Happy Keiki Campers
Life in general makes more sense to me when I'm outside and at no time has this been more true than when I became a mother.
The first time we camped as a family was about five months after I had our second child. For whatever reason we had not taken our first born camping, and even though his little brother was only months old I wasn't waiting any longer so we reserved a site at Bellows Field Beach Park, a City and County of Honolulu campground.
All our pre-baby camping gear came out of storage and needed some retrofitting if not a complete overhaul. So in the two weeks before our reservation, with the help of Amazon Prime, we packed our truck full of baby friendly camping gear and had at it.
I was in heaven. The kids woke up at the break of dawn as usual and we got to watch the sunrise. The kids ran and crawled wild and free and there wasn't a piece of furniture to climb or a cupboard to empty out anywhere. It was beach all morning followed by a retreat from the midday sun under trees for lunch and baby naps. Then more beach, rinsing off for dinner, watching the sunset and then wandering back out to the beach to scan the sand for crabs. Bedtime still involved two books but with both asleep within the first few pages.... Since then we've logged in more time with our tent; camping at two private campgrounds: Malaekahana Beach Campground and Camp Mokuleia.
We have some weekends reserved at both this summer as well as some other ones. Looking forward to taking you along!...but in the meantime here's some of my notes on camping with the little ones. Hope you find it helpful and if you have any tips of your own please do share!
My tips for camping with little ones
- Ideal campsite: near the bathroom, level ground and tree canopy above for shade
- Tents size: bigger is better. All the extra gear for baby is equivalent to one or two more people
- California Baby Natural Bug Blend Bug Repellent Spray - 6.5 oz
- Reliance Products Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Rigid Water Container
: for the unavoidable volume of washing little hands and feet and everything conveniently at your campsite
- Glow sticks: just to keep tabs on the little ones when it starts to get dark
- LulyBoo Portable Lamb Theme Baby Lounge with Activity Bar and Rattle Toys
: for co-sleeping on an air mattress
- Summer Infant Pop N' Play Portable Playard
: spray with baby friendly bug repellent so baby has a comfortable place to hangout too
- Things familiar from home: books, blankets and toys **breastfeeding mamas stay hydrated**
: for the unavoidable volume of washing little hands and feet and everything conveniently at your campsite
: for co-sleeping on an air mattress
: spray with baby friendly bug repellent so baby has a comfortable place to hangout too
Happy Keiki Campers from Catherine Crawford on Vimeo.
