We have spent the last five days at Blissfields Festival in Winchester.. It was an unexpected success and we had a fantastic time. I say unexpected as even though I knew the festival would be fab (having attended last year) I was slightly worried about how Izzy would react to the crowds,noise,new place and most importantly how she would sleep.

Before we left I wrote and rewrote numerous lists of baby related items that we HAD to take and then some extras that I just wanted to take and well I’m not going to lie to you there was a lot but panic not I am here to tell you what we used and needed so you and your baba can relax and enjoy.

Absolute essentials:

Ear defenders: we bought Edz kids ones from Amazon which Izzy loved wearing
Wet wipes – think of how many you normally use in that space of time and maybe double it.
Nappies- as above..you never know when an explosive poop day will occur
Food-if your baby is really young then foodie items may be limited so take more than you will need
Kettle- for sterilising,heating food and equally important cups of caffeine(for you of course not baby)
Blankets and warm clothes- tents get very cold in the night and also handy for sprawling on grass
Suncream- no explanation really needed here..even in the UK an unexpected ray of sun will shine
Rain covers- its the UK there will probably be rain
A few toys and comforters
Calpol- this wondrous potion saved us on a night of extreme teething
Bibs and many clothes- Izzy had about 3 changes a day on average
Sling or baby carrier- we used the Hippychick mostly as she’s getting fairly big!

Now the things which aren’t essential but really handy if you have the space:

A travel cot- this means you get some uninterrupted sleep (hopefully
Baby walker or ride along car etc -It helped us relax and enjoy the festival a lot and they can’t move too fast due to the grass 😉 if you can fit it in its a real bonus.
Toys- the more the better really
Stroller type buggy- I spoke to more than 1 parent who didn’t take one to save space and regretted it. Izzy napped in hers and sat in it to eat.

I hope the list above helps you but please ask if you have any questions.

This is the first family festival we have been to with Izzy but we would like to do more possibly Camp Bestival next year and of course Blissfields again for sure. I’m not sure of the set up of other festivals but at Blissfields there is a huge area devoted to young children and babies called Angel gardens this is really fab, there are tents to chill out, toilets just for children, special cafes and you can even bathe your baby there. This year there was a circus theme and Izzy enjoyed it so much!

When the music got a little loud we put on her ear defenders and she didn’t even attempt to take them off which was great, she loved sitting on mine or her dads shoulders and bopping about to the music. I think she will become hooked on festivals as she gets older.

Izzys (my) highlights of the festival were : King Charles, Dub Pistols, Subgiant and an amazing kids band which I cannot remember the name of!

Many more pics to come but here is Izzy on day 1 of Blissfields 2012.

* just for the record she slept incredibly well. 3 naps a day and long nighttime slumber. In fact if I wasn’t on unpaid maternity leave I would book into every family festival this summer.