Pack and Play?

Plowtoy · 04-15-2015, 10:16 AM

For those of you who have infants and toddlers, where do they sleep when your out camping? Caroline is now 5 and a half months old and we are aproaching camping season here in Michigan. I origanlly thought to set up a pack and play right outside the bedroom door of our 314BH, but am now thinking she will need a darker space than just the open living area. Her bedtime is 8pm and its still light outside. At home we have covered the window in her room with a heavy blanket to get it darker in her room. My next thought is to take out the table and put the pack and play in that space (since we dont use the table inside anyway), cover the two windows and put something to cover the divider between the sofa and table area (basicly making her, her own "room" where the dinette is). We do have two bunks, but I haven't figured a way to keep her from falling out, and am not sure the wife would be up to having her sleep there yet.

Caroline is a pretty sound sleeper and did well on our misson trip to Kentucky last week, but I am just trying to be ready for bringing her camping.

Any advice is appreciated, Dave

clubhouse · 04-15-2015, 10:54 AM

We started with the Pack n play on the collapsed table bed for a couple trips when our son was ~2-3 months. . We used command hooks to cover the window to make it a bit darker. This worked great for the nights, but was a bit of a PIA during the afternoon nap.

The pack and play became a hassle to set up and store, so we then changed to a bunk rail and and a couple firm pillows on the table bed. This worked better for us than the pack n play.

By the following summer, my son was 8 months, and we abandoned the dinette in favor of a bunk rail on one of the lower bunks in the bunk room. This worked better since my son was now in the bunk room during the afternoon. He is now 2 1/2 and still sleeps there with the rail in a sleeping bag.

clubhouse · 04-15-2015, 10:57 AM

Oh -- the best thing we did too was get a 8 panel play yard and set it up on an outdoor matt under the awning or EZ-UP so that we had a safe place to set him down and let him roll/crawl around with a couple toys. Way easier than having to carry him all day or stay in the trailer.

vandevsr · 04-15-2015, 11:50 AM

I think the 314BH has bunks. What we did in our 154BH was change our double bunk to a hybrid triple with a playpen/bed. It's hard to see in the pictures, but there's a floor-level three foot long playpen for our toddler (with round window). Our 5 year uses the (now shorter, but raised) "lower" bunk, and the upper bunk is unmodified.

Wrascal · 04-15-2015, 03:07 PM

Kids that age can sleep comfortably on a pile of rocks. When ready for bed, my youngest grandson (9-10 months) is put down in a pack n play with a cover over it, not to block light but to stop the distractions. His 4 year old brother sleeps on the unopened couch, sometimes shared with a dog or two.

Now their mother would complain about a pea under her 16" mattress; we leave her at home to enjoy the peace and quiet.

Hattie · 04-15-2015, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wrascal

Kids that age can sleep comfortably on a pile of rocks. When ready for bed, my youngest grandson (9-10 months) is put down in a pack n play with a cover over it, not to block light but to stop the distractions. His 4 year old brother sleeps on the unopened couch, sometimes shared with a dog or two.

Now their mother would complain about a pea under her 16" mattress; we leave her at home to enjoy the peace and quiet.

LOVE your post - I really enjoy the humor and 'war stories' shared on this site. No reason to take life too seriously ... just like with camping - gotta have some fun!

DMRGMC · 04-15-2015, 07:24 PM

Our then 2yr old granddaughter slept in a play pan that fits in the front closet of the 5er. As she outgrew the play pen we put a foam pad on the floor in the same place with a baby gate secured in the opening of the sliding door so that she thought it was a crib. This season it will be a foam pad without the gate. The shelves in the closet accommodate 2 Good Sam bags of "babies", her sleeping buddies.

Wrascal · 04-15-2015, 09:39 PM

" I really enjoy the humor ".

No humor intended, their mother was always a princess - and their father is a ninga. He needs no sleep.

To the original poster, kids are resilient. Do your best and enjoy life.

spoon059 · 04-16-2015, 04:40 AM

Our old camper we put the pack and play on the lowered dinette table because it didn't fit in between. Our new camper has a u-shaped dinette and we just take the table out and put the pack and play where the table belongs.

For light, we bought a roll of Reflectix at our local home store. Its just bubble wrap with aluminum foil type material on both sides. We cut out sections of Reflectix and stuff it in the window of the door, windows and skylights. It doesn't block 100% of the light, but certainly blocks enough that it is dark. It is super easy to pop into the window frame when its nap time, and easy to remove when nap time is over. We store the pieces in a cabinet when we aren't using them.

The added bonus is that they reflect heat, so in the middle of summer trips, we can block out direct sunlight and heat and keep the camper much cooler.

**Snake Plissken** · 04-18-2015, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by clubhouse

We started with the Pack n play on the collapsed table bed

Quote:

Originally Posted by spoon059

Our old camper we put the pack and play on the lowered dinette table

We did the same thing

Ewingfamily · 04-19-2015, 03:26 PM

We started camping when my youngest was 1. We brought a pack n play for the first summer. We also put it in the u dinette. At that time, we had a hybrid (23B) and it worked well. The next summer, we put a bedrail on the bed and the kids all shared the large bed. Now that we have a BH, I could see the bedrail working great on the lower bunk.

We camped in the driveway LOTS the first Spring to help the kids get used to camping in the camper. I would do that before heading out and having a "hell weekend" with little sleep for anyone.

Camping with kids is the ultimate adventure! Enjoy it.

Camper_bob · 04-20-2015, 10:42 AM

We're going through the same thing with my 6 MO DS. He's been camping with us many times. We always put him in the P&P next to the dinette.

We're ready to have our floor space back. Our next trip out, we're going to make him a "nest" in the bottom bunk and see how it goes. My only concern is if it gets stuffy in that bunk, but I will likely put a fan down there for circulation. He doesn't mind the light very much, and he's a heavy sleeper, but I might go with some Reflectix for climate control to help keep the trailer cooler...

TWP723 · 04-20-2015, 11:22 AM

We usually just throw 'em in the front storage. If they're good..we leave the door open!

Camper_bob · 04-20-2015, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TWP723

We usually just throw 'em in the front storage. If they're good..we leave the door open!

I was thinking I'd rather duct tape him to the roof ladder, but DW says I can't do that. Something about people calling the police on us?

TWP723 · 04-20-2015, 12:39 PM

Lol!!

SilverEscape · 04-21-2015, 03:32 PM

Crashed out on me in a wrap or carrier until I'm ready to go to bed and then in bed with us. Or wrapped up in a blanket sleeping while I hold them sitting outside and then in bed with us. Or once able to comprehend turning around and backing off the bed to slide off feet first, then in our bed alone for awhile until we join them.

We've never owned a pack and play or crib so its never come to mind to take one with us camping.

canadiankid · 04-21-2015, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverEscape

Crashed out on me in a wrap or carrier until I'm ready to go to bed and then in bed with us. Or wrapped up in a blanket sleeping while I hold them sitting outside and then in bed with us. Or once able to comprehend turning around and backing off the bed to slide off feet first, then in our bed alone for awhile until we join them.

We've never owned a pack and play or crib so its never come to mind to take one with us camping.

1 child I assume? How old?

SilverEscape · 04-21-2015, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by canadiankid

1 child I assume? How old?

Three kids. The oldest started tent camping at age 2 and the second skipped the tent and started in our upgrade to tent trailer at 10 months. The youngest spent 2 summers in the tent trailer since 6 months and is going on her second summer in our Jayco TT at age 3.

TessCiri · 04-22-2015, 05:59 AM

You folks are too funny!

Hattie · 04-22-2015, 06:23 AM

Had a married girlfriend who was unexpectedly pregnant and bemoaned the end of their tent snow-camping days. Her pediatrician asked why she would change her lifestyle ... so long as she kept the baby warm and fed, AND to 'go for it' (baby was 6 weeks old); they did and had a great time. The lesson passed was 'don't let the kiddos change your lifestyle ... they'll adapt!'. SO TRUE, ours is now 26 and this advice was some of the best we ever received/followed!

You may also like: