Fatherhood anonymous; an open discussion on being a dad.

[yeahman]

Right on ghosthop! Cute kid. If your son is vaccinated then I wouldn't make an issue of it with your friend. That's why you got your kid vaxxed, right? So he's protected.

Get a camper and you can start camping with infants pretty much immediately. If you're tent camping, the biggest issue is having a crying baby in a campground at night, which wakes everybody else up. We did that a few times before buying a camper. A camper is the best investment you can make for many years of camping with kids IMO.

[Danno]

Agree on the camper advice. Can you tent camp with a baby? Sure, many do it. But a camper makes things so much easier. Imagine it's pouring rain outside, and cold, and your baby is unhappy. In a camper you can make it warmer (if you have a furnace) but even if not, you can stand up and bounce the baby and do all the usual tricks to settle them down. Your options are far more limited in a tent.

As for xc skiing, once they have the head/neck control you should be ok for easy stuff. It's "more gear" but a Chariot with ski attachments or a kindershuttle (I liked this one better) are awesome. One, no kiddo on your back, but two, it is so much easier to keep the kid warm in one of those, and that is your biggest challenge. Monitoring the kid's temperature isn't easy (some babies will cry when cold, but not all will).

[Danno]

Right on ghosthop! Cute kid. If your son is vaccinated then I wouldn't make an issue of it with your friend. That's why you got your kid vaxxed, right? So he's protected.

At 8 weeks there aren't many vaccines the baby has had yet. It's not a concern once your kid is vaxed against whatever, but until they are old enough to get whatever vaccine, the intention to get them vaccinated when allowed isn't protection.

[riser4]

Agree on the camper advice. Can you tent camp with a baby? Sure, many do it. But a camper makes things so much easier. Imagine it's pouring rain outside, and cold, and your baby is unhappy. In a camper you can make it warmer (if you have a furnace) but even if not, you can stand up and bounce the baby and do all the usual tricks to settle them down. Your options are far more limited in a tent.

As for xc skiing, once they have the head/neck control you should be ok for easy stuff. It's "more gear" but a Chariot with ski attachments or a kindershuttle (I liked this one better) are awesome. One, no kiddo on your back, but two, it is so much easier to keep the kid warm in one of those, and that is your biggest challenge. Monitoring the kid's temperature isn't easy (some babies will cry when cold, but not all will).

Heh. I loved that time watching my mom faceplant my 6 mos old baby sister in the snow while XC skiing with the baby on her back when I was 5. I'm a dick.

[waveshello]

We found that a front carrier (ergobaby or wrap style) worked well for tiny baby xc skiing. Baby can go inside of your jacket that way, and extremities stay warm. Easy to monitor them that way, and regulate temperature. That worked nicely for the first 6 months. Good mittens are probably the single most important piece of gear before they start walking.

We have taken a very permissive stance on allowing our girly to be held/passed around and we don't regret that at all, she is happy and healthy (she is current on her vax schedule, no COVID tho). You gotta make your own choice there, but if your kiddo is going to daycare or the library or whatever with lots of others, I'd be more concerned about that than spending time with your antivax friend. Don't lose that friendship!



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[benk]

Congrats Ghosthop! I don’t have many tips for you as we’re in the same boat(9 weeks old Friday). We did take our son car camping for 5 days at 6 weeks and he did great. The thing for us was keeping mom comfortable which meant having a comfortable nursing/pumping configuration and staying warm while doing so in the middle of the night. We used a goal zero for our AC powered pump and setup a chair with pillows in the tent for middle of the night feeds. Baby slept in a Moses basket with a Patagonia bunting we snagged off eBay. Take time to figure out your bottle wash station before you go on the trip.

Keep passing along cold weather tips, I’m looking forward to getting baby benk out xc skiing this year

[jfost]

At 8 weeks there aren't many vaccines the baby has had yet. It's not a concern once your kid is vaxed against whatever, but until they are old enough to get whatever vaccine, the intention to get them vaccinated when allowed isn't protection.

Baby has Mom’s antibodies assuming boobfeeds… yer gonna be fine!

[schuss]

Baby has Mom’s antibodies assuming boobfeeds… yer gonna be fine!

This is not 100% for everything. If there are antivax friends that don't take precautions, best they stay away until active pandemics die down or they agree to things like rapid testing before they come over.
First COVID stuff is at 6 months, so not like it's the far away.

[HellgateBasement]

Anyone have experience with friends/family who are anti-vax? Not just covid but everything. I am wrestling with how to tell one of my best friends we won't be visiting for the foreseeable future because I don't want his viral vectors around my son.

Congrats on the early milestones. I'm less than a year into this new adventure myself, and have dealt with some of the same concerns around vaxx/anti-vaxx friends. Make your own decision about how much risk you're comfortable with, but in terms of communication I found it was best to just come right out with it. Besides it's good practice for all the other times you're going to have to man up and say some uncomfortable shit in order to do what's best for your kid.

[riser4]

We found that a front carrier (ergobaby or wrap style) worked well for tiny baby xc skiing. Baby can go inside of your jacket that way, and extremities stay warm. Easy to monitor them that way, and regulate temperature. That worked nicely for the first 6 months. Good mittens are probably the single most important piece of gear before they start walking.

We have taken a very permissive stance on allowing our girly to be held/passed around and we don't regret that at all, she is happy and healthy (she is current on her vax schedule, no COVID tho). You gotta make your own choice there, but if your kiddo is going to daycare or the library or whatever with lots of others, I'd be more concerned about that than spending time with your antivax friend. Don't lose that friendship!


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Baby carrier options and availability has improved a lot since my mom went XC skiing in 1974 with my baby sister. I don't think the vintage Gerry packs with the tubular frame and the sling seat are even legal anymore. I was just totally 5 yo happy that my sister was unhappy. And watching the whole digger take place was even more awesome. Little kids can be dicks. As an adult I feel bad.

[alpinevibes]

Attachment 427028

A couple questions
Crucial travel/camping/outdoor gear? If he is up to it, I am hoping to cross country ski with him later in the winter and we have two week long trips planned for the spring. When did you start car camping with your kids?

We started xc skiing and skinning with them at 4mo with them in babybjorns on the front. That worked well and kept them warm; cold days we'd have them in down buntings, otherwise fleece onesies. They were about 8mo by the time spring rolled around and we could put them in the Chariot to bike around. We waited till 14mo (the following winter) to start towing them in the Chariot for xc skiing with a down bunting and extra adult down's bundled around them. Hut trips the same.

We took the boys camping at 8mo and did the White Rim (3nights) with them at 14mo. We have BabyBjorn travel cribs (fancy, light pack n plays) that we put in their tent and i put a few fleece blankets underneath the cribs to give extra ground insulation. We've used a few sizes of the Morrison outdoors bags now and they've been great for camping, huts, etc: https://morrisonoutdoors.com/product...y-sleeping-bag A 40deg bag plus fleece, footie jammies were plenty for cold nights and the fleece jammies are pretty indestructible for running around in the morning.

Once they hit 1yr+ I'd highly recommend these for camping/traveling. We used them everywhere outside the house for eating and for giving them a home base to hang on the go: https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Infant.../dp/B01AZC36Z8

Our boys love camping but have an incredibly hard time going to sleep when their in a tent - it's play time to them. Melatonin gummies are pretty clutch for helping them get over the edge and too sleep in those situations.

[waveshello]

Baby carrier options and availability has improved a lot since my mom went XC skiing in 1974 with my baby sister. I don't think the vintage Gerry packs with the tubular frame and the sling seat are even legal anymore. I was just totally 5 yo happy that my sister was unhappy. And watching the whole digger take place was even more awesome. Little kids can be dicks. As an adult I feel bad.

Reminds me of the time my dad went to go get my baby brother up from a nap. We're all sitting at the diner table, dad comes out with baby in his arms and promptly trips through the doorway, falls, and throws baby Jonny across the room. Baby Jonny hits the floor with a thud and doesn't move. Mom screames, and keeps screaming as she jumps up and runs over to grab Jonny--all of us kids are sitting in shocked silence as she picks him up. And realizes it was a doll, dressed in the same clothes she put baby Jonny to bed in. She was so pissed! Us kids thought it was pretty funny, but we knew better than to show it.

Looking back... WTF Dad?! Haha!

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[anotherVTskibum]

Congrats on the early milestones. I'm less than a year into this new adventure myself, and have dealt with some of the same concerns around vaxx/anti-vaxx friends. Make your own decision about how much risk you're comfortable with, but in terms of communication I found it was best to just come right out with it. Besides it's good practice for all the other times you're going to have to man up and say some uncomfortable shit in order to do what's best for your kid.

Are they of the "my kids, my medical choices" camp? If so, they can STFU about you making the choices you think are right for your kids (IMO). My ex's grandmother was reluctant to get her covid vaccine despite being in a high risk demographic (too much rabid-right tv "news", apparently); she wasn't happy about being told she couldn't visit without testing, but she eventually sucked it up.

I'd also be concerned about whooping cough if until your kids are old enough for that vaccine. Our pediatrician recommended that anyone in close contact with the baby (parents, grandparents, etc) make sure they have an updated vaccine, as that's one that tends to be mild in adults but can be deadly to infants.

Due to a variety of factors, our now two-year-old didn't see daycare until the 21-22 school year started, and she was something like 15 months. Our younger child went a lot sooner; both of them seem to be rapidly boosting their immune systems at daycare now, but also caught COVID on a trip for their uncle's wedding in the summer despite getting that vaccine as soon as they could.

And we someone mentioned above, a front carrier works great for an infant who lacks the head/neck stability to be in a backpack, plus they get to benefit from your body heat. Just be extra careful on free heel gear about fore/aft balance.

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[Danno]

Reminds me of the time my dad went to go get my baby brother up from a nap. We're all sitting at the diner table, dad comes out with baby in his arms and promptly trips through the doorway, falls, and throws baby Jonny across the room. Baby Jonny hits the floor with a thud and doesn't move. Mom screames, and keeps screaming as she jumps up and runs over to grab Jonny--all of us kids are sitting in shocked silence as she picks him up. And realizes it was a doll, dressed in the same clothes she put baby Jonny to bed in. She was so pissed! Us kids thought it was pretty funny, but we knew better than to show it.

Looking back... WTF Dad?! Haha!

I think Dad didn't want any more kids, and this was his way of ensuring that he didn't get any sex for a LONG time.

[Dantheman]

I finished this book recently and highly recommend it for anyone with young kids who would like their kids to grow up as healthy as possible and potentially avoid expensive orthodontic bills:

https://www.amazon.com/Jaws-Hidden-E.../dp/1503604136

[nickwm21]

We have a 5mo old. Two successful camp trips last month.

You need a Big tent, we have an REI Kingdom. We setup a diap changing station in the trunk of the wagon, which was clutch.

She slept in her “magic merlin”, which was warm enough, it was 50deg in the middle of the night. Sleep setup was the more challenging thing. First trip we used a basket style bassinet with no stand, it was a great fit in the tent but she is getting slightly too big for it. Second trip we used the packnplay, which is fine, just large and tall, with a smaller tent it would be an issue. You also have to get out of your bag and stand up to access baby in the packnplay due to the tall rim. There could be improvement made… I’m sure some brand makes a camping specific infant bed. I’m not sure I’d want to buy something for a handful of nights… Honestly a low laundry basket with a thin dog bed in it might be a (non-pediatrician approved) solution.


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[Dromond]

We took our ten month old out for her first backpacking trip a few weeks ago and here is what we learned:

-Leaving the house late and arriving at camp while the sun sets does not work better with a baby than it did before.

-Trails you have hiked before magically increase 2x in length and vertical when you haul the little one and all your collective stuff.

-Your pack weight in 2022 with a baby is basically what it was in 1990 without one. The next step is an ultra lightweight carbon fiber baby.

-Babies don’t know what camping is. Ours doesn’t usually get to nap next to mom and dad these days, so she loved it. We had one of those baby sleeping bags with arms and a good so little one was super warm.

-Babies do not know if you picked a questionable camp spot or packed just barely enough food and diapers to make it out alive.

-Pumping breast milk trail side is next level. Mom got it done while I hauled the bean to the summit. Said bean slept through the entire thing, but I won’t forget it.

-You’ll want to document this as watching your clueless babe bobbling into the wilderness is priceless. I cut a sweet edit of the whole experience for posterity and maximum dad points, which I will surely watch teary-eyed at some future date.

It was really fun to see everyone’s reaction to our curious little creature as we passed on the trail. We’re going again this weekend, so it must not have been a totally disaster!

[schuss]

I'll also say I was a big fan of the deuter kidcomfort carrier. Special bonus of hiking- the bobbing knocked out both my kids any time we went for a hike. We have a bunch of pictures of them fast asleep on (small) summits.
Dromond's notes are pretty consistent with ours.

[skiJ]

Congrats on the early milestones. I'm less than a year into this new adventure myself, and have dealt with some of the same concerns around vaxx/anti-vaxx friends. Make your own decision about how much risk you're comfortable with, but in terms of communication I found it was best to just come right out with it. Besides it's good practice for all the other times you're going to have to man up and say some uncomfortable shit in order to do what's best for your kid.

+1 with a disclaimer -
you don't need to initiate this topic. Just go about your biz ; keep your distance from the anti.s ;
If they ask be direct without expressing judgement. ( ' we have decided... ' )
no need to say anything perceived as criticism of your friend !

Patience promotes Patience with friends
( If the response is hostile, they weren't your friends )

Good luck ! skiJ

[fatnslow]

Just getting home after dropping off the youngest at college. True empty nester and can't believe how fast time flew by let alone a half wit like me was involved in raising 3 seemingly happy, healthy and smart kids.
All the folks with younger kids here enjoy the ride, it ends faster than you can imagine.

[telefreewasatch]

Truer words have never been spoken.

[SkiLyft]

Kids are resilient!! let them experience the things that bring you joy! My daughter would
coo when I dropped over rollovers on my bike!! Amazing experience!





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[Norseman]

.

[skiJ]

.

awesome pic.

Thank you... skiJ

[riser4]

My wife was a big fan of New Native baby slings. Very versatile, front, back, side. Good for fairly long walks, going up our little neighborhood pimple with 150' of very gain with a few miles of trails wrapping around, doing the dishes, nursing, folding laundry, shopping, etc.