Beach Trip-Help!

MommaHen1984

So we are taking our first family vacation this summer to the beach. DS will be about 19 mos when we go. I'll be honest. I have no idea what to take for a toddler for the beach/hotel. I mean obviously I got his swimsuit and a bunch of sand toys and the regular necessities.  But what shoes should he wear on the beach? And since our hotel has a pool, is he too young for the swimmy wings or should I get him a baby raft? I'm also debating on where he should sleep in the hotel. We have a pack and play but I don't know how comfortable that will be sleeping? I feel like that episode of Full House where Jesse and Rebecca take the twins for their first outing and pack their entire room!

mb314

I would get some water shoes for him, or something like crocs, for the beach. 

I personally don't like swimmy wings for kids because I think it gives the parents a false sense of security.  When you're in the pool with the toddler, you should hold them at all times. 

Will you be doing any boat trips or anything like that?  You could get a life jacket for your DS.  I'm not sure if many boats would be equipped with a life jacket in his size.  That also would be good to have if you guys go into the ocean at all. 

In terms of the pack-n-play, we've traveled with DS many times with a pack and play.  He sleeps just as well in it as he does in his crib (which is to say, not well, ha ha - but my DS is a terrible sleeper no matter where he is).  You could place a towel between the mattress and the sheet to make the mattress a little softer. 

I would also pack indoor toys for when you're hanging out in the hotel.  And of course sun block, a sun hat, a "rash guard" shirt, umbrella for the beach (unless your hotel provides these).

Have fun! 

JENandJEH

Both of my boys have slept in a PnP at the beach (DS1 when he was younger until he was around 3 and DS2 still when we travel) and have always slept just as good as in their cribs.  I usually take a quilt and wrap it around the mattress before putting the PnP sheet on to give it a little more cushion.  

Bathing suit (I always put them in rash guards with SPF at the beach), Crocs or water shoes, towel, sand toys, sunscreen, a hat/sunglasses and I always throw baby powder into my beach bag.  It will help get the sand off their skin when you're done...just squirt a little on their legs/feet and rub it off.  

I don't know if your child is big enough but we used Puddle Jumpers for DS1 and will use them for DS2 most likely.  We let them spend plenty of time just in our arms with nothing on but there were times that I put the Puddle Jumpers on DS1 and he loved having a little freedom (we stick close by and didn't take our eyes off him but he loved spinning and floating and "swimming" over to us).  Any time he was out of the pool and walking around, he had to have them on even if we were right next to him.  They can be quick and I knew if he decided to bolt, at least if he bolted to the pool he would bob back up.  

As for the hotel room, take a few smaller toys to play with in there but my boys are always just fascinated with the room itself that they rarely play with toys.  It's amazing to me how they can entertain themselves in just the room with only a few matchbox cars or blocks.  

Eastie156

I would call the hotel and request a portacrib for your room. I think most hotels have them. As far as stuff for the beach; bucket/shovel, sunscreen, a ball, a couple of bathing suits, crocs, sunglasses and a couple hats.

hollygb22

a good beach tent..that was pretty essential for us for some shade last year. We had a Genji one we bought off of amazon..it folded up easy and having both sides that could unzip was handy..it allowed it to not get super hot.

We travel with our PNP if we are driving. We bought a 3" mattress for it off of amazon as well. DD sleeps horribly on the cheap cardboard pad that comes with it. The mattress cost us maybe $20-$30 and I cant imagine her using it without it.

 

 

jnnfrrose6

We just got back from the beach with our 19 month old and I asked a similar question.  Here's the link for the great responses I got back:

https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/12304074/stms-help-please-nbr-trip-to-the-beach-with-a-toddler#latest

I found most of the tips helpful, especially the baby powder one.  I agree with PP here about remembering inside toys, too.  We ended up having pretty poor weather for most of the week, so that ended up being essential (we only made it to the beach 3 days for no more than a few hours or less each day).  DS had no problems sleeping in his PNP, either.  We just made sure he had his lovey and that we had his noise machine.

smileybabyboy

We have a pack and play cushion or mattress made especially for it we use when DS is sleeping in it.  Probably not needed, but pack and plays seem so hard and uncomfortable.

LSU628

Not sure where you are going to the beach, but we always bring a big pop up tent for shade for all of us. The beach in FL gets crazy hot in the summer. I usually also buy a cheap inflatible pool that I put under the tent for the LOs to play in. DD spent hours just climbing in and out of the pool and entertaining herself. It was a lifesaver b/c the waves can be too rough for me to feel comfortable letting our LOs play in the water. I also bring a cheap queen size sheet to put under the tent so we have some place to sit out of the sand. I used to bring chairs down to the beach, but when chasing LOs I never get to sit in my chair anyway, so it's just one more thing to drag down to the beach and back.

BabyHope2013

We went to the beach with DS in florida when he was about 15 months old. We made sure to have two swim suits---in case one was still wet when we decided to go back out to the beach or pool. Water shoes were a life saver, because the beach we were at was super shelly. We used a porta crib when we went and DS slept great in it during the trip. I only packed enough diapers for what I would need to travel with---then we had a rental car and I bought diapers for the week once we got there. Saved a lot of valuable real estate in our suitcases. I would recommend bringing swim diapers with you--when we got there two stores were sold out of the size DS needed already. We also bought sand pails and shovels down there when we got there too. Again saved space in my bags. We brought along some toys for DS to play with---but he was kept fairly busy and didn't get too bored since all the surroundings were unfamiliar to him. 

JENandJEH

If you're leaning toward a tent like some have suggested for the beach, check the ordinances for the beach you're going to.  Some don't allow tents, only umbrellas.  We've always just had an umbrella and had no problems keeping him under the umbrella if he needed shade.  Neither of my boys like to sit still though so even if we set their beach toys up under the umbrella, they're maniacs who are all over the place and that's usually out of the shade.