Advice needed - traveling to the beach with a baby

[RebeccaT]

[X-post, also on New Moms thread]

Ok, so I need some advice about traveling to the beach with a baby. We are taking a family vacation in early May to the Gulf coast of Florida... any recommendations for making this a fun trip and not a vacation we need another vacation to recover from? Is this actually going to be relaxing? We are renting a lovely 2-bedroom condo, so we'll have access to a kitchen and are just a short walk to the beach and to the resort pools. I am worried about what I don't know or haven't thought about... any pearls of wisdom to share?

A little more info about our trip - we are flying to Atlanta, and then renting a car to drive down (there's a reason for this - my dad's wedding celebration is the weekend after our week in FL and is in ATL). So we unfortunately have both hassles to deal with - flying with a 10-month-old and then driving almost 7 hours. We will be able to bring my dad's pack-n-play and booster seat with us, but we'll have the ability to rent some other equipment while we're there. Because we're flying, we won't be able to bring a lot of the toys and other distractions with us. We'll be there for a week in Rosemary Beach, which is sort of one of those planned communities with lots of bike trails and little commercial development. The facilities are beautiful, and have just about everything I can imagine us wanting to do while we're there... but I have no idea what we'll be able to do with a little one.

Are we crazy? Reading back over this, it sounds like we are.


TIA!

[BarbaraL]

My first thought was sun protection for the baby - a beach umbrella, hat and lots of sunscreen. Those little ones sunburn quickly!

How old is the baby? That will determine the kinds of activities you can do. You'll wind up doing things for short periods of time - the baby will need to be fed and to nap. Perhaps the resort has baby sitting services that you can use part of the time? You are likely to have a wonderful time, just a different type of vacation then you had pre-baby. Good luck!

[RebeccaT]

She'll be 10 months old. I just bought 2 sunhats at Target that claim to be SPF 50, and I have Water Babies SPF 40 sunblock for her. Good call about beach umbrella, though I imagine we'll be on the beach more in the AM and late afternoon to avoid the really hot sun.

[Hoodone]

We took our DD's to the beach last summer when the younger was about 10 months. Unfortunately, she wanted to eat the sand. Just thought I'd warn you about that! Maybe on a good, big towel under an umbrella she'll be okay. You might want to get her one of those swim suits that are like onesies with arms and legs. Do you know what I'm talking about? Not a great description, but it will save on the sunscreen which is difficult to get on little ones. Also a good sun hat with a band under the chin so it's difficult for little hands to remove. Also, if you want to take her into the water, one of those life vests. We had some friends that just went to Mexico with above gear and had a great time.

[krhm]

I think it's definitely doable, but I don't know how relaxed you will be at the end of the trip! But I'm sure your goal is just to relax and enjoy time together, and it sounds like the beach house will be perfect for that.

Have you flown with her yet? If possible, try to schedule the flight during a regular nap time if she's a good car sleeper. My youngest DD would sleep anywhere, and scheduling things around naptime helped a lot. If you have room, I'd suggest keeping an extra change of clothes for both of you (not in the diaper bag but in a carryon). I say this from experience! I also take a ziploc baggie with ibuprofen, etc, for the kids and us whenever we travel.

Do you have a little DVD player? I really resisted buying one of these, but they are truly wonderful on long trips. My youngest daughter used to love those Baby Einstein DVDs. A little player doesn't take up too much space and could come in handy for both the car and the plane.

Another thing that we learned about traveling with a baby was to keep the schedule as consistent as possible as well as the types of food eaten. Tired babies with tummy trouble are not conducive to a relaxing time!

I wouldn't mess with too many toys at this age anyway, but I would definitely recommend a little kiddie pool. You can buy an inflatable one for about 10-15 dollars and keep fresh water in it, not the nasty public kiddie pool water. And at 10 months, she'd probably try to eat more of the sand than play with it, but a little pool will keep her entertained. You could move it to the beach easily or keep it up by the condo while you and DH sit next to her drinking pina coladas!

[krhm]

One thought about the umbrella...rather than buying one when you get there, see if the resort rents umbrellas by the week.

[BucknellAlum]

You should invest in a sun safe swimsuit. A t shirt just doesn't do it and even though they are kind of pricey, she can wear it every day. Coolibar.com and sunprecautions.com offer some choices like this:

http://www.coolibar.com/03817.html

Forgive the preaching, but we have a lot of melanoma in our family so we know how important prevention is.

Otherwise, I am sure your days will be similar to those at home. She'll probably take a nap and then one of you can lounge on the beach and one can stay back in the room with her. She will probably love the pool, and perhaps even going out to some early meals in a casual restaurant.

Keep in mind that things like tupperware, plastic spoons, and so forth can be considered toys for her and hopefully your unit will have them available!

[RebeccaT]

oooh, the DVD player is a great idea. She loves Baby Einstein. DH's laptop plays DVDs... I wonder if we could use that? Although she would probably destroy the keyboard... That's a great thought, I'll work on it.

BucknellAlum, great thought about the tupperware! She totally thinks those are toys, along with measuring cups and spoons and similar. And thanks for the SPF swimwear warning. I will be getting her one of those (the One Step Ahead catlog has a lot of options, and target even had some with SPF!), to wear along with her hat (SPF 50).

[Grace]

I don't have kids, but I did do a trip once with a friend and her (then) 1 year old baby to Sanibel Island (just the three of us). The one thing I remember vividly was that we had her in the stroller for our long walks along the beach, and the wind on the beach caused sand to blow up into her eyes. So we had to rig a way to cover the stroller (with a towel), and I think sunglasses would have helped too (although I don't know if a baby would keep sunglasses on and not pull them off). Otherwise, we had a great time. It wasn't really a hassle at all except I felt like a pack mule - that baby needed so much darned stuff that I ended up schlepping! :D

[jellyben]

We went to the beach for a week when my middle was 11mos old-it was one of the best vacations we have had!! We rented a house, so we were able to cook meals there(kids and restaurants don't always mix!) and he could nap there while someone stayed at the beach with my older son, or we could all be at the house and he could still be sleeping in a bedroom.

As far as entertainment, you can probably buy some cheap beach toys for her to play with when you get there. When traveling with kids(we have 3 now), I set my expectations low and am generally pleased at how well they do.

Have fun!

[Beth H]

I went to the beach last year with my sister and her then 13-month old. He wasn't quite walking yet, and he got really sandy all over (from crawling in the sand). Just be prepared that your child may be a little apprehensive at first - my nephew was. I think my sister thought he'd immediately react with joy at seeing the beach and ocean. After a day or so, though, he really liked digging in the sand and having the water touch his feet. He actually liked the pools better, though. Maybe when you arrive you can go to a Wal-mart or Target and buy a cheapy pool floater and a sand bucket/pail?

It was a relaxing vacation for my sister and her DH - resort-area restaurants tend to be casual, and since we were in a condo we fixed some meals in, too. They traded off a bit with him so that the adults could do some fun things too. I definitely think it was more relaxing for them as parents than a trip I took later in the year with in-laws (and under age 2 children) to Disney World.

[Gumbeaux]

I often see families with very young kids use a beach shelter like the one shown below. It will keep the kids from getting overexposure to the sun as well as keep them from getting sand all over them. It also will protect them from getting sand in their eyes. The thing folds up to be a little larger than an umbrella.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y7/bayoutitan/Second%20Album/tent.jpg

[kermit]

We just spent a week in FL in March with our 7 month old and 2 1/2 year old. It was GREAT and you can definitely do it and have fun!! You got lots of great advice already - just wanted to add what we did/observed --

-- I bought some beach toys when we got there -- a cheap bucket and shovels for sand castles. Although baby didn't necessarily use these tools, it gave us something to "do" with her while sitting on the beach

-- Bring water to the beach with you -- we just used a sport top bottle to keep baby hydrated.

-- Once you get over the yuckiness of sand sand sand everywhere it's fun to let baby play on the beach. Hopefully she will not be afraid of the sand. Our baby loved running her hands through it. Yes she ate some, but after a few mouthfuls she learned not to. She got some in her eyes too :(. To keep her confined we just dug a hole for her to stand in. She loved being able to stand in her hole and play with her hands in the sand. Not sure if your baby will be able to climb out of the hole though since she's a few months older.

-- We fortunately had an umbrella and baby just took her nap on the beach when it wasn't too hot (in her stoller, in the shade of the umbrella).

Our baby slept wonderfully during our vacation as she got lots of activity that she doesn't normally get -- hopefully your little one will do the same :)

Good luck & have fun!

[mommycook]

Bring some baby powder to the beach with you. When the baby gets all sandy, apply some baby powder and it will brush right off. Also keep a bottle of water handy to rinse out sand from her eyes.

Have fun....sounds like a nice trip!

[Aubergine]

you've gotten some good advice already. i have travelled by plane with a babe that age, and have also done beach. i'm surprised no one has offered plane travel tips; for me it was easy, b/c i nursed. i'm hoping you know that babies can suffer the air pressure/ear canal change more than adults, which is why nursing (bottle or mom) is important during air pressure changes. i mean, haven't you ever travelled and needed to do the squeeze nose, then blow, to ease the pressure in your ears?

in terms of travelling without the toys...heavens, 10-mo-olds are so easily amused, or at least, they used to be. when mine where that age, crawling and cruising (pulling themselves up), their favorite things were stuff like simple kitchen items. possibly because i was in the kitchen a lot, but don't underestimate the value of simple things.

one solid thing i'd like to suggest: a couple of familiar, soothing musical tapes. it's a great help during transitions; if you play it daily, when baby is in unfamilar places, s/he will have comfort in that.

in terms of the beach, lol, rotsa ruck. at that age, eveything goes in the mouth. of course, one must provide sunscreen and shade, but would that it were so simple. still, you'll figure it out as it goes.

--->almost forgot! perhaps most imp't: enlist a "mother's helper" to relieve some (a lot) of your stress. might be a family member, could be a capable young person 12-ish that they know. it will help to take a lot of stress off you, although initially you might think you're babysitting the sitter. after a day or three, it will all feel easier, that there's someone to pick up the slack with the little one so that you can give more att'n to the family affair, etc.

[cchhbb]

Rebecca, There is a company that rents baby equipment down in the Destin area. We rented a crib from them last year. It was great. She delivered it and even set it up for us. You can also get things like high chairs, exersaucers, and rocking chairs. I remember the crib was about $50 for the week. The company was called The Crib Connection.

I think 10 months is a great age to go to the beach. We took DS1 when he was 11 months and just beginning to walk. We went to the beach in the late afternoons and spent a lot of time in the pool. There is a lot of shopping just down the road in Destin and you can find anything you need there. At each place we've rented, there have always been sand toys in the house closet. A baby float won't take up much room in your suitcase either.

We found it easiest to leave really early in the morning when driving to the beach. That way the kids slept for a good part of the drive and we were able to miss traffic.

Cheryl

[imloulou]

Rebecca,
I live about an hour and a half away down the coast from Rosemary Beach. You are going to have a blast!

My kids grew up going to the beach (editing to say: My kids are only 8 and 10 but have been going to the beach since they were babies ;) )! You got a bunch of great suggestions above. I would also suggest bringing some water just for rinsing off. Sand will get EVERYWHERE! Even with a blanket and towel...your baby will scrunch up the blanket and reach the sand...water to pour (that is not salty) will help a lot.

Your baby will eat sand. I kinda freaked the first time my kids grabbed a bunch and stuck their hand in their mouth but then realized that what I hated about sand was the grinding sand in the teeth that you can't get rid of...my kids did not seem to mind the sand...but they HAD NO TEETH! :D

Bring shelter, water, sunscreen and extra towels. It sounds like you are staying close to the water so it will be real easy to go back for anything you forgot.

The biggest tip I have is to be flexible. You will be there a week. If your baby is crabby go back to the house, get you an outside chair, let him/her take a nap inside while you put your feet up and read a book right outside. It is going to be better to do short periods of time on the beach anyway or you will get all burnt on the first day and not want to go back out the next day! Also...the salt water is sticky...rinsing your baby off in fresh water will make all the difference. There are usually freshwater showers at all the main beaches.

Here are a few pics to get ya excited...Rosemary Beach is the same sand and water (these pics are the kids from when we went to Pensacola Beach last week):

http://a8.cpimg.com/image/8C/A9/57049228-31d7-02000180-.jpg

http://a5.cpimg.com/image/97/B2/57049495-51a2-01800200-.jpg

Have a GREAT TIME!!!!! (If I think of anything else I will post it ;) )

[LakeMartinGal]

--->almost forgot! perhaps most imp't: enlist a "mother's helper" to relieve some (a lot) of your stress. might be a family member, could be a capable young person 12-ish that they know. it will help to take a lot of stress off you, although initially you might think you're babysitting the sitter. after a day or three, it will all feel easier, that there's someone to pick up the slack with the little one so that you can give more att'n to the family affair, etc.
I totally agree with this... we took a trip to a beach when the youngest was a rugrat (she's 28, now) and took one of her babysitters with us! Not much extra cost, and worth every penny (well, ours was 15, and we had to chaperone her on the beach :( ). I know you can't probably fly one of your regular sitters down, but maybe there's a favorite cousin or something in Atlanta that you could take? Otherwise, check out Red Cross registered sitters with the resort... ;)

[clairea]

I've been taking my kids to the beach since they were about 3 months old, and you have been given all the practical tips I can think of. We always went down early in the morning, came back to play, lunch, nap, etc., went back down to the beach in the late afternoon, then bath, dinner, bed. She will sleep well! As far as the mother's helper, I think that is a really personal thing. I know a lot of people think it is the best thing ever, but I tried it once and really hated having an "outside" person -- I tend to really value private time and space and this just didn't work for me. Just something to consider.

Reading back over your post about what you will do with a little one, I think it will just be a very different sort of vacation, but still wonderful. You can't lay on the beach all day, but you can put her in a stroller and explore fun places, go to neat restaurants for lunch, etc. Maybe there is a pretty place to take a picnic. When the kids were little I found that except for going to the beach in the morning and late afternoon, we still did a lot of the same things we did at home (but it was still nice and "vacation-y"), because DH was with us, there weren't all the chores that usually are pressing at home, etc.).

[zippy478]

I have flown many times with DS on both short and long trips. I agree with the others that you don't need a lot of toys to entertain on the plane. I'm not sure how long your flight is but DS loved the stuff in the seat back pocket and pretty much ignored his toys. Maybe just plan on taking some soft books that she can play with.

Oh, and the last time we flew, I asked the Dr. about the air pressure and he recommended a dose of Tylenol or Motrin before takeoff to help with the pain associated with it.

Are you buying a seat for her? Regardless of flying time, I recommend it at this age - it will give you a break from holding her and a chance to just rest. It is very very difficult to hold a squirmy baby on your lap for a flight - especially if they are tired or just generally fussy. It will make any feedings easier, too. I have traveled by myself with DS for an hour and a half flight and even that was enough to make me almost tear my hair out - they just want to get down and explore and it gets tough to hold them back at that age. Plus, having the car seat on the plane will make it easier once you rent the car. I know lots of companies have car seats available but you won't have to play any guessing games as far as whether they will have one for you or not.

As for the drive, we drove 10 hours with DS when he was just under a year old and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. He slept and played a lot. We had more toys for him but he mostly just looked around. But, he is also a good traveler in the car so I think that made a little bit of difference.

Have a great trip!

[hollysmom]

If you have one of those Pack and Play - portacrib things - I would shlep that with you on the trip. It makes a great playpen and sleeping place - and it is HERS - so she should feel more comfortable there - especially if you can use it in the house now to get used to it - mine slept in ours for the first 3-4 months because it had a bassinet attachment.

Panama City isn't that far from Rosemary Beach and there is a ton of stuff to do there...

Ditto on getting her a seat on the plane. They will sleep on the plane in the car seat that they are used to and NOT want to get out all the time. Go at nap time and fill her up with formula and you should have a quiet flight.

It feels stressful now, but will improve once you are on the plane. We recently spent two days non-reving (flying free, but standby) back from our Spring Break trip - I had a broken leg AND we spent a night in the Los Angeles airport. Scott and I were crankier than the kids (8 and 3) were.

SSM

[Becky13347]

You have gotten some great advice. I agree with those who have recommended a shelter. We live near the beach in West Michigan and our shelter has been a lifesaver for all of us. Ours is from "One Step Ahead" and is the family size one. It is SPF 50 and large enough for 3 or 4 of us to fit under it. We are a family of 5 with kids ages 8, 5, and 3. It folds up easily into a circle about 18 in in diameter and comes with a carry bag that is like a back pack. It has allowed us the pleasure of staying at the beach all day and avoiding the "I'm tired of the sun" complaints because you can lay down in the shade right where you are.

It cost about $70 or $80 and is worth every cent I spent. There is a small version for baby but it looks like it would only fit a baby and the larger size allows you all to sit under it to rest or eat. I see us using this shelter always, not just for our kids. My dad loves it since he has skin cancers on his head and it allows him to enjoy the beach with no worries. You can order it from their website and it arrives fairly quickly.

Have a wonderful vacation!

[RunnerKim]

Thanks for the specific review Becky. I've seen similar tent type things used here on the NW beaches. I think I might just order it. Have to decide if its worth the extra $10 to have it for this weekends day trip. I hate paying shipping, let alone extra. :rolleyes: My kids wear the "wet suit" style clothing from One Step Ahead at the beach and it's great.

Kim

[RebeccaT]

Oh, this is the best thread! Thank you so much for ALL of your responses! I am planning to print this out to take with us, just for the little tidbits (baby powder to help with sand removal? Whoda thunk??!)

I do think that we will plan to hire a baby sitter for at least one or two of the nights we are there. As nice as having a helper would be, I don't know that this is the year for it (not to mention the fact that my sweet cousin in Atlanta, who is 14, will still be in school, and I am not flying someone else down with us from Houston!) But we do want at least a little bit of private time (and time where we can be out past 8:00!)

I will look in to a shelter, and I know that we can rent an umbrella for the week. I don't know that we'll want to be on the beach all day, every day... we wouldn't even do that if it were just the two of us. So a shelter might be overkill for the 2-3 hours a day that we'll be down there.

I am travelling with Julia on my lap (I'm going to ATL early to spend time with my family, then DH is flying to ATL and we're driving down). I know it won't be as easy as it was when she was 5.5 months old, but she's not crawling yet (though anything could happen in then next 2 weeks!) so maybe it won't be so bad. She's generally pretty good in a lap, and we have an aisle seat so I can let her stand on the floor a little holding onto my seat. With any luck, the center seat will be open and I can bring her carseat on the plane; otherwise, we'll gate-check it (but we're definitely bringing it!)

Cheryl, thank you SO much for that referral to the rental place! The one thing I was lamenting was that we would be without and exersaucer... she LOVES hers! If we could rent one, that would be great! We'll be taking my dad's pack and play and his booster in the car, so we won't need to rent those.

Kermit, that's s great idea about digging a hole for her to stand in! She LOVES to stand (but isn't cruising yet, though again, anything can happen in the next 2 weeks).

imloulou, thank you so much for those fabulous pictures! You're making me excited (which is good, since yesterday I was freaking out!)

Thanks so much to everyone, and if you have any more ideas I'd love to hear them!

[momqat]

Great advice from all the previous posters -- the only thing i would add is that my DD just bought a pair of these (http://www.onestepahead.com/product/50180/438758/117.html) for my DGS, who is 6 months old. They are great! Kind of like goggles, so they would be very helpful on the beach to keep sand (and sandy hands!) out of little eyes. They are very flexible and soft and DGS didn't even seem to notice he was wearing them.

[hollysmom]

I saw one of those beach shelters at Sams Club yesterday for around 30 bucks. Must cheaper than the mail order places.

SSM

[olchik]

I'm sure You'll be good - you foresee a lot!!! Have a great time!!!

[ellielk]

My granddaughter had a swim ring with a sling/seat so she could dangle her legs in the water. We used it in the pool and ocean and she loved it.

I found some here: http://www.thepooltoystore.com/eshop/site_frame.htm

Select Baby floats and swim diapers from the pull down menu and click on Get Category. They have a bunch.

[breadmama]

You've gotten so many great suggestions! I thought I'd add another -I don't think anyone mentioned a baby carrier. (I was skimming posts - maybe I missed it...)

We used a backpack carrier for our 8 month old on one trip to Florida - at Sanibel it was really helpful when we wanted to walk along the beach and the stroller wasn't working well in the sand! :rolleyes: For a not-yet-cruising baby, the carriers (both sling and backpack) were nice ways for us to have some beach time without getting the baby completely sandy.

A few years later, we found that our sling worked really well for our 11 month old at Disney - he was so comfortable, and both my DH and I were comfortable carrying him that way. That was great for standing in lines, and he often fell asleep that way.

If you can stand another piece of baby gear, I'd vote for one of those - it was cuddly, and a good way to keep a hand or two free for a while.

Have a great trip! :)