Baby's First Beach Trip
When Remy was just 8 weeks old we took him on his first beach trip! We were headed to Puerto Rico - Dorado Beach, specifically - and I was both relieved and nervous. Relieved because I HAD to get out of the house and feel “back to normal”, whatever that meant now. For us, traveling is a huge part of our life and we didn’t want to completely stop doing what we love once the baby came. So we decided to book a trip to meet my parents in Puerto Rico (travel guide here!) and another trip to Florida to see my in-laws a few weeks later.
Once the trips were booked, I started thinking about packing and the nerves set in. What would we need for the baby? What if he got hot? What if I forgot something? Check out my post on what to bring for baby’s first flight. But this was baby’s first beach trip. We knew we would be on the beach, at the pool, and in over all pretty hot temperatures. So I did a lot of research, per usual, and this is what I ended up buying and bringing with us for baby’s first beach trip. Hopefully this list puts your mind at ease just a little as you put together your own packing list.
And I must say, although there were moments I felt we were crazy for booking this trip with such a little baby, it was totally worth it! As everyone told us, it’s almost easier to take a young baby on a trip - they just go along with whatever mom does. No, it wasn’t as relaxing as our previous beach trips have been (those days are gone for awhile). But it was special time with our little family and with my parents, who encouraged us to sneak out to see the sunset for an hour while they watched the baby. It was a great experience for us all and I’d like to think we are raising a little traveler now :)
Happy traveling!
Check out my post on my favorite Baby Travel Gear for all of the basics we use on road trips, weekend trips, and just getting around in the city!
Landing in Puerto Rico. Remy’s stroller decked out with all of our gear! And an iced coffee, of course.
Our pool & beach set up at the Embassy Suites, Dorado Beach Puerto Rico!
SWIM WEAR
RASH GUARD - We bought the first rash guard listed here (they don’t seem to have the navy stripe available right now) and it worked great! He wore it in the pool on the last day. We dunked him, dipped him, splashed with him, and the rash guard worked perfectly to cover up his skin and keep his diaper in tact. We put some sunscreen on the parts of his legs and arms that were exposed, but the rash guard saved us a lot of lathering! It also looks unbelievably cute :)
Remy’s first beach vacation! The rash guard + sun hat were the perfect combination of sun protection for the little guy!
SWIMMERS - My mom actually got us this reusable swim diaper that adjusts for all sizes. It is really cool! Because we are first time parents, we also bought some disposable swimmers from Pampers. We had both options on hand and ended up only using 1 disposable simmer under his rash guard. If the sun wasn’t so intense, I think we would’ve put the baby in the reusable swim diaper with no shirt and just went for it!
Remy’s first swim! And me, bravely wearing a bikini (what was I thinking?!).
SUN HAT & SUNGLASSES - We got this sun hat in grey for Remy. It was a little big, but it adjusts and he will grow into it. He wore it any time he was outside of his stroller during the day (which wasn’t often). I really like this hat. It somehow feels less dorky than some baby sun hats…not sure why! We also bought some baby sunglasses to complete the look. And I love this picture - I promise he was happier than it seems! :)
Remy in his sun hat + sunglasses combo.
STROLLER POOL / BEACH GEAR
STROLLER FAN - Ok, this thing SAVES us constantly. It keeps the baby nice and cool in the stroller. It rotates, it has multiple speeds. It’s rechargeable, but the battery life lasts quite a long time. MANY people have stopped me on the street to ask where we got this and I happily tell them Amazon!
Our beach set-up: Fan, UPF 50 baby blanket, and the UPPABaby bassinet sun shield.
UPF 50 BABY BLANKET - We bought this blanket for our walks in the park, as I started to notice the baby’s legs were always exposed to the sun. It’s the perfect solution when you don’t necessarily want to lather them up with sunscreen. As long as the baby is in a mostly covered area, like the stroller or bassinet, this works great! I wouldn’t use it as a substitute for sunscreen if I had the baby outside of the stroller, but while he was snoozing, this worked great! I’ve used it dozens of times and have never noticed any sun getting through to his skin.
We got the grey stripe, but it doesn’t seem to be available right now. I also like this white color, but there are a few other options.
LARGE BEACH BLANKET - This large, but compact, beach blanket was a must for us. I hate getting sand all over our stuff and couldn’t stand the thought of getting sand all over the baby, too! And sometimes beach towels just don’t do the trick. So I we got this beach blanket that conveniently rolls up into a tiny pouch that you can clip onto a back pack, beach bag, or stroller. We only used it once on this trip, because we had access to the pool and lounge chairs. But I am bringing it for our upcoming trip to Florida, where I think it will come in handy.
YETI TRAVEL COOLER - This small version of the Yeti cooler is amazing. It can fit a ton of waters, cans of beer, whatever you want! In our case, it fit a bottle of milk and two freezer packs for the baby! It worked great as we traveled through the airport and then at the beach / pool. I highly recommend this cooler for all of your summer needs. It has already come in handy many times (golfing, road trips, etc.).
SUNSCREEN
BABY SUN STICK & SUNSCREEN - A lot of reviews said a sunscreen stick is easier to apply on a baby. We used the stick for quick coverage on his face. But when we planned to have him in the sun, we used the Babyganics sunscreen SPF 50.
That’s it! Those are the best items and biggest helpers from baby’s first beach trip! I am sure at each age different things will come in handy (we didn’t even need beach toys yet!), but this worked wonderfully for our under-3-month-old.
