9 months, before he was walking, I used a lightweight blanket that was fleece on one side, nylon on the other, so he could have a place to crawl around. He crawled around the tent as well, but also tore out some tent seaming leaning on the sides, so beware. Also kids who are learning to walk trip a lot, so choose a campsite that's as flat as possible, without any drop offs or other hazards, and be careful with stakes and guy lines. At 22 months T was hiking and carrying his own pack! The pack of course had only a couple of very lightweight items inside. I also gave him his own whistle as soon as he could understand to blow it if he was ever in trouble. Never too early to talk about safety. We did a nice short trip into the Cucamonga Wilderness for his 22 month trip. It was short, as in one mile, but still had elevation gain so we took it slow and sung a lot of songs and talked a lot along the way. My advice with toddlers is to take a good friend who can help watch and entertain the little one, don't bother trying to cook or use a stove, bring food you know they love, bring a tent that's easy to set up, and bring small lightweight toys for entertainment. My son always had a few little hotwheels cars and a frisbee ring on every trip. Also get them their own headlamp! I always brought extra diapers, wipes, shirts, pants, socks, grocery sacks, and an extra pair of shoes. I liked Robeez shoes, because they were the only kind he couldn't kick off, especially important when I was still carrying him in the pack. Plus they were flexible and lightweight which is always good for packing. Poles were good when you're carrying baby in a pack, but can be a hindrance when they start hiking on their own. Our son always wanted to use them himself, which can be bad because of the sharp tips and they aren't that coordinated and the poles can trip them... or others. Also, even if you manage to keep the poles to yourself, lol, when I was carrying them I couldn't hold his hand or pick him up, which if you're hiking on a trail with any hazards at all keeping your hands free is a good thing. I started hiking with none or only one pole for this reason. Even now that he's nearing 5 he still needs my guiding hand on trails occasionally. Needless to say, the trips with my son are my favorite trips. There's something immensely rewarding in sharing your love of nature and getting out there with your kids. |
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Post by CompassRds on Oct 5, 2016 16:41:55 GMT -8
There's something immensely rewarding in sharing your love of nature and getting out there with your kids So true. In our first hike of the day last Saturday the little one 16 m.o. spent the entire first mile in the Poco babbling away. My wife says she spent a lot of the second head craned back looking up at the trees. We let her out at the destination, Panther Den and she was off splashing in mud puddles, picking up various sticks, touching the moss on the walls, trying to scamper up over the rocks and resorting to crawling to navigate but always on a heading toward the back of the little sandstone slot canyon we were in. She wanted to see where it went and when it opened up into another she was off again. Had to put her in an out to get down and up the rocks in places but she was always moving or investigating when she was out. After we started back she again stared up at the trees, then fell asleep, register filled. |
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Post by mamabeargreen on Oct 8, 2016 20:12:51 GMT -8
Yay for backpackin Mamas! Definitely no need to put your backpacking life on hold when you have a child. You do have to adjust your trips, of course, because of the heavier load. And rethink what you bring. I bought a tent after our son was born specifically for trips with him. It's a 2 person tent with only one side door, as I figured I would use it like a playpen, and I didn't want him to even attempt to leave at night without having to crawl over me. When he's with me he uses my down quilt as his sleeping bag, in addition to dressing very warmly at night. I found I couldn't rely on his fleece beanie staying on at night, or him staying in a sleeping bag, so best to wear warm layers to bed! The small tent did help him stay on his Thermarest. Once we went car camping when he was little and in a bigger tent which was a mistake because he took advantage of the bigger space by rolling off his pad. I took our son out first when he was 6 months old, next time at 9 months old, then 22 months, 3 years, and 3.5 years. At 6 and 9 months, before he was walking, I used a lightweight blanket that was fleece on one side, nylon on the other, so he could have a place to crawl around. He crawled around the tent as well, but also tore out some tent seaming leaning on the sides, so beware. Also kids who are learning to walk trip a lot, so choose a campsite that's as flat as possible, without any drop offs or other hazards, and be careful with stakes and guy lines. At 22 months T was hiking and carrying his own pack! The pack of course had only a couple of very lightweight items inside. I also gave him his own whistle as soon as he could understand to blow it if he was ever in trouble. Never too early to talk about safety. We did a nice short trip into the Cucamonga Wilderness for his 22 month trip. It was short, as in one mile, but still had elevation gain so we took it slow and sung a lot of songs and talked a lot along the way. My advice with toddlers is to take a good friend who can help watch and entertain the little one, don't bother trying to cook or use a stove, bring food you know they love, bring a tent that's easy to set up, and bring small lightweight toys for entertainment. My son always had a few little hotwheels cars and a frisbee ring on every trip. Also get them their own headlamp! I always brought extra diapers, wipes, shirts, pants, socks, grocery sacks, and an extra pair of shoes. I liked Robeez shoes, because they were the only kind he couldn't kick off, especially important when I was still carrying him in the pack. Plus they were flexible and lightweight which is always good for packing. Poles were good when you're carrying baby in a pack, but can be a hindrance when they start hiking on their own. Our son always wanted to use them himself, which can be bad because of the sharp tips and they aren't that coordinated and the poles can trip them... or others. Also, even if you manage to keep the poles to yourself, lol, when I was carrying them I couldn't hold his hand or pick him up, which if you're hiking on a trail with any hazards at all keeping your hands free is a good thing. I started hiking with none or only one pole for this reason. Even now that he's nearing 5 he still needs my guiding hand on trails occasionally. Needless to say, the trips with my son are my favorite trips. There's something immensely rewarding in sharing your love of nature and getting out there with your kids. Such great advice! Thank you. |
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Westy
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Diagnosed w/Post-Trail Transition Syndrome
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Post by Westy on Oct 9, 2016 19:11:00 GMT -8
After viewing your avatar have a suggestion based on personal experience.
Your child is wearing short pants. The aluminum frame of your pack is exposed near the child's legs. Uncomfortable rubbing of the legs against the exposed aluminum frame is going to happen. We made cloth frame covers that wrap around the circumference of the frame and attached on using Velcro closures. The length was six to eight inches. An irritated child is no fun, especially if the leg burn wakes them up from a comfortable nap.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 9, 2016 19:37:20 GMT -8
Good point, Westy! I'd go so far as to recommend long pants and sleeves, to protect from sun and bugs. I know this can be an issue in hot places, but if it's so hot that they are overheating while protected from the sun, it's probably time to let baby out of the pack.
Which raises a point: babies and small children are more susceptible to both hypothermia and hyperthermia than adults. Be very aware of this, well up toward double-digits, at least.
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Post by hippiebutterfly on Oct 13, 2016 13:41:39 GMT -8
We didn't start backpacking until recently, but as for not letting our kids stop us from doing the things we loved, we are big fans. We've always brought our kids along since they were very, very little. The only exception would have been our 2nd child, who was a preemie, as her immune system had to be babied for a while. All three of our kids started camping and day hiking at very young ages. When they could walk, they walked. We used to camp in our old VW bus and I have great memories of waking up in the middle of the night to nurse a baby while camping. Good for you! Just keep doing it and loving it!  |
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 13, 2016 16:13:40 GMT -8
We used to camp in our old VW bus We had one of those when I was growing up. Except it wasn't old back then :D We didn't backpack the summer after our second was born, because he was a May baby and I wasn't up for major hiking (we also hadn't worked out how to deal with two). But we camped that summer, and dayhiked, and generally had a good time after he was about 3 weeks old (we actually traveled from SF to Boulder, CO when he was just 2 weeks old, and I drew the line at camping at that point--again because of my recovery, not any worry about the baby). |
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Post by CompassRds on Oct 18, 2016 9:20:22 GMT -8
Is the NO this?
-(hypothermia) is a basic physiology/physics thing = mass/volume to surface area. 1 cube of volume has a surface area of 6 (ratio 1:6) 3x3X3 cubes has volume 27 and a surface area54 (ratio 1:2) and has one cube protected with no surface area. Applied to humans; a child is more susceptible as it has a higher surface area to mass/volume than an adult and therefore looses heat faster.
-(hyperthermia) is more a reasoning capability thing. While children are really no more susceptible to hyperthermia, physiologically speaking, than adults. The problem is that children don't necessarily recognize that they need water, or to be in the shade, or to stop running around in 100 degree heat... until its too late...
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 18, 2016 18:02:40 GMT -8
Is the NO this? -(hypothermia) is a basic physiology/physics thing = mass/volume to surface area. 1 cube of volume has a surface area of 6 (ratio 1:6) 3x3X3 cubes has volume 27 and a surface area54 (ratio 1:2) and has one cube protected with no surface area. Applied to humans; a child is more susceptible as it has a higher surface area to mass/volume than an adult and therefore looses heat faster. -(hyperthermia) is more a reasoning capability thing. While children are really no more susceptible to hyperthermia, physiologically speaking, than adults. The problem is that children don't necessarily recognize that they need water, or to be in the shade, or to stop running around in 100 degree heat... until its too late... Right. And a child in a carrier is hard to monitor, and has both limbs sticking out to get cold and, in hot conditions, less air movement about them to cool them (a chest carried is the worst, but Mom will probably be more aware, since she'll be totally cooking too). In neither case is a child, up to maybe as high as 12, apt to be really tuned in to their condition OR able to articulate the problem. Plus: most kids' rain gear (if at all affordable) is crap. |
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