Faith's First Camping Tip

For our anniversary, we took that family camping to Lake Chabot in Hayward. We love the spot because it is only 40 minutes from the house but feels like its worlds away (except for the occasional airplane overhead!).

When we got to the campsite, Faith was just waking up from a nap and was hungry, so Jason hooked up the trailer and I went inside to get comfy feeding her. The heater warmed the place up quickly and by the time Faith was full, the beds were down and she was able to hang out there. Faith hung out in her Bumbo on the bed with Mr.BunBun and her very slobber friendly socked hand. At Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Game time, Faith was in her Bumbo (a lifesaver!) with the Boppy wrapped around the base of it. We loaded her up with toys and the Boppy served to keep her toys within reach as we ate or played. Occasionally she got fussy and ended up sitting on our laps.

As you can see, it didn't bother her one bit! As for "baby equipment" we only took one teething toy, two rattles , one pacifier, Mr.BunBun, A Boppy, A Bumbo, a Pack-andPlay travel crib, a travel swing, a soft carrier and her stroller. The trailer is small and we didn't want to be loaded down with "stuff"! She didn't get bored with the toys as long as you rotate the use! Next time, we'll add some books to the mix. I wish I had thought of that for this trip! Duh!
Because the weather was BEAUTIFUL (MUCH nicer than our freezing cold and rainy wedding day), we were able to go for numerous walks! The Dogs were pooped afterwards and more often than not, Faith was asleep at the end of it. I think she would get fussy when she was cooped up in the trailer all day, as would I (Her Dad, however, could spend all day in one spot, sleeping and reading). The walks were a nice change of scenery for us all and some good exercise! We walked some trails and walked around the entire campground (that we basically had to ourselves, save for 3 or 4 other campers) and picked spots we'd like to have next time (for shorter trips because they only have a few hookup sites. We can make it comfortably 3 days without hookups).

For our first walk, we used the stroller but that proved to be cumbersome. Next time, we will leave that massive thing at home and save some space!
This is how she looked for all the other walks. It was much easier, smaller, warmer, and lulled her to sleep much better. Plus, it made it so one person could carry her AND walk the dogs... something I have been nervous to attempt at home by myself. Now that I've seen it done, I have no qualms about doing it in our daily lives!



Nana came to visit and wore her matching pink velour tracksuit! Faith got hers for Christmas from Grandpa and Grandma and Nana has been itching to match with her adorable Granddaughter! She also brought us an Anniversary balloon and card and Creme Puffs. Dear Lord... remind me to never eat a Creme Puff again! They are the messiest things EVER (but I loved the hard chocolate top and devoured that).


And it wouldn't have been a perfect visit without Faith's FIRST EVER (Ice Cream!) Scrabble Game. Some of my fondest memories of visiting my Grammy with my mom and sister are of my mom and Grammy playing Scrabble. We don't play nearly as often, but I'd like to get into the habit! It'd be great for Faiths blossoming vocabulary not to mention great bonding time with her family. Just for the record, the score was
Mama: 257
Nana: 256
Faith: 0 (but she was the cutest letter holder!)
Nana also took a family picture for us:

Oh Great... They've learned a new trick!

Faith, just waiting for Mom and Dad to take her for a walk!

I LOVE Faith's smile in this one.

And last, but not least, I know a few mommys who want to know how Faith slept. She did very well considering the new environment and the howling wind on the first night. We put the dinnette down and set her P-N-P up on it to keep it out of the way. It was quite a reach to get in there, but it worked well enough. We left one bench of cushions up so I would have a place to feed her semi-comfortably. The first night, she slept in 3-4 hour stretches. I would just get up to feed her and she'd go right back down. At her 5:30am (ish) feeding, I would just bring her back to bed with us and snuggle and feed.

The second and third night, she slept for longer stretches, bvut still woke up more than usual at night. We did, however find that she would be wide awake and would put herself back to sleep on her own numerous times! So it was worth waiting to get up to help her.

The last night, we decided to let her sleep in the portable swing. We had gotten 8 solid hours out of her when we went to Tahoe using that swing, so we gave it a shot. We got 6 hours and then the propane ran out and the heater kept shutting off! So, I brought her to our bed around 4:30am, to help keep her warm and so I wouldn't have to get out of bed in the freezing night air!

If anyone has any questions about how we coped, that I have neglected to write about, just let me know!