Baby/Toddler Beach Essentials

You know how it’s hard to leave the house when you have a baby or a toddler? Going to the store or over to someone’s house seems like the hardest task because you have to load up a diaper bag, filled with wipes, diapers, extra clothes in case the clothes that they’re wearing gets dirty(which it always will), snacks, bottles, milk, toys to keep them busy, medicine in case they get sick, hand sanitizer, extra snacks….basically, you have to load up your entire life.

Now, imagine taking your little one on a family trip, especially to the beach. HA! I know what you’re thinking, it’s impossible, BUT I did it twice in the span of four months. We went first for a summer family getaway in July and then back again in October for our wedding, both times to Cancun.
The first time we went, we packed everything we could think of, but the second time we went, we just took the things we knew we needed and left all the unnecessary baggage(emotionally because it was stressful the first time around) at home in Mansfield.

I’ve rounded up my honest to God, best recommendations for you mamas and papas and caretakers, because you don’t need to go through the unnecessary stress that we did the first trip we took. I’m also including Amazon links so you can look up the items and get them shipped to your door and not have to load up that screaming toddler into the carseat just to have to unload them quick for this stuff and then load them back into the carseat, all while they’re kicking and screaming(nope? just my kid?).

I like to be transparent, so I want to let you know that I am an Amazon affiliate and a very very VERY small percentage of anything purchased through the links comes back to me.

1. My hands down favorite thing that I bought from Amazon was this clip on, rechargeable fan.

   Now, when you get yours, make sure its a clip on, because you’ll be able to clip it onto your stroller, chair, or even one of those cute beach cover tents for babies. If your a smarty pants, you’ll even get yourself a little spray bottle to spray down that little chubby baby of yours. It’s hot out there, and life with thick thighs is tough(trust me, I know), so keep that baby cool. Buy it here.

2. SUNSCREEN, sunhat, and basically sun protection.

So, we all know the danger the sun ray’s can cause. But did you know that the sun is more harmful to your baby? Their skin is more sensitive and vulnerable. We used a few methods during our first trip that we definitely repeated on our second trip because for one your baby’s safety is most important, and two, they don’t know how to tell you that they have a sunburn. Prevent all that mess. We got our little mama this cute sun hat that stayed on even if the wind blew. It has a really comfortable elastic that helps keep it on their little heads, as well as a drawstring. We bought a blue one, but they have almost any color to match their little outfits.

We also got her a sunshade floatie(amazon has the one below for only $15, we paid way more than that when I bought ours!!) which we still use to this day and of course sunscreen. I added another option below for a sunhat, this white one is also drawstring, but I’m not sure if it has the elastic around the head.

3. These awesome and adorably designed reusable swim diapers.

If you’ve never tried out reusables, you’d be pretty much on the same boat as I was on before using these. First trip to the beach that we took, we bought a whole pack of throw away diapers to take. They took up a lot of room in our luggage and although I DO recommend having some of those on hand, I would suggest not taking the whole package of swim diapers with you because theres such a thing as re-usable swim diapers! Okay, so I know what you’re thinking “what if my baby poops in the diaper?” Yes, it might/would/will happen, but thats why you take the disposable swim diapers along. My kid is on a regular schedule, so I can pretty much time out when she will go. She will wear the disposable diaper until she goes early on in the day, and after that I put her into the reusable swim diaper. It’s more comfortable for her because it helps prevent diaper rash and won’t expand in the pool…. and honestly a way cuter look for her to rock.

4. Ziploc baggies and food containers.

These are at the top of my list for many reasons: For your wet clothes, keeping food safe, storing away the seashells that your toddler finds in the sand, and most importantly organizing that beach/diaper bag. We stayed at a resort for the two times that we went, so everything was within arms reach, but there were times that I wanted to take a banana and some yogurt with for little mama. Having them stored away in our beach bag made it easy so that I wouldn’t have to walk back to the resort’s restaurant, and having our wet clothes in a separate bag prevented our wet clothes from touching our dry stuff. Get the disposable baggies here, or if you are eco conscious, get some re-usable baggies here! My friends Two Chicks and a Baby shared that they use reusable baggies, and I’m already on board! Get some washable takeaway containers here.

5. Water shoes for little feet!

I don’t know why, but standing water is one of the grossest things to me. Its pretty up there along with gross things, and I’ve grown used to changing diapers….. Stepping out of the pool to stand your pruny feet into standing water is just a big NO for me. So, I wanted to make sure that we had some foot protection for Celeste. We bought her the cutest and smallest water shoes that I’ve ever seen and her feet were happy and clean, so I was happy. Just make sure you take them off when they are out of the water and chilling on your lap so that their little toes can breathe!

6. A compact beach blanket!

This was one of the things I didn’t get to buy, but I WISH we could have gotten before our beach trips. I ended up using a scarf for most of these reasons, but honestly a foldable and light blanket would have been a million times better because they dry super fast.

You can use them for laying it down on the sand or for the floor around the pool-where there isn’t any standing water, please, I cringe!!! Another thing you can use it for, is for extra shade!! As the sunlight moves, you don’t want to have to pack up your things to move to a more shaded spot, or if your little one is taking a nap, you’ll be able to drape this over an area for them to be completely covered and protected from the sun.

The really cool thing about this is that it folds up to a small compact bag, so you can just throw it under your stroller or put it into your bag!

7. A compact and easy to roll umbrella stroller.

So we’re not big on strollers. I would baby wear most of our daughter’s infancy, but we bought an umbrella stroller since we were going to be traveling with her and it made me so happy that we got her something to roll her or our beach bag along the resort or town we were visiting. This is where I discovered the joy of being able to put our bags into the bottom hanging basket and our drinks in the cup holders of the stroller. We lost our first stroller at the airport on the way back, but we recently bought another one because it was so helpful to have.

8. Beach bag AND a waterproof phone case.

I think these are pretty basic things to get, BUT it’s always the basic things that we forget to get. Make sure that you get yourself a sturdy beach bag that you won’t mind getting sand inside of and get yourself a waterproof phone case. You’re going to want to take pictures of your children in the water, when they are in their floats or when they’re attempting their first cannonball, and the first thing you’re going to think is “Dang it, I wish I had a waterproof phone case!” Friends, they DO sell them at the resort/beach/town that you’re going to, but I promise you they will be overpriced by at least 50%. Do yourself a favor and order yours here, because it’ll be one less thing to worry about.

9. Those were my top essentials. Other than a swimsuit, which is a given, and a beach towel. If you want to explore more essentials that you should probably take with you on your summer vacay, here’s a full list of things that I recommend you take with you!

So, if you made it to the bottom of this list and didn’t see your favorite thing to take to the beach that is a MUST have, please tell me what you would take with you below! I want to know and if I get a ton of amazing suggestions, I’ll revise this list!