Are you bringing a baby to the beach soon?
If you know me, you know that simply the idea of bringing my baby to the beach was extremely stress-inducing. I was dreading both packing and going to the beach with the baby. Turns out that less is more when it comes to the beach, and we actually ended up having a great time!
Set Expectations
We had to acknowledge that our 6-month-old baby was only going to be able to do short stints at the beach, but we were a little disappointed at how poorly she napped. We thought the sounds of the ocean waves and being snuggled in our arms would put her not to sleep, but for our girl, she was way too distracted and excited to sleep. Unfortunately, this led to a very tired, cranky, and winy baby by the second hour, and I just had to take her back to the room to get in a solid afternoon nap.
Even though we did short stints at the beach, we still had a great time! I share this because we spent a lot more time just strolling around the cute neighborhood where we were staying, spending quality time with friends on our massive screened-in porch, and just enjoying being unplugged from work for a bit!
Every baby is different but just be prepared that it doesn’t matter how amazing the baby beach gear you have is, your baby still might only last 0.2 seconds out there.
Pro Tips
- Swim diaper or regular diaper? Don’t put baby in the swim diaper until the very last minute! They are NOT very absorbent. We usually keep her in a regular diaper for the beach (and have one in the bag if we need it) and save the swim diaper for the pool! Sometimes we’ll put the regular diaper over the swim diaper for the car seat, and then remove the regular diaper before putting her in the pool.
- Swimsuit or clothes? We love these little Beaufort Bonnet bubbles that are cute and beachy, but not a swimsuit. We don’t really feel the need to put her in a swimsuit at the beach, since we don’t really get in the water with her.
Baby Gear for the Beach
In addition to our diaper bag, throwing bottles in the cooler, and our portable bottle warmer, here are some of the other items we liked having at the beach!
Depending on the age of your baby, you might want to bring a few different items.
Tiny babies
You’ll probably bring the infant lounger to the beach house anyway, so why not bring it to the beach? We’ve had great success with her being perched in the infant lounger on a towel. It’s a great little docking station for her to get some rest and hang out under an umbrella. Some great options are the Boppy or Leecho.
For babies that can roll
If your baby can roll, things are a bit trickier at the beach. We opted for what we called her “Beach Yurt,” so she could have a safe place to play with toys in a sand-free place. This Fisher-Price On the Go Dome has toys that dangle, it has a full sunshade that folds up and down, and you can clip the stroller fan on it. It also actually folds up decently small and is easy to transport.
I brought a couple toys and some books for her to play with in the dome and she loved it!
For babies that can crawl
Well, I thought a rolling baby was difficult at the beach… try having a crawler! We loved this Pop Up Super Shade Dome for our 8-month-old baby. We threw some toys in there, and she was contained for the most part. She still wanted to pull up on the sides or crawl through the walls. It mostly stayed sand-free and it was a good shady spot for her.
Good luck with your upcoming trip! 🙂
Tine Murray 