The Beach Essentials Every Mom Needs To Have!
It's been a while since I've written a blog post, and this topic inspired me to start again because I've had so many friends ask over the past few years. With living in New England and just a stone's throw from the beach, come summertime, you can find us at the beach at least 2-3 days a week. My husband laughed at me last summer when I told him that I was relieved, feeling like I finally had our beach routine down to a science. To him, he thinks it's my super-organized personality just shining through and making it a bigger deal than it is. However, having a routine and being organized makes ALL the difference in the world, especially if you have more than one kid. Going to the beach with children certainly isn't the luxurious, relaxing activity that it once was pre-kids...especially if you're doing it alone.
My oldest just turned five years old, which means I've had five years of experience of lugging little ones to the beach...and all the wonderful gear that comes with them! Through trial and error over the years, I've learned what works and what doesn't; what's NECESSARY and what isn't; and what products are essential to have in my "beach" bag. Hopefully through sharing, you'll find that these items help you out as well and make your life a LITTLE bit easier (always a tall order when you put young kids and sand together).
Above are what I currently have stocked in my bag. My first suggestion is that you keep TWO bags with you; one with items that you'll literally take with you onto the beach, and one that you keep in your car with the "leaving beach" necessities. I ALWAYS pack up bags and lay swimsuits out the night before, to alleviate some stress of getting ready the morning of. Into my bag that goes onto the beach with me, I put items 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, and 11. These items include:
2. Beach towels- I've found with little ones, the hooded beach towels work much better with warming cold little babes up than regular beach towels. We got ours at Pottery Barn Kids (see link) and love that they're bigger than hooded bath towels, allowing kids to grow with them while also covering up more.
3. Sunscreen-I pack a bottle for Mommy and a bottle for the kids. Walmart's Equate brand children's sunscreen was recently rated as the best on the market, so we're giving it a try. It's also CHEAPER and you can get a value size bottle-double bonus. I apply before we leave the house, and reapply when needed at the beach. I've found the spray sunscreen to be better with the beach because well, trying rubbing lotion onto a sand-clad toddler...not fun and can't feel to good on their skin. I DO, however, depending on how much sand we're talking about, either spray the sunscreen on them and then rub in OR (and more preferably) I spray it into my hand and then apply. Never just spray and let go-always be sure to rub in!
5. Sunscreen for the face-I always apply a separate sunscreen to the kiddos' faces, and have found Neutrogena's Clear Face to be my favorite one out there so far. It's for sensitive skin, isn't oily, and with my son especially having fair skin, I just feel better knowing a lotion is being applied. He's also complained about the spray stinging his eyes in the past if he sweats, and since switching to the Neutrogena last summer, no complaints.
6. Kleenex-because if you're a mom, you know that kids playing in water of any kind results in some serious snot running down their faces. Enough said. Have a stash on hand.
9. Wipes-this is a first for us this year! In past years, I've always had a travel pack of Pamper's baby wipes in my big (much bigger and bulkier) because I've had one or both kiddos in diapers still. With BOTH being potty trained this year, I ditched the heavier wipes and found these that I love. I use the Wet Nap brand, and they're individually wrapped so I just grab about 6 and stick them in the zip compartment in my beach bag. Takes up very little space, and allows for a quick clean-up and disposal after lunch.
11. Sunglasses-My kiddos always have wide brimmed sun hats on, but have gotten into wearing their sunglasses, too. Protect their little eyes, and keep them in the zip pocket with the hand wipes so that they don't get crushed from other things in the bag.
That concludes my beach bag. However, just as important to me is the "leaving beach" bag, too. It not only helps make them more comfortable, but it makes my life a LOT less stressful, too. This bag I usually leave in the car, but might bring in the night before to pack up the few necessary items for it. This is also the bag I've played with a lot over the past few years, and found I was bringing stuff that I didn't really need. Through some fun (sarcasm) and unexpected experiences, I've found these to be the critical and essentials: items 1, 4, 7, 8, 10 and 12.
1. Clothes-Call me crazy, but I hate the idea of putting wet swimsuits on seats-or in car seats, in my case. Never mind it can't be comfortable sitting in a wet and sandy swimsuit for over half an hour. We are very fortunate in that our beach is extremely kid-friendly, and has multiple shower locations. It allows me to rinse the kiddos off, strip them down and put dry clothes on which don't have to be anything fancy-an oversized shirt is my go-to for my daughter and a pair of shorts and shirt for my son. In the past, I had to make sure I had diapers stocked but this year for the first time, all I need is a pair of undies for both. Also space-saving and quite nice in making life a little easier, I must say.
4. Baby Powder-THIS, my friends, is my secret weapon!!! A family member told me about this little trick and holy. guacamole, it WORKED! If you're a parent that has little ones that wear diapers or swim diapers, you KNOW that sand gets caked and lodged all sorts of private places that no matter how much you try and get off, seems forever stuck. The genius solution? Sprinkle baby powder over any area you want, rub in, and then simply just wipe off with a towel! Yes, it's that. simple. ! Sand is completely gone, baby is happy and pain-free, and they smell good! Even though my two are potty trained now, I put it in the bag just in case and will see if it comes in handy still...my bet is with a 3-year-old sand lover, I will use it!
7. Aloe-Just because you never know if it'll come in handy. You can find little travel sizes almost anywhere that sells toiletries.
8. Flushable Wipes-Let's just say I've had some pretty horrifying instances in which there's poop everywhere, a hysterically crying kid, and a very panicked, stressed mommy. Even potty-trained, there still can be accidents from time-to-time and especially at the beach, the kids have to walk a little ways before we get to the bathroom. JUST IN CASE, pack them! It's better to have them and not need them than not have them and have code brown literally E.V.E.R.Y.W.H.E.R.E. and only two-ply toilet paper to try and clean everything up.
10. A Plastic Bag-To go with above mentioned point, you're going to need something to put those code brown clothes into. There's nothing worse than having nasty clothes and nowhere to put them-I've had to wrap them in public restroom paper towels before and BELIEVE YOU ME, they did NOT contain the smell. Lesson learned-I pack a gallon-size ziplock bag now.
12. Wet Bags-These are life savers! Rather than have to throw wet swimsuits into the car or into my bag, I pop them right into the wet bag and it contains everything until I get home and transfer it to the washer. I actually have two of these, both from Pottery Barn Kids, that I can use alternately in case we have back-to-back beach or pool days. Just be sure to leave open to dry after you take wet materials out!
That's it! Our usual routine is that we rinse toys and get everything into the car, then grab the "leaving" bag and head up to the showers to clean up and change, with the whole process taking less than ten minutes. We've been to the beach only twice so far this summer and I've been loving having both the routine AND more independent kids that can go potty when needed (goooodbye messy swimmy diapers!) and help both rinse and dress themselves. I will be sure to add any new finds that I discover this summer because as I'm sure you know, with kids, they like to keep you on your toes and provide the unexpected. :)
