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14 Tips for Taking Your Baby to a Music Festival


I know how crazy this may seem to a lot of people out there, but I have taken both of my kids to their first music festival when they were just 3.5 weeks old. My body was still healing, they had barely lost their umbilical cord, yet there I was packing for the family to go camping at a music festival. By the end of the weekend, I learned that taking a baby who cannot even walk is MUCH easier than taking a mobile toddler. Here are a few tips I have learned along the way;

  1. The first step is to make a list of all your concerns. Then go through the list and think of a solution ahead of time. This helped me greatly to feel that there was a plan.

  2. Make sure you have comfortable shoes and a comfortable baby carrier.

  3. If you are still healing from labor and delivery, make sure you have plenty of pain medication and your peri bottle! You can always heat up water at the camp stove or see if the med tent has warm water for you.

  4. Keep plenty of hand sanitizer on you at all times. I did not allow any strangers to touch my baby, but it was hard to say no to family and friends who were meeting my child for the first time.

  5. Make sure you have enough clothing to keep your child warm and dry.If I am going to be gone for a 3 day weekend, I like to pack 9 cool weather outfits and 9 warm weather outfits. I then pack at least 36 diapers (usually cloth) to be on the safe side.

  6. Have two plans for sleeping arrangements for your child. Some kids will do best in a pack and play, some will do better co-sleeping with you. Sometimes the best arrangement will change in the middle of the night. Be flexible.

  7. This should be obvious, but please do not plan on doing drugs and keeping drinking at a minimal during the weekend.It is not safe to do either if you are co-sleeping and we don’t want our children drunk from breast milk.

  8. If your child is young enough to nap anywhere, be sure to enjoy a nap with them. I had a lovely time napping with my daughter in the warm sun at the main stage. I think even a few people took photos of us!

  9. If your child is able to crawl, I recommend having a full rain suit for them.At 13 months my son was crawling everywhere at a very wet festival. It was extremely difficult to keep him dry and rain pants would have greatly helped.

  10. If it is warm out, a midday bath might feel comforting and fun for your child. We used our solar shower to warm some water, put a small tarp on the ground under a tree and put my son in a tote box (that was used for other purposes during the festival).My son crawled out of the tote, but enjoyed playing in the water puddles on the tarp. Afterword’s, he felt refreshed and clean!

  11. If this is a loud festival, consider investing in baby ear phones. They will come in handy if you hit multiple festivals a year.

  12. If you are pushing your child in a stroller, it will help to have something glowing (like a flashlight or glow stick) attached to the front of the stroller. This will make it easier for strangers to see the stroller in the middle of the night.

  13. If your child will sleep while you are walking around at night (as most newborns will). Be sure to enjoy yourself! You don’t have to retire to the tent at 9pm if you don’t want to. My newborn was able to sleep through the 20 minutes that I spent at the drum tent. Many kids who grow up going to festivals look forward to falling asleep listening to music under a blanket at the stages.

  14. Remember to relax and have fun! If things feel stressful, take a break in your tent or camper. Hand the baby to someone else. This can be such a wonderful experience for you and your baby to enjoy together. If things get bad, you can always abort the mission, get a hotel room and return the next morning!

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