Going to the beach.......getting nervous!

My husband is going to be out of town for a couple of nights so I thought it would be the perfect time to go on a short vacation with my family. It will be my sister, her husband, two kids and my Mom. We have reserved a hotel suite that has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a living room. It is about two blocks from the beach and we'll be staying two nights. I'm really excited but now that the trip is coming near I'm starting to get nervous. So I'm hoping someone has some experience and can give me some words of encouragement and possibly advice!

Is it possible to really take them on the beach? I know that sounds silly but I'm just starting to worry about keeping track of them on a crowded beach? What toys/gadgets did you take to keep them safe, happy?

We've never taken them into a pool yet (other than a kiddie pool) so I'm not sure what kind of flotation device is best? Did you have your kids where anything while on the beach?

Any other tips for dining out, naps, or just in general to make the trip enjoyable for everyone!

 

How exciting!! I get nervous now over any trips with the kids Our best and really our only fun trips have been when we travel with my parents because we love having the extra adult around to assist. We live near the beach and have had fun beach outings with friends. The key is that you need to have one adult per baby, for my active kids at least. We bring toys but at this point they're more interested in just playing in the sand, finding shells, and going in the water. Sometimes they like using the shovels. It's nice to have an umbrella for shade, but most likely you won't be sitting down much. I bought the type of bathing suit that is a rash guard on top (like a tshirt made out of bathing suit material) and shorts on the bottom for my boy and girl for sun protection. And they always wear hats (they don't have a ton of hair so I worry about their heads getting burned). You may want sandals but that's not a huge need IMO. We always bring a big jug of water to rinse them off with before we get into the car, but you probably won't need this since you're staying so close, you'll be walking. We use disposable swim diapers for the beach so we don't have to clean them or cart them home.

My daughter loves the water no matter how big the waves and runs straight in, whereas my son is afraid if there are any waves at all, but they both love the beach! I'm sure your kids will have a great time. I've never used a flotation device at the beach. We just walk in with them holding their hands, up to their knees or waists or however far in they want to go.

I wish I had good advice for naps but mine never nap well on vacation. We always bring 2 pack n plays and they usually cry a while before falling asleep. We brought white noise so we didn't have to be really quiet while they were sleeping. Do you have the kiddopotamus table mats for eating out? They are rubbery and suction onto tables, very nice for dining out. Where are you going? Maybe someone in the area will have more tips for you

Have fun!

 

I think you will have a blast!
We went (me, the 3 kiddos and our sitter/surrogate grandma) when mine were 1 year 11 months
1 twin was freaked out by the sand so just sat with someone or played on a blanket for the first day or so. She then decided it was pretty fun and collected shells and played in the sand. Would only go near the waves if I held her.
Her twin bro loved the sand but also didn't want any part of the waves.

My boys have bright yellow and navy swimsuits and it was so easy to spot them. Only time I could see one might be lost was my little boy was watching a kite and just kept walking after it, otherwise they were really good about staying with us.

Bring some sand toys, trucks, buckets, shovels. We used water shoes. Baby powder is a must to get the sand off, works great! Some people bring an infatalbe baby pool to fill with water and let them splash around.

We ate lunch out but made dinner at the house, would highly rec if you have a kitchen. They were so worn out by evening I would not want to deal with a restaraunt. If you do go out for dinner I would try to have family order and you guys walk around until food arrives if they are cranky.

Just remember to bring any noise machine, night lights etc you use at home. My DS had no problem sleeping, my DD did not like sleeping somewhere else so I would hold her until she fell asleep and then in the middle of the night she would wake up and end up in bed with me,ugh!

Have a great time!!

 

Mine were just hitting a year so they were a lot easier to keep track of then yours, but I can give you a few tips. Having extra hands is great. The hardest thing for me was changing diapers because I couldn't be with them both at once so I was lucky to have someone else there to watch the other one!

We used those big baby floats with the leg holes when we took them into the ocean. I'm not sure if yours would like them, but they say they can be used up to 5 years, 40 lbs. Mine kept falling asleep in them, though, (they'd splash around and giggle and then all of a sudden their little eyes would get heavy from the rocking!) so a lot of the time we just carried them in. I know Walmart also sells bathing suits with built in life vests.

They LOVED playing in the sand, so I highly recommend shovels and little sand rakes. I also brought a baby pool to set up under an umbrella so they could play in that some of the time, and I put a few of their favorite bath toys and some boats in that.

Believe it or not, mine napped on the beach. We're still doing 2 naps so I usually let them nap in the morning before we went to the beach so they's be happy, then I fed them lunch right on the beach, kept them up playing for a few hours longer than I would let them at home, and by the time I put them back into the stroller, they were rubbing their eyes. My stroller is a SBS that reclines all the way back so I pulled it under an umbrella and they slept so well listening to the sounds of the ocean!

I agree about bringing a noise machine if you have one. Mine used to use one, but we stopped. I brought it when we went to the beach and they slept very well. When we just took them on this last trip, I forgot to pack it and it was hard to get them to relax at bedtime. Luckily I had their new SweetPea3 player (an mp3 player for kids) so I just set that to play some lullabies and it helped.

Put the sunblock on BEFORE you leave the hotel because it's so much harder on the beach. Bring lots of easy snacks and water. I had cover ups for them, but ended up using those thin baby towels with the hoods instead. I never really used them for baths, but they worked well to wrap them up after I dried them off. Hope some of that helps you! Have a fun trip

 

Thanks everyone for some really great tips! I feel alot better! Someone earlier asked where we are going - Rehoboth Beach, DE. I grew up going to this beach with my family so I am excited to make new memories with my children.

I do have one quick question....for those of you who suggested a baby pool...did you fill it with fresh water or just water from the ocean? I just know mine like to splash and I can just see them hating the salty water!! But how the heck would you fill it with fresh water? Although I am just remembering that there are water spouts at the top of each of the stairs that come down to the beach. I guess you could just run a couple of pails of water down to the pool.

Thanks again everyone!

 

I live minutes from some great beaches so I take my girls all the time. If you are spending a lot of time there, consider bringing an umbrella or cabana for some shade. I got a bunch of sand toys at Walmart and the girls could spend HOURS digging and burying my feet I let them go in the shallow water, but the one time we were at the ocean and it was really rough I was happy my DH was there because I wouldn't have been comfortable dealing with both by myself. I don't put flotation devices on them to splash in the shallow water, but if you are going to bring them in, it might be a good idea to have it.

As for general trip advice, my biggest advice is go with the flow. Naps might not be like what they are when they are home. Eating might be off too, but just enjoy the time and know that you can get back on track when you get back from your trip! ENJOY!!!

Oh and bring some water shoes for you and the kiddos (protect those tootsies from hot sand!).

 

We just filled it with the salt water. They splashed like crazy, but didn't seem to mind. DS actually liked the taste of it...he kept dipping his toys and then licking them :bad: so I had to make sure to watch that he didn't drink it, lol. My nieces came, too, so it ws their job to run back and forth with buckets to fill the baby pool.

Beach/water shoes are a great suggestion that I wish I had thought of. The sand was brutal so I had tons of blankets and neat sheets spread around so they had an area to walk without getting scorched!