Taking Baby to the Beach!

Not sure if you thought of this or not but hope it helps. In your diaper bag pack several large zip lock like bags for wet clothes to go in, dirty diapers, etc. That way you won't have to make a lot of trips to the trash and everything in the bag will stay dry, like the clothes to change him into when you are done splashing in the water! Another place you may find hints in a parenting magazine website like parents or parenting. They keep lots of previous articles on archives.

This won't allow me to attach a document, so I'll just paste the list I used when [acking for a previous ski trip... I hope it helps!

white noise machine
nasal aspirator
sippy cups
baby monitor
crib sheet
toothbrush
toothpaste
baby wash
baby lotion
aquaphor
fuzzy blankets
phone charger
pillow case
Baby Gate
diapers
swim diapers
super food
ski clothes
overnite diapers
wet wipes
formula
extra shoes
swim suits
masking tape
duct tape

Carry-On
kleenex
diapers
wipes
sippy cups
formula
snacks
medicine dispensor
medicine
books
toys
STROLLER
finger puppets
bottle warmer
extra clothes
Print Ticket
hand wipes
hand sanitizer
stickers
suckers

We took our daughter to the beach when she was only 11 months old. Here's a website that rents out baby stuff.
http://www.babysaway.com/locations.html

To save on suitcase space, only pack what you need for the trip ( plus factor a little extra in case you're delayed). You can go to Publix or Target or something when you get there for diapers, wipes, food, etc. I packed an insulated lunchbox with a lunchable and fruit cup etc, for her for the trip there, as well as other snacks and formula. Portable DVD players are great too! We didn't have one for our first trip, but we've used it since and it's awesome!

For the beach, get a small blow up pool, dig a hole in the sand and fill it up. Your baby will get a thrill out of being in the water, but you'll feel less anxious and you can relax nearby. Also, for the sand that gets stuck everywhere, rub baby powder on it and it slides right off.

I can't think of anything else.

HTH!!

K.,

Good luck at the beach. I suggest that you do bring an umbrella stroller for transport in and out of the airport. Take it all the way to the gate and ask for a gate check once you are there. I also suggest that you take a bottle for your little one the sucking action helps their little ears with the changes air pressure and possibly some children's Benadryl. My doctor suggested using it to encourage the little one to sleep during the flight and it worked for us. We took our son Ryan for his first trip when he was 10 months and he slept the whole flight with no problems at all. Oh yeah - overnight diapers. I would not bother with a wet diaper change. I would only change in the event of a dirty diaper emergency. I hope this helps!

Baby Einstein DVDs and a DVD player does wonders on the plane. Remember to feed your baby upon take-off and descent, as this alleviates ear pressure aches. Sunscreen, a hat, and a floatee for the beach.

Hi K.,

My 2 year old started his travels with Seattle at 10 wks, Tennessee at 6 mos. He's now 2 yrs old has been on an airplane 3 more times including Cancun at 22 mos. The key to all our travels is look up a supermarket/Target/Walmart address in advance and stock up after we get to our destination. Just packing diapers for 5 days can take up half a suitcase.

We also ask for a room with "honor bar" refrigerator or request a rental mini frig when making our reservations. I'm sure you're aware that hotels also have cribs by request but do it early since inventory is low.

Another step that has helped the air travel go by more smoothly is taking a couple new books or toys. (Mini board books or, now that my son's older, paperback books are easy to throw in a carry on bag.) The "newness" of a toy always seems to hold our little guy's attention longer.

Remember to always have your son drink something during take off and landing to help aid ear pressure but don't be surprised if he gets an earache. Your pediatrician will tell you that is common with air travel.

Now that our son is older we have him help us plan the "airplane picnic". Since we have found that morning flights are the easiest for him, we pack bagels, raisins, cheese slices, apple slices, etc and have a healthy meal or snack without having to rely on the airlines anymore. By the way, on my last trip home from Florida, only one drink service was offered and NO snack.

Lastly, I promise, we now take our travel DVD player on every trip. It definitely helps to have Pooh or Wiggles get him through an hour of travel. It's so hard when they're toddlers to make them understand that they have to wear a seatbelt for 2-3 hours and be polite the entire time.

Have a great trip & good luck!

If you are renting a car and your child is still in an infant carrier, be sure to take the base with you to fit into the car. Or, if your child is not in a child seat, tell the agency you want a rental care with a child seat. Most of them have child seats available to put in any rental car.

For the plane ride, take something for your child to chew or suck on during take-off and landint so his/her ears won't pop too much. Take stuff to keep him/her occupied during the plane ride. If they like to watch Disney videos, rent or buy a personal DVD player and that should do the trick.

Haven't been to the beach yet with my little ones so can't recommend anything there.

Have fun!

Baby has been on flights with us a few times. Make sure you have a full bottle/cup/breast for takeoff and landing, to help with the ear pressure.

The aisle may be preferable, since you will have to take her to be changed.

If he's teething, you can always bring a litlle washcloth and ask for ice water to dip it in.

You may feel more comfortable if you take disinfectant wipes with you for the bathroom.

For the beach, a hat with a strap, some water diapers you can find at Babies R Us, and Avon makes a good repellent/sunblock that's safe for the whole family (can't recall the brand though.)

Hope that helps a little.

My daughter was going to be 2 months old when she first flew. She didn't cry once! What I did do, is take her to her Pedi a week before we left and he gave me the o.k. to go. The only thing that I could think of that might have bothered her prior to flight was her ears, so I had him make sure she had no ear infections and such.Your own Pedi will prob., give you advice or answer any questions that you may have though. I was told to have her drink her milk if she were to start crying. We stayed by South Padre Island before moving to Dallas, and my daughter was about 4 or 5 months when we took her to the beach. One thing that I recommend is that you keep wipes with you and do use those little swimmers. I wouldn't recommend taking a jogging stroller, or the standard stroller if you don't plan on walking very far. To avoid packing them because they are so bulky, you can go out & get the little $10 ones, those are the most ideal. Or you can get it once there. Also, I don't know if you plan to take the baby into the water, but if you do, take something warm, the water isn't so warm this time of year. Take cleansers for the eye that your Pedi recommends, just in case it's windy and sand gets in the babys eye. Hope that helped you some.

Hi,
We have flown with our two toddlers- 2 1/2 and 1 1/2 several times since they were just babies.
We usually rent car seats from the car rental company and request a crib from the hotel where we are staying.
For the plane ride, I packed some new books and small toys that they hadn't seen before. We also love Color Wonder markers.
We packed our own diapers for the week, and then had extra room in our suitcase for gifts or souvenirs on the way home.
We did buy beach toys- shovels and pails at the beach, just because I thought they might break or crack on the flight.
Aside from that, hats and a lightweight long-sleeved shirt in case it gets too hot and sunny.
Don't know if you are still nursing or not, but I always brought our bottle warmer to use in the room. That way I didn't have to rely on room service or the restaurant to heat up formula.
It is a LOT of work to travel with a baby to the beach! But it is so worth it to see how excited they are to see the water and the sand!
Have a great time!
J.

HI,
We flew with my 15 month old to Hawaii. His favorite thing...and I am not kidding, was a SpongeBob Toothbrush I gave him witht he wrapping with it. Took him awhile to get into it and then he played with it forever. We took our stroller, and back carrier just in case. Don't bother with a car seat if you are renting a car. They have them there.

We are going to the beach in Florida on Sunday. We go every year. I hope this helps.

As for flight advice, hopefully plan flight time around nap and a little benedryl might help. Also plan to nurse or bottle during take off & departure. Pacifier also works. Keeps them swollowing and eases the ears.

Beach stuff - walk up and down beach, often there is a lost/found (near trash or guard areas), pick up sand toys there for FREE! We have even gotten beach chairs. As for baby supplies, we have purchased a highchair for a week long stay before. Look at salvage stores in town, we got ours for $10. For $10 you can just leave it at the hotel/condo or take if back to donate. Also, check with your hotel/condo before you go, they often rent cribs (and highchairs). But we just used the pack-n-play. If you plan to rent, of course, take your own bedding for the little one.

Hope this helps,
A. in Valley Ranch
Mother of 3 y.o. boy and expecting.

Hi K. we travel to the beach all the time my kids first trips they were only a few months old. We also travel to sannibel and Marcos alot there are some great seashore rental supplly places there that will provide cribs high chairs baby gates wagons umbrellas etc strollers really whatever big item you need- there is a wonderful car seat/stroller combo the wheels pop out of the bottom of the car seat and the handle retracts down the back of the seat- I used that to reduce equipment on the airplane and rental car and everywhere like that they are 200 new but you can normally get them on ebay cheaper. My kids are out of strollers but I gave it to my girlfriend and I will ask her the brand you can buy it at the right start I think. Are you renting a house or hotel if hotel contact the concierege they can give you the name of rental companies or your real estate agent will have one. You call and order what you want ahead of time and they deliver it the day you check in and pick it up after you leave so no hassle. Specify you want a full size crib they are sturdier and nicer and maybe get the name of 2 rental places and call them both and compare prices. I can find who we used we were in marcos last summer but the summer before sannibel. The best advice I can give you is we took an umbrella and a blow up bath tub and blew it up at the beach and filled it with water and then set our kids in it under the umbrella and gave them sand and toys to play with in shade while they sat in the water so they would be occupied and we could spend more time without them getting too much sun exposure they loved it worked out great easy to clean and it is inflatable. They sell them at target for like 5 bucks. If I think of anything else I will email. Good luck.

We just got back from traveling to Hawaii with our 8 month old. We were very fortunate because she behaved really well. Have a bottle/pacifier ready (if your not breast-feeding) to feed her during take-off and landing. The sucking motion helps their ears. Also, I fed her during the flight when my ears began to hurt. Be sure to take plenty of diapers and 2 changes of clothes for the baby and a change of clothes for yourself. Our baby peed on my husbands shorts right before the flight and he had nothing else to change into. If you didn't purchase a seat for the baby,you can still seat the baby in the car seat if there is nobody sitting next to you. On our flight back my husband and I chose confirmed seats with an empty middle seat between us. We strapped her in for take off and gave her the bottle. She later became fussy and my husband rocked her to sleep. He layed her back down in the carseat and that really helped us out alot. My daughter really like the veggie puffs by Gerber and it was easy to feed on the plane. For the beach, be sure to buy the baby sunscreen. Also, get the hat that ties around their head. My daughters hat kept flying off. If you think of any specific questions, feel free to send me an email. I was pretty nervous about our daughter being on the plane for 8 hours so I know how you feel. have a great trip!

K.,
We took my daughter to the beach when she was 5mos and 15mos. I tried not to put her in the sun too much during the day. In the evenings I would put her in her stroller (I bought a cheapy at Walmart so if the salt water damaged it then it was no big deal) and walked on the beach I also let her sit in the water and play with the sand and waves rolling up(she really didn't like the waves). In July when she was 15mos she actually got in the water in the evenings with my husband (I didn't take her out in the day..it was too hot and the sun was absolutely brutal for little ones so we did our sight seeing and shopping during the day)and we also did the stroller rides, she liked both. Take some baby powder with you, it is great to take sand off of babies skin without irritating it.
For the flight if you son takes a pacifier have him suck on it while your taking off and landing also drinking a bottle or eating a snack helps, it helps their ears to pop when changing altitudes. Also, my pediatrician recommended a little dose of tylenol before the flight this is for their ears, my son did o.k. both with and without. Take a wide variety of books, maybe some crayons and a variety of snacks. Don't worry about the people around you...chances are your son will be upset at some time or even loud. Just try to keep your wits. Have fun!