9 packing essentials that made my baby's first camping trip fun and a breeze for me

Travel cribs are lightweight, portable sleep spaces. They usually take up less floor space, which is a major plus inside a camper or tent.

The Guava Lotus Travel Crib weighs only 13 pounds and packs up into a small backpack-style bag. For fast setup, the frame unfolds, then the legs fold out much like a card table. The mattress also felt much more comfortable than a traditional thin playpen mattress. While I took another model to test out for the trip, I'd recommend the Lotus because it's more affordable, with the same perks, as the option I brought with me.

Babies put everything in their mouths, and they require constant supervision to prevent grass, rocks, twigs, and bugs from becoming a choking hazard. The Regalo My Play Deluxe creates a safe outdoor play space for babies.

A cross between a playpen and a folding camp chair, the My Play sets up just as easily as a lawn chair, is made from similar materials, and even comes in a similar bag. The deluxe version of this playpen also includes an umbrella-like topper that provides shade. It was easy enough to set up that I could use it at the campsite or take it to the beach.

For babies who aren't yet mobile, products like the Fisher-Price On-The-Go Baby Dome can be a great, smaller alternative.

The Ciao Baby Portable High Chair has now lasted seven summers, been used by all three of my kids, and it still looks almost like new. The folding chair is also Amazon's Choice for a camping high chair — in an updated version that has a better harness buckle.

Every time we camp with friends, I get comments on the Ciao. The chair unfolds just like an adult camp chair and is sturdy enough to use with toddlers up to age 3. The only downside is that, after seven years of use, the tray tilts just slightly toward the baby, so food like baby cereal and peas sometimes run into the baby's lap.

A 10-day camping trip without access to a laundromat would mean packing 30 cloth bibs. But a silicone baby bib can be washed with the dishes and ready to go for the next meal in minutes. The Nuby On-The-Go also rolls up for storage, so it has earned a spot in the diaper bag even when I'm not camping. A scoop at the bottom helps catch dropped food. Unlike some bibs that I've tried, the Nuby was snug enough that my baby wasn't able to pull it off and the scoop was wide enough to catch a good amount of food.

I've lost track of the number of times I've thought that mothers need more than two hands, but attempting to carry all the beach gear is one of them. The Radio Flyer 3-in-1 made it easy to haul towels, snacks, drinks, beach toys, a beach chair, and life jackets for three kids to the beach and back. Radio Flyer says that children should be a year and a half before riding solo in the wagon.

Most folding wagons will help get gear to the beach, but I chose the 3-in-1 because one side unzips to convert the wagon to a bench to sit in. Besides doubling as a chair, I unzipped the side of the wagon to create a makeshift changing table so I didn't have to change the baby's diaper in the sand.

Disposable swim diapers are designed not to hold water, otherwise, once in the pool/lake/ocean, they become waterlogged and heavy. Unfortunately, that also means they only hold stool and I've lost track of how many times I've been peed on from a baby in disposable swim diapers before deciding to try something different.

The Green Sprouts Pull-up Swim Diaper is absorbent enough to hold urine before getting into the water, while not being too heavy for the baby to move around in once the diaper is saturated. The designs are cute enough that the baby doesn't have to have a swimsuit on over it. If in between sizes, size up.

Attempting to cover a squirming baby that won't hold still in sunscreen is one of my least favorite parts of heading to the beach. A rash guard means less sunscreen to apply because more of the baby's skin is covered. The two-piece options tend to be easier for diaper changes than one-piece zip-ups where the entire suit has to come off. While my son used a hand-me-down from his big brother that's no longer available, Carter's makes some cute, affordable options paired with swim bottoms for boys and girls.

Speaking of the alligator wrestling match that's applying sunscreen on a baby, a sun hat is also a must, for both the beach and just playing outside. While there are many great sun hats out there, a must-have feature is an adjustable chin strap. Babies tend to want to pull off the hat and play with it, which is easy to do with a strap that's only secured by Velcro. A sun hat with an adjustable piece to get the chin strap snug under the chin is much more likely to stay on and keep the baby's head from getting sunburned.

A bottle brush makes quick work of cleaning bottles, nipples, and sippy cups, even if you are doing dishes in a portable tub on a picnic table. I love that the Munchkin Sponge Bottle Brush has a tool hidden in the handle for washing nipples. Affordable and easy to use, the only downside is that the brush should be replaced every 30 to 45 days because it has a sponge on it.