5 essential tips for camping with newborn twins & older siblings

As summer slowly crawls to a close this year I find myself holding onto the freedom a little bit longer. Basking in the long shadows and begging for a stillness found only in nature. Nature is so nurturing. Yes, even with newborn twins + three older siblings. The freedom, the sense of balance and wholeness that seems to happen so effortlessly all around you. Or am I waxing too romantic here? It’s totally possible…

I wanted to share a few essential tips I’ve learned so far while camping with newborn twins + older siblings. We’ve been proper camping twice so far this year, and managed to squeeze in one cabin trip as well. So that basically makes me an expert, right?! lol.

Ask for help – I’ll be 100% honest. There is no way I could have done any of our camping trips without the help of our family. My sister, my SIL’s and all of the cousins all played a major role in making our camping experiences this summer a success. As a twin mom, you learn real quick to swallow your pride and just ask for help and this is no exception.
Bring the gear – Sure it would have been easier to leave our handy bassinets back at home and just bring a pack and play. But at what cost? Surely your sanity mama is worth the extra the foot of trunk space. Our twins sleep (almost) through the entire night while camping and I attribute a HUGE part of that to the fact that they’re in their own beds. While the tent and outdoors is out of their element, at least their sleeping quarters are well known to them.
Ease up on the ‘regular’ reigns – This one is more for the older kiddos. Mama, go ahead and ease up on those regular old reigns. I’m a ‘free range’ parent anyway, so once we step out into nature I give my kids all the freedom they can possibly ask for. I encourage them to get good and dirty, in fact I tell them that I don’t want to see them again until their feet are black and their hands and filthy. (And then I promptly walk them to the wash area and help them clean up. lol!)
Enforce the ‘camping’ rules – Fire safety, fire pit safety, personal space and swimming rules. These are basically the only rules I enforce while camping. Everything else is pretty much fair game.
Enjoy the crap outta it! – That’s it! Sit back, relax, do some awesome yoga moves, enjoy a good game of Phase 10, Uno (or Dos) and pass the babies around until the sun goes down.