Camping

Our Columbus family met at Indian Lake for a camping weekend. Let me just tell you that I am not the outdoorsy-type of girl (I hate being dirty - and was even known to cry about being dirty when I was little) and I had my doubts about camping with a 10 month old who is a crawling maniac. Not to mention it has been a HOT summer and babies can have a hard time regulating their body heat. When my friend who is in her third trimester announced she would be joining us and was super excited about it...I knew I had to put all my doubts aside :) And I am so glad I did! With a little planning and some sweet new camping gear, my little family successfully braved the outdoors for 2 nights, 1 shower in the camp shower, 1 swim in the lake, all meals prepared outside, and countless smores. There was only one coffee run to macdo ;0)

I did lots of online research about camping with wee ones and prepared accordingly. Here is what I learned:

• Bring extra everything - diapers, wipes, clothes, pjs, towels, blankets, pacifiers


• Prepare for bugs - spray and thermacell's seemed to do a decent job


• Prepare for the weather - I brought a blow up baby pool for the campground that Lucas played in while we all sat in camp chairs sweating and watching him have a ball, I got a battery operated tent fan that I aimed directly at Lucas while he slept, a tailgate tent was great for creating shade


• Bring lots of food options and offer them regularly - There was so much going on that was out of the ordinary that Lucas was never focused enough to have a regular meal. He loved snacking on blueberries, edamame, black beans, and of course puffs


• Have a plan for crawling - At 10 months Lucas is pretty much over being held all the time and wants to be down exploring. I had a tablecloth that covered quite a bit of space and we sort of made a human barrier around it and the pool on one end. He had a ball crawling in this "playpen" especially when he thought he was sneaking out of it unnoticed :)


• Get a tent large enough for a pack and play and tall enough to stand and rock


• Do not overdo it yourself - this is especially hard when you are camping with friends you haven't seen in some time and you just want to stay up gabbing all night. You just can't do that with a little one who is going to get his 10-12 hours and be super energized when he is awake. Or you could opt to do what Ross and I did - take turns hanging out with friends...Ross stayed up the first night with the guys while I slept and then I stayed up the second night (admittedly he stayed up much later than I did)


• Have a sense of humor - Lucas got dirty, crawled on the grass, took a bath in the same pool water he had played in all day (yes, naked outside), and laughed hysterically at a fuzzy caterpillar crawling on our tent.

Straws can be amazing toys

Carrying the tailgate tent to the beach for shade

Lucas was so tired but did not want to sleep! Look at the determination on his face...I will not fall asleep, I will not fall asleep!

Lucas asleep in our sweet tent

Pie irons - the other camp item splurge I had to have. We made pizzas for dinner. YUM!