Try Easy: Lane's First Camping “Trip”

When people say "start small" with baby camping, we really took that to heart.

We camped 10 minutes from our house, at a no commitment, first-come-first-served site, with no dinner packed. And our large golden retriever in tow. More importantly: we had our eight-month-old daughter Lane, her fleece onesie, an absolutely clutch sleep setup, and an escape plan.

Honestly? It went great.

Easy Does It

Dave and I have had a motto since the beginning with Lane: high hopes, low expectations. We’re always game to try something new and hope for the best, but we’re just as ready with a backup or bail-out plan if it’s not in the cards. With no idea how this first foray would go, having options and “trying easy” made the whole feat feel much more approachable.

We picked a local campsite where we could bail easily if the night went off the rails. We also had a contingency plan: abandon ship, drive home, and return in daylight to pack up. Just knowing that was possible lowered our stress levels by half.

And dinner? No camp stove. No dishes. No prep. We ordered Thai food. Dave drove into town to grab it while I gave Lane her bedtime bottle, and he was back in 15 minutes with panang curry and pad thai. It was hot, delicious, cleanup-free, and best of all we had leftovers for lunch the next day.

Lane + Stanley + Dirt = The Need for Containment

At eight months old, Lane was peak crawling and put literally everything in her mouth mode. Rocks, sticks, dirt. Our lovable oaf of a golden retriever, Stanley, was also on the trip. He weighs 90 lbs, has just ok spatial awareness, and firmly believes he belongs wherever you are - especially in the tent.

Enter: the Orea Adventure Crib.

We popped it up as soon as we got there and it immediately became our MVP:

• It gave Lane a safe, clean, bug-free place to play while we set up camp

• Kept rocks and sand well out of her reach, and redirected her attention to more mouth-appropriate objects

• Doubled as her bed for the night, keeping her protected from Stan's back flops and tail swipes

It meant we could actually set up without one of us constantly helicoptering, and later, she had her own secure spot in the tent where we didn’t worry about her getting smothered by a dog or a sleeping bag.

Cold Nights, Cozy Layers

The temp dropped to 5°C overnight, so we brought a ton of layers. She started in jammies, a fleece onesie and her sleep sack, and when we joined her in the tent around 9:30, we swapped out the sleepsack for her Morrison Outdoors sleeping bag and added a hat.

Dave and I were kept warm thanks to our furnace Stanley, who took up roughly 78% of the tent and doubled as a weighted blanket.

Sleep Scorecard: Shockingly solid.

• Lane woke up once briefly but went back down easily with a soother plug-in and a little shushing.

• She woke up a bit earlier than usual thanks to birds, light, and tent excitement, but she was well-rested.

• We got a sweet family snuggle in the early morning, which made our slightly broken sleep totally worth it.

She had the comforts of home (sound machine, soothers, crib) and yet handled the unfamiliar like a champ. Meanwhile, Dave and I spent the night tag-teaming Stan management and compulsively checking to make sure Lane hadn’t turned into a baby popsicle.

Final Thoughts

Lane continues to surprise us with her adaptability and resilience to just about any environment. We go into most new endeavours expecting things to be a bit of a disaster, but she doesn’t cease to amaze us by being happiest when she's outside, doing new things, and exploring the world. Consistency is great, but seeing her thrive in all the adventures (and her tolerance to our antics) continues to push us to try new things and take her along for all the experiences we loved before she arrived on the scene.

There seems to be a disproportionate worry on my end about what she needs and how she'll do, compared to how well she actually does, which makes Dave and I laugh all the time. She's just fine, I'm the one anticipating the worst. She's a surprising little nugget, and I'm so proud of her - and of us - for always giving things a go and being ok with however it turns out.

If you're thinking of camping with a baby, our honest take is: try easy and give yourself grace.

For the first go, you don’t have anything to "prove," it’s about giving it a try, seeing what works, and keeping it enjoyable for everyone. Is it a "true" camping experience if you order takeout? Who cares. We were happy, and it made the whole night so easy. 

Pick a spot close to home. Choose meals that won’t add extra work. Pack more layers than you think you'll need. And set up sleep in a way that feels familiar and stress-free for everyone.

For us, the Orea Adventure Crib wasn’t just helpful, it was essential. It gave Lane a space of her own, gave us peace of mind, and turned the whole experience from daunting to doable. It helped us focus on the fun, not the logistics, and made us feel excited to do it again.

Which, spoiler: we absolutely will.