Hi there, we are about to go camping with our very active 20 month old. Not sure what to do for sleeping, he would normally sleep in a travel cot but that's really bulky to take with everything else so what could we use instead? Also not sure about sleeping bags - he normally sleeps in a grobag so should i stick with that plus more layers of pyjamas etc or do they do mini sleeping bags?
This will be our first time camping since i got pregnant so we can't wait to go....it's been too long!
You can get a childs blow up bed with removeable sleeping bag attached with bolsters on either side to stop them from rolling out. If you type in "my first ready bed" in google or another search engine, loads of results come up. We have the next one up (junior ready bed) as my son is now 3 and with extra blankets it is great. As the cover comes off, it's easy to clean too.
HTH
Our youngest are 1 & 3 and I put them in a sleeping bag and cover them with a duvet and then zip them up in their bedroom (on a double airbed). They do sometimes wriggle out so when they are asleep I tuck them back in again and then I sleep with one and hubby sleeps with the other to keep them warm and covered up during the night.
They are the best contraception ever!!
Hope you have a great time, we just got back yesterday and I have just finished putting everything away and can't wait to get it all back out and go again.
We went camping this weekend (yes down south in the wind and rain) anyway we took our 21 month old with us. Normally she would sleep in a travel cot but I brought a first ready bed and she slept very well in it - never fell off - although I have to admit she did fall asleep in out bed first!! - The only down side of the first ready bed is that the sleeping bag is a little on the light side and does not zip up so we took her cot duvet and put that over her aswell. (We have a big car so took the travel cot as well but we did not use it - so it will not be going with us when we go camping in france in the summer.)
Hi there. We went camping last year with our then 18 month old daughter and used her pushchair cozee as a sleeping bag, with a blanket over the top, and an old Thermarest underneath. Trust me, it was 8 degrees at night, but she was like toast. Never used a travel cot when we were camping - just put bags on either side of her until we got into the tent ourselves and replaced them. Hope you have a fab time!
If your little one is used to a grobag I would carry on with the grobag and put some extra blankets over. If you use an airbed its a good idea to put a fleecy blanket under little one and a cheapy foam mat from poundland under the airbed for extra insulation. These airbeds look good for little ones Have a look here
My two mini terrorists sleep together in a double ready bed in their own sleeping bags aged 2&4 they have the Vango Nitestar midis. Although we did start off with them in their grobags with extra layers and fleecy jimjams.
Don't try to stick to normal bedtime as we found it impossible for little ones to settle when all the other little ones are running around. We also have them in the same bedroom as us we can make one large room in our tent so if they do wake up in the middle of the night they can see you and don't get scared. Also a good idea is to get them their own LED lanterns again Poundland have some good ones batteries last an age.
My two love camping and I find they actually sleep better and for longer than at home all that fresh air and running about.
Have a great time and I'm sure your little one will love it.
Our 18 mth and 2 and half year old grandcildren slept in pyjamas and cardigans, in an adult size double sleeping bag on a double airbed, fleece blanket on top of airbed. their first camp this weekend. slept like logs, both of them, in the same bedroom room as their other grandparents. They usually sleep in seperate cotbeds at home.
Our 20 monther sleeps in one of these from the aforementioned Little Trekkers - keeps him nice and contained but with enough space to spread out plus it packs down really well (53 cm by 20 cm) and is not bulky at all - though he still wakes up at 6 a.m. howling to be set free. We keep him in his growbag as he would just wriggle out of a conventional styled sleeping bag - we add fleecy blankets if it is particularly cold.
We are about to go camping (july) with our very active 20 month old too! Last year, she was 10 months old and we just used a travel cot and a gro bag but layered her night clothes up. It was July but i was absolutely freezing - Holly however, slept until 8 am every night!
This year, i am tempted to get a ready bed and see how she gets on with that. I am thinking of still using a grobag and layering her cloths accordingly.
Hope the trip goes well - keep us updated - i for one would find it useful to find out how you get on!
Cannot recommend the "My First Ready Bed" enough !! they are BRILLIANT
They slept in a fleece all-in-one inside a summer grobag (so they "felt" normal in their grobags and then in the ready bed (it has a built in sleeping bag)
Worked well.
Now (they are 5 in the summer) they have "Proper" childrens sleeping bags and are still in their little Readybed (with the sleeping bags tucked into the readybed sleeping bag)
They could probably move up to a childs readybed but they still fit the "First" one, sleep well, and take up a lot less space then a "normal" readybed which is almost a single airbed size....
May be a little late, but with our little one, we just took an Outwell Junior sleeping bag and he slept on a double airbed with our teenager. Has always worked out for us. On our last trip, we took a ready bed but put the sleeping bag inside the zip up cover on the bed. It didn't work, he kept wiggling out so he does much better with just the sleeping bag.
Thanks to everyone for the advice, it really has helped, just can't wait to put it to the test now! I think we will go for one of the Kampa easy bedz and his grobag and see how we get on. We'll be in the same bedroom to start with at least so he can't go far!
Hoping to go away next weekend, maybe up to Brecon or down to the Gower as we're not too far from home if it all goes horribly wrong! Fingers crossed for some decent weather.
I just wanted to say that we are going camping this summer with our friends and their 15 month old. We found him an airbed with raised sides it is about £15. I think it is called Kampa, we got it from the Range which is a store here in York, but I have seen them on line and the Discover camping stores. I hope this helps.
We have a 21 month old and took the travel cot last year. I bought a ready bed for him this year, but we've decided not to attempt it just yet as he really is too active and I just know he would just keep climbing out and destroying anything he could get his hands on. I know the travel cots are bulky, but at least you have a safe place to put your little explorer when you're trying to pitch the tent etc and you know there's no chance of them escaping at night. We decided the extra space needed for the travel cot will be well worth it and have compromised on other stuff.