Babies at TBF 2013

[olivia]

Hey everyone! My husband and I have been festival goers since 2005 (when we used to drive out from Alabama!). Fast-forward and we now live in Golden, CO and have a 1year old. We have been to TBF with our niece when she was 5 and had a blast, but wanted some advice on having a 15month old.  We had to skip last year since we weren't experienced enough parents to camp with a NB. I know about the kids tent and activities, and I'm not worried about the days, but can I get some advice on camping? We will be in Warner Field. What should we bring? What has been helpful for little ones?

Thanks!

[colokathy]

be sure to get special ear muffs for kids to protect his/her hearing....

[Cowboy Coffee]

this topic comes up nearly every year.  last year it was my wife and i asking the questions.  see the thread on jan 16, 2012.  huckinfappy was particularly helpful and encouraging.

[olivia]

Thanks! Got the ear protection covered... Just spent 8 months in New Orleans so had to invest for the parades! He loved it, and LOVES music, so I'm really excited to share TBF with him. Just keeping fingers crossed for no rain/snow like a few years ago!

[Althea Raine]

Hi Olivia.
Well we took Althea Raine to her first Rocky Grass when she was just 1 month old. The grandparents really freaked on that one. They had this vision of a hard rock concert with drunks and hell raisers everywhere.
Her first year of life she went to 4 bluegrass fest with Nedfest and Yonder thrown in. She was almost one for her first Telluride. So this was our primary list to keep baby and parents happy:
In case of extreme heat, we bought a small plastic battery operated fan to keep baby from getting hot. It clipped right on to her stroller. This was vital especially at Rocky Grass. These fit perfectly in a backpack.
For the tent at night at TBF we bought a indoor safe catalytic propane heater, it's called a ready heat from walmart, and it does not have an open flame, it heats from a honeycomb and it has a nice stand. This was also a vital component for a sleepy baby and allowed us to let her sleep in so we could have some quite morning time to prep for the day, which consisted of:
packing all lunches and dinners. We had a small separate  cooler that we used for dry ice to keep ice packs frozen, then used the ice packs for our lunches and dinners. We pre made all of our dinners at home. froze them then also put them on the dry ice. Take whatever dinner for the day, put it in a regular cooler to thaw then when you come back to camp for dinner you just have to heat it up, eat then go back to the fest. Same with baby's food. Pre pack all baby snacks in different big storage, then portion it up for the day. We took two backpacks in, one for baby's stuff, the other for us , blankets and food. We also had her stroller which made life a lot easier. It's storage for her toys, blankets and a safe place for her to sleep. Although TBF is a very safe kids fest, it's hard to see a sleeping baby on the ground, especially at night.
Glow sticks for the stroller. It's always good to light the stroller up a bit so folks can see it. Once again an ounce of prevention.......... It's a lot of work but so worth it. Althea's second is this year. She stayed with grandparents last year, Kristina and I got married June 17 last year and  TBF was our honeymoon. 

 Listening to: steam powered aeroplane

[Rob_from_Ohio]

Also see the TBF 101 for families thread.  There is a lot of great info in there.

[wbcohen]

Agree about the TBF 101 for families thread (running for many years now). Camping at Warner is outstanding if a little loud. The HS is more sedate and geared towards families but is a hike with a little one to the festival. Either way our little one (not so little anymore) has camped at TBF and Rockygrass with a full on jam going outside the tent and fell right asleep. She is now 6 and cant wait for both this summer (keeps asking). By the way the outstanding public library (near the festival) has a great kids play and reading area and can be a good quiet, air conditioned place to get the kids out of the sun...

 Listening to: Turnpike Troubadors

[HuckinFappy]

Step 1:  Take a deep breath and don't worry.   15 months is pretty easy.   You missed the easiest one (3 months)....at that age they aren't mobile, so safety isn't a concern at all 

Step 2:  Take all your expectations, and all your wishes, and throw them all out the window.   Remember who runs this show now, and that it isn't you any more.   

Step 3:  Prepare to fail to be prepared.   As we all know, going to Telluride means you need to be prepared for ANYTHING.  Babies come with their own little book of curve balls they like to throw at parents.   How are you going to handle it when you find you got puked on in the middle of the night, it's 28 degrees and snowing, and there's no laundry anywhere?  Yeah, you can't prepare for that one...See #1.   

Step 4:  pack your sense of humor, your ability to roll with the punches, your knack for laughing in the face of adversity, and your desire to learn from a new adventure

Step 5:  Don't try and be a superhero.   There are lots of us there with kids, and a lot of experience doing this thing.   If you have a random question, "What do you do about baby wipes freezing overnight?", find a parent in the campground and ask!

Oh yeah, and read the aforementioned threads 

[completejohn]

And even if you DO need a good night's sleep, it's probably NOT OK to have your little one sleep in the tarp line unless you're there with them.

[olivia]

Hahaha!! Thanks for all the advice and info!   We thought about going o the HS, but mama needs a beer occasionally  and baby sleeps like a log.  Puking in the middle of the night is something I would have never considered! We will look into the heater and fans, and glow sticks are a great idea!  We use cloth diapers and wipes, so I hadn't thought about frozen wipes, but now I'm wondering about having 4 days of dirty diapers! Ha!

Thanks so much y'all, hope to meet some of you out there!

[lkissell]

We r attending our 4th tbf, but the first time w baby.  (We took a three year hiatus when we were unlucky w townpark lottery.) His only festival experience was yonder kinfolk last fall which went great.  It really was like a family reunion w lots of kind aunts and uncles steering our toddler back to us.  At kinfolk we really wished we had a video baby monitor.  (It was noisey enough the Walkie talkie/rubber band trick we've used camping didn't  work well.)  I found a very reasonable battery ip camera that uses wifi to iPhone.  I don't remember there being reliable wifi in townpark.  Has that changed in the last couple of years?   Come-on planet bluegrass!  We would pay you for it!!!