West was born in April. This time of year in the depths of winter, I start to feel nostalgic for that moment in time.
We start to get some hiking down valley in April. We are lucky to have the high desert thirty minutes from the high mountains. The mountains don’t open up until June and July, but the high desert beckons in the spring.
The days leading up to West’s birth we just kept hiking. We needed something to do. Something grounding the life altering event on the horizon.
Like anyone with their first child we had no idea what we would be capable of in those first few months. How far could we hike? Could we camp once summer rolled around? How would we dress the kid for the outdoors?
Sure, we had general questions about keeping the kid alive, but most of what I googled about having a brand new human had to do with how we could get outside.
West went for his first hike at 10 days old. After that, I spent most of my maternity leave hiking with him.
It was freeing to know we could still move outside and pretty much as far as we wanted (within the bounds of postpartum recovery). Newborns don’t need much. They sleep all the time. The feeding is built in if you breastfeed. But that first hike was intimidating.
Here is what we learned hiking during those early newborn days:
Lesson 1: Pick the right gear
We hiked with the Solly Baby Wrap for those first couple of weeks. I never got the hang of this thing. I never felt like he was perfectly secure. You will check if they are breathing every two seconds. But it puts that new tiny human right up against your body and it does the job.
We transitioned to the Lillebaby Complete 6-in-1 All Season at one month. This felt much sturdier. We used this for hiking until West was five months and we transitioned to the Osprey Poco Plus (check out our review!). It will never feel natural to hike with all your weight pitched forward with the kid on the front, but this worked as well as could be for us.
Lesson 2: Sun protection is tricky
No sunscreen on the tiniest humans so we hiked in onesies. The Lillebaby had a suncover. That’s gold. A little tiny wide brimmed hat is critical and will almost never fit right, but we used Patagonia’s bucket hat for the cuteness factor.
Lesson 3: As with all things, layer
Bring all the layers, even if they seem contrary to the weather out. A little extra warmth goes a long way. Patagonia’s fleece bunting is excellent for head to toe warmth.
Lesson 4: You can pretty much hike forever
At one month old, we made it 6 miles with West. I felt like dancing from the rooftops. A real hike! Again, those tiny humans sleep a lot. West liked to sleep while on the move. We liked to be on the move. Win-win. As long as you can keep them in the right layers you can go, go, go. We were breastfeeding so the food was built into the journey.
Lesson 5: Bring a seat
If you are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, you are going to want somewhere to sit that is a little cushioned. A good tree and this Therm-a-Rest make for some comfort.
