Living Aboard with Baby

[David Mack]

Hi

 

Me and my partner are expecting our first baby any day now, and are also awaiting the delivery of our new 60ft floating home. Id really like to make contact with other boating families who have had or are experiencing life aboard with a baby. Anything to be aware of dispite the obvious water and stove risks that always get brought up. Any advice for cruising and locking with a small one? Im quite confident in living aboard but my partner will be new to it so would be good to hear from others in the same boat, pardon the pun.

 

Alex

 

There was an article in January's Waterways World about boating with children. For £1 you can download the article from

here. The author's blog entitled "The Real Life of a Narrowboat Wife - Living on a narrowboat, following dreams" is here.

[Coots Forever]

Hello,

 

Really interesting post and some great advice.

 

We are at a similar stage, and making a really tough choice about whether to stay on our widebeam or move back to land closer to my parents and our home town.

 

After swinging back and to with the decision - We have just put the boat on the market, thinking that if he sells we'll be very sad to leave, but closer to family & friends, And if he doesn't sell we'll have a boat baby!

 

Having thought it through and read your posts, I really think it would be fine, there are lots of benefits.

 

But my only question that someone might be able to help me with is heating. It would be our first baby, so not really an expert, and I read a few books about keeping a constant temperature for a new born above 18 degrees ??? We have a cracking stove and some diesel radiators, and for us, even in the depths of -14 in freezing January we are fine, with extra layers and thick pjs. How do other people find this with children?, Is the very cold weather a problem for babies? Any tips?

 

Boatman Al, I wish you all the very best and congratulations, it is such a lovely way of life. and if we end up being boat parents too, I'll be in touch!

 

Sarah x

[trampyjoe]

 

But my only question that someone might be able to help me with is heating. It would be our first baby, so not really an expert, and I read a few books about keeping a constant temperature for a new born above 18 degrees ??? We have a cracking stove and some diesel radiators, and for us, even in the depths of -14 in freezing January we are fine, with extra layers and thick pjs. How do other people find this with children?, Is the very cold weather a problem for babies? Any tips?

 

The advice is to have their temperature between 16 and 18 degrees. Although we're not on a boat (yet) we do have problems with our heating - i.e. it doesn't bloody work - we managed to keep our baby comfy at night using sleeping bags (one thin one for warm nights and a thick one for cold nights).

We were worried about how difficult it could be to keep the house warm enough but were reassured by the health visitors who told us that if she was too cold she'd let us know but not to let her get too hot (one of the main causes of cot death is overheating).

[Arthur Brown]

Babies survived before central heating! Yes you have to keep the child warm with layers, no you don't have to keep the whole boat hot.

 

Most people over 50 would have grown up as babies in unheated bedrooms!