hi everyone, we are going camping, backpacking really, into the wilderness with our 1 year old baby. We can't take heavy stuff, because we are hiking miles in. Question #1: can you dehydrate baby food from jars? Question #2: Can you burn disposable diapers in a campfire, or do we have to haul them out? Does anyone have advice or suggestions about camping with baby? Mary

-- Mary Fraley (kmfraley@orwell.net), August 23, 2000

Answers

I hope that you are nursing the little one, since breast milk is the ultimate convienence food for babies. I don't believe you can dehydrate the food, and you would have to VERY careful of the water used to hydrate the stuff. I know that dry baby cereals would be easy to carry and reconstitute. If you aren't already using them, get munchkin used to them; mine liked oatmeal and banana!

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), August 23, 2000.

A general rule on backpacking, or hiking in general, is to bring out more trash than you created while doing so. I personally wouldn't try to burn or bury used diapers. Pack them out.

I personally haven't been around children all that much, but I suspect about 90% of your attention is going to be on the child, meaning you won't really enjoy the hiking. Plus there is the weight of the child and all of the life support system required, cutting down on what else you can carry. Just a suggestion, leave the child with a babysitter and treat the hike as a second honeymoon. Hey, might even result in a brother or sister. If you absolutely have to keep in contact take a cell phone.

-- Ken S. in TN (scharabo@aol.com), August 23, 2000.

Mary, Have you considered using llamas as pack animals on your adventures? They can carry the load while you enjoy the hike. I have used them hiking with my family and have used them to carry our youngest member when she got tired.

Don't know your living arrangements(apt. condo etc) if interested in more information contact me!

-- emily (bellyacresfarm@kyk.net), August 23, 2000.

Ken, thanks for your comment about not burning the diapers. Mary, if you are indeed going to the Wilderness (capital "W") you should consider packing out all your wastes, including human. Kind of a gross idea, but the right thing to do. Otherwise, be mindful of burying waste and not urinating anywhere remotely near a stream. Pack out the t.p. anyway.

Thank you for being a good steward. Have a great time, too.

-- sheepish (rborgo@gte.net), August 23, 2000.

When we took Jes camping as a baby, we always used real diapers. Rinsed 'em in a giant plastic baggie brought along for that purpose. Add a little frsh water and just a dab of soap and shake the bag, rinse and hang to dry, on a packframe would work well. Worked great for making a baby burnoose, too. As to food, take a baby grinder and feed the baby whatever you're eating, as long as it isn't too spicy.

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), August 23, 2000.

A 1 yr old, really doesn't need more than breast milk. Human waste, when properly buried-well off trail-away from wetlands and streams- shouldn't be a problem, with cloth diapers. Disposable diapers are another issue, carry them out or leave the little one at home. I have seen enough 'diaper waste' along the Great Croton and Hudson rivers, to last me a lifetime! I take a trash bag on my canoe trips, for other peoples garbage! Sorry, didn't mean to rant! Maybe you should put off the hiking trip, till he/she can swat.

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), August 23, 2000.

last word: squat

-- Kathy (catfish@bestweb.net), August 23, 2000.

Mary, disposable diapers don't burn, they just shrivel up into a hard black wad. It would make them smaller if space is an issue for packing garbage out, but I can't imagine the gasses put off when burning to be too pleasant. Have fun on your trip anyway!

As a side note: don't feed baby bananas on the trip or the mosquitos will eat him/her up!

-- Julie (julieamc@excite.com), August 23, 2000.

Hi Mary, just wondering if you've taken any shorter trips with your little one? If not,it might be a good idea to stay out of the backcountry and enjoy a less strenuous and remote camping experience. My parent's took us camping when we were very little.In fact,my mom likes to tell me that I was camping even before I was born.Even though we(4 of us) were young we all had a great time(except for the time I got leeches all over me...).It can really be great fun for the whole family! I would go with mostly cloth diapers as suggested. squat and bury human waste.Pack out any disposables you bring:it seems to take a really hot fire to burn them.

Where's your water going to come from?Do you have a good filter?I wouldn't just boil... If you can get good clean water,then go ahead and dehydrate a bit. Or find yourself a Happy Baby Grinder(About $10) and grind up some of your meals for baby.

Don't forget a bonnet and sunblock.

Most of all, take it easy and have fun together. Hope you do have fun and may God watch over you, ~~Tracy~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), August 23, 2000.

I would nix the disposable diaper idea too. If nothing else, a cloth diaper would at least burn whereas the disposable won't. I would go for real food for the baby since baby food is pretty much worthless as far as nutrition. You could pulverize some rolled oats to make oatmeal out of. It would be light to carry but as already warned be careful the water you use to cook it. There should be alot of dehydrated foods that would be soft enough for the baby once reconstituted. If you've never been camping with a baby I would give this kind heavy thought. It probably depends on what kind of parent you tend to be. Some people are pretty laid back with babies and some think they have to have a truckload of stuff to get them through the first 3 months. There are some homesteaders out there probably on this board who have raised children in conditions like your only spending a week in! Have a good time.

Kathy :-)

-- Kathy (DavidWH6@juno.com), August 24, 2000.

Thanks to everyone who contributed answers! Our baby is adopted from China, so breastfeeding is out of the question. She is actually drinking goat's milk, which is another problem I have. I will probably just bring dry formula for her for the long weekend. We have a water purifier which we use for camping for ourselves. I am assuming it makes the water safe enough to drink, even for a baby. It is a Pur Sport. We have used it many times. I wouldn't think of leaving her at home, since we've only had her since July 3! We are pretty low key and adaptable, and she is too. We are traveling with another family with 7 children of all ages, and we have three older boys. They will all help out, and we can always stop and camp if it gets too much for the little ones. We are fairly responsible campers. We don't leave anythng behind. I wouldn't think of leaving disposable diapers for someone else to clean up (yuck). I was just trying to find a way to not have to haul them out! Thanks Julie for the practical advice, and for answering my question about burning. A friend of ours has a pack goat and she says we can borrow him, so that is an option. The baby has allergies, so I have to be careful what to feed her. She is not eating meat yet. I want to bring dried fruits and veggies and reconstitute them. Also I will bring dried rice and oatmeal cereals. Kathy, why is baby jar food not nutritious? Mary

-- Mary Fraley (kmfraley@orwell.net), August 24, 2000.

You can get powdered goat milk in a can, try your health food store, if they don't have it now, maybe they can order it for you. The other thing you can do, which we have done, is to freeze the goat's milk in plastic bottles, with the nipples on, and wrap them up in insulating material such as socks,(put the bottle in a plastic bag first in case of leakage), and the milk will stay cool for about two days.To use the bottle, thaw it in a warm/ hot water bath, the quality of the water will not matter because the baby won't be drinking it. There are also disposable diapers called tushies, that a lady I know buys from a health food co-op. Apparently these have no plastc and are not bleached, and are more enviromentally conscious, and since they have no plastic or that gel in them, they should also burn well. They are more expensive, buut for a camping trip, it would be better than packing out a bunch of poopy diapers. If you shake out the waste and bury it, the diapers will burn better. I agree about the baby food grinder, ours cost only $6-7 , and is very lightweight.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@transport.com), August 24, 2000.

Hi Mary, I wouldn't want to leave her behind either!She sounds precious! Definitely try to find some powdered goat's milk,or if you must bring formula,buy Nutramigen-it's especially formulated for babies with allergies.Wish I could go!!! Have fun!God Bless, ~~Tracy~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), August 25, 2000.