We are going camping this week at a bluegrass festival with about 3000 other people. Yes, we are insane. I am 6 months pregnant and will have to use the dreaded porta potties all night, not to mention roll around in the tent with my ballooning tummy while tending to Birch while Papa Tree is out playing music. I am the one who is insane to agree to this.

In order to manage this camping experience I did some research into families who successfully camp. A good portion of these are from the Berkeley Parents Network- my favorite parenting advice site.
Here are some of the suggestions that I culled:

• But when we camp with young ones, the first thing we do is set
  boundaries. Even for toddlers. Walk the area with them that they are
  allowed to roam without supervision. This is usually the campsite
  itself. If you start this as toddlers, the older kids pretty well
  figure out where they can go, but always tell them anyway.
• 
  Another thing we found useful at 11 months, when our son was still crawling,
  was to have a reasonable size tarp for him to play on.  That way, he didn’t
  get quite as filthy and was a little less likely to eat all the bark and bugsi
  he could see.
• 
  It’s somewhat hard to keep them safe at this age. I would recommend
  bringing a portacrib or similar so that you can confine your baby at
  times when you’re cooking or whatever. I remember our first car-camping
  trip with a one-year old and we ended up using the car itself as a playpen
  for brief periods.
• We went on lots of walks with her in the
  backpack which kept her out of trouble some of the time and we
  spent a bit more time in the tent than I normally would while
  camping, but, again, it was a very rewarding experience for all of
  us.
• I would not recommend bringing your
  port-a-crib. If your child stays under blankets all night, you
  may buy a cheap kid’s sleeping bag (Target sells them). If your
  child does not keep his blankets, like my daughter, bundle him
  up like it is winter if you are camping where it is cold at
  night. They love sleeping between parents. It was actually while
  camping that our oldest sarted sleeping through the night!
• 
  We took our 2   1/2 year old and 10 month olds camping a
  year or so ago and brought the portable crib. However, we
  only used it when we needed 2 hands each and could not
  watch the baby closely. As for sleeping arragements, we
  had sleeping bags for them, but were also open to having
  one of them each in the sleeping bags with us. Our oldest
  daughter slept just fine in her own with her pillow from
  home, cuddled up against my husband on the air mattress.
  The baby slept best in the sleeping bag with me on a foam
  pad on the floor of the tent. That way, I didn’t worry about her
  getting too cold, and she fell asleep right away with me
  beside her. Worked out great and we all had a ball!
• With the port-a-crib you can put your
  child down for a nap and need not worry about any wanderlust
  that always happens while you’re between your campsite and the
  bathroom.  It’s best to keep the kid off the ground;  they’ll
  sleep better, it’s warmer, more comfortable, and you know just
  where they are if you are 10 feet away and hear them squirming.
• Worship baby wipes.  You will develop an entirely new
  appreciation of them after you’ve camped with a toddler.
• Don’t
  worry about bringing any toys except maybe a familiar book for
  the bedtime ritual — otherwise, nature has a lot of its own
  toys (sticks, rocks, etc.).  It has helped to have a sand
  bucket and shovel handy for him to scoop dirt to his heart’s
  content in the campsite.
  
• If you’re camping in summer, also be prepared for your baby or toddler
  to want to stay up later than normal. They won’t have the normal cues
  for nighttime such as a dark room with closed curtains, and sunset can
  be quite late.

Related Posts:

1. Floyd Bennett Field: astronomy, camping, gardening, cycling, birding and more! (May 12th, 2010)
2. Can you really camp with children? (May 2nd, 2010)
3. How To Deal With Constipation In Children (June 9th, 2009)
4. Camping Successes and Failures (April 28th, 2008)
5. Atlantic Yards Impact on our Children (September 22nd, 2007)