First beach trip coming up

So, in August, we are going to the Oregon coast for a few days. This is our first trip out there with the beebs. We only live an hour away so we normally go to the coast a few times a year at least. Anyhow, the beebs are just now starting to walk...hoping they will be better walkers and crawling less by then, but only time will tell.

It is not super hot at the Oregon coast, usually. But I am concerned with sun...even if it is overcast the beebs could get too much sun. We will definitely use sun protection on them, of course, but should we take a beach umbrella or a beach cabana/tent type thing? We are going to be lugging so much stuff with us already that we would like to keep it relatively simple. Also we will be going down to the beach for like a hour or so at a time, max, I would think. Several times a day (we take our dog to play ball) rather than one long stretch of time, so we would want something simple to put down and take up.

So, those of you that live near the beach or have visited the beach with your kids...is a beach umbrella or tent something we will want/need? Or will we find it more hassle than it is worth?

Anyone take their one year olds to the beach? Do I need to worry about them eating sand? Will they play with buckets and shovels or are they too young? Any good ideas of things to bring with? (they won't be in the water, the Oregon ocean is WAY too cold).

Thanks for any insight...

 

I took mine to the beach last year at age 1 and they HATED the beach. They didn't move off the blanket the whole time and screamed if you moved them to the sand or water. We haven't tried this year yet. I think dd would be ok ds probably not so much lol. If they like the beach and are mobile then I say you won't need an umbrella b/c they aren't going to sit still and either are you. But you just don't know. I hope you have a great time at the beach with your little ones.

 

we went last year (and will be going again this saturday) when the boys were 10 months old. Neither were walking. They both sat on blankets and played with the sand (yes they tried eating it) and used shovels and watering cans. We went with a large group so we had one of those tents but we also went at 11 and came back to the house around 3-4 so it was worth putting up the tent. IF you only go for short amount of time I would suggest those pop up mini tents for the kids.

 

We took the boys to the beach for a few weeks in May (they were 13 months and not walking yet) and while they weren't all that excited about it, it wasn't a horrible experience. I found a great pop-up cabana thing on Toys R Us online that could literally be popped up and down with 1 hand...I was amazed. And it was cheap! I'll see if I can find the link. Great item to have. The boys loved playing with buckets of water I hauled back from the ocean and finally figured out that sand is fun only with a shovel. Keep the beach outings short...ours were good for about 45 minutes at a time. Also, keep a clean hand towel in your bag to wipe off your hands and/or their faces...and don't let it hit the sand. An extra bottle of water also in case anyone gets sand in their eyes.

The biggest thrill for our 2 was the stroller on the beach...much happier in the stroller.

I hope you have lots of fun and take some great pics!!!

 

I am so jealous. Two summers ago my DH and I spent nine days driving down the coast of Oregon. Some of the most beautiful country we had ever seen. I commented then that I would love to move to that area of the US.
We just went to Hilton Head in June. The babies didn't really like the beach- but we did take hats, sunscreen and a small pop up tent from One Step Ahead that folded into itself and zipped into a very small, lightweight, round bag with carrying handle. It popped up as soon as you unzipped it and it was very easy to use.

 

Mine LOVED the beach when they were just learning to walk. I don't know anything about west coast beaches, but the best thing we found was to go at low tide. There were lots of tide pools that were only around 6" deep that the kids could play in. The water in the tide pools warmed up, and there were no waves, it was very sandy, and it wasn't too deep so they could even crawl through them.

The same beach at high tide was awful - very rocky, big waves, freezing water.

If your beach is like this, you should be able to look up the tide charts and time your visits accordingly.

Have fun!

Rachel

 

We've gone several times this year so far and my girls LOVE it!!! They've been fine w/ sunscreen (they won't stay under the umbrella). They still take 2 naps - so we'll go in the middle or later in the day (sun's not so strong). One good thing we brought was a little inflatable pool - that we filled up w/ ocean water - they loved crawling in an out. Also, bring some baby powder - it gets sand off of their rears if you need to change a diaper or two.

I would put them on a blanket at first then let them find the sand themselves - I think they'll like it better. My SIL lives at the beach so I've gotten tons of great tips from her - PM me if you have any beach ?s - I feel like a pro now - and it really wears the girls out. They would never leave if they could Good luck!

 

Mine love the beach. We always do sunscreen and hats. If you will be going for less than an hour, I wouldn't mess with the shade. We go for several hours and every hour or so head for some shade and some type of drink and a snack for a little rest. They love to dig in the sand and even wade in the water a bit.

 

QUOTE(gandtmommy @ Jul 27 2008, 10:20 PM) [snapback]899394[/snapback]
Mine love the beach. We always do sunscreen and hats. If you will be going for less than an hour, I wouldn't mess with the shade. We go for several hours and every hour or so head for some shade and some type of drink and a snack for a little rest. They love to dig in the sand and even wade in the water a bit.


We do the same thing. Mine like a pail and a shovel and actually do like the water or running away from it anyway! :lol:

 

If you guys have links to any of the quick and easy pop up tents or shades that you used personally and really liked, that would help! I read the reviews and they seem so hit and miss.

So a pail and shovel would be age appropriate, you think?

 

We just got back from vacation at Lake George in NY, and the twins really enjoyed it. They are 15 months and fully walking. They liked the lake, and stood in up to their knees probably, and bent down and had fun splashing around. They loved playing in the sand and holding the little shovels and rakes, etc. Hailey is my sand eater. Without fail she would hold it up, and then try to get it in her mouth. She was successful more times than I would have liked, but it wasn't a big deal. She mostly didn't like it and spit it back up. Goof balls.

We didn't use a tent. We actually had one, but we mostly just lathered them up good with 50 SPF ... and we were only there for like 2 hours ...

have fun!!