Remember when packing for a beach vacation involved throwing your cutest swimsuits and coverups into a bag and finding a great beach read? You spent your time contemplating whether you wanted rosé or sauv blanc and your biggest nightmare was a bad tan line. Then parenthood happened and a beach vacation became a whole different animal. Amazing and fun in a totally new way, but not without it’s frustrations.

Every time we travel with bb I am amazed by how much stuff a 25 pound child needs. After a few beach vacations with bb, I feel like I have found the happy medium between being totally unprepared and packing WAY too much. This was a beach vacation we had to fly to, so I was forced to limit what I brought to the essentials (which is still an obscene amount of stuff). But I still felt totally prepared. So here’s everything you need (& need to know) before going on a beach trip with your toddler.

Grandparents

I am half kidding…but really. Blake and I both got to sit poolside and enjoy a cocktail while bb played in the pool with her gram and papa and it was glorious. I actually cannot imagine a more perfect vacation than being able to relax while watching your little one have the time of their life in the pool with their biggest fans.

Sunscreen

bb has crazy sensitive and fair skin. We spent the better part of last summer trying to figure out a sunscreen that didn’t give her a rash but still provided adequate coverage/didn’t rinse off after a second in the pool. If you are a mom and try to stick to cleaner products, you have probably already stumbled across Gimme the Good Stuff‘s website. If you haven’t, you must check it out now! She does product guides for formula, sunscreen, shampoo, laundry detergent and even mascara. That’s where we found Babo Botanicals and it is the BEST! We bought both the SPRAY and the STICK. We would cover bb in the spray then add the stick to areas that tend to get burnt (nose, cheeks, hands, etc.) PS- if this is your first time heading to the sun with your little one, apply the sunscreen before you leave the hotel room and before you put the swimsuit on your little one! Poolside or beach sunscreen application is just a recipe for disaster. Same goes for your sunscreen, mama.

 

 

Long sleeve swimsuit

Like I said, we have a crazy fair skinned baby so coverage is key. If we are going to be in the sun for longer than a half hour, I always put her in a long sleeved swimsuit.

 

 

Sunglasses + hat

Here is the deal, all hats are NOT created equal. Here are bb’s preferences. She HATES the under chin strap, so forget those. Some of the big floppy ones catch the wind easily and off they go. The two that work for us are, (1) a wide brimmed baseball cap with elastic back so they stay on and (2) a super stretchy floppy hat that basically suctions to her head.

Floaty

I feel like we have tested them ALL by now. Here is the verdict…the muscle man floaties with the chest strap is the way to go. bb is 22 months and she was swimming alone in the pool with this floaty after about 5 minutes. We’ve also tried: (1) a regular baby life jacket and she can’t keep her balance in that, so skip that one unless you are on a boat and actually need a real life jacket; (2) a baby float with sun canopy: she loved that until about 10 months when she wanted to have more freedom and swim like the “big kids”; (3) a swan inner tube, I am actually not sure what I was thinking when I bought that one, major flop.

 

Beach snacks/water

The key here is no mess and no sand. Snack packs are our jam. Speaking of snacks, make sure you have some wipes to wipe down their little hands before snacktime (but what mama doesn’t have a stock pile of wipes nearby at all times). Don’t forget to hydrate your little ones during a day in the sun. We prefer to bring juice boxes so you can just toss it when you are done. Better than having to rinse sand and grime off your sippy cup.

 

 

Toys

Nothing can ruin a beach day or pool day quicker than a toddler with toy envy. By the end of the trip, we have bought about every pool and beach toy on the market. Here were the greatest hits, (1) a kick board, which bb referred to as her “boogy board” because she heard the big kids call theirs that, (2) toys that sink to the bottom – she was totally fascinated with watching us dive down to the bottom of the pool to pick up her troll dolls (3) bucket and shovel – obviously and (4) balls – the pool ones that can fill with water then be squeezed out. This one is totally unnecessary and didn’t fit in our suitcase on the way back, but we also got her a tiny wagon that she could load all of her toys into for the day and drag around, which was a huge hit.

 

 

Swim Diaper

If your little one is still in diapers, I would recommend packing two swim diapers. We wash them out after a day of swimming and let them dry overnight (when you are in a hotel without access to a washing machine). But sometimes they do not dry entirely overnight and no one likes to put on a wet swimsuit.

 

 

Wet bag

Usually, we strip bb down at the pool before we head home/back to the hotel. So a wet bag is key for the wet swimsuit and swim diaper. Itzy Ritzy makes awesome ones that are machine washable and super cute.

 

 

Robe

So this one is definitely not a necessity, but it works for us. Have you ever tried to put a wet child into fresh clothes? It’s like that scene in Friends when Ross can’t get his leather pants back on. So we always just wrap her in a warm and fuzzy robe post pool day.

 

 

Things we have brought in the past but find unnecessary now:

A baby beach chair: while these are quite possibly the cutest thing, they sit in them for a hot minute then move onto something new, so for a trip when you are limited on space, ditch the chair.

Baby tent: this was 1000% necessary when bb was immobile and we could actually keep her confined to the shade. Now, good luck keeping her inside a shaded tent.

Beach blanket: like I said, good luck keeping your toddler confined to a certain space on the beach. And unless you practice some kind of parent voodoo, you are unlikely to get much time to yourself to sit on said blanket as most of your time will be spent in the sand or water with your little one!

Happy travels with your little one! xoxo