Camp

Camp went really well. We went up Tuesday morning and came home Friday around noon. Claire slept the whole drive up there (about 2 hours with the gas station stop and me getting lost). She was good and would sit in her play yard a little bit. Mostly, she wanted to be with me. I think she was overwhelmed by all the people. And of course, since she is the cutest thing ever, all the girls were in her face all the time. So she spent a lot of time with me, but Carma and Debra and Jeanna were troopers and would hold her even if she cried. Later in the week we found Megan, who Claire LOVED. Megan could hold her for hours and Claire was just fine with it. It was a great relief for me.
Tuesday night was kind of cold. Claire went to bed in the pack and play, but woke up after I went to bed and was cold, so I pulled her into the sleeping bag with me. She slept the rest of the night just fine. I had some sleep issues, but was ok. Claire was a great kid and took her nap right on schedule on Weds morning. (By the way, I ended up buying a walkie talkie set with a voice activated control, and that is what we used for her baby monitor. It worked great. Until someone got on our channel and woke her up Friday morning when we were packing. But otherwise, it was great. I recommend it. I still worried a little bit about raccoons or other critters trying to get her while I was away, but I checked on her plenty and she was just fine.) Weds afternoon we went to town. We love the town trips. She didn't really nap weds afternoon, and so was cranky. But she stayed up for the skits and then went right to sleep when I put her down. Weds evening and night it rained on and off. The heavy rains came in after we went to bed. The thunder and lightening woke me up more than it did her. It also kept it warmer, so she was able to sleep in the pack and play all night, and I got a better night's rest. (I bought a twin size air mattress for guests and camping. It was GREAT and much cheaper than a cot.) Thursday we had a rainy morning, but the afternoon ended up beautiful. I got to soak my feet in the "spa" at fourth ward and scrubbed them with some bath salts. It was great. And Claire was with Carma for almost an hour on the other side of camp. It was a very welcome break.
Thursday night was cold cold cold! She came with me to testimony meeting, and slept in her stroller and my lap for most of it. I put her down in the pack and play, but by the time I went to bed, (maybe an hour or so later) I knew I couldn't leave her there. She slept in the bag with me and slept pretty good. I missed Jeanna and was a little freaked out to be alone in my tent, because we were back in the woods so the girls wouldn't wake Claire up so much, but it was nice having the tent to myself. I didn't have to worry about whether or not she would wake up Jeanna or Jocee. Friday we packed up and headed home. We almost all made it out before 11 (the deadline).
Claire did pick up a stomach bug, but it seems to be gone now. I am so grateful to have such a healthy kid. She's only been sick once since she was born (twice if you count this bug). She is also so adaptable. Everyone kept saying how good she was being, how they hadn't expected us to last all week (and neither did I). So it was great. I think if it had been cold two nights in a row, I would have thought about leaving. But I am glad we made it.
So, if you plan on camping with a baby, I recommend two pack and plays (one for sleeping, one for playing), a walkie talkie set with voice control, and a stroller with a basket. I lived out of that stroller. It was great. I bought it Monday, it was a display model so was 15% off. I was really glad I had the basket. Also, lots of blankets! Claire slept with a hat, mittens, 4 blankets and a sleep sack on Weds night, and was ok. The other two nights, she also had all that, and was cold. If you are wondering, we did do our normal cloth diaper routine (cloth during the day, disposable at night) and it worked out fine. I had a waterproof smell-proof zippered bag for dirties, and the regular waterproof bag for wets. Since she is way past the "poopy every change" phase of her life, I felt confident doing cloth. We go out in cloth too if I know it will be a relatively short trip. I still go disposable for longer trips, mostly because of the bulk factor. It's just easier to carry three disposable changes than three cloth changes, and I am always WAY overprepared. (Since that blowout incident at the grocery store, I have a change of clothes in the diaper bag too now.)
Ok, enough avoiding of chores. I must get something done today.