Thank you to everyone for their answers. We just came back from our camping trip and I'd like to offer some additional insight while it is still fresh in my mind.
- Playpen. We could not have done this trip without a playpen. She slept in the playpen for her naps and at night in our tent. We moved the playpen out for one of her naps as it was a very hot day and she was having trouble sleeping in the tent. We put a couple of her toys from her crib in her playpen.
- Stroller. We deeply regret not taking our jogging stroller and instead opting for a small $20 stroller for the trip. We were trying to save space in the car. A decent stroller is necessary if you plan to use it at all- the wheels need to be rugged enough to go on sand and gravel. We did take the baby carrier with us, but on hot days she would sweat too much in it. If you don't plan to use the stroller much (we use it a lot on everyday basis - walks, using it to put her to sleep), take a jogging stroller or don't bother at all.
- Lots of clothes. We let her play as much as she wanted to in dirt on the campsite and in sand on the beach. Just gave her a beach set/scoops and she was a happy camper. For clothes, you want a hat, full-sleeve clothing for evening (mosquitoes) with full-length pants, sweaters for cooler early mornings/nights, short-sleeve clothing for day time + trackpants/windpants if you want to let her play in dirt (don't get as dirty). The trackpants were really, really useful on her because...she got really dirty. We used sandals with a thick sole on her. She loves wearing shoes and those were the only thick-soled shoes we found. On blankets: We had some very cold nights - one night we put TWO sleepers on her + onesie. Carry a couple of thin & thick blankets.
- Few toys. She really didn't need many toys. We only had the small beach set for her, and some toys from her crib. The dirt/sand entertained her for hours and hours. If she wasn't playing that, she was fascinated by the chipmunks or just fire/flames in general.
- Food. For food, we took her baby food (baby cereal, purees, etc.) with us. However, we only used the baby cereal. For every other meal, it was just table food (she has 8 teeth). Always carry bottles of water with you to keep the baby hydrated - she will drink way more water than normal. Keep some of her favorite foods (crackers/etc.) for cranky moments. If you let your child play in dirt/sand, be prepared for them to...eat it. It's not necessarily bad for them but you do have to teach them to not do so, as well as watching for putting stones/etc. in their mouths. I wouldn't bother taking bibs. She gets so much dirtier with dirt, etc. that food all over her makes little difference.
- Baby folding chair. We actually found one last minute - had no plans to get it otherwise. The one we got had a nice recline to it and was sort of "scooped" her in. She couldn't get in or get out of it herself BUT she loved being in it when we were all sitting by the fire. Of course, one of us could've just put her in our lap but she really, really enjoyed being in it when she was tired and everyone else was just sitting around. Try it out in a store and see if your infant likes being in it. Ours was all smiles :)
- Fire safety was an issue for us. She kept trying to "catch the flames" despite knowing that it was hot. Never got close or anything, but she was relentless in trying to get close to the flame. This is obvious, but be sure that you don't turn your back to her for her around a flame - even if she is a few feet away. They start walking fast, and all that needs to happen is for them to trip into the fire pit. No accidents or anything to report here, but I was always scared!
- Screenhouse. No one at our campsite used a bug repellant. In the evening, we were all wearing full sleeves and would be in the dining tent playing games etc. It was a decent $40 investment for us. Our daughter would be in bed by 10-10:30, so she wasn't out too much anyway when the mosquitoes were. We didn't see any bug bites on her and she never scratched herself anywhere.
- Showers. Our daughter hated the public showers. It's probably because she has only ever had baths and is just not used to "water raining" on her, but she would cry the whole time while we were rinsing her. It was somewhat necessary to give her one after playing so much in dirt/sand and flinging it all over herself (hair, neck, etc.)...but she was miserable. I have no suggestions for this, except make it as short as possible. We didn't use any soap on her for our camping trip. Just a rinse. She had a nice bath when we came home though.
- Diapers. We changed her in our tent - wasn't a problem. As mentioned earlier, she had a more bowel movements than usual which gave her a bit of redness. Sand/dirt also has a way of getting in your crotch. So just change her often and make sure she is completely dry. We didn't really give her diaper-free time like we do at home (didn't want pee in our tent). We also were using disposables vs. the normal cloth diapers we use so her bum was a little irritated. Don't get lazy with the balm!
Our roughest day was when it was very hot and humid outside. She was having a lot of trouble sleeping - was 4-5 hours past her nap time. Eventually we had to just drive with her in the car with the air conditioner. She was asleep within a few minutes. We drove for a bit more and then placed her in her playpen. She slept for 3 hours (usually it is 1-2).
Also, if your infant usually doesn't wake up by 6am - be prepared for birds to wake your infant up. They are noisy. I'd also avoid weekend camping - we had the best time from Wed-Fri when it was mostly families around. Over the weekend, you get groups of friends who tend to stay up late an make lots of noise well past midnight. Someone was also going at it with illegal fireworks. If your infant is a light sleeper, this could be troublesome.
For the beach, there wasn't much different:
- Life jacket. Duh. If she was wearing a bathing suit, she was also wearing a life jacket.
- Towels. We used 2-3 baby towels. One to dry her off with, and one to wrap her up in until she was arm.
- Giant umbrella. We didn't use any sunscreen on her, we just put her in UV bathing suits and had her sit in shade when playing with sand. We ran into no problems; however, neither my husband or I have ever had a sunburn.
- Food for sea gulls :). She kept running after them and being super-excited about them. We threw some baby crackers at the sea gulls to bring 'em closer to our daughter (not too close). Our daughter kept trying to chase them. And then she sat down to pick up her cracker from the sand and proceeded to eat it. sigh
Our daughter absolutely loved the water. She was marching to it. It was a bit uncomfortable for her once it got too wavy, but otherwise she absolutely loved it. We didn't take her too deep - she could always stand in it. Always had at least two adults watching her, with at least one in arms reach. I had trouble holding her in water as I am 6 months pregnant - be sure you can handle the baby and lift her easily when you're in a standing/sitting position in the water.
Don't forget to take a hat to the beach. It's very sunny and some days she didn't want to play in the water - only wanted to play with the sand.
We were also able to take our daughter canoeing. This was slightly tricky as I have only canoed a couple of times in my life, so couldn't really steer. I also couldn't just hold her - my belly gets in the way when I am seated. Our daughter doesn't sit still either - so we were pretty afraid that the canoe was going to tip (it didn't). Just be sure you discuss with everyone on what to do if the canoe tips etc. I was concerned about what a 6 month pregnant non-swimmer should do if she sees her daughter in the water: how I should jump out of the canoe, get back in the canoe, etc. Anyway - our daughter really didn't enjoy the canoe trip. She wanted to be touching the water - not boating over it. My husband would occasionally hold her across his lap to her play with water.