Herb and Flower Farm Camping – 27 June 2020

We both enjoy camping in the PNW, I also enjoy back packing although I’ve only been once. It’s therefore pretty important to us that A gets used to camping as soon as possible, although COVID-19 is really putting a block on things.

Washington State recently relaxed into Phase 2, so I felt comfortable going camping as long as we could guarantee social distancing. I didn’t want to do a multiple night trip as I didn’t want to share showers or worse…not be able to get clean. I researched and didn’t feel ready for us to go to the main camp sites, what I needed was something a little more remote; near to home incase A hates it and we need to leave asap; and also limited number of people.

Hipcamp came up in my search’s, local places and very quiet sites. They are camping opportunities on private land. Basically someone’s backyard if they have enough space.

Herb and Flower Farm Retreat is 20 minutes from home, only 2 sites, a restroom, shower and access to water. Perfect! No one else had booked for the weekend so I hoped we would be the only people there for the night and we were. I have to mention the restroom – it was the nicest one I have ever seen!

Stacie and Avery are the owners, with social distancing we weren’t able to have a proper talk with them but they pointed out the camp site, restroom etc and we got on with setting up camp. We last went camping when I was pregnant so it had been a little while, the tent we have is easy and quick to put up even being a 6 person one! We also splurged on the additional mud room/porch so we had somewhere sheltered to sit if the weather was either too hot or wet. We have an REI Kingdom 6 Tent.

Setting up camp with an almost 5 month old definitely slows things down. I am a huge fan of baby wearing, so we knew that would be how we started off so I could help set up, thankfully it stayed dry during set up and only started to rain once we were settled and resting. We had a waterproof picnic blanket to rest A on if she needed to get down whilst we set up but she was very content snuggled up close until she needed nursing so that took priority, then it started to rain – no great surprise after all it is the PNW.

A took to being outside like a duck to water, as long as she had her Poppy Panda toy thing and her wooden rattle she was fine. A little frustrated that we bundled her up in a puffy green warm suit which was gifted to us by a friend who passed on her little ones outgrown clothes. No idea what brand it is, but it kept her warm and cosy but restricted her being able to roll onto her tummy. It made perching her up in a seated position a little easier. Whilst I was pregnant I supported a kickstarter project from Iksplor for children’s merino wool base layers. I brought a 12-18 month size thinking it would be perfect for next winter…our little long girl is only just too small for it at almost 5 months but she wore them anyway! I folded the arms and legs to fit. She enjoyed rolling around in those until it stated to get a little too cold in the tent and it was time to get into bed.

Rolling around in her Iksplor set, snuggling with Daddy and resting up

Dinner was quick and easy, cheeseburgers and salad with some snacks of bean dip and tortillas. The rain really came down, it was closer to torrential rain than a little drizzle. Would we actually manage the whole night? A kept to her routine, which is currently bedtime happens sometime between 6:30 and 9:30pm, so not much of a routine but we are working on it! She was asleep by 7:30pm, with a little wake up around 8pm and then she slept through until 4am. We are co-sleepers so it was really strange to have her at our heads in her dock (thank you auntie and uncle for sending that over with Nana in February it’s perfect for camping!) rather than in bed with us in her Dock-A-Tot.

Researching baby sleeping bags was my most challenging part so far, I found a lovely one which sounded perfect but it isn’t recommended for babies under 6 months even if they are the size of a 6 month old. (A is currently wearing clothing between 6 months and 18 months! Long legged, slender little girl.) Finally I found a sleeping bag suitable for her age, it’s a Babydeedee camping sleeping bag with a 3.5 tog rating. They call it a “sleep nest travel” I brought a medium size for 6-18 month olds and it fits her really well. We use sleep sacks at home therefore this one wasn’t too much of a change for her except it has sleeves, which we could remove for her if needed. In my research I also found Lovebird Baby Nests curtesy of Instagram and searching #campingbabies who make the most adorable nests for babies and children. We’ve ordered A a custom one in their Toddler Plus Size WilderNest its recommended from age 2, and is 47” long. Can not wait for that to come! I wish I had discovered them earlier before we brought the Dock-A-Tot because I love to support small businesses where I can, and even the price is comparable (they are Canadian dollars we are US dollars). We would have got their BabyNest if I had. Maybe in the future!

We were relieved when the 4am nursing session started because our blow up mattress had a slow leak we didn’t know about until 3ish when we both woke up feeling the cold ground. Whilst I nursed, hubby re-pumped the bed! Nursing whilst we were both in our own sleeping bags was hilarious as they are incredibly slippery.

Due to the non-stop rain over night we decided to pack up early and leave rather than stay until 12pm. Neither of us wanted to cook breakfast partially in the rain and then wash up…muffins for breakfast! The rain eased off as we packed away, but we needed to remember to dry the tent out as soon as we could. The cats at home would also be relived to see us even though we put extra food out for them.

We had a great time, next time we need to try for 2 nights and spend an entire day out in nature and see how we manage naps, nursing, expressing, cleaning bottles and pump parts.

Extra: I’m booked to go back at the end of July for 2 nights. I’m going to try A in my backpacking tent, if we both fit then it gives me some other options for getting away during the week when hubby is working. Our tent needs 2 people to put up.