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Taking an infant to faire?

Started by Harbinger, August 15, 2009, 10:24:20 AM

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ladyecho

I took my older niece to her first faire at 7 months old, she was just begining to walk so I would either carry her or let her waddle while holding my hand. Her little sister I took to her first faire at 3 months old and carried her the entire time. Instede of a diaper bag I had a big wicker basket with all the nessities inside wrapped with scrap faire garb fabric. When they both got mobile I dressed them as fairies and put them in a red wagon decorated with ivy vines and fake flowers. This past faire they were 3 and 4 years old and old enough to carry their own stuff on their own belts (they felt so grown!)

Basket (diaper) essentials

DIAPER WIPES!!!!!!!!!
Diapers
bottle and/or sippy cup
sunscreen
blanket or fabric for nap time
pacifer
Snacks and/or baby food


Some of the best times with the girls as babbies at faire was just letting them do their thing. When they were crawlers I would find a patch of grass by a show, sit down and let the faire pass us by. . .or as the case was, let the faire come to us. People would stop by to see the girls and they would be in awe of everything! *sighs* good times. . . .

Keno

lol the only time I was ever recognized at my faire was when I was walking around with a friend baby.  A wagon is ok but always keep an eye on them, I know most parent say they do but it sometime happens..  I would also have a way to keep the kid out of the rain and warm or cool cause the weather changes quickly.
This years travels 2013

Performing
Travelers Cross Faire in Strang, Oklahoma

Vending
Iowa Renaissance Festival in Amana Colonies, Iowa
Iowa-Minnesota Pirate Festival in Clear Lake, Iowa
Des Moines Renaissance Faire in Des Moines, iowa

Hoowil

I used a stroller for both little ones when they were under a year. Now we've been using one of those plastic wagons with built in seats and harnesses. There is a model with a cover, which I remade to be a little more aesthetically fitting for faire. I would not recommend it for newborns at all, but for toddlers, it works great. I like that it has three point harnesses in each seat, so the kiddos are fairly well secure. And its portable shade. The one we have, the seats fold down for a more traditional wagon bed, which works great as a changing table in you don't mind changing a diaper on your knees.


Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.

THELADYKAT

dorian is getting ready for his 2nd year at TRF and  I can't wait he is walking now and he will be  like 14 months and 3 days or so lot's of fun....

We are trying to find wheels for his woodend wagons any help plz
The Lady Kat.


Love with all your Heart, not just part of it.

LadyStitch

My friend Kelly found out she is pregant and due in mid september.  She really wants to go to TRF this year and stay in the camping section.  But she is curious if this will be possible?  The kiddo would be about 4-6 weeks old when they go.  They don't have a grandma's babysitting service, so that isn't possible.  Do you think their best bet would be to just get a room, and then if they need a break at faire just head back to one of their friend's camps?

Anything I can tell her would be a big load off her mind,
It is kind of strange watching your personal history become costume.

LadyStitch

Kelly moved to Massacusuts to be closer to her family, However now I need the info.  I swear something was in the water around christmas.  ::)

Anyway I'm bumping this back up.  The fuzzlet (the nickname Grandma has given the kiddo)  will be here in late September which means TRF will start in 2-3 weeks later.  We really do want to go to TRF this year but the kiddo will just be too young to camp with us. I need to keep the kiddo close since the fuzzlet will be so little.
I need advice here. The last time we had a wee one in our camp he was 5 months old and his parents rented a HUGE RV for the weekend.  Not sure how we can make this work.
A question to all the parents out there,  would it be best to sleep at a hotel, but we could still get passes to visit/hang out at our friends camps with the kiddo until traffic goes down?
It is kind of strange watching your personal history become costume.

PollyPoPo

Things have changed greatly since my kids were babies, so I would suggest you check with both your ob/gyn and the pediatrician before embarking on a faire trip with a baby that young and yourself still in recovery mode. 

Polly PoPo



Polly PoPo
(aka Grannie)

Sitara

There was a 2 week old baby in the tent across from mine at MNRF and he seemed to do well. He is now 3 years old and still there every week.  I have no suggestions to offer since I have never fested with small children personally, just wanted to mention that it can be done in a tent.
Beer wenches are the best wenches!

dragongirl

While it wasn't a faire, my mother had me camping with the family since I was 4 weeks old and I'm ok.  Also my first Pennsic there was a 6 week old baby in camp.  The only problems we had was the fact she was feeding on tap as it were, and If you were holding her around meal time you would end up with a hicky.  I do remember that about 5 days after I arrived she was fussy so her mother took her home for the afternoon( they live that close) but that was after she'd been there almost 2 full weeks in a heatwave.  Heck I was fussy and cranky and I was an adult. :P
Lady Hermina Dolores De Pagan
Captain of the Tres Flores
Sailing with Ye Pyrate Brotherhood

Leyla

Speaking with recent experience, do as much as you can to insure that you'll get plenty of rest. We took our firstborn to faire at 3 weeks old. I think the stimulation was a bit much for him as he ended up sleeping A LOT more while at faire and didn't nurse nearly as often (although I've read that this extra stimulation tends to yield one of two results; shutdown with increased sleeping, or increased fussiness). Also, at 3 weeks postpartum I wasn't nearly in shape enough to wander the grounds as aggressively as before so we took it easy and had a shorter day, mostly took the opportunity to catch shows we'd missed and show off our beautiful baby.

I'm really more concerned with how well you'll handle going to faire at 2-3 weeks postpartum, rather than how your baby will fair. The baby will still sleep a lot, you not so much. Postpartum hormones and baby blues can be quite challenging as well, trying to cope with a potentially fussy newborn in tents could be emotionally challenging if you're concerned with waking your neighbors (not only because they'll hear the baby crying, but because you'll likely be making noise to sooth her back to sleep). If you run into any drama at faire your emotional response is likely to be exagerated (so if there's anyone there who makes you anxious or stressed, you will be even more so if you have to deal with them).  Your body will still be recovering so you'll be more tired. If you're breastfeeding you'll also have increased needs for fluids and calories. Then of course there's the issue that you may not have stellar bladder control yet (not great in the limited camping settings that I've been in), will still be going to the bathroom more frequently, and you'll still likely be bleeding heavily.

If camping is typically a low stress, easy to handle, comforting environment for you I think you'll do fine. I don't camp frequently enough to be adept or terribly comfortable with it. Baby should be fine no matter where you are, just make sure you are diligent about limiting the number of people who hold him and making sure they wash their hands thoroughly first.

If you do decide to go for a hotel I would suggest using hotwire or priceline. I've had pretty great luck with getting decent hotel rooms (like Country Suites) using Priceline with a $30 bid.

THELADYKAT

Dorian will be 20 months on the 6th and we can't wait for Scarby this will be his 2nd year there and this year should be better cause I have a wagon to pull him in and keep him out of the sun and he can run around with me and not need to be held as much. Then after this comes TRF and this will be his 3rd year I love having my baby at fair he loves it and it is so much fun :)
The Lady Kat.


Love with all your Heart, not just part of it.

Hoowil

It may just be my experience, but taking our nearly 2 year old, and his sister when she was a similar age, was much more of a challenge than taking either as an infant. You can't blame them, but they want to run, explore, and get in to everything.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for thou art crunchy and taste good with catsup.

LadyStitch

We are looking at getting a good stroller for Faire.  We want to put it on our registry but we wanted to all of your ren-parent opinions.  The one we are looking at is this one.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10870672
This way we only have to get a new convertable car seat when fuzzlet get's to 20 pounds.

So thoughts?
It is kind of strange watching your personal history become costume.

maeven

Quote from: LadyStitch on May 13, 2011, 01:20:50 PM
We are looking at getting a good stroller for Faire.  We want to put it on our registry but we wanted to all of your ren-parent opinions.  The one we are looking at is this one.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10870672
This way we only have to get a new convertable car seat when fuzzlet get's to 20 pounds.

So thoughts?

My husband and I were looking at that one and we liked it too (we aren't expecting but we hope to be around TRF time). I like that you can pretty much go on any terrain with it, which is helpful if you're using a stroller at TRF.
*Short enough to not reach the pedals, tall enough for the rides at Six Flags!*

I'm splendid. That is all.

AHE 2013 RenNado Survivor

Once Debauched

Quote from: LadyStitch on May 13, 2011, 01:20:50 PM
We are looking at getting a good stroller for Faire.  We want to put it on our registry but we wanted to all of your ren-parent opinions.  The one we are looking at is this one.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=10870672
This way we only have to get a new convertable car seat when fuzzlet get's to 20 pounds.

So thoughts?

That should be PERFECT!

When I was expecting Chicklette I looked for something exactly like that and found the Jeep strollers.  I swear by them.  Big tires = mobility.

You'll be able to take that thing anywhere and if the back reclines it's a cinch for naptime.  Lot's of storage underneath which is handy when you have an itty bittty - bottles, water, diapers, food...

Just make sure you always pack the pump for the tires!

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