Camping with a baby - written by Morne Stevens (December 2002) You waited 9 months for your bundle of joy to arrive. Finally the big day arrived and with joy you hold your newborn child. As your child utters his first cry, you start getting that nagging feeling, that a lot of things are going to change. For one, your camping and overlanding days are over, at least for the next few years. This might be true for most people, but it does not have to be. My wife delivered us a strong, healthy boy almost 12 months ago (at the time of this writing). As with all newborns, the first few weeks are that of sleepless nights, hunger cries in the middle of the night and large amounts of nappy changes. Time brings routine and within a few weeks, a "level" of normalness sets in. During this time my wife and I did some extensive camping and overlanding planning. Subsequently, Jared has gone on several camping, overlanding and 4x4 trips, with his first experience at 11 weeks. Camping with a baby is an absolute pleasure to experience but could also be a disaster if not planned properly. It might take some practice to see what would work for you and the little one but in the end, it will be well worth your time and effort. Sleeping arrangements Sleeping time is a time that babies need to relax and calm down after the activities of the day and needs as little distraction as possible. This time is very important, as it will determine how well all will rest the night. A camping cot offers stable, safe sleeping accommodation. Make sure that the cot folds up small and fits into a dust bag. The standard supplied mattress is normally quite inadequate; rather replace it with a breathable sponge mattress. Take along the fitted baby cot sheet from home and fit it to the camping cot for added reassurance and smell from home at bedtime. A good multipurpose camping cot can also act as a playpen. Ensure that the cot has additional support feet to prevent it from tipping over while used as a playpen. Netted sidewalls in cots should be covered to prevent drafts over the sleeping area. Avoid extreme cold and hot conditions if possible since newborns cannot successfully regulate their body temperatures. In cold conditions make use of polar fleece blankets. Dress your baby warmly as you cannot rely on the blankets to keep then warm since they tend to kick themselves open during the night. An alternative is to make use of a baby sleeping bag that has a zip that closes towards the bottom. The top of the bag has a place for the arms and head. In hot weather conditions try to keep the tent as cool as possible. Fitting a skullcap and opening the window flaps in the late afternoon greatly reduce the tent from becoming a sauna. A sponge bath with lukewarm water will remove the stickiness of the day. Water Your baby's health depends on having a good clean source of water available for sterilization, preparing milk and solids, washing up and washing clothes. In addition water will be required to warm bottles and solids. You need to plan for your baby's daily water allowances as follows. 3 l for sterilization 1 l for making milk bottles 1 l for washing milk bottles (from the previous days sterilization water) 1 l for heating milk bottles 0.5 l for bath time The above is purely guidelines but the fact remains that babies require plenty of water on a daily basis. Water from home is the best to prevent upsetting the very sensitive stomachs. Each morning prepare two stainless steel flasks with hot, boiled, water from home, for the day. Preheat the flasks by first adding a cup of water to each flask. Let it stand for 1 minute and then add the water back to the kettle to be boiled again. These flasks are to be used to make and heat bottles during the day. Keep flasks as full as possible to retain the maximum water temperature. Water remaining at the end of the day can be boiled again for the next day or used for washing up purposes. Milk Bottles Milk bottles can be lots of hard work but does not have to be if the necessary precautions are taken. Prepare bottles in the morning or evening for the day. Make a habit of cleaning bottles straight after use. If not possible, store it in a fridge after adding some water and giving it a good shake. Sterile bottles can be kept sterile by storing it in a fridge. The early morning or night bottles can be particularly inconvenient and time consuming to warm up. These bottles can be prepared by using the normal amount of milk powder with half of the normal water. Add the remaining hot water from the flasks just before feeding time, as this will bring the milk to the required temperature. Bottles can be sterilized by letting it lie in Milton water for 30 minutes. Make sure that the bottles are totally submersed. Give the bottles a good scrub with bottles brushes before submersing to remove any milk solids. Solids Solids normally require much less planning than milk. This is especially true if your baby is still on 1st till 4th foods. Normally only the evening meal needs to warmed. Do not warm the meal in the glass bottle. Scoop the food into a Tupperware container with a tight lid. Place the Tupperware container in a pot containing boiling water. Give it a good shake every now and then to spread the warming food. Do not store food after been warmed once. Extreme Temperatures Plan for unexpected cold and hot conditions. In cold conditions make sure that your baby is warmly dressed. A polar fleece beanie will do wonders to conserve body heat. In addition, polar fleece blankets are very effective to keep cold out. The Cadac Safire Heater is brilliant to warm up a well-ventilated room. We especially make use of it in the early morning hours when we open up the tent door and place the heater outside with the heating panel pointing into the tent. Do not make use of the heater inside a closed tent. During very hot days seal the holes at the bottom of an ammo crate and fill it with water to create a play pool. Alternatively get a small blowup Intex pool. It takes very little space and effort to setup. Keep your baby in the shade as much as possible and apply baby friendly sun block. Apply sun block all over the body since most clothes are not UV resistant. A sun hat will also prevent sunburn to some extent. The best hats are the army style floppy hats that provide protection for the face and neck. Be careful of drafts, even on hot days. Nappies A newborn and older babies can use up to 8 nappies a day. This can be quite a lot of nappies to take along, especially if it is dirty nappies that you are driving around. Keep soiled nappies in scented plastic bags that are stored in a tight sealing container on the roof rack. Everything you drive in you must drive out which could result in you driving the soiled nappies around for a while. Traveling in the vehicle At all times keep your baby strapped in the baby chair while the vehicle is in motion. The little one will quickly get used to this and it is a good habit to get into at a young age. Acquire a solid recognized brand name baby chair that will keep your baby as comfortable as possible in a safe environment. Make sure that the chair has high sidewalls to prevent sideway movements. Practice how to fit the chair and do some short drives to see if the chair shifts or moves. The Chico chair comes highly recommended and fulfilled our above comfort and safety requirements. A newborn needs extra neck support when traveling and especially on a 4x4 trail. The blowup neck support is very effective and a towel on the side will prevent any jerky movements. Bigger babies can make use of the sponge neck support that is available at AA shops. It can get warm very quickly in the vehicle so dress your little one in such a manner that it is easy to remove some clothes. Removing socks so that babies can see their feet can lead to endless amusement. Have some biscuits or other favourite treats around for when the hours get long as well as some favourite toys from home. Stop regularly to allow for crawling and stretching. This is also a good time for the parents to take a break from driving. Ticks, Mosquito's and Malaria Infants are at special risk and if possible, malaria areas should be avoided since children can rapidly become seriously ill with malaria. In children the interval between the onset of symptoms and death may be about 48 hours. Do not take babies or children under five years to a malaria area. Protect babies against mosquito bites by using mosquito nets between dusk and dawn and over cots. Diethyl toluamide that is commonly found in Peaceful Sleep and Tabard must not be applied to infants since it penetrates the skin and cases of toxic encephalopahty have been documented. Ticks can cause tick fever and special care must be taken to avoid bites. Give your baby a thorough inspection on regular intervals, including the head and neck areas. Carefully remove any ticks with a twisting movement. Ticks can also be removed by covering it with Vaseline. Be careful that the tick's head does not remain after removal. Wild animals Most carnivores have a fear of humans and will avoid human contact if possible. A small child however makes for an easy target for opportunistic hunters. Special care should be taken in unfenced camps in lion, leopard and hyena areas. Do not exclude small hunters such as the other cat and dog species as they tend to be very resourceful hunters. It is safest to sleep in a tent with the door zipped up when camping. Never leave your baby unattended whether it is a wilderness area or not. In the end it all comes down to planning. Expect the unexpected and be aware that routines might change. Introduce your baby to overlanding from a young age and they will learn to enjoy it. Expect many years of overlanding as your family grows to appreciate nature and quietness of the bush. Camping lists for babies Large Bottle Brush Small Bottle Brush Milton Container (4l size) with lid for sterilization Water Camping Cot in dust proof bag Breathable mattress for cot Breathable cushion Polar Fleece blankets Cadac Safire Heater Beanie Baby Sleeping bag Fitted Sheet from home Baby Food for the trip duration plus additional 3 days Tupperware container to warn up food and serve it in Baby feeding spoons Baby Milk formula for the trip duration plus additional 3 days Milk bottles with teats 2x Stainless Steel flasks Container (Stainless Steel cub) for heating of milk bottles Favourite Toys Biscuits and other treats Nappies (work on 5-8 per day) 2x Towel nappies Scented plastic bags for nappies Container with tight lid to keep soiled nappies Intex Baby Pool or Ammo crate Pool Normal baby paraphernalia i.e. bum cream etc. Baby Chair Neck Support