{"id":6584,"date":"2015-12-08T15:12:03","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T23:12:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=6584"},"modified":"2018-11-11T21:42:22","modified_gmt":"2018-11-12T05:42:22","slug":"outdoor-gear-for-a-babys-first-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/outdoor-gear-for-a-babys-first-adventure","title":{"rendered":"Outdoor Gear for A Baby&#8217;s First Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"cb-itemprop\" itemprop=\"reviewBody\"><p>We first took Nora camping when she was just six weeks old. It was early October and temperatures in California\u2019s Sierra Nevada, where we live, were starting to drop. Despite frosty mornings and traces of snow at high elevations, my husband and I decided to go for it. We wanted to introduce our little girl to the mountains at as young an age as possible.<\/p>\n<p>So we loaded our camper van with all of the usual gear for an overnight trip\u2014sleeping bags, two-burner stove, camp chairs and firewood. Then came the outdoor baby gear\u2014baby carrier, fleece suit and knit hat, piles of diapers and burp rags. This was a camping trip like nothing I\u2019d ever seen before.<\/p>\n<p>Baby Nora didn\u2019t exactly roast a marshmallow on her first campout, but we all survived the sleepless night under the stars.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-article_body wp-image-6597\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/IMG-3998.jpg?resize=600%2C400\" alt=\"Baby Gear Guide\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Since then, we\u2019ve fine-tuned our camping-with-baby routine and our now 15-month-old has become a road-tripping pro. She\u2019s spent two nights in the middle of nowhere in Nevada, a week camping in the desert of southern Utah, and a couple of nights in a campground on the coast of Big Sur. She\u2019s also frequented\u00a0ski lodges all over the West, Tahoe in particular, plus Whitewater, British Columbia, Colorado\u2019s Aspen, Copper, and Loveland, and Utah\u2019s Snowbird and Alta. She\u2019s been towed while skate skiing, spent many miles in the jogging stroller, and has hung out on the beach in places like Bolinas and Encinitas while her dad and I took turns surfing.<\/p>\n<p>I still have a lot to learn in the parenting department, but I\u2019ve found the key to bringing baby along for the ride on outdoor adventures is to be flexible, patient and equipped with the right gear. Flexibility and patience you\u2019ll have to find on your own, but gear is easy to come by.<\/p>\n<div class=\"curalate-widget\" lang=\"en\" style=\"margin: 0 auto !important; position: relative !important; max-width: 1080px !important;\" data-stretch-to-fit=\"true\" data-widget-id=\"Vny7TOH2b3DvFNmc1M3lCzhRsTXuAUeH\" data-shop-button-text=\"SHOP\" data-auto-show-products=\"true\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; border-radius: 3px; max-width: 100% !important; width: 100% !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/d36i2kont0saxx.cloudfront.net\/images\/kEgahzh-KAbAeO99X6G5pxq2memY6S4mUoIYl8EMwvs=\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/r.curalate.com\/js\/curalate-widget-client-all.prod.min.js\" async=\"\" defer=\"defer\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\u00a0 We started with the king of all adventure strollers, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/867690\/thule-chariot-cougar-1-stroller-with-stroller-kit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thule Chariot Cougar 1<\/a>, which has add-on conversion kits, all sold separately, that transform it into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/867723\/thule-cougar-1-cheetah-1-jog-kit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">jogging stroller<\/a>, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/867718\/thule-stroller-bike-trailer-kit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">bike trailer<\/a>, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/867724\/thule-cross-country-ski-hike-kit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cross-country ski carrier<\/a>. It\u2019s a big investment and has a lot of moving pieces, but this contraption has enabled me to not only continue to do the sports I love\u2014running, biking, skiing\u2014but to bring Nora along for the ride. And the look on her face while zooming down a groomed Nordic track or running along pathways is priceless. (For new babies, you may also want the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/139128\/thule-chariot-infant-sling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thule Stroller Infant Sling<\/a>, which adds more support for infants younger than 10 months old.) For hiking, I started with an ERGOBaby carrier, which lets you carry your baby in four different positions. It\u2019s surprisingly comfortable and I was able to go for long hikes with Nora sleeping happily on my chest. Plus, I\u2019d carry her in it around the house and for walks into town, too.<\/p>\n<div class=\"curalate-widget\" lang=\"en\" style=\"margin: 0 auto !important; position: relative !important; max-width: 1080px !important;\" data-stretch-to-fit=\"true\" data-widget-id=\"594fpzXBUzcVYOMc9nZmIkTUh0VqvBrp\" data-shop-button-text=\"SHOP\" data-auto-show-products=\"true\"><img decoding=\"async\" style=\"display: block; margin: auto; border-radius: 3px; max-width: 100% !important; width: 100% !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/d36i2kont0saxx.cloudfront.net\/images\/A6Uc27J1lBB_aGVlXXOeWI9NI78ETZGX5TiGXNZYvu8=\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<p><script src=\"https:\/\/r.curalate.com\/js\/curalate-widget-client-all.prod.min.js\" async=\"\" defer=\"defer\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>At some point, babies get too big for the chest carry, so you\u2019ll want to upgrade to a kid-carrying backpack, like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/864894\/deuter-kid-comfort-iii-child-carrier\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Deuter\u2019s Kid Comfort III Child Carrier<\/a>. This pack has all the bells and whistles, from a sunshade to plenty of pockets for storing necessities (like sippy cups, pacifiers and snacks) to a soft chin pad (that\u2019s also removable and washable) so your little one can take a comfy snooze on the go.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-article_body wp-image-6596\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/IMG-3435.jpg?resize=600%2C400\" alt=\"Baby Gear Guide\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" \/><\/p>\n<p>To keep baby protected as well as comfortable outdoors, you\u2019ll need a few other essentials. For sun protection, stock up on some baby sunscreen, a good sun hat, and some sunglasses, like the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/product\/870641\/rks-explorer-sunglasses-infant-girls\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">RKS Explorer Sunglasses<\/a> (although my daughter would rather chew on hers than wear them). In the colder months, little ones need a cozy fleece layer, along with a wind- and water-resistant shell.<\/p>\n<p>Once you and baby are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/h\/kids\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">outfitted<\/a>, there\u2019s no excuse for staying inside. Babies have an entire world to discover. Why not start exploring early?<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We first took Nora camping when she was just six weeks old. It was early October and temperatures in California\u2019s Sierra Nevada, where we live, were starting to drop. Despite frosty mornings and traces of snow at high elevations, my husband and I decided to go for it. We wanted to introduce our little girl [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[156,475,326],"internal-tag":[1672],"class_list":["post-6584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camp","tag-family","tag-gift-guides","tag-megan-michelson","internal-tag-pre-redirect-camp"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/camp\/outdoor-gear-for-a-babys-first-adventure","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Outdoor Gear for A Baby&#8217;s First Adventure","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/outdoor-gear-for-a-babys-first-adventure","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/camp\/outdoor-gear-for-a-babys-first-adventure"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/IMG-1743.jpg?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/IMG-1743.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000"},"articleSection":"Camp","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Angela Crampton"}],"creator":["Angela Crampton"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["family","gift guides","megan michelson"],"dateCreated":"2015-12-08T23:12:03Z","datePublished":"2015-12-08T23:12:03Z","dateModified":"2018-11-12T05:42:22Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Outdoor Gear for A Baby&#8217;s First Adventure\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/camp\\\/outdoor-gear-for-a-babys-first-adventure\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/camp\\\/outdoor-gear-for-a-babys-first-adventure\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/IMG-1743.jpg?resize=150%2C150\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.rei.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2015\\\/12\\\/IMG-1743.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000\"},\"articleSection\":\"Camp\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Angela Crampton\"}],\"creator\":[\"Angela Crampton\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Uncommon Path \\u2013 An REI Co-op Publication\",\"logo\":\"\"},\"keywords\":[\"family\",\"gift guides\",\"megan michelson\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2015-12-08T23:12:03Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2015-12-08T23:12:03Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-11-12T05:42:22Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/rei.com\/p.js"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/IMG-1743.jpg?fit=1500%2C1000","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6584","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6584"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39043,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6584\/revisions\/39043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6584"},{"taxonomy":"internal-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/internal-tag?post=6584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}