Abbykins's Profile

Camping with kids IS A MUST for our family!! We took our little Ellie when she was just 8 weeks old! She slept better that weekend than she ever had before! Since then, she has camped with us over 10 times in the last 3 years and LOVES it! When she was still in a crib, we always brought our pack and play and that worked great. Once she was out - we just got one of those toddler sized blow up mattresses and she sleeps perfectly on that.

For food - when she was a baby, I would heat up water in our coffee kettle until it was super hot and then stick in breastmilk bottles into it to warm it up. It was perfect! Now that she is older, I tend to do A LOT of prep before we leave. I make easy to heat up over a camp stove meals and unthaw in the cooler or over heat. Some of my favorites are Chili, Taco Meat, Sloppy Joe Meat, BBQ Chicken meat and then I bring along the stuff that goes with it! I also love to have tupperware containers filled with cut up strawberries, melons, grapes, blueberries and whatever else your kid likes so it's easy to pull them out for a snack! We try to bring individually packaged snacks so you can easily tote them along and anything that doesn't need to be kept cold is always good too!
Kids LOVE being outside and having a chance to explore nature! Have fun with it! And the more you do it - the easier it gets!

I too bought the Park Lane crib and changing table - and while the crib held up nicely for the 2 years my daughter used it -- the dresser/ changing table is another story...

The changing table top that is removable, left a TON of scratches and scuffs all over the top and by the time we took it off - the top had come unhinged at the corners so many times - it was trash and not worth saving. As a dresser now - the drawer bottoms have started to bow and are close to being unusable as clothes are falling from one drawer into the one below it. The only clothes that have ever been in there are tiny baby and toddler clothes - so it's certainly NOT due to me putting heavy items in the drawers.

We went with a toddler bed as soon as Elliette was climbing out of the crib for 2 reasons:

1. We knew we wanted another baby, so we thought it would be easier for her to not have an attachment to it when we put another baby in there. (She is 3 now and we have a baby set to arrive in October)
2. The height of the bed even at the lowest level was still a bit too high for my comfort level. At 2, Elliette was still a total squirmer in the night and at points throughout the night would end up completely the wrong way. Falling from that height while sleeping just scared me. Believe me - she fell PLENTY from the toddler bed, but that was only 6 inches off the ground, so I felt a lot better about that...

Overall - the look of this stuff is right where we wanted to be, the price point was competitive and the crib will be used again. The $75 toddler bed has given us peace of mind, but is not a long term solution. Once she outgrows it - we plan on buying her a Full Size Bed to grow with her so we won't have to buy anymore beds for her. Just know what you are paying for...

I totally have one for me and my daughter - and it has made the gift ideas for relatives SO MUCH easier! When someone asks - I just direct them to Amazon and leave it at that. I love that it eliminates multiples of the same gift. I can't tell you how many times I have gotten similar or the same item at birthday's for my daughter before I did it! Saves me time AND the headaches of returns!

I make ahead and freeze Chili, Taco Meat and Spaghetti Sauce to double as heat-n-serve food as well as ice blocks!

When my toddler was little, we used frozen breast milk to keep everything cold!

I don't know anything about this chair -- but I have a similar chair that was actually cheaper and I would recommend it 100%! My daughter is now 2, but we have been using it since she was 6 months and it fits right in with our modern decor without breaking the bank!

http://www.leapsandbounds.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=534089&parentCategoryId=85181&categoryId=85205