egilje's Profile

We definitely use our monitor and it's not a huge house. But like noted before, some of this depends on the house.

The standalone changing table always seemed like a waste of money to me. Most of them serve very little other purposes once done being used. We used the top of his dresser until about 5-6 months when he was too squirmy and we moved to the floor.

Also agree on the bathtub. We did like the "whale" tub (from Target) so that he could sit in the big bath without so much space around, but it was short lived and we easily could have done with out, or kept him in the kitchen sink longer.

These are great ideas, though I'm not comfortable using sharpie directly on skin. I wholeheartedly agree that losing a child is extremely scary and it's worth teaching your child what to do in a situation. It also doesn't hurt to take measures in the event they "freeze up".

I still remember my first address and phone number from over 20 years ago. My mom made it into a song that we sang all the time.

Slightly related note, we also had a password so that if anyone came up to us and said "your mom/dad wanted me to take you somewhere" they would have to know the password. That way if my parents did encounter a situation in which they had to send someone I wouldn't know, they could tell them what it was so we knew it was a safe person.

@spossberg Ridiculous comment. Have you ever actually tried it?

@TaraJane is right, if you're breastfeeding it is easier. I actually nurse him a time or two extra and don't worry as much about how much solid food I have with. We took our son camping (in the popup camper) at 5 weeks for 3 nights. This summer he's been out in the popup twice and regular tent twice and he's just over 10 months now. Most everyone said what I would have suggested. (I even got a few new ideas!)

Also, in contrast to what others have said, we've found it's easier to just go with the flow and read his signals. He still is on his general routine, it may just start an hour or more earlier or later than at home. Since we try not to look at the clock (hey, wilderness!) we just feed him when he's hungry and put him down for a nap when he's tired. So far it's worked well for us.

The other nice thing about a tent is that it's like a big playpen. As long as there are no "choke-ables" he can roam around in there all he wants.

Get out there and do it, enjoy it! Expect a few moments of "what were we thinking", but overall it'll be great!