Beach With Babes

So last summer I attempted something crazy: I took not one, but two under-twos to the beach.

Crazy, I know. But I did it.

Luckily I had the help of my awesome parents, but it was still relatively stressful (Baby #2 was only about three months old).

We were accompanied by my nephews, ages six and two.

Point of this post is, it took a lot of preparation to take my two youngin's to the beach. Hot, dirty, sandy and wet. Not a good combination.

So here is my packing list:

1) Beach bag. Big enough to keep all of your stuff, or as much as you can. Looking back, the bag I took was terrible. It was soft-sided and the straps were thin and awkward to carry. Next time, something that at least has a shape and with real straps.

2) Cooler bag. Stock this with juice boxes, bottles, water, snacks, and a whole mess of freezer packs. Keep the "dry" snacks (chips, pretzels, etc.) in a separate bag, in solid Tupperware-esque containers to prevent crushing.

3) Beach chairs. Just do it. Trust me. One per person if possible or you will sit on the ground while your toddler sits their wet, sandy butt on your chair. So yeah... just do it.

4) Towels. Now, in my opinion, you can't have too many of these. I under-packed and suffered the consequences. Bring one per person, and at least one extra. If you plan on having wet bums in the car, bring an extra towel per bum.

5) A big old blanket you don't mind getting dirty and wet. This is for playing, lounging, changing diapers on, etc. Don't skip this one. I did but luckily my parents are smarter than me and brought one.

6) Sunscreen. Apply this before leaving and after every hour or when your kids get in the water. I am a little paranoid because my children are basically albino and burn like its their job. So yes, sunscreen of as high an SPF as you can find. I think we use 80 right now and it is amazing. I love it. Also, don't forget to put some on yourself. I did. Whoops/ow/please never again.

7) Sunglasses. A pair for each adult, and a pair for each child you can convince to keep them on. The kind that have an elastic that goes around the baby's head would be best. I will invest in a pair for next summer.

8) A change of clothes. At least one per person. You don't want to wear your wet swimsuit for the rest of the day. It feels so nice to dry off and put on a nice, clean, dry shirt.

9) Sun hats. Pretty self-explanatory. Get the ones with the straps for the kidlets. Also don't bring a nice hat... it WILL end up in the water at some point.

10) Diapers. Bring both swim diapers and regular ones. My advice is to keep the regular diapers in a big Ziploc bag. I didn't the first time and they ended up soggy. I have no idea how this even happened, but it did. Beaches are wet. Protect your diapers.

11) Sunshade. DO. NOT. SKIP. THIS. ONE. Whether it is an umbrella, a fancy-pants gazebo or a beach tent, please don't skip this. Especially with a young baby. The hot sun is brutal and being able to hide out in the shade is a wonderful thing.

12) Empty grocery/small garbage bags. For trash, diapers, wet clothes, swimsuits, etc. These are awesome to have. It keeps the wet stuff separate from the dry, and the dirty separate from the clean.

13) Soothers. No explanation required hopefully.

14) Baby flotation device. Not a necessity, but it was great for my almost-two-year-old. She was able to "swim" with the big kids, instead of just wading in the ankle-deep water.

15) Book for mom. You won't be reading, but sometimes its nice to pretend, right?

16) Camera. For taking all those cute pictures that will sit in a file on your computer until you stumble upon them five years from now.

17) Sand toys. Again, not necessary, but Baby #1 loved collecting rocks and shells in her bucket and using the bucket to collect water to dump on cousins. Good times were had by all.

18) Nap stuff. This is mostly for the younger ones. I used a soft-sided baby bath as a mini-bassinet, and it worked wonderfully. You can use a car seat or one of those fancy baby-tents or whatever you have that you think will work. A thin blanket to cover baby is great; I recommend a muslin-type blanket.

TIPS:
- Go early, before it gets too hot. The beach will be less busy and the temperature will be a bit lower. I recommend late morning, before the heat is too unbearable.
- Use beach bag and cooler to keep the corners of your blanket down, in case of strong winds or, in my particular scenario, a clumsy toddler.
- Don't let toddlers in the water alone. Always have an adult with them.
- Bring more water than you think you will need. Make sure to get the youngin's to drink often.
- Try to go with other people with kids. Baby #1 loved playing in the water with her cousins.
- Have a packed lunch/dinner or make plans as to where you will eat. Everyone will be hungry after a long day of playing in the sun.
- Be cautious of how hot is. You don't want to deal with a baby with heat rash, or worse, having a baby with sun stroke. It is not pleasant.
- Try to relax and enjoy yourself. Nothing is more unpleasant than a stressed-out mom (or dad).