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babies-msg - 1/14/08

 

Camping with babies. Handling babies at SCA events. Infant safety.

 

NOTE: See also the files: baby-gifts-msg, children-msg, child-clothes-msg,

child-books-msg, teething-toys-msg, toys-msg, child-wagons-msg, baby-slings-msg.

 

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NOTICE -

 

This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I  have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday.

 

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

 

I  have done  a limited amount  of  editing. Messages having to do  with separate topics  were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the  message IDs  were removed to save space and remove clutter.

 

The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make  no claims  as  to the accuracy  of  the information  given by the individual authors.

 

Please  respect the time  and  efforts of  those who have written  these messages. The  copyright status  of these messages  is  unclear at this time. If  information  is  published  from  these  messages, please give credit to the originator(s).

 

Thank you,

    Mark S. Harris                  AKA:  THLord Stefan li Rous

                                          Stefan at florilegium.org

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Babies at Penssic

 

I took a nine month old to Pensic last year.  Because she kept growing too

fast, i didn't even try to put her in garb.  I just took various of her regualr

clothes.  I also used disposable diapers.  And all her food came out of boxes

and bottles.  Open a jar of baby food, feed it to her, and throw away the jar.

No dishes to clean (you feed her straight from the bottle, no need to warm it

up)  In the morning I made her cereal from dry flakes, and sometimes fed it to

her during the day when it seemed too hot and she was fussy.  This stuff won't

upset an overstressed stomach.  Do not use Pensic water, not for you or the

kid.  You don't want to run the risk that you might develop something, and

then you would find yourself making mad dashes for the porta johns with a baby

tucked under your arm.  Take enough bottles so that you don't have to wash

them.  Sterilizing is next to impossible at Pensic, and is too much hassle to

even try.  If you use distilled water to make formula, then you don't need to

boil the water first.  Some people worry about distilled water leaching

minerals from a person.  Don't worry, the formula has full nutrition.  And I

reccommend formula, don't try to take milk, your refrigeration at Pensic is too

unrelibale.  A helpful hint:  soy fomrula does not stain, and doesn't smell

nearly as bad as milk based formula.  If your child gets moderately ill, they

will be able to drink soy formula diluted more than usual when you you couldn't

use milk formula because the kid throws it up.  It's also not nearly as bad for

you to get covered in soy vomit rather than milk vomit. This has happened to

me, and believe me, at times like that, little blessings are greatly

appreciated.  

 

Do take something that you can set up to prevent your child wandering, and shade

it.  Always keep your child covered, they are much more prone to sunstroke and

sunburn than adults.  Give them lots and lots of water. Whenever they fuss,

stick a bottle of water into them.  Then check diaper and other usual causes

of complaint.  You can't over water a child, they'll jsut pee it out.  Try to keep an eye to input and output, if they are not more or less equal, you have a

serious problem. Children who are suffering illness or heat exhaustion will

become more ittitable, or conversely, quieter.  If your child seems to be

deviating from its usual behaviour, investigate.  Check temperature (do bring a

thermometer and acetominaphn, anti-diarhea medication, diaper rash medication,

antihistiamine, and any other medication you might possibly want.  This

includes a jug of Pedialyte-one jug will allow you to feed a child while some

ones else rushes to the drug store to stock up on pedialyte for you.)  If your

child throws up, convert to clear liquids and consult a chirurgeon.  Vomitting

or diarhea can kill a child with dehydration within a few hours.  WAter is not

adequate, Pedialyte contains elotrolytes and other necessary substances.

Remember to take some alcohol to sterilize the thermomet and other medical

apparatus after each use.  Pensic is hot, be alert, your small infant

will suffer from the heat at some point, but if you are alert you can take

necessary steps to prevent serious problems form developing.

 

Taking a child to Pensic is doable, but not easy.  My husband and I were

snappish with one another, and found our activities greatly curtailed.  We took

turns staying with the child and going off by ourselves. We did not party, we

were too beat.  A noble lady volunteered to babysit for us and we shot our

archery points together.  My husband vetoed taking the stroller as being

unsuited to the Pensic terrain, but I wish I had some sort of transportation

because you get tired of hauling a kid around.  I think maybe a wagon would be

good, it means to can put your babycare kit in the wagon with the baby instead

of carrying it.  Also, if you get tired, you have something to sit on.  Make

sure you drink lots of liquids, particualry water, as worrying about a kid,

plus serving the kids needs will take a lot more out of you than you ever

imagined it would.  

 

I don't want to scare you into not taking kids to Pensic, but if you're doing

it alone, or with your partner, you're biting off a big undertaking.  We were

unable to camp with our group, so our casual babysitters were not around when

we needed them.  Having someone to babysit for you is a godsend.  I applaud

Marian Greenleaf for working so diligently to accomodate her groups children.

That kind of group support makes a world of difference. Unfortunately, it

doesn't happen here, even though I've made attmepts to start it.  

 

Yours in service.

Awilda Halfdane

Bright Hills, Atlantia

sgj%ctj.uucp at wb3ffv.ampr.org

 

 

From: Orilee_J_Ireland-Delfs.wbst845 at XEROX.COM

Date: 15 Feb 90 21:37:25 GMT

Organization: Society for Creative Anachronism

 

(I sent the gentle who asked a long dissertation on taking a baby camping.

I would like to summerize for the net as a whole.  If anyone has questions

or comments on my list, feel free to contact me.)

 

Items to consider:

A play yard (fence-type item with no bottom.  Wooden ones are available if

you can find them, Sears has an okay (although expensive) plastic one).

A wading pool or tub for cooling off and bathing

Baby-type items for keeping baby happy yet confined for times when you are

cooking or whatever (highchair, swing)  A little imagination could dress it

up to make it look less mundane

Easy to prepare foods.  Juices in individual cartons (lots of juice - good

for hot weather).  Crackers, cheese, cereal (wheat squares with raisins are

good munchies), bread and peanut butter, fruit (bananas, grapes, apple

chunks) fresh or dried.

A trunk to use as a changing table/storage

A portable crib or foam bolsters around a pile of bedding

Heavy pajama sleepers for the cool damp nights

Sun bonnets (made in period fabrics)

Baby sun screen

Bug repellant that is child-tested

Light weight garb in cottons or gauze that covers the arms and legs as

protection from sun and bugs

Heavy weight garb for cooler weather, particularly for layering, including

mittens and booties for real little ones who can't protect their hands

A babysitter for occasional babysitting time

A cart or wagon to carry the baby in, particularly at big events

blankets or throws to play on

Toys

 

Obviously, everything on this list should be modified to age-appropriate

for the child.  Also, if you have period substitutes for these things,

 

Lady Orianna vander Delft, mother of a very active 2 1/2 year old

Thescorre, AEthelmearc, East

Rochester, NY  

 

 

From: asparrow at nyx.cs.du.edu (Angelia Sparrow)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Camping with Babies

Date: 16 May 1994 09:42:45 -0600

 

Lilies is not Pennsic and a 2 month old is not a five month old, but

Here's what I have.

 

Baby will be fine either sleeping in your bedroll (handy for late night

nursings), a portable bassinette basket (what we used, may be too small

for a 5 mo.) or a play pen.  The play pen is my choice and I'll be putting

my 2 in it for sleep at the Lilies this summer.  It's nice and confining

for the big kids.

 

Take lots of diapers!  Treble what you think you'll need, and store them

in a water tight container.  I lost half a bag during Pavel's Flood last

year.  

 

A front carrier pack is indispensible!  And your broad-brimmer hat should

provide enough shade for both.  But, if he'll wear it, pack bonnets.  It

really helps.

 

Sunscreen, specially formulated for babies, and ignore the under 6 mo

warning.  It's necessary.

 

PArental sanity: take more trhan one adult per kid.  Nap when the baby

does.  Don't over schedule.  Don't be afraid to nurse in public.  Drink

lots of water.  Be prepared to call it a night at 8 pm, instead of 2 am.

 

The magic expanding baby dress in the old KNown WorldHandbook is a life

saver.  (Make a T-tuni wqay too big and then take it up.)

 

Aetyhelynde, with a terrible Two for Lilies this year.

 

 

From: berman at cauchy.math.lsu.edu (Glenn Berman)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Camping with Babies

Date: 18 May 1994 14:16:45 GMT

Organization: Louisiana State University InterNetNews Site

 

Just one follow up to the excellent suggestions already posted.  Choose  

your campsite very very carefully so that the noise won't wake up the  

young one at 1 A.M., and don't be afraid to let people know that you have  

a child and would appreciate they take the volume to some other section of  

the event site.

 

Best of Luck (taking my child to any sort of camping makes me yearn for  

Monday when I can get a good nights sleep(but it's worth it))

 

 

From: una at bregeuf.stonemarche.org (Honour Horne-Jaruk)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Camping with Babies

Summary: tips, medically-orientd mostly

Date: Tue, 17 May 94 11:52:03 EDT

 

kgandek at world.std.com (Kathryn GandekTighe) writes:

> This August we will be taking our 5 month old son to Pennsic.  Having

> been there as adults, we've got that part of the camping down to habit.  

> However, going with a baby obviously involved other considerations!  I'd

> be interested to hear anyone else's handy tips/things that worked for

> you.  How did you handle the heat? the sun? the cold? In what did your

> child sleep? Any parental sanity tips?  (Being still at the stage where

> he and I are still getting up in the middle of the night, I never

> underestimate parental sanity tips :-)  

      Respected friend:

      I have children's nurses' aide certification, and four years

experience in children's hospitals, and have only missed one Pennsic since

#5. Some suggestions-

      Use the diaper service out of Butler- dispoasbles are Very Bad in

the sticky humidity which adds so much to the Pennsic ambiance ;-}.

      Call your tent manufacturer and find out if the material in it is

a UV blocker- Years ago, a child had to be hospitalized after lying in the

"shade" of a Non-UV blocking tent for four hours.

      Bring Pedialite. If the baby has any trace of loose stool, start

feeding it ASAP. Get him used to the taste starting now.

      If you can't nurse, start getting the baby used to powdered formula

made with distilled water now. Don't use tapwater at Pennsic for baby's

food unless you live within a 70-mile radius of Butler on a well-water source.

(IE not treated municipal water.)

      Don't use liquid formula concentrate unless you're bringing a

refridgerator and have guaranteed power access. If baby must have liquid

formula, get the single ready-use kind- hideously expensive but much safer.

      Don't let anybody give baby uncooked honey. It may contain live

salmonella. This includes more things than you might realize- be careful.

      One period baby-toting system was a slat-woven pack basket, well

padded. Get one now and practice. This _is not_ safe for a child who can't

hold his head up yet.

      Or make a hip-holder out of a strip of soft wool or flannel.

      Or make a little cart with a shady hooped top. If you use inner tube

for the suspension straps it will have somewhat less jarring motion- but be

sure the innertube doesn't show.

      Make up a handout of `What to do and not do around babies' for the

others sharing your campsite.

      Find a babies' sunblock now that doesn't irritate his skin. Bring two

bottles minimum, since brands vary so much by region and you don't want to

expose him to an unchecked one when he's away from home. Keep one in the car

in case the campsite one grows feet.

      Take infant & children's CPR classes through your Red Cross or

equivalent. Your baby won't need it this year, but someone else's might. And

when he's into solids he'll be crawling and you'll be too busy.

      Take naps. If you get sick, he's in trouble too.

      Make his tunics from children's sleepwear materials. Even at four

dollars a yard, the stuff's worth it for any Pennsic-bound child. It does come

in decent colors, so call around. Bring _detergent_ to wash them in; soap will

destroy the fire-retardency you paid serious bucks for.

      If he has a known medical problem, find a nearby Pediatrician- the

Slippery Rock or Butler hospitals may have a referral service- and get

duplicate records sent to the office before you head out. It will make

emergency care much, much easier.

      Memorize a polite way to say `You're infectious and I don't want you

near the baby.' Practice until you can say it nose-to-nose with the scariest

Megaduke we've got, if necessary. Use it.

      Was your hands and his face every chance you get. If you nurse, wash

before feedings, since the local dust will contain different microbes than

he was exposed to at home. But don't get obsessive about it.

      Lay in an adequate stock of your own prescriptions, with a duplicate

supply for the car.

      Wear comfortable walking shoes. Break them in at home.

      _Do not_ lay him down in tall grass. Ticks are bad.

      Decide who you'll let hold, play with, and babysit him  now, while you

have time to think it through.

      Just accept that a lot of young adults will talk to your baby and

ignore you. It may be hormonal.

      Don't forget to take good care of yourself, and of other family

members.  

      Don't forget to have fun.

                        Yours in service-

                  Honour/Alizaunde, Demoiselle de Bregeuf, C.O.L.

      This may be reprinted _once_ by any local nonprofit SCA newsletter,

provided both my legal and SCA names appear as author.

Other camping event/war names may be substituted where appopriate. No other

editing is permitted without prior consultation, and a copy must be sent to me

at PO Box 56, South Lyndeboro, NH, 03082. All other rights reserved.

 

 

From: ercil at astrid.UUCP (Ercil C. Howard-Wroth)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Camping with Babies

Date: 19 May 94 02:29:13 PST

 

In article <CpwEKJ.DrK at world.std.com> kgandek at world.std.com (Kathryn GandekTighe) writes:

>This August we will be taking our 5 month old son to Pennsic.  Having

>been there as adults, we've got that part of the camping down to habit.  

>However, going with a baby obviously involved other considerations!  I'd

>be interested to hear anyone else's handy tips/things that worked for

>you.  How did you handle the heat? the sun? the cold? In what did your

>child sleep? Any parental sanity tips?  (Being still at the stage where

>he and I are still getting up in the middle of the night, I never

>underestimate parental sanity tips :-)  

>

>Thanks!

>Catrin o'r Rhyd For

>Kathryn Gandek-Tighe

>kgandek at world.std.com

 

We have been toting our now 2 yr old around since she was born.  

My first advice (unless you are nursing of course) is to leave your baby

with your parents or other willing relative and take a small break (maybe

only a partial week).  Also read this past TI as the Chiurgeon General had

a word or two for us parents and potentially pregnant people, who go

camping.

 

If she is reading Mistress AEflead of Duckford (Mrs Gunwaldt on the

net sometimes)  knows lots and lots about kids.  She runs a superb

newsletter called `Thinkwell' and has some supplements on children and

the SCA.  I'd love to hear her ideas too.  

 

But if you are like us you won't the child at home for whatever reasons.

Sooooo, Take a porta-crib.  It is

one of the best investments we made in terms of baby paraphanalia.

Take a sling.  Don't bother with a stroller, but if you do please

disguise it with cloth draping or more elaborate scheming. I am a parent

but I hate to see undisguised strollers at events.

 

Remember that you and your husband are a team and if you don't or can't

work together as one team, your Pennsic vacation will be difficult for you.

Each of you needs time alone and you need time together (if you have

a sister or brother who can watch the youngling for an hour or two).

This is another reason why you bring the porta-crib.

 

Bring lots of extra diapers.  Bring infant tylenol, your thermometer,

and infant benedryl.  Many chiurgeons do not carry children's medications

of any kind.  Make sure your first aid kit is child proof either locked

or something you can hang from a tent pole.  Your baby is 5 mo now, but

will be crawling, walking, climbing, exploring, and tasteing very very soon.

Practice is perfect and besides other children may be around your camp site.

The kind that get into those things are the kind that do not know - this

is not their tent-.  Prevention is a good thing.

 

t-tunics of different fabric are great for warmth. Onesies are great.  I

sewed a skirt onto one and added trim in the right areas. My daughter uses

it now for one of her dolls.  I use the long sleeve baby kimonos as an

underdress for the t-tunics.  It helped layer her.  Baby garb is easy and

fun.

 

Bring two or three sets of extra bedding.  We found that a porta-crib

gets the baby off the ground, but the damp cold can still seep through.

I layered and layered first the baby and then the bedding. I bought

a kiddy sized sleeping bag and unzipped it.  The layers went like this:

 

1. mattress, mattress quilt, quilted sheet, 2 baby blankets, sleeping bag

 

Place baby on top.  (baby is in long johns and blanket jammies w/socks on too)

 

2.  Many blankets.

 

The idea is to insulate from the bottom as well as the top.  Be sensitive

to the cold and be ready to have the baby sleep with you. A nurse told

me that a naked baby could be kept sufficiently warm by being next to her

mother's skin.    The above arrangement kept our daughter warm during a

night when it rained/slushed/snowed and was cooooldddd. She slept through

most of the night totally covered and toasty warm.

 

Take sunscreen (the kind for babies and children)!  I cannot stand to see

baked babies totally red and later crying.

 

Pennsic is wierd. It is hot and cold.  It always rains at Pennsic.  

 

One thing I discovered our last rainy camping event was the new leak

in the tent... right over our daughter's bed... soaked clear through.

 

I always try to be considerate of who I am camping next to since my daughter

is a herald in training and has awakened many adult people _not_ her

parents at events.  She has even screamed so loudly (about not sleeping

at midnight) that several constables came to check that we had not

abandoned her to an empty tent.  

 

Incidently, she slept through Rolling Thunder's drumming/dancing contest

at a recent war so the issue is not noise, but you might also consider

this issue when deciding where you want to camp.

 

Be ready and be able to break camp and get a motel room if necessary.

We did this at the snow event.

 

Read the other Pennsic threads, but dry blankets, bedding, and clothing,

and quarters for a laundrumat in the car (for the baby).

 

You may know lots of this already, but I just wanted to assist if I could.

 

From a fellow parent, who remembers sleepless nights and wishes you a good

time at Pennsic,

    

                                         Astridhr Selr Leifsdottir

                                              E. Howard-Wroth

  

...uunet!astrid!astridhr                          Shire of Heatherwyne

astrid!astridhr at uunet.UU.NET                           Kingdom of Caid

70327.1614 at compuserve.com

 

 

From: kohrn at bach.seattleu.edu (David B. Kohrn)

Newsgroups: rec.org.sca

Subject: Re: Babies camping out

Date: 26 Aug 1994 09:59:39 -0700

Organization: Seattle University, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

 

Traveling and camping with babies is possible, but yes it does

require extra preperation.  Long before I had kids I noticed

that many SCA kids were miserable because they did not have the

right clothing for the weather.  Many parents skimp on kids' SCA

garb which will only be worn a few times before it is outgrown.