Living so close to the White Mountains of New Hampshire is such a joy.
My husband and I loved getting up to hike and bike before our daughter was born and now that our house renovations (that we are doing ourselves) are winding down our weekends are opening up to get back up there to share with our daughter.
We ventured up to the Whites this past weekend to camp with my brother and family and my parents.
The weekend started off raining, so luckily my parents were able to set up our tent prior to arriving, but I wanted to go over to tips on how to survive camping (and I mean tenting) for a weekend while pregnant.
We knew the nights were going to be on the cool end, so we needed to bring extra blankets and decided the most comfortable way to go would to bring our air mattress. I don't know if I would do this again.
Here's why...
Air mattresses deflate and move whenever the other person (or in my case people, yes our daughter slept between us) shift. So I a nice firm mattress in the beginning of the night may not be so by the morning.
I found that every time I needed to shift positions I had a hard time getting enough leverage to rotate without disturbing my daughter.
Plus my hips were sore by the morning even with the support of a pillow between my legs.
Tip #1
Make sure the surface that you are sleeping on is comfortable.
There is nothing worse that sleeping outside while pregnant if you are waking up in the morning super stiff or in pain and can't enjoy the activities planned for that day.
So try out an air mattress at home. If you are early enough in pregnancy and a back sleeper, great. You may not have this issue, but for those who need to sleep on your side or are a side sleeper, make sure you have extra pillows to support you or see how your hips do with the stiff or deflated mattress.
If you are using a sleeping pad instead, again, try it out at home first. Especially if you have to sleep on your side. Our hips expand during pregnancy and the pad may not be enough cushion to reduce the pressure point on them. You also have the option of building up a ramp to sleep on your back, if you have room in the car to bring extra blankets and pillows. So try this out at home as well.
No matter the surface you are sleeping on it is wise to do a wake up stretching routine.
Tip #2
Stretch in the morning.
When we camp, we go on hikes or swim or are extra active.
Then we tend to stay up later and may not get the greatest night sleep.
Thus, morning stiffness can be more of a problem, regardless of your sleeping environment.
So when that sun wakes you up, crawl out of the tent (or stay in the tent) and stretch your body.
Make sure you target multiple areas of the body....hips, side trunk, chest.
Think standing up, reaching for the sky with both hands then bending to the one side.
By warming up your muscles with gentle stretches your setting yourself up to enjoy the other activities lined up for the day.
I don't think I can say this enough......drink water!
Tip #3
Make sure you have another potable water.
Water is the best way to stay hydrated, which is even more important while pregnant.
If your camp sight does not have potable water, you need to bring enough for your whole stay or having an appropriate method of sanitizing the water. This could be boiling the water or filtering it, the CDC has more information on appropriate water sanitizing while camping.
Other than water, what you eat will also be a factor while you camp.
If the mornings are cool, water water with a lemon is a great way to start the day.
Tip #4
Make sure you plan out your meals so you know you're getting in enough vital vitamins, minerals, calories and proteins.
Of course when you are tenting you don't have all the luxuries of a kitchen, so be reasonable with the meals you pick.
Oatmeal with added goodies like almond butter, flax seeds, cinnamon and dried fruit can be an excellent breakfast.
You can also prepare some food prior to leaving the house. This can help cut down on the dirty dishes. Just make sure you keep the perishable foods cold!
Then once you've figured out your meals you can add in snacks. Easy fruits like apples and bananas are easy to pack and carry around with you. Nuts, roasted chickpeas, sugar snap peas, dried fruit, sandwich crackers are all great snacks to munch on.
And lastly, once all the logistics are figured out....
Tip #5
Have FUN!
Not everything is going to go to plan and while camping you have to have a degree of "let it go" attitude.
Our daughter stayed up much later than we would usually allow her to. But we knew she would be okay and she could take a nap the next day (if she really needed it).
If you want to learn more about safe stretches and a morning routine to get ready for the day while you are pregnant reach out to learn more about my solutions!
So if you are near mountains or pitch a tent in the backyard have fun camping even while pregnant!
