Bringing Babies to the Beach…How To Pack and Prepare
This is a post that I intend on looking back on EVERY time we pack for a beach trip! From what baby gear worked, to our mistakes that we learned from, I am sharing our experience with you! This post contains information to make going to the beach with littles, as easy and enjoyable as possible. It also contains a complete packing list of what to bring in your beach bag!
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links. If you should choose to purchase a product through one of my links, I will make a small profit and you will be supporting my blog 🙂
Keep in mind, this post is not about what to bring on a road trip. That is for another post that I have started (and will finish soon!) This write up is on beach related items only.
So we decided to take a trip to Murrells Inlet, SC with our 2 year old daughter and our 9 month old son. With our daily experiences of barely keeping up with our children, we decided to make the trip a short and sweet one, with 4 days total, 1 day driving there, 2 days at the beach, and 1 day driving back. We figured that we would be completely exhausted with trying to keep up with them that we would be ready to come home.
FIRST MISTAKE!
With all of the packing I did, we were SO WELL PREPARED that we 100% should have stayed 1 more day. It was a lot of work to pack for two kids, along with the beach items, that it was WAY too short and I felt like we only got a “glimpse” of the beach.
SECOND MISTAKE!
Our second day was also cut short because the so-called “tear-free” sunscreen that we used on our daughter’s face got in her eyes when she got splashed by a wave of water, causing her poor eyes to burn and swell. We only got to spend 2.5 hours on the beach that day, and when you only have two days at the beach anyway, there isn’t a ton of time to enjoy it.
Moral of the story, book your vacation for at least 3 full days at the beach, and use stick sunscreen on your babies’ faces! [I very inconveniently found out when we got home, that my mom gave us stick sunscreen that was in our diaper bag the whole time. We live and we learn.]
Ok, so onto what worked really well for us!
1. Summer Infant Pop N’ Play Outdoor Play Yard
The Summer Infant Pop N’ Play outdoor play yard with the half canopy was absolutely a perfect necessity! Any baby that is mobile is hard to maintain! Especially when all they want to do is eat sand! And I wanted an area that was essentially sand free and cool with shade whenever he went down for his nap. It was super easy to carry, super easy to set up, and super easy to get sand out of. It was a life saver to say the least.
To set up, simply take it out of the bag, push open all of the sides, and snap on the canopy. That’s it! When sand happens to get in the floor, just give it a good shake and it will exit through the mesh walls. We used the half canopy, which I liked because it seemed more “open,” but either size [full or half] would work fine. The full size has a zipper opening to make entrance easy. With the half canopy, as the sun moved, I would just re-position the canopy by snapping it off and back on.
As a mom of two, I know how precious any amount of time to myself is, and by having a place to put my child, that I knew was safe, and I could keep an eye on from a short distance, is worth gold!
And, unpredictably, at the beginning of our trip, my 2 year old was absolutely terrified of the beach! So go figure, she wanted to be in the pop n’ play! We got plenty of use out of it! Haha!
You can purchase the playard and the canopy on the links below!
2. Baby Trend Jogger Stroller
So I’m not a fan about having every baby item that was ever made, but if you have the option of getting this stroller, I recommend it for all things outdoors. This three wheeled stroller comes in at around $80 and helped a TON when we wheeled our way through the sand to our final destination. We could drape our bags over the handlebars and not feel like we were bringing the whole house with us to the beach!
You can check out the Baby Trend Jogger Stroller at the link below!
3. Pop-up Beach Tent and Baby Pool
So you remember when I mentioned that all babies want to do is eat sand? This pop-up tent was perfect to help prevent that and let him still play in the water and be shielded from the sun! It carries in circular flat bag, and as soon as you take it out, it pops up! There are pouches on all four sides to fill with sand to prevent it from flying away, and then fill with water! Our son had so much fun in this. The back has a mesh window to keep a breeze going through it. It’s a brilliant invention and super easy to bring!
You can check it out at the link below!
4. Pop-Up Beach Canopy and Sun Shelter
Very similar to the previous product, this beach canopy is carried in a flat circular bag and immediately pops up when opened. It provided us with some shade and some privacy, especially since I am still nursing. I was able to sit in the tent while I nursed my 9 month old and be in the shade. It was a really nice set-up! We will definitely be using this many more times in the future!
Complete List of What to Pack in your Beach Bag!
Finally, here is a complete list of all of the things to pack in your beach bag! I hope this is helpful!
- Baby Powder: this will get off any residual sand that is sticking to you or your babies
- Diapers
- Wipes
- Bathtub toys: These worked great at entertaining the baby while in the playard and in the baby beach pool
- Plastic baby toys: anything that is easy to wash off is good to put in the playard
- 3 Empty Grocery Bags: good for wet bathing suits and trash
- Empty gallon sized Ziploc bags: good for keeping cell phones and cameras in, things that don’t agree with sand!
- Liquid Sunscreen: My mom has done a ton of research on safe sunscreens that are free of toxins, and Garden Goddess takes the win! Available in baby and everyday.
- Stick Sunscreen: Goddess Garden stick sunscreen
- Beach toys: shovels and buckets
- Large Mesh Bag: great for carrying those beach shovels and buckets!
- Baby hats and sunglasses!
- Beach towels
- Bed sheet
- Cooler
- Koozie 🙂 Check out this super cute Mama Bear Koozie!
I hope you enjoyed this post and it helps you pack for the beach! Did I forget anything? I’d love to hear what you bring to the beach!
Happy home sweet home!
Love, Brittany
