16 Essentials for Beach Day with Your Babies

I’m still having flashbacks to our first beach vacation to Destin, Florida with the twins when they were only 7.5 months old… The teal blue waters, the sound of the waves crashing, the sand between the babies’ toes, the chilled spicy margarita I sipped on in the breezy sunshine... Oh, wait, that last part didn’t happen! (#TwinMomProblems) Since we lived to tell you about the marathon of a drive it took to get there in my other blog post, it only seemed appropriate to also share some insight about our first time on the beach with our kids. 

Here are my top 16 items that I love/found useful/highly recommend for a day at the beach with your baby/babies:

1.     Inflatable baby pool

On day 1 of our trip, we introduced the babies to the sand. They LOVED IT. They also loved to get it everywhere. We bought an inflatable baby pool for the beach for multiple reasons:

• Helps keep kids contained and less sandy

• Helps keep kids cool (if you put water in it)

• You control the level of water (as opposed to the big ocean wave that might wash your babies away)

• Good alternative for fun on a rainy day (which happened to us so we used it under a porch at the beach house)

You can buy a similar Intex inflatable kiddie pool like ours on Amazon by clicking the link below:

Another option to consider if you only have one baby, or a baby that can’t sit up yet, would be to bring your infant tub and fill it with water down on the beach!

2.     Sunscreen with SPF 30

This one is super important! We use VERY highly-rated and safe one for babies called Adorable Baby by Loving Naturals. Neither baby had any reactions to it, no strong odors, and nobody got sunburned! Highly recommend. By the way, if you want to learn more about infant sun safety, take a look at my other post Choosing The Right Sunscreen For Your Babies and Kids.

3.     Brimmed sun hats

Don’t forget to protect those precious scalps and faces! Without much hair and with fair skin, babies are incredibly susceptible to burns.

4.     UPF 50+swimsuits

Many (but not all) baby swim suit brands have UPF 50 built into their swim wear. By the way, UPF stands for Ultraviolet Protection Factor and basically measures the amount of UV radiation that penetrates the fabric and reaches the skin. Anything with UPF 50+ is ideal. Here are some affordable and cute UPF 50 baby swimsuits:

5.     Beach toys

While the twins were completely fascinated by watching all of the other children playing on the beach, they also enjoyed digging around in the sand with each other. We brought a shovel and bucket for each baby, a beach ball, and colorful rings to the beach. Any bath toys should work just fine, too. If you're looking for an affordable variety pack that can also be used in the future, though, here is one to consider:

6.     Yikes Twins Hooded Towels

I just can’t get enough of these towels!! Unicorns, alligators, giraffes, and so many other precious options. We own several of these. My top reasons for loving these are:

• the hood protects baby’s head from the sun

• the towel is thick and absorbs water well

• doubles as a beach towel and bath towel

• they’re ADORABLE and FUN!!

You can actually purchase them at www.yikestwins.com and get 20% off your order with the code “twinsidescoop” at checkout!

7.    Over-sized beach towel or bed sheet

Not only will you want a towel to dry the babies off (such as the one I mentioned above), but you also might consider an over-sized beach towel for the babies to crawl on without having to crawl in hot sand. A bedsheet is another good alternative for this.

8. Baggie with extra pacifiers

We learned this one REALLY fast. My daughter was having so much fun that she started laughing and her pacifier fell straight down into the sand. Naturally, she picked it right back up and put it in her mouth, sand and all. We didn’t have extras down on the beach at the time, so I had to use the water left in my water bottle to clean it off the best I could. It would have been more convenient to have a fresh one ready for her!

9.    Cooler with pre-made bottles to feed on beach

Obviously, babies can get dehydrated quickly in the sun and heat. That said, we brought a small cooler with pre-made bottles to keep them hydrated. They LOVED the cold formula while we were out there on the beach (usually they hate cold bottles at home!).

10.    Swim diapers and diaper wipes

I had never heard of swim diapers until about 2 months ago. The way swim diapers were explained to me was this: they prevent poops from floating away. Haha! Essentially, this type of diaper is different from a normal one in that it just doesn’t absorb liquid and it doesn't swell, making it perfect to be submerged into water.

11.    Plastic bags for trash/dirty diapers

12.    Hand wipes/sanitizer

13.    Shade

You can achieve this in a couple of ways, such as a baby beach tent or placing the kids under a good ol’ beach umbrella. 

14.     Baby powder to remove sand without irritation

What a great lifehack!! Also, the powder that has aloe vera and vitamin E in it (pictured) can soothe skin after being out in the sun.

15.    Munchkin click lock food pouch spoon tips

These are a perfect, no-mess solution for having snacks ready to go. You can just keep these in your cooler and pop them out whenever it's time to eat.

16.    Change of clothes

If you’re getting in a car after your beach day and ocean fun, it’s not a bad idea to bring a change of clothes for the kids. That way nobody has to uncomfortably sit in a wet swim suit on the ride back.

Side note: If you're going to have your baby/children in direct sunlight for any reason, it's best to avoid the hours of 10AM-4PM as this is when the UV rays are the strongest and can be the most damaging to their skin. Early mornings or late afternoons are the safest.

Now go enjoy your beach vacay!! :)