10 Good reasons why you should go hiking with your baby

Going for a walk, even camping with your baby, is good for morale and allows you to resume physical activity gently.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue, the temperature is mild, why not go out and enjoy?
Especially with children, even toddlers.
It's winter and it's cold?
No question of hibernating at home with baby because of the weather.
In all weathers, it is possible to embark on a walk or even a hike with a newborn.
Here are 10 good reasons why you should go for a walk with baby!

1. Nothing better to help baby fall asleep

Before becoming a parent, you never imagined walking around the neighbourhood or walking around the block to put your baby to sleep… well, parents say: it works and we have all done it (or almost).
So why deprive yourself of this means to help your infant fall asleep while enjoying an activity outdoors.
Why do babies sleep better outdoors than in their own beds?
After being cradled naturally in mum's womb for 9 months, a newborn will appreciate the walk and it will help them fall asleep.
On outings, especially in baby carriers, baby rediscovers this rhythm and natural sway that each in-utero walk gave them.
To this, you can add the natural stimulation provided by outdoor outings: natural light, noises, smells... everything is an excuse to gently stimulate baby and provide them with a "good" fatigue.
And that's how baby falls asleep during a simple walk.

2. Benefits for baby's health

Many parents wonder at what age they can go out for a walk with a baby. Good news, there is no minimum age!
When you know that the air inside a home is more polluted than outside, even in town or in an urban park, going for a walk with a newborn gives you the opportunity to let baby breathe. Take advantage of your outing to ventilate your home.
You should also know that going for a walk using a baby carrier can promote breastfeeding.Thanks to the proximity between mother and child, it allows the release of oxytocin, which supports the production of milk and therefore weight gain. Especially since you can breastfeed while out. Oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin... a babycarrying outing also contributes to the production of many good hormones, both for baby and the carrier.
With the physiological position adopted when carrying, that is to say vertical and frog like, walking also reduces the risk of reflux and regurgitation. It might even improve baby's digestion thanks to the close contact creating an indirect massage.

3. Gently back to a sporting activity

Going for a walk and even later hiking with a baby is the first authorized physical activity after childbirth.
While of course you have to adapt the difficulty of the outing to your postpartum physical condition, going for a walk activates the circulation, drains and tones gently and gradually.
Whether it's to get back into shape or just respond to the desire to get out, walking outings, then more sporty hiking, once your health check-up has been carried out 6 to 8 weeks after leaving the maternity, will be a plus in getting you to resume a sporting activity.
Indeed, resuming physical activity after childbirth has many benefits: "reclaiming one's body after nine months of pregnancy, strengthening your muscles, helping you to lose weight, but also improving the quality of your sleep, reducing anxiety and the risks of postpartum depression”, explains the official parental guide: during the first 1000 days.
Good to know: the more intense sport must be gradual. It is necessary to wait until the end of the perineal rehabilitation after a natural childbirth or the reconstitution of the abdominal wall after a caesarean section.

4. A change of air while walking baby

Going out for a walk for a change of air also has psychological benefits!
When back from maternity, once the paternity leave is over, the mother can feel isolated at home.
Going for a walk with your baby gives you something to do, gets you out of the house and provides you with a social life.
Preparing to go out with your baby means getting dressed up, having a shower that you could have maybe skipped if you had stayed at home …
What a bonus for your self-esteem.
But even with dirty hair, that's not a reason for stopping you going out.
No one's there to judge.
When it's good for the morale, there's no question of missing out!

5. Strengthening the bond between dad and baby

And how about dad going for a walk with his baby? Two advantages why it should be dad who goes hiking with baby: it gives mum time for herself and it allows dad to enjoy a special moment with his baby.
Of course, mums don't really like to leave their baby to someone else, but for twenty minutes, even a few hours, who better than the dad to take care of baby?
So, advice to new mothers, no guilt, just take advantage: a good bath, a nap with no stress and why not seeing some friends, you will easily find something to do.
To give you a clear conscience, also tell yourself that this is an excellent way to create the precious dad/baby relationship. After 9 months in your womb, a babycarrying trip promotes parent-child bonding. If it works for mums, it will be good for dads too.

6. Rediscover the pleasure of family outings.

Going for a walk or hike with your family also meets the needs of the baby while continuing to take care of the brothers and sisters. No need to stay home for a nap, well carried, a baby can sleep nice and warm during the walk. The siblings will then be able to enjoy physical activity outdoors, to let off steam, without having to follow the rhythm of a baby.. Enough to remain a dynamic, busy and united family wherever the hike.

Tips for parents:Suggest that one or more friends accompany the older ones: nothing better to motivate the troops!

7. And how about camping with baby?

Because you have to occupy the older ones, go on holiday, or even take advantage of your maternity leave to discover other horizons, nothing prevents you from camping with a baby. In a van, camping or why not a micro-adventure, if you feel like going on an adventure with a young child, all you need is good preparation. Even if it is more complicated to travel light with a newborn, camping allows you to do without the superflu and should appeal to the fans of simplicity. There again, camping with baby requires a bit of organisation but it offers a unique setting to occupy the other siblings.

8. Get away from the daily routine by going on holiday with baby

Going on holiday, camping or something else, with a baby also helps to get away from the daily routine. Of course, travelling with a young child will change a lot for you compared to earlier holidays as a couple. However, it is quite possible and it allows you to change your routine and to slow down. We leave aside work, housework… and the stress that that creates. Holidays with a baby mean taking more breaks, just to feed or breastfeed them, without forgetting to let them exercise out of the stroller, baby carrier or any other carrying method.It's another rhythm from the hectic schedule of everyday life at home. Why not go away out of season thanks to maternity leave and/or parental leave and go there whether others aren't!

9. And it costs nothing!

A walk to the end of the street, a hike in a forest, a micro-adventure in a tent in the mountains, the advantage of a walk is beneficial and it costs nothing too.A walk to the end of the street, a hike in a forest, a micro-adventure in a tent in the mountains, the advantage of a walk is beneficial and it costs nothing too. No reason not to go then!
Would you like to go on an adventure to the other side of the world with your baby? No problem: children up to two years old do not pay for the plane or accommodation, so you might as well take advantage.

To the question:should you take your baby out walking every day? A tip for all parents:there is of course no obligation to go for a walk every day with your young child. In an ideal world, without constrains, one outing a day would benefit everyone. but making it an imperative would become counterproductive. Taking baby out is when you want to and especially when you can! A walk, a hike with your baby and even camping with a toddler must remain a pleasure for everyone.

How to successfully go out with baby?

To make walking with baby a pastime enjoyed by everyone, here are a few tips:
- plan your outing. After you have fed or breastfed your baby, you will have more walking time to enjoy the outdoors.Don't forget to change their nappy before leaving.
- plan progressively longer walks. If the first outings are only about twenty minutes walking round the block, there will always be time for longer walks.
- dress your child according to the weather and the carrying method. In a push chair, your infant will not benefit from your body heat like in a baby carrier or in a sling, so it is advisable to add a layer of clothing.
- Be sure to cover your newborns extremities well: feet, hands and head must be protected from the cold in winter and from the sun in summer.

Maguy

Content creator at Quechua

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