[Ansteorra] RE: ... and a subject change...

[Jennifer Smith]

Moira Lindsay wrote:
> Two kids under the age of 2 makes eventing.. tricky for me 
> and Liam.  So,
> keeping in mind I can NOT be the first woman to bring smalls 
> to an event, I
> seek the wisdom of those who have pulled this off  (eventing 
> with babies). 
> They're too small for children's activities, our closest family is in
> Biloxi, and it's not like we can leave them at home like cats 
> where they
> get a big bowl of food and a warning about keggers.  Hints, 
> tips, tricks?  

Small children in the SCA! What fun.  I haven't done TWO children under the
age of two, and I can imagine that it would be a bigger-than-normal handful.
Still, what works for me with an almost-2 and a 6 year old:

I echo bringing along a portable playpen/crib thingy, at least while they're
not walking yet. Very nice to be able to set down a child and not have to
worry about them crawling through the dirt and stickers! We used one while
camping, and occasionally when day-tripping.

Otherwise, we use a giant wooden wagon most heavily. Early on we invested in
the Radio Flyer ATW wagon, wood sides and a weight limit of 250lbs. When
it's not hauling our stuff, it's hauling kids, or serving as a bed for the
youngest for naptime or at night. I even change diapers on it. It's padded
with a quilted sleep mat that rolls up for storage. The oldest has finally
outgrown it (just in time for the youngest to switch to it, which we're
working on...)  It was expensive, but probably the best baby-gear purchase
we've ever made. Plus, it's a toy!

Having the regular help of friends is a must-have. You can only do so much
switching off between parents, especially if you have more than one child
that needs to be supervised. 

Bathroom breaks -- shudder.  I regularly scout out sites to figure out the
best facilities to use, PARTICULARLY when toilet training or with newly
toilet-trained kids.  For camping, we actually have our own portable toilet
seat with "pack-it-in/pack-it-out" drychem bags that backpackers use.  For
primitive sites, that or a handicapped port-a-potty are your best bets;
never try to take a small child into a regular-sized port-a-potty.

Always bring lots of munchies and such that won't go bad.  My kids will
largely eat anything, and frequently mooch off of anyone around them (sigh),
but some children are far more picky. I'm way more picky during feast than
my kids are! A long feast typically won't hold their attention span either,
so be prepared to either not do feast, or get up a lot, or leave early.

When my oldest was 2 or so, she abruptly stopped wanting to drink from her
sippy cup at events. She kept grabbing at my mug. Took me a while to figure
out that she wanted her own mug! I managed to find a small child-sized
pottery mug with a nice handle, and she toddled around with that thing full
of water for the next several years until it met an untimely end on a
concrete floor. We're now on mug #2, and I can always be sure that she's
drinking plenty of water because she hardly sets it down.  Kid #2 figured
out at Crown Tourney that her sippy cup fits perfectly inside dad's metal
tankard, and stole it, leaving him with no cup!  What the heck, a tankard
with a sippy lid still looks better than a bright orange plastic sippy cup.
:)

As soon as the oldest kid can walk, get them their own little camp chair.
You can usually find cheap folding camp chairs to mimic the larger ones at
Walmart or Target. The most "just like mom & dad" stuff, the better.

Camping at events can be a chore during setup and take down, and is when a
portable playpen comes in most handy, unless you have lots of extra hands. I
am still tied to the tent at night (kids won't fall asleep without mom
nearby), and so the most going out I get to do is to sit right outside the
door. In case of the occasional screaming fit, we don't like to camp right
in the middle of things, so this means I've forfeited most of my nighttime
socializing. Bummer, but eh. Some things you gotta give up.

No matter how late at night, I don't give up court, however. Neither kid
wants to sleep as long as there's still stuff going on, so at worst I have
to stand up in the back of court trying to get the youngest cranky one to
settle down. (A crying kid in the front of court is never a good thing.)

At one point we started hauling along a wooden box of SCA-only toys; we've
gotten out of the habit, but now with the youngest hitting 2 next month I
think it's about time to redo the box.  It always had paper or coloring
books, crayons, one or two small stuffed animals or a cloth doll, and a few
other odds and ends like that. Nothing that you will care if it gets
accidentally lost or destroyed, but likewise nothing that is bright plastic
and makes electronic beeping noises.

The HARDEST thing I've ever had to deal with was bottle-feeding.
(Breast-feeding is sooooo much more portable!) I always brought my own
bottled water, liners, and powdered formula, and just reused the same bottle
and nipple over and over (being sure to rinse it out good). Ugh. Luckily
both my kids took room-temp water, so I never had to figure out how to warm
a bottle or keep one cold or anything like that.

At bare minimum, when daytripping, we always bring the wagon, a few bottles
of water (easier than bugging the waterbearers), animal crackers, mugs, and
the must-have blankies. (And garb, of course.)  OH and spare diapers. Stash
some in the car just in case! 

-Emma