some questions about taking a baby to the beach.

can we do a list of what you need to take to the beach for the baby???

also... i dont really understand what the deal is with the diaper... does it stay on or come off when you take them into the water??? i saw special swimming diapers, should i get those?? are they waterproof??? doesnt really make sense to me.

Giaocmo refuses to wear a sun hat.... i dont know what i can do to protect him besides a good spf.

on and i see all our babies wearing those old navy tshirts with the swim trunks... should i keep G in a tshirt at all times???

i can guess the obvious... spf, hydration, dont stay out too long but need some clues as to the other stuff.

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Dani
mommy to Giacomo
born 09 August 2007

Okay.....here's what i bring Kai

Lots of the strongest baby sunblock you can find, I re-apply like once per hour
The swim diapers...for sure
lots of water
I dont have one of these....but one of those little tents are cool if he gets sleepy
Fruit Babyfood - tastes okay hot or cold
I never use the swim shirts.... they are cute though

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oh and the swim diapers dont get heavy...not sure how they do it.....pretty cool

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I agree, the swim diapers are a must. The don't blow up like a balloon when they get wet.
Something for shade
strong spf
a hat (maybe he'll wear it if he's too busy playing in the sand to notice)
I make Owen wear a shirt at least when the sun is at it's strongest. The "swim" shirts have some spf protection built into them.
toys
that's all I can think of

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~ Sheila

Little swimmers are what we have for swim diapers, they are great.
Some kind of umbrella that will stick into the ground to provide shade.
I did buy Eric a shirt that has spf in it...he's going to wear it this holiday coming up.
Maybe a hat that has a strap that goes under his chin with velcro..they don't seem to be able to take those off, baseball caps are much easier to take off.
Lots of wipes to clean his hands etc.

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Kristen (33) DH Joe (33)
Expecting our first baby boy Aug 12/07!!!!

ERIC WILLIAM arrived July 19th weighing 6lbs 2oz.

Great idea!

I'm just all about sunscreen. The regular diapers blow up really big as they absorb all the water. A big mess.

I know G doesn't have light eyes, but I just recently read an article about how your eyes, especially light eyes, NEED uv protection to avoid damage later in life. (Like with skin cancer, the damage adds up to cause loss of sight). So, if you can get him to wear sunglasses with UV protection, that's a good idea, too.

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~*~Carleigh~*~



My journal

agree on the obvious. some things that really helped us, spray no-rub sunscreen for quick touch ups and to spray in their hair/on their heads. now granted a recent study shows this only covers 20% of what it claims, but i have had great success with our routine - lather on the baby 50 spf before heading out, including in their hair/on the scalp - don't forget the ears. then we use the spray to touch up every hour or so. granted my kids are not real sensitve, so it works for us.

lots of water and a jug (gallon or liter) for rinsing sand away - especially if they get in their eyes/mouth - don't really want to use salt water for that.

the tent is a great idea, we used that and had it under the big umbrella.

mikey has a shirt, but the other boys don't. it was just a litte extra something.

toys. drinks. snacks. wagon or beach cart.

and the one thing that i do that mikey LOVES is a little inflatable pool. nothing big, just a cheap-O. inflatable b/c its light/easy to carry/dump water out of. i put it in the tent with just a bit of water, he glady played there all day - stayed cool and shaded. i could sit and relax in the sun. kept him pretty much out of the sand when i didn't want him in it. then when he was sleepy, we dumped the water and put a towel in there and he slept without rolling out onto the sand. perfection. we just left the little pool at the condo when we came home, it was $4, so it was no loss to leave behind. only took a few minutes to blow up b/c it was just one little ring and the cushiony bottom - no air pump needed.

(i also have little hard plastic pool i keep in our pool house for pool days, it's more durable and makes my life soooooooo much easier.)

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We have an umbrella that sticks in the sand and it is def. worth it. They can nap under it, play in the sand under it etc.. Also the swim diapers those are a MUST HAVE and of course keep applying the sunscreen..

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Wipes don't work for wiping away sand. - I like Melissa's idea of bringing the jug of water to get sand off. I HATE sand.

Also, I don't know what kinds of creep crawlys you have in Italy but mosquitos and sand fleas suck here big time so I would bring bug spray.

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Seeing how Im on an islnad in the middle of the ocean maybe I can help LMAO! I normally just keep Brooke in her swimsuit. I do load up on sunblock and I use at LEAST 50 proof. If you have a hat take that. If Brooke wont keep her hat on I load her head up with sun screen. Dont forget ears, neck and feet!
We do use the swim diapers but Im not fond of them. They always leak on me, I can feel the warmth if ya know what I mean..gross. If we are at the beach I usually let her swim without anything. If we are at the pool its a swim diaper.
Ive taken blankets and things out with us to the bech but she wont stay on it so it's a waste. I just let her crawl around and when we leave I shower her off.

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Banana Boat (I think) sells these new Aloe wipes that DO wipe away sand at the beach and they cool at the same time. I really love them, they are one of my proud finds that I found when we went to the beach in May, they sell them at Walmart btw.

Swim diapers are a MUST! I have never had a problem with them, I think they absorb pretty well actually. Huggies also makes new baby sunblock. I bought the new spray kind but it sucks, I cant remember what brand it was, but it was for babies.

The tents are a great thing to have also, but if you can rent an umbrella then you dont really need one I guess.

I am one of the ones that uses the little surfer shirts from Old Navy and I only use it when he is done swimming and were still outside, he doesnt wear it when he is swimming.

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great tips ladies thanks!!!

another question regarding the diapers... do you need to change it after you get out of the water?? G doent have sensitive skin at all, but i'd imagine that the wet diaper has to come off???? just trying to think of how many packs i need for a weeks' vacation. hmmmmm

luckily his skintone is pretty dark but i know i still need to be careful, i bought a spray spf but it comes out milky and i still need to rub it in.. are there some that comes out in a finer mist??? i picture myself wiping the sweat off my brow while slathering Giacomo up and i'd end up havng one streak of spf 50 across my face.. that would be cute....

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Dani
mommy to Giacomo
born 09 August 2007

Dani~ You will need to put a regular diaper on him if he will not be swimming. The swimmers are designed to not absorb water which means they don't absorb the pee either. They don't stop liquid. They are more for keeping in the poo, so it doesn't end up in the water. HTH!

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now i get it.. makes sense....
i was really confused for a while there hahah

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Dani
mommy to Giacomo
born 09 August 2007

Agree with what everyone else has said!!!

G is getting this for her birthday. For beach excursions. (we live on the coast so we will use it a lot)


It has a canopy, padding and a cooler that hooks on the back too!

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Here's what we did for Owen:

Took the beach umbrella. A lot of the ones they have now are at least SPF 50 rated. Some people were using the EZ up tents similar to these: International E-Z UP - #1 Best Selling Instant Shelter in the World! but to me it was something else to drag to the beach.

We ended up buying one of these: http://www.instep.net/Product/Bicycl...iler_13-SC770/ We used it on the back of our bike to haul Owen to the beach. There is tons of room in the rear where we could put all of our beach stuff like chairs, cooler, boogie boards, and umbrella in the back and secure it with bungie cords. It also converts to a stroller and it was great for pushing on the beach.

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*looks around* i didn't change mikes swimmer...oops. i figured no poop = okey dokey. the purpose is to keep poop from contaminating the water right? oh dear, here i go getting nominated for mother of the year again.....

dani, the make a "no-rub" spray on, but like i said, be forewarned about the actual protection it provides. for us it's perfect for touch-ups. we would all get ready to go, i'd slather the boys down, and by the time we got down to the beach they were dry and ready to go. then i just called them over every hour or so to spray them down, dries super fast, and off the went. no one got burned, but again, we are tanners no burners.

meg, i love that wagon, i looked at one at target yesterday like we had in FL, i want one badly now.

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Melissa, I love your idea about the little pool, I am definitely going to do that. Also, I have no idea if it works, but I got a baby powder coupon in the mail and it had a message about several things you can use baby powder for and one of the things was to get sand off. I might try it and see how it works. Also, going to look for the Aloe wipes Christi is talking about.

Before we go, I am going to the Dollar Tree and hope to find alot of beach toys really cheap.

Aliya hates to wear a hat, as well. She also doesn't like sunglasses, so I am not sure what I am going to do with her. Never thought about putting the sunblock in her hair, I will also try that.

This was a great thread, thanks for posting it.

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just so you can see

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I so wish you had posted this earlier (I was at the beach the same time as you though...). I only wish I had thought of that myself because I think that's what I needed to keep Owen entertained and cool! Boy, you can tell that I'm a "first-time mom". Great idea!

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