Like I said in my post about flying with a baby, Raylee had her first trip to Florida recently. That means she also had her first visit to the beach. Just like I was nervous about the airplane ride, I was also nervous about the beach visit. Taking baby to the beach seemed a little overwhelming. I imagined us carrying a thousand items out there and coming back covered in sand. I wasn’t sure it would be all that fun.
But thankfully, it was a success! Raylee loved the beach. She loved feeling the sand in her hands, and she only tried to eat it once. It was very fun getting to watch her examine everything. Plus, she looked so dang cute in her swimsuit and beach hat.
I was thankful that the beach was not crowded at all. We were there in the off-season and I had never seen the beach so empty. It was awesome! Plus, it was nice because I could easily breastfeed right there on the beach without feeling uncomfortable. We didn’t need a ton of beach items, even though we took a lot of them. There were really two main things that I would recommend you take with you when taking baby to the beach.
Two Items You Need for Taking Baby to the Beach
I had seen advertisements of this sand mat, and I wondered if it really worked. When we found out we were going to the beach and I pictured all the sand covering every inch of my little one, handfuls going into her mouth — I decided this was worth a shot! To my happy surprise, it worked! The sand falls right through the tiny holes in the mat. We laid this down and put our beach towels over it. Keep in mind, it is not a soft blanket. It is made of durable mesh, so it’s great for laying a comfortable blanket or beach towel on top.
A lot of people told me to take baby powder, and I’m so glad I did. When you or baby are covered in sand, just sprinkle baby powder on and wipe everything off. The sand really does come right off!
Here is a list of the other items we took:
- Umbrella
- Umbrella Anchor (This thing worked great!)
- Beach towels
- Toys
- Snacks
- Water
- Sunscreen
- Sunglasses
- Baby hat
And some awesome ideas for our next trip to the beach:
- This adorable baby beach chair! Comes in pink or blue.
- This collapsible wagon so we don’t have to carry so much (plus I’ve heard it’s great to let baby nap in!) We are probably going to need this for any and all travel as time goes on!
Is there anything else you recommend bringing to the beach when you have a baby? Any tips?