Back country adventures with kids...how do you do it?

[The Adam Blaster]

I picked up a 12VDC adaptor for my CPAP machine and use it when my wife or Son join me. I skip it when camping alone but the CPAP keeps me from snoring and let's my tent companions get some good sleep. :sombrero:

So do you have a 2nd battery that you pull into the tent?
Or do you run a cord to the vehicle?

I have been trying to think of what would work best for camping... I've been leaning toward getting a small RV. Just call me "gramps". lol

 

[The Adam Blaster]

MTDuke, you seem to have a really good system worked out, and starting the kiddo's so early you're going to have a lot of great vacations with them in he years to come!

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I just happened to be in Toy'R'Us at lunch, looking for a mobile or crib-fish-tank-thing, and saw they have these little mini-crib things intended to help you share your bed safely with the baby. Little padded thingy. Might work. But it's not Expo-chic.

One thing I have to figure out. Rooftop tent, midnight feedings, and baby bottles. What the heck do we do?

I think the trick might be what my wife does for trips sometimes. Sterilize a bottle and fill it with boiled water, but NO powder. It keeps for a long time. When you need it, drop the powder in, give it a shake and go.

 

[john101477]

All we have really done is day trips but here is a cpl of images from them. My daughter 15mo and wife.

 

[The Adam Blaster]

Rob, try a thermos with the boiled water in your RTT.
You could probably put it in a little lunch cooler, or soft-sided cooler bag and it will stay hot/warm for quite a long time.

I think having to dispose of a smelly diaper would be the worst in an RTT, because I wouldn't want that little specimen sharing the inside of our tent when we would be trying to sleep. hahaha
I know I'd be the one climbing down that ladder to distance it from us in the middle of the night, likely only in my underwear... :REOutIceFishing:
(That's the closest emoticon I could find to make me look like I was cold.)

 

[shellb]

This is a really great discussion with some awesome points and tips...I love this place!

 

[MTDuke]

MTDuke, you seem to have a really good system worked out, and starting the kiddo's so early you're going to have a lot of great vacations with them in he years to come!

Were pretty happy with our setup, keeps us on the road. It may be a bit less adventurous traveling (although we stay off the beaten path) but until our kids are older I think its the ticket. Great topic, love thinking about these times when its been a VERY LONG winter in Montana!

This kid was head to toe volcanic black soil prior to a shower. The dirt around Yellowstone is sticky stuff.

Pheasant hunting in November in MT. New baby but mom shot her limit and the dogs were happy!

Moms turn in the duck blind this winter. She left me milk and a warm camper and took the boat across the lake to the blind I built over the summer.

Picture of my home made dog/adv trailer. Not near a fancy as I have seen on this site but it has 40 gallons of water plumbed, dog box, top lifts on gas struts, and we can take all the bigwheels and john deer tractors the boy needs plus bikes and hunting gear (and gen, chairs, wood, coolers, etc..).

Our family cannot wait for spring!

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

One thing I have to figure out. Rooftop tent, midnight feedings, and baby bottles. What the heck do we do?

I think the trick might be what my wife does for trips sometimes. Sterilize a bottle and fill it with boiled water, but NO powder. It keeps for a long time. When you need it, drop the powder in, give it a shake and go.

We would do that. We would just use whatever water we normally would use (in other words not boiled) often bottled or filtered tap water. Our kiddo didnt mind the cool, not warm water. Scoop your powder, shake, feed! Pretty safe in my opinion.

 

[MTDuke]

We would do that. We would just use whatever water we normally would use (in other words not boiled) often bottled or filtered tap water. Our kiddo didnt mind the cool, not warm water. Scoop your powder, shake, feed! Pretty safe in my opinion.

Temp was (is) essential for both our kids with milk. Moms got everything needed although I realize not everyone can breastfeed. In our case, when my wife is going to be gone for an extended period we have frozen milk that she previously pumped and I just use hot water to heat it up.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

Not to nitpick and sorry for being irrelevant to this topic, but, you might otta rethink the criss-crossing of the wader's straps. I slipped into a beaver channel while wood duck hunting a few years ago. Now, I'm a skinny sucker and was borrowing my neighbor's waders, think XL on a medium. Anyways... I was submerged trying to get the criss-crossed straps undone. I think one of the straps managed to get caught on an underwater cypress root. The pressure on them and my struggle put the buckles in a serious bind. I managed to undo them and get up enough for my friend to pull me out of the hole! So yeah. Just saying. Hijack off.

 

[MTDuke]

Not to nitpick and sorry for being irrelevant to this topic, but, you might otta rethink the criss-crossing of the wader's straps. I slipped into a beaver channel while wood duck hunting a few years ago. Now, I'm a skinny sucker and was borrowing my neighbor's waders, think XL on a medium. Anyways... I was submerged trying to get the criss-crossed straps undone. I think one of the straps managed to get caught on an underwater cypress root. The pressure on them and my struggle put the buckles in a serious bind. I managed to undo them and get up enough for my friend to pull me out of the hole! So yeah. Just saying. Hijack off.

Good point noted.

 

[R_Lefebvre]

We would do that. We would just use whatever water we normally would use (in other words not boiled) often bottled or filtered tap water. Our kiddo didnt mind the cool, not warm water. Scoop your powder, shake, feed! Pretty safe in my opinion.

I wonder about actually keeping it in the sleeping bag, so it stays warm? Nights can be cooler up here, so the water might be too cold.

 

[LaOutbackTrail]

I wonder about actually keeping it in the sleeping bag, so it stays warm? Nights can be cooler up here, so the water might be too cold.

Wouldnt hurt to even warm it up a bit and then leave it in the bed with the baby!

 

[evldave]

Picture of my home made dog/adv trailer. Not near a fancy as I have seen on this site but it has 40 gallons of water plumbed, dog box, top lifts on gas struts, and we can take all the bigwheels and john deer tractors the boy needs plus bikes and hunting gear (and gen, chairs, wood, coolers, etc..).

Our family cannot wait for spring!

How do the dogs handle being in the trailer? I've been thinking about this myself. My wife's got mild allergy to the dogs (and me too:sombrero and I've been thinking about hauling them in the trailer instead of inside my rig. I'm mostly concerned about all that bouncing - way worse in the trailer...

 

[R_Lefebvre]

I've actually been thinking of going on a little canoe trip with my boy. Just overnight, and just paddle far enough to say we did. Test it out. A little father-son bonding. I'm pretty anxious to do it, would like to it in the spring. After the snow is gone, but before the bugs come. There's a little window there...

I'm just not sure how Phil would handle being outside in cool air for that length of time. I have good warm clothes, down jacket, etc... But he's just got, you know, your typical crappy snow suit from Walmart. Not going to spend a ton on good stuff for a growing boy who won't get to use it *that* much.

He has a decent little sleeping bag, and I can probably just have him in with me. No problem there. Just not sure how he'd respond to being outside during the day in ~50F temps. We took him downhill skiing for the first time last weekend, and he got cold pretty fast. But that was about 20F with a good wind chill.

Any ideas on that?

Also, what about a baby in a canoe. We'd still like to be able to use the canoe a bit, not overnights, but just some paddling during the day. I'm a pretty experienced canoeist, kayaker and swimmer. I don't think I've ever tipped a canoe in my life (that wasn't on purpose). And we have an infant life-jacket. But, the thought of the first few moments of panic if the boat went over... terrifying.

What's the youngest you guys have used a boat with an infant?