Young Toddler Beach Essentials

Well... no tubes for Ryan... yet.  Ryan does have another ear infection, or shall I say, the same one he had 2 weeks ago that just hasn't gone away.  The doc wants to switch to a different antibiotic, examine him in 2 weeks and then go from there on the tubes talk.  This is five infections in six months, so I am desperately hoping this medicine works or if not, we head towards that next step.

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Last week, I shared our essentials to surviving our road trip (here), but what about our actual days at the beach?  Ryan was not a fan of the waves so he didn't really get in the water but, he did love the sand.  In fact, he ate more sand there than he does his meals right now.  Here are some of our staples to surviving our beach days:

1.  Inflatable pool -  We waited until we got to the beach to pick up our pool.  The one pictured is very cheap (I believe one of the Super Wings stores sold them for around $6.00).  They were sold out when we got into town so we improvised with a ball pit we found at Walmart for around $19.00.  We filled the pall bit with water under our tent so Ryan could play with water and then rinsed it off and filled it with its balls at night for indoor fun.

2.  Pop-up tent - Best thing for everyone.  This one from Kmart is super inexpensive and very sturdy.  Perfect place to get away from the sun and cool off and nap!

3. GoGo Squeeze - Great cooling snack for the beach with no mess!

4.  Radio Flyer Wagon -  Ryan rode in style to the beach and we loaded half the wagon with our bags so that we were not weighed down either!  It also led to lots of nighttime wagon rides around the neighborhood too.

5.  & 6.  Rash Guard and Swim Trunks -  Target had some great options this year and it really helped keep Ryan's skin from getting scratched from the sand or wind burn.

7.  Honest Company Sunscreen -  We love the Honest Company mineral based sunscreen.  It isn't greasy and loaded in lots of extra chemicals.  It's a very gentle option with great coverage.

8.  Take & Toss cups - The Take & Toss cups are the perfect cheap option to give water or any other drink to your toddler.  And, if they get messed up, thrown away, or the waves take it with them, they are cheap enough not to care about!

9.  Swim Diapers - If you plan on your toddler getting in any water, get swim diapers.  When they get wet, they don't weigh down and fall apart like normal diapers.  We use the Huggies brand and have been great.  

10.  Water shoes - Don't want your baby's feet to get all cut up from sand, seashells, etc?  Water shoes baby!  Now is not the time to buy expensive ones either, there are great inexpensive options out there.  They aren't church shoes moms, they will get wet, sandy, dirty, etc.

11.  Hats -  Do not let your little one's head fry!  And, if you want to be cool like the Schwartz fam, then you will pick up a Notre Dame hat and thank me later!  

12.  Baby Powder - Hands-down, baby powder is the easiest way to get sand off of you.  Sprinkle on and the sand easily falls off/wipes away.  

13.  Sand bucket and toys - We picked up a 13-piece bucket and toys from Costco and Ryan was easily entertained in the sand.  The more toys your sand bucket comes with, the better.

Honorable ,Mentions:

Life vest/floaties - We had a little swim vest for Ryan, but because the waves intimidated him, he never wore it.  It is great to have one just in case though!

Cooler - Must bring one to keep everyone's drinks cold!

Speaker or Radio - Whether you want to play music on your phone or radio, have some sort of option to blast your jams.  

Beach blanket or comforter - We brought a comforter to lay under the tent for Ryan to nap on.

XOXO,

Sherri

Questions:

Any beach essentials you swear by not on this list???