If you were wondering how you could combine your two favorite things—your new baby and your love of hiking/camping/boating— then Jennifer Aist’s ‘Babes in the Woods’ might just be the book for you.

Getting all of the essentials out of the way in the first chapter (clothing, food, sleeping, etc), Aist moves on to the really fun stuff in later chapters, like backpacking with babies and activities around camp. And I love the no-fail recipes section with classic camping goodies like oatmeal and dried fruit,  trail mix and breakfast burritos (okay, so maybe breakfast burritos aren’t the first thing I think of when camping, but it still sounds delicious to me). And with helpful portion sizes and notes, as well as which type of trip the meal would be best served on, it’s hard to go wrong.

If camping with your newborn isn’t your thing, the fun facts sprinkled throughout the book are enough to keep me entertained. For example, did you know that DEET was originally developed by the Army during World War II?  Or that once opossum babies are too big for their mom’s pouch, they climb onto her back, where she continues to carry them until they are too big?

Well now you know!

Bis bald, friends!