Hiking with a baby and toddler Ireland

I gave birth to our second child at the start of February (We attempted our first hike 6 weeks later). I was very lucky to have a natural birth and our baby was so quiet and content and took to Breastfeeding very well, therefore my body was able to hike soon after.

I would advise not rushing back to physical activity too soon and to ask your doctors permission first and also listen to your body. When I gave birth to our first baby I had to be induced and it was a much harder birth, so I didn’t do much hiking until our baby was about 4 months old. We now have 2 healthy and happy girls thank God. After the initial realization that we forgot all the small intricate things a baby needed, we decided we might try a small local hike with our new baby.

We were itching to get back out hiking with the kids but we decided to wait for the weather to improve before venturing out in the cold with a baby hiking. I am always prepared for a hike, so 6 weeks after having our new little hiker, we got a good spell of warm spring weather and off we went hiking with the kids.

Our first-time hiking with a baby and toddler in Ireland

We had planned to hike up our local mountain, Mount Leinster but when we arrived it was extremely busy. We decided to keep driving to Kilkennys highest mountain, Brandon Hill as we wanted a quieter hike. This would allow us to get used to our new carrier and hiking with two babies. Plus, the kids were asleep in the car and the 1st mountain was only 10 mins drive and we didn’t want to wake them. The extra 30-minute drive was welcomed and they got a great nap and would be in good form for a walk.

When we arrived at the 2nd mountain, Brandon Hill there were only 4 cars parked, so it was nice and quiet. It took us about 20 minutes to get going, I was breastfeeding in the car, while Paul brought Ourlittlehiker for a little stroll down the country road to look at the sheep and the newborn lambs.

I put Ourbabyhiker in her Columbia wind and waterproof suit. I would highly recommend it. I bought it on Amazon here. I wore a strap vest top with a jacket that can zip down, the reason behind this is the Ourbabyhiker can rest her chest on my skin, and its easy access to breastfeeding while walking. I can also check her temp easier and she can get heat from my body.

When is too Early to be hiking with an infant?

This question can be only really answered by the parents of the baby. Remember, you are the ones that know your baby the best. Therefore, you can only make this decision. I would advise that when you do decide to bring your baby out hiking to make sure they are wearing the appropriate clothing and that you are familiar with the hike. Always start small and try to have another adult with you. For more tips click here to see our tips for hiking with a baby.

Our first hike with our Baby

Our first mountain climb with our firstborn was when she was 6 months old. We had never hiked with a baby before so we were sticking to small Forrest local walks. But this time around we brought our 2nd baby on a mountain hike at just 6 weeks old. This time, the seasons were different and the baby LOVED being on my chest in the strap. Which made the hike very easy and stress-free. We had a nice mild day with a very content baby for our first mountain walk.

Hiking with a baby and toddler Ireland

So far my experience with hiking with both baby and toddler has been enjoyable, but you need a lot of time and patience. It takes longer to pack, to leave the house and to leave the car but it’s so worth it. That is, once you make it to the trail and get to take in your 1st breath of fresh mountain air and to watch the big smile on your children’s faces.

Allow additional time while Hiking with young kids

I find you have to stop more as the baby might need a nappy change, then you get going and toddler wants to relax and eat, etc, so make sure to start with small hikes. Try to allow lots of time for all the unforeseen, therefore, you will all relax and enjoy the adventure more.

Go with family or friends to start off hiking

We always go hiking together when going to the mountains, I always carry my baby on my chest as its easy access for breastfeeding and I carry a rucksack with 1st aid kit, water, extra clothes for everyone and most importantly snacks. My husband carries ourlittlehiker in her Deuter Kids comfort when she gets tired from hiking herself.

Start hiking with kids anywhere or anytime

I am self-employed, on my breaks I bring the girls for short walks and carry both kids myself. It is hard but once you get the straps of the carriers correct it can work. It’s hard work though but so good to get outside even if it’s just 10 minutes around the garden.

Why Kids Love Hiking in Ireland

Hiking with a toddler is just fascinating, you start to see the world through a child’s eyes. They slow you down to look at the butterflies, flowers, etc, which make it more about the journey than the destination.

Ourlittlehiker just floats and skips along when on a hike, the outdoors really is her happy place. I read a quote one time which went something like this

” A Child can’t climb the walls, if the walls are removed”

It is so true, they don’t be bored or restless in the outdoors, Don’t get me wrong they can get tired and fed up in outdoors as well but it’s nice to have a good balance.

Tips to keep a toddler motivated while hiking

Here are some tips you can use near the end of a hike to keep your toddler motivated:

• Big Bubbles, so you hold them and walk ahead and your toddler has to run to try to catch them. This is so much fun for children as well as us adults.
• Save their favourite snacks for when they get a bit fed up or upset and tell them you can get some of your treats when we get to such an area. We try to all eat healthily during the week so treats while hiking is extra special.
• The simple” I’m going to get youuuu” game, works every time.
• Eye spy, treasure hunts, hunt for certain animals.
• A Camera. let them take pictures, we had an old camera we didn’t use anymore and we gave it to Ourlittlehiker and she loved it. Believe it or not, but she takes some great pictures (a lot of bad unflattering angles of us ha) but some great nature shots which is cool to see from her angle. For Christmas, we bought her a kid’s action camera which fits her little hands perfectly.

Hiking with the Ergo Baby Carrier

Our impressions of the Ergo Baby Carrier

I had to watch a few youtube videos to see how to use it with the baby insert but I found our baby wasn’t comfortable with the inset. Initially, I used my sling wrap for the first few months, she was a big baby and never seemed to be comfortable in the Ergo Baby Carrier. But after a couple of months, I took out the baby insert (which you have to buy separately) she was more content and wasn’t trying to wriggle out of it.

Now she is 6 months old and absolutely loves it. I Have her front-facing so she loves looking all around her and laughs at her big sister singing and dancing on the trails.

Would we recommend the Baby Ergo Carrier?

Yes, I would highly recommend the Ergo baby carrier but in my opinion, I wouldn’t buy the separate baby insert unless you don’t have a sling and you were planning on hiking in the very early days or you had a smaller baby to get more use out of it. I only used ours once.

We bought the rain/wind cover separate and I would recommend getting it especially if you live in Ireland as the weather can change very quickly.

Tips for using the Ergo Baby Carrier

• Always check that your baby has good air circulation and not squashed to your chest and that the baby doesn’t overheat or get too cold.
• Be careful putting the baby in and out of the carrier.
• Have someone to help you secure your straps for the 1st couple of times until you get used to it.
• Listen to your baby, as they will let you know soon enough if they are uncomfortable by wriggling around or crying
• Practice wearing around the house and garden
• Read the instruction manual well
• Watch some youtube videos about using it and babywearing
• Make sure baby’s legs are in the correct position so it doesn’t put a strain on their hips, here’s a diagram below:

Gear to bring hiking with a baby and toddler

We previously did a blog post about hiking with a baby here we cover tips and gear to bring on hikes with kids. Below are some additional items that I find we use more now that we have two small kids to take care of in the mountains.

• Deuter kids comfort 3 plus Wind/Rain cover
• Ergo Carrier plus Wind/Rain cover
• Columbia ski suits (winter/cold weather)
• Reima suit (great for summer not to overheat)
• Regatta wind and waterproofs
• Keen hiking boots
• Sun hats
• Sunglasses
• woolly hats and gloves
• 1st aid kit
• Water & Water bottle
• Snacks
• Nappies
• Water wipes
• Hiking sticks
• A mirror (to see a toddler in the carrier on your back)
• Bubbles (when a toddler is hiking you can blow bubbles and they will run ahead to try to catch them, it’s fun and helps speed up a hike)

Hiking with kids in a pushchair versus a baby carrier for an Infant

Mount Leinster versus Brandon Hill. There is a tarmac road the whole way to the summit of Mount Leinster and Brandon hill

is all trail walking. We decided to use the pushchair on Mount Leinster to see which method we preferred. We had our baby in the Quinny Buzz Xtra 3. It is a 3 wheel pushchair which is great for the outdoors but not so great going around shopping centres which is okay as these days most of my shopping is online 😁.

We had our two-year-old hiker in our travel buggy, which has 4 wheels and is a lot lighter. She walked for a good section of the hike and then we had to bribe her to sit into the buggy, as she got very tired.

Physically we found it much harder to push the prams compared to carrying the girls in the rucksacks, especially coming down the hill as you are in a half squat position trying to control and prevent the pram from getting away from us and rolling down the hill. We will continue to use our hiking carriers to hike with our toddler and infant as pushchairs did not give us the options we needed while hiking.