Camping with two under two - is that just crazy?

Okay I know I have some friends out there who have done this, and up until a few weeks ago I would have called those friends insane.
But here is the thing. I really love camping! I grew up camping. And I'm not talking sleeping in a cabin with running water and electricity kind of camping. I mean real camping! My parents crammed four of us into a teeny tiny two person tent that leaked when it rained for many years and we had an absolute blast! Around the age of eleven we moved up in the world and bought a trailer. Nothing fancy like those RVs that come with TVs and satellite and pop out sides, but an enclosed space to shelter us from the rain and give us the luxury of being off the ground. The biggest thing for me was that it had it's own toilet and I no longer had to make that scary pitch black middle of the night run to the washrooms while scaring off bears and raccoons with my flashlight. Talk about spoiled!

Last year hubby and I did our first family camping trip with our almost one year old. We'd purchased a nice tent and all the other necessities we'd need to make it an annual thing. Our son was still on formula, in need of diaper changes and for the most part on a different diet then us. He was also in between crawling and walking, which means he was sitting in the dirt 24/7. This made things pretty challenging for me as I felt like I was always either making food/bottles, washing dishes or attempting to keep a rock out of my child's mouth. The dirt thing didn't really bother me, and trust me he ingested a ton of it. One thing I was not expecting though was how wonderfully he slept! He thought the tent was funny and slept a good 10-12 hours each night.

With a new baby due here any day, we assumed camping would be off the schedule for this year. The last thing I wanted to do was have my young baby crying at 3am in a dark tent and waking up all the neighbours around us. But with the possibility of us being able to go for a few days coming up I actually find myself really wanting to do it. And I don't think it would be as hard as I initially thought.

If we were to go, and it's still a big if... my parents have offered us the use of their trailer. This would make a world of difference! It means a proper bed for us, our toddler and a place to put our infants bassinet. It means easy access to a washroom (with a tub), a soft place for diaper changes (and storage) and a quiet safe place for naps and nursing. Noah is another year older and no longer requires different food or milk then us. He can also walk, run and enjoy exploring the nature around him. Baby Asher would be around two months and will hopefully be fully on breast milk and content being worn, pushed in a stroller or sitting in some kind of bouncy seat or pack n play. We'd also have help in the form of family members. That sounds do able right? The biggest hurdle would be the usual one with camping, and that's the packing before and unpacking after aspect. But is that really a reason to shy away from a fun family adventure? I don't know...

Long weekend camping

We just returned from 4 days camping at Cultus with friends and family. We went the traditional route of sleeping in a tent and cooked all our food on a propane stove. The weather was 30+ basically everyday, but thanks to all the trees our site was cool and shady most of the time. The only downer was that there was a swimmers itch warning posted for the lake, so most of us opted to stay out and not risk getting it. Our friends brought up their kiddy pool though and the two toddlers on the trip very much enjoyed splashing around in the afternoons.

I love camping, because it forces you to be outside 24/7, breathing in all that fresh mountain air. You are away from  your phones and TVs and spend all your time socialising, playing games or sitting around a campfire watching the flames flicker.

I know Noah had a fantastic time. He thought the tent was pretty funny and had a great time crawling around in the dirt and being around those who love him so much. I'm sure all that fresh air was good for him too.

I must say though, camping with a 1 year old was rather difficult and I am not sure I would do it again. I will absolutely camp again, but I think we'll wait until our kids are around the age of 2. Noah slept wonderfully in his pack n play in the tent, that wasn't the problem. It was more the extra work that he required when it came to making his (different) meals and the fact that he is in between crawling and walking. I found that as a mom I had very little downtime to read or play games. We had extra hands around which was helpful, but I still felt like my day was spent preparing his food, cleaning up, preparing a bottle, cleaning up, changing his diaper, throwing it away, repeat, repeat, repeat. Yes that is alot of my day here at home, but at home he can play around without me having to worry about him poking his eye out with a stick or trying to swallow a rock.

There was also the issue of what we could do once Noah went to sleep. He was exhausted and was out cold between 6:30-7:00pm each night, which isolated one of us to our campsite which needed to be kept fairly quiet. Between our family and friends we had three campsites, so it was easy for everyone to just hang out at one of the other sites so Noah could sleep. But then Matt and I had to take turns staying in our site while the other went to make smores. It was fine, but just not ideal.

All in all, I am glad we went. It's always wonderful to spend several days away from work and home, and It was quite cozy in that tent at night, huddled up close together with our little family.