Cragmama "Not all who wander are lost…" JRR Tolkien

Category Archives: Creating a Cragbaby

Tackling issues and obstacles that you might encounter when taking your young folk to the crag.

Climbing with a 5 month old (Reader Question from Megan D.)

Climbing with a 5 month old (Reader Question from Megan D.)

When it comes to logistics of climbing with young kiddos, I’ve written about every age in the 5 and under set, sometimes more than once. But as my kids are growing (sigh), it’s easy for those posts to get lost in the archives, especially the itty-bitty-baby ones. So I thought I’d try something different with a question I received recently from Megan D out of Seattle, WA, about getting back into climbing with her 5 month old.  As I was digging through old posts, I realized that it might not be a bad idea to share her question with the masses –…Read the rest of this entry →

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Tips for Breastfeeding on Outdoor Adventures

Tips for Breastfeeding on Outdoor Adventures

Anyone who has done it for any length of time knows that breastfeeding is NOT always the comfortable, natural, and peaceful activity that parenting magazines make it out to be.  It can be awkward, exhausting, uncomfortable, even downright painful at times…and this is especially true when a nursing pair takes to the Great Outdoors!  With my first son, figuring out the logistics for nursing on days where I camped/climbed/hiked/swam/etc was pretty tricky.  There was definitely a learning curve.  Thankfully I’ve been able to glean from those prior experiences these past 5 months with my daughter (and trust me, the second…Read the rest of this entry →

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Crag Naps 101: Sleeping Tips for Outdoor Climbing Adventures

Crag Naps 101: Sleeping Tips for Outdoor Climbing Adventures

During those early months, a baby can only be awake for so long before turning into a cranky pumpkin.  That’s why it’s no wonder that the number one way to ensure more outdoor climbing time is to figure out how to get your tiny bundle of joy to crag-nap effectively.  But that, of course, is easier said than done!  So for those of you who want to spend a family day at the crag but are intimidated by all of the sleeping logistics, read on… Some parts of a climbing day lend themselves to napping better than others, so use…Read the rest of this entry →

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Creating a Cragbaby – The Toddler Years

Creating a Cragbaby – The Toddler Years

Somehow (overnight it seems) I became the mother of a toddler.  And with that, our crag “issues” have shifted a bit.  No longer am I trying to balance a soft carrier with a baby on the front and a pack full of gear on my back (sigh of relief…).  Instead I’ve got a big boy that’s not quite as big as he thinks he is, who often insists upon hiking in himself, only to discover halfway through that his little legs are, to quote my Maw Maw, “plum wore out.”  He never asks to nurse at the crag anymore, so…Read the rest of this entry →

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Climbing Rules! …and Regulations

Climbing Rules! …and Regulations

  Recently I was asked about how our family handles Cragbaby’s enthusiastic climbing skills in and around the house – and more specifically, in areas that aren’t safe to practice heel-hooks and fist jams.  In non-climbing families, its probably easiest to implement a few hard and fast rules.  For example – NO CLIMBING.  For obvious reasons that mixed message would cause a lot of confusion in our house.  Though we are definitely learning as we go, here are a few concepts that have proved to be helpful for us – by all means they aren’t gospel, and I am very interested…Read the rest of this entry →

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“Not all who wander are lost.” —JRR TOLKIEN