beach advice/tips

[mommy212]

So wea re headed to the beacvh () next month with our LO who will be 6 months and 1 week by the time of the trip. I was wondering, moms who have been or live by the beach, if you have any rules about beach safety for your LO? Is it safe to take him in the water with you, or let the waves lap on him while you hold him? Do you cover him from head to toe in clothes or just sunscreen? Sunhats, optional? How do you keep him from eating sand?
Also, any fun toys you can recommend for a baby his age? Should I worry about overheating, how do I know if he overheats, what do I do about it? I'm a basket case, as you can see... thanks all for your help!

[Cascadian]

I know others will cover most of the other bases, but I live 5 min away from a beach and have been taking the kiddos since day 1. Here are some of my 'tricks':

I like to buy rashguard beach clothes for the littles, from either landsend.com or hannaandersson.com - http://www.hannaandersson.com/catego...aby%20Swimwear

Sunhats are a must unless the baby is sweating profusely (in that case, get into the shade!)

Also, we found a beach tent absolutely indispensible!! We got this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Road-T...9220529&sr=8-8

but do a search on amazon.com - there are dozens on there.

Keep baby well hydrated. Take a blanket and throw it on the ground for them to play on - I didn't let mine eat sand as one of our beaches had a no-swim sign for a while due to pollution, and didn't want that to end up in their tummies.

Have fun!

[Maluhia]

Hydration.
Sunscreen reapplication.
Small cooler with fruit for snack (snack + hydration = even better)
Shade if they are tiny.
No biggie holding them in the water, don't bother with a floatie as it gives sense of safety that is ill advised.
Sunscreen yourself too, don't forget!

Try to go early and late and stay out of the sun from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at a minimum, almost to 2 or 2:30 if you can.

[Drummer's Wife]

I would use California Baby sunscreen on a 6 month old - as well as a sun hat and rash guard over the swimsuit. Maybe an umbrella or another type of sun shade as well? Bring a big blanket so baby can roll around/crawl/take a nap.

Hope you have fun! We were at the beach last week (my kids are older), and everyone had a blast.

[ElaynesMom]

Sunhats are a definite must IMO, delicate baby skin can burn easily. I also use a rash guard on my dd, and we use Kabana Organic Sunscreen. It's unscented, and uses only zinc oxide, so it's safe for little babies, though you may have your own brand you prefer. I also try to make sure my dd is under our beach umbrella lots. I'd nurse frequently to make sure your ds stays well hydrated. My dd was a bit older her first time at the beach but she loved sitting on my lap at the edge of the water and having the waves splash her legs and tummy.

Have fun, we love the beach

[snoopy5386]

For babies I like a long sleeve, long pants rashguard so it covers pretty much everything. The beach is usually pretty breezy so as long as the baby is in the shade he shouldn't over heat. Sunhat along with the rashguard and you should be fine. Perhaps a little sunscreen for the cheeks.
A beach umbrella or a large beach tent is a must as well. Don't bother with a tiny tent that only the baby can fit in, it is not likely they'll want to be in there by him/herself. As for the sand issue, if you have a large enough blanket you should be fine, just keep the baby in the middle. Other families I know of who go to the beach all day, several weeks a year will haul a pack and play or stroller out on the sand with them, just a thought.
Of course you can take him in the water! Just use common sense and know your own swimming abilities/lifeguard locations. When my LO was small I would bring a small underbed size rubbermaid container with us to the beach - I could fill it with a couple of inches of water and put it under the umbrella - baby could splash and play without the waves and in the shade. Last year at the beach I saw someone do something similar - theu dug a hole in the sand, lined it with a tarp and used a very large bucket to fill it with water - instant kiddie pool.

[dogretro]

A shade shelter like this is actually way better than a smaller tent: http://www.amazon.com/ABO-Gear-10275...225650&sr=8-16

We took dd on a family trip to the beach when she was 3 months old. We had a little shade tent ~ great in our yard, useless at the beach. The best were either the true beach umbrella or the shelter. You can fit a small table & your beach chairs under the shelter, it rocks!

Hydration: Besides breastmilk (dd was still ebf), the dr said that unflavored Pedialyte was okay to give her. This worked well for us b/c dd sweated a lot & did like to have something to drink besides hot milk. She was not drinking gallons per day, but she was allowed to drink it as she pleased.

Clothing & sunscreen: DD wore regular infant bathing suits or was nude/diaper. At that time in her life, if she had to wear a whole rashguard, she would have sweated to death. We made sure to cover her whole body, including the top of her head, in 50 Banana Boat Baby (we just like Banana Boat in general) & she had a sunhat & baby sunglasses. Sunglasses, imo, are very important, too. These ones had an elastic strap that wrapped around her head. At first she did not like them, but she got used to them after a day or two. She spent most of the day sleeping & hanging out in the shade & she never got burnt. We did take her in the water, but only v shallow. She was able to sit w/ us holding her & splash around, which she loved. We did not take her far at all into the ocean b/c she was so very little. The tiny waves would come up & get her all wet & she had a great time!

[lifeguard]

For a blanket an old sheet works really well - the sand shakes right off of it.

[mamadebug]

We LOVE going to the beach and have been taking our little one since he was a newborn.

I usually just put him in a bathing suit or shorts and t-shirt. I tried to keep a sun hat on him, but he has never tolerated hats well and usually pulled them off. Sunscreen, of course.

We always bring an umbrella and towels and when DS was really little, hung out under the umbrella as much as possible. If you keep him in the shade, he probably won't over heat. Maybe, avoid going right in the middle of the day? At 6 months, if your son is nursing, it's pretty easy to keep him hydrated (remember to keep yourself hydrated!).

My son loved to crawl around in the sand and eat sand. It was constant, so I didn't bother trying to stop him. It never caused any problems. I didn't bring any toys for him at 6 months. Once he was older, we brought basic sand toys.

We took him swimming (in the places where the water was calm and warm - Mexico, mainly, to start) starting when he was 4 months old. He loved it. By the time he was crawling, he loved to crawl around in the really shallow water. Obviously, we stayed right next to him and picked him up as bigger waves came in.

Have fun!

[Tjej]

Baby powder gets sand off your skin really easily (so when you go you don't have that stuck-to-your-feet sand).

Tjej

[RiverSky]

Though a popup beach shade is neat and useful, when they have 3 sides, I find they get swelteringly hot. I think that a nice beach umbrella works much better. Costco sells fantastic ones for about $15-20 that have SPF 50 or 60 built in. I like to use dark beach blankets (any blanket or sheet will work) because I find that sun reflects off of the light colored blankets into my eyes. I don't find that they get too hot or anything.

If you are going to use baby powder to get sand off, only use corn starch, since baby powder is a majorly bad thing for your baby (or you) to inhale. I don't think it's necessary, as most beaches will have a shower to rinse off nearer to the car.

You didn't mention where in Florida you are going. The water in the Gulf of Mexico is MUCH calmer than the water on the Atlantic side and much warmer, too. Each beach and area can vary though, too. In my beach town, I know which of the beaches are calmer, have more seaweed, have less shells, have more shallow areas, etc., and I prefer the calmer, more shallow areas for little kids (and myself).

Definitely, definitely get sunhats (the kind that go around as much as possible, and not just one, have at least two, just in case you lose one). I would also suggest baby sunglasses, as it sucks to have to look around without them with the bright Florida sun reflecting off the sand and water right into your eyes. You can buy hard plastic ones (make sure they have UV protection, preferably 100% A and 100% B) or soft neoprene ones in various baby catalogs and at places like Gymboree. I, personally, think it's mean to take kids to the beach without sunglasses. It hurts and is bad for everyone's eyes to do that.

I agree with the others about sunblocking surf-style swim suits, but for a 6 month old, that might be overkill. A t-shirt (perhaps long sleeved) and long shorts will be enough, in very light fabrics. I suspect you won't be taking baby into the water for more than a few minutes, as the Florida sun is incredibly potent, and within 15 minutes, I bet your baby's exposed skin will be pink. I think that you can take turns having adults watch your baby under the umbrella, then occasionally take your baby to the water to get wet, and then right back under the umbrella again.

Many parts of Florida have beautiful, clean, white sugar sands, and if your baby puts a little sand in his/her mouth, it won't be a big deal at all. Let your baby explore safely and just make sure that baby doesn't find any trash in the sand to each.

Have fun!

[Caneel]

Originally Posted by Tjej

Baby powder gets sand off your skin really easily (so when you go you don't have that stuck-to-your-feet sand).

Tjej

Corn starch also works well.

[meemee]

Originally Posted by mommy212

How do you keep him from eating sand?

i didnt. my ped had said a teaspoon shouldnt matter. i am not sure how she did it but after the first poopy diaper seh didnt eat anymore.

hmmm toys. i never took toys ever. she always found stuff on the beach to play with.

[karemore]

Sounds like you got lots of good advice.

I was concerned too when DD was younger.

We went to the beach, but we would go in the am, and then later in the afternoon. We stayed off the beach midday. We'd go back to the room for lunch and a nap and a swim in the pool before heading back to the beach.

[ellairiesmom]

in addition to the above comments...

we brought a baby pool with us to lbi, florida & aruba. aruba was the 3rd trip with it & we left it with another family there instead of bringing it back on the plane home. dd sat in it with toys (no water) but the sand stayed on the beach. i got ours at target & it came flat in an easy to pack package, sprung open & then we only had to blow up the top ring. it was easy to travel with. can't find a link to it but will keep looking...i remember it was 60' diameter-she had plenty of room to move around-in fact, the family we friended at the resort in aruba had 2 lo's that ended up in it with her all week. in lbi, we put our beach umbrella next to it & it was great.

we also have a kwik kabana (big one we got as a shower gift for dd1) but in average beach breezes, it would blow over. and it did get hot in there too.

ok-the pool was similar to this but no canopy. canopy could be handy...
http://www.amazon.com/Swimways-Sprin.../dp/B0015DNMQ0


found it-this is the one we had...
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...DR5Y7Z464D8DRH