Camping and cosleeping...

[Juvysen]

We're planning a camping trip in a month or so (4th of july), and I'm trying to figure out a good solution for tent camping while cosleeping with my 3 month old without waking up in serious pain - that is, is there an acceptable mattress situation that'll make sleeping on the ground reasonably comfortable without suffocating my newborn? Usually we just put an extra sleeping bag under us, but that makes for a lot of fluff, you know?

Looking forward to hearing ideas!

[limette]

Air mattresses are pretty solid. We just bring a fitted sheet to put on it.

[Juvysen]

Originally Posted by limette

Air mattresses are pretty solid. We just bring a fitted sheet to put on it.

really? I guess I only remember the mattress my mom had when I was a kid which we always found everyone on it smushed into the middle of it by morning... maybe newer styles are better?

[limette]

We bought ours for $30 at Walmart. You could get one, inflate it and try it out at home and if it's not suitable take it back the next day.

Or you could get a little basinette and put it beside/on the mattress for the baby?

[LionessMom]

my air mattress is solid. always check it for holes to make sure it wont lose air at night hwile you sleep. always fill it up till it is firm. it should not dip in when you sit on it. it should hold you up without dimpling in.

[lifeguard]

We use a thermarest when camping. It's nice & flat & there is really no chance of it deflating & becoming dangerous (if it did deflate you sink about 1/2").

[SeekingJoy]

A thermarest - either foam or inflatable. I personally wouldn't be comfortable co-sleeping with a baby that young on something that potentially could deflate into a dangerous setup. You could also nurse your LO to sleep and then have them in a co-sleeper right next to your air mattress.

[LionessMom]

sorry, she said 3 mo old, i was going fast and thought it said 8 mo old. i would not have a 3mo old on an air mattress. my 8 mo old would be fine. but a 3mo old is too little. you could even make a camping bassinet out of a shallow wicker basket and a bassinet mattress..... or just get one of those moses baskets.

[artemis33]

I'd bring a moses basket or something similar.

[Juvysen]

I'm not actually sure my baby will sleep in a moses basket or cosleeper. He only ever naps in his swing (or when I'm wearing him ... or I guess his carseat, too, but that's when the car's moving), but he nurses most of the night.... so that could make for some *really* long nights camping. Hm.

[smpayne]

Originally Posted by lifeguard

We use a thermarest when camping. It's nice & flat & there is really no chance of it deflating & becoming dangerous (if it did deflate you sink about 1/2").

Love the Thermarest, ours have lasted 10 years use with the boy scouts and still work great.

My brother got foam pads that interlock (like puzzle pieces) together to cover the entire floor of his tent.

[chel]

dd2 was around 3m when we first went camping. i used both thermarest and z-rest. everyone slept as well as they normally did.

[Comtessa]

I hate air mattresses, probably because they always seem to deflate on me. Not safe for co-sleeping. And even if they don't deflate, they're too sticky and weird for me to be comfortable.

It's a bit of a PITA, but my comfiest camping sleeping has been on a full-size futon mattress. I just drag it off the futon frame at home and load it into the car. If you have enough extra car/trunk space for one, and don't mind hauling it (they're heavy), it's a pretty luxurious way to camp. I got the mattress on Freecycle, just posted a "wanted: your old futon mattress." If you don't have one and think it might be nice to try, it might be worth trolling Craigslist or Freecycle in your area to see if somebody has one.

[ParisApril]

If only I had my pickup truck still. Sigh... those were the days.

There is no way a thermarest could pose any danger to a baby. Fully inflated the ones we have are less than two inches thick. We have them and I would recommend one as well. Also you can buy a Z Rest, a foam pad with small pockets for comfort.

As our family has expanded we have had to buy a single pillow top mattress from Ikea http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/10155647 for our trundle bed and now I just take that on camping trips. I wrap the mattress in a plastic mattress protector and put a fitted sheet on it then use blankets from home on top of us.

ETA: The ikea mattress rolls up pretty small too just remember to keep the bag it came in to store it and for traveling.

Have fun camping!

[jtbuko]

I love the pp's idea to use interlocking foam to cover the entire tent. We use thermarast and zrest pads. If you have extra bring one more than you think you need. I always seemed to end up sacrificing my space to the kids and wake up with my hip dug into the ground. Once we got an extra pad to account for that I was a happier camper. Same goes for blankets. As they got older co-sleeping in two zip together sleeping bags (the rectangle ones where the zipper is all on the outside) worked well for us. HAVE FUN!