We’ve taught Jack and Rowan to ski, but we definitely were making it up as we went along and made a lot of mistakes. Stephanie Anderson has taught a number of kids how to ski so we asked her to share her methods with all of you on our blog! You want your little guy or gal to love skiing like you do? I did. You can get them up and going sooner than you would think with a few modifications. Everyone does this a little differently so here is just one take on it. There are only two rules:…
Napping on Adventures
We often get asked the question, “When and where do your kids nap when you do these trips?” The answer is a pretty simple one. They nap wherever we happen to be and during whatever we happen to be doing. I am giving the caveat that we created two tiny humans who are pretty good sleepers in general. Here are my tips on getting kids to nap while out adventuring. Be Flexible This is the most important piece of advice I would give any parent, new or old. Sleep is, in my opinion, one of the single most stressful aspects…
5 Tips for Best Bug Practices
Bugs are a major concern in many locations; spiders, ticks, mosquitos, no see ums, black flies, midges, honestly this list goes on and on. So, the underlying question to all of this is how do we properly prepare our children and ourselves for buggy days in the outdoors? We have developed a pretty simple system for keeping both adults and children relatively bug-free and happy. Bug Repellent After years of living in Washington state where the bugs aren’t generally an issue (although there was that one backpacking trip…. but, that’s another story) we ventured off on our first return camping…
What’s in Our Day Pack For Hikes With Babies and Toddlers?
We are often asked the question of, “What do you pack in your day pack when out hiking with your son?” This is a complex question since, as your child ages and develops the contents change. So, here’s a break down of what lies within our daypacks when out on wilderness excursions with our kiddos along from birth to toddlerhood! Download our printable day hike checklist Our 12 Essentials for Hiking Regardless of Age Water – Hydration Bladders or water bottles, just be sure to have plenty for everybody regardless of age. If you’re on a trail which has access to…
Our Top Ten Favorite Adventure Books for Babies and Toddlers
When we became parents we realized that we had many things to teach and instill in the tiny human beings that we had created together. A love for the outdoors and adventuring was clearly one thing we wanted to encourage in them from the start. Another, was a love for reading. We knew that these two passions could be combined together, and work together, to help our children grow up with senses of adventure, curiosity, and a desire to explore and learn. It has become a family tradition to get a book at every National Park/Monument/Forest that we visit as…
Tips for Successfully Camping with Kids
Camping with kids along can seem intimidating. I’m not going to sugarcoat this for you: taking kids camping is hard work. But, it really is an absolute blast to do at the same time. I also want to remind you that your kids will be just as worn out and exhausted following a weekend of camping as you will be! We get asked many questions about camping with babies so I’ll do my best to address our most frequently asked questions. To read our tips for camping successfully with kids see our guest post on MinneMama Adventures
Dealing with Changes and Challenges on the Trail
Hiking with small children will always present challenges. Every stage of development comes with it’s own unique issues to be dealt with when out on the trail. When we started hiking with our son, Jack, at just two weeks old, he was swallowed by his Baby Bjorn. I was terrified he would suffocate against my chest. I stopped regularly to check on him and make sure he was still breathing. Whoever wasn’t carrying him was slipping and sliding along on the trail making sure that the other was being careful and aware of the hazards that were around, all the…
6 Tips for Hiking with Kids
We are often asked for advice on hiking with babies and kids. People are usually shocked to hear of the adventures we have taken our 13 month old son on. Other hikers on the trail constantly remark on our tiniest hiker saying, “He’s so little!” “I can’t believe you bring him with!” “Wow, you’re brave.” We just chuckle, smile, and make chit chat when we receive such comments, but really we are thinking that of course we are going to bring our son with us on the trail. Why would we stop hiking after having a baby? For us, we always knew…
5 Tips for Camping with a Baby
1. Research and Find Inspiration The idea of taking an infant or young baby camping can be overwhelming and scary. Questions, concerns and “what ifs” may plague you as you set out to plan your first camping trip. When we were discussing taking our 6 week old baby on his first camping trip last September, I was very intimidated and overwhelmed by all of my concerns. I decided to look for some inspiration in guidebooks and blog posts. My go-to outdoor baby guidebook is Babes in the Woods: Hiking, Camping, & Boating with Babies and Young Children by Jennifer Aist. This…
Jack’s First Camping Trip
The weather for the weekend was looking perfect with highs in the 80s and lows in the high 50s. We decided it would be warm enough that we should be able to take our 6 week old baby boy, Jack, camping without too much concern for him staying warm enough. Before we could head out we had to make a few purchases to make camping with an infant as stress-free as possible. We needed a new, family friendly tent, a portable crib, and appropriate warm layers for Jack for sleeping. We went to REI during their Labor Day sale and…