Caravanning with a baby?
So it appears we will soon be a caravan of 3 people instead of 2.
Luckily I changed our little 2 berth for our big 4 birth at the end of last year, but other than having a suitable van, does anyone have any hints or tips that helped them get set up with a baby in the caravan?
The pushchair thingy I bought has a detachable cot which is suitable for the baby to sleep in so I guess I can make the side dinette up and pop it on there?
The only other thing I'm stuck on is the bathing? I have a big fully lined circular shower which wouldnt fit a baby bath in there I don't think.
I don't have an awning for it currently but I do have one from the old caravan so I'm going to try sell that and buy one of these 390 porch awning type things to pop the pram in.
Should be a bit of a change to our holidays!
Any helpful hints very much appreciated
Thanks
Liam
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Congratulations!!!
You'll be fine with the cot on the dinette for a while but once your baby is bigger you'll be better off with a bed guard on the dinette bunk. Or there's a pop up cot that may work but I'll have to hunt for the name.
Bathing took place for ours in one of those flexible plastic tubs with handles initially and a small paddling pool when they were older.
Edit - the cot is a koo di
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Whilst family rooms probably OK for toddlers upwards, would think it preferable to do 'baby things' in the van. How about one of those large rubbery tubs ( which I've often seen folk carry dishes to the sink in) as a baby bath. ( is this what you mean Jayess?)
When camping with our small children we used a collapsible travel cot - could also double as a playpenenjoy your little family, Leeham, they soon grow!
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We were away in our caravan when our daughter was just 10 days old! We didnt need bottles/sterilisers which made things much easier. We looked at travel cots etc but were not keen as the mattresses didn't appear great. Instead, we took our carrycot and bought
the proper mattress for it and put the carrycot on the slats bewteen the two single beds. As for washing, we just used the largest basin we could buy, filled and used it in the shower cubicle and kept it for this purpose. We also took her bouncy chair for
when we were sitting out in the evenings. The night before we left for home we were chatting to the people in the caravan next to us and they hadn't realised we had a baby with us, she was so quiet! Also, in the evenings when she was in bed we would just sit
in the awning reading and enjoying the rest!0 -
Great stuff thanks everyone
Were away in it 2 weeks after the due date at a wedding so if He's on time we'll be away!
Ill fit a fair sized basin in the shower cubicle so i'll be on the look out for one of those.
I'm going to take my awning down to the caravan shop tonight and try trade it in against a 390 porch awning which will give enough space for us to be outside if its not the best weather and the baby is asleep inside the van and also give somewhere to store
the pram and bouncer etcs1st proper holiday snce we've had the new van this week, can't wait
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It's been a while since I had a baby in my caravan but one thing which I felt was useful (at home too) was don't creep about too much. We made that mistake with our first born but, when number two arrived, our first born just had to get used to the crying
and us moving around during the night. Eventually, with them both in the same room, you could almost shout and they'd both sleep through it all.
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It's been a while since I had a baby in my caravan but one thing which I felt was useful (at home too) was don't creep about too much. We made that mistake with our first born but, when number two arrived, our first born just had to get used to the crying and us moving around during the night. Eventually, with them both in the same room, you could almost shout and they'd both sleep through it all.
A very good point, we were told that on our first midwife visit after our first, she said that is you have absolute quiet while the baby was sleeping they will always expect that and will wake up at the slightest sound. We got so good at it that we could hoover in the same room while they slept - to the horror of my mother in law who would start wispering whenever they were asleep!
Back on topic, until they start moving about under their own stream, either rolling, crawling, walking, then having them in the caravan will be fine. After that just do what you do at home, stairgates...Our children grew up in the van and loved every minute, every weekend was an adventure.
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We have a four month old, big surprise he was!
Anyway, we are off to
Broadway Caravan Club Site in August, they have a dedicated room for babies. Guessing a few others do too but for bathing the baby, my wife or I would just
take them in the shower with us, nothing like holding a baby in the shower with that skin to skin contact. Makes them feel safe and gets them used to water.0 -
We have a four month old, big surprise he was!
Anyway, we are off to
Broadway Caravan Club Site in August, they have a dedicated room for babies. Guessing a few others do too but for bathing the baby, my wife or I would
just take them in the shower with us, nothing like holding a baby in the shower with that skin to skin contact. Makes them feel safe and gets them used to water.Great news DS3
, magical times Mucker. Enjoy0 -
When our children where young one 3yrs and the other 6 months when we started taking them in the caravan, that is in the 70's and we did not have mains eletricity in the caravan at the time!. I really don't recall too many problems. We took a small baby
bath and one of those swinging chair things. Other than that we tried to act as normal regarding noise etc. With all the fresh air they slept like logs and so did we! Relax, don't panic and have a great time.0
