Stumbling Around Dreams: My Top 10 Tips For Beaching With Babies Under 2

Hey y'all,

Yay! We survived our first beach trip with two under 2! Can I get a what? what?!

Ok, before I jump into all the tips I took into serious consideration and how they ultimately saved the only vacay I'm likely to get for the next year or longer, let me just give you a little background story of how our first beach trip after having a baby went:

Last summer, my family (and there were 14 of us total) invited us to come on their annual Memorial Day camping trip to the Navy Base in Pensacola, FL. This was discussed from about January until we were leaving in May. And I was all, "I'll have a six month old baby? Count me in!"

I feel it imperative to note that at that point in time, we were counting on getting one of the beach cabins at the site. My parents had been waiting with baited breath to reserve one, but you could only reserve it so far in advance.

Then two things happened. In April, the campsite went under new management and suddenly all the cabins were booked. So now I was tent-camping with a six month old baby. Still the optimist (at times): Count me in!

Then in early May, like, a week before we were due to depart, I got a positive pregnancy test result. This was after four negatives that I had begun taking in January. Please note the time frame. It is very relative to this story.
Went to the doc the next day to inquire how far along we were...
Now we were tent-camping, with a six month old baby and I was three months pregnant.

At that point, everyone, including hubby, were waving red flags at me all over the place. "I got this, no sweat!" was my regrettable response. Count us in!

What a changed person I have become in only a year.

It was humid (in italics because I can not stress enough the humidity of the South in the summer), we got a flat tire, I was cranky and moody because hooray for surprise pregnancy, bugs, it poured rain and flooded our tent -- the tent we were sharing with a bassinet because we were camping with a six month old baby while I was three months pregnant. Talk about permanently hot, sweaty, and bothered. By everyone and everything. Clearly nobody carried out any of my many orders of "OFF WITH THEIR HEAD!!!"

Three days later, we were stuck in Mobile traffic on Memorial Day weekend, trying to entertain our firstborn with Kipper played on hubby's phone, crying, and wondering why we had done this to ourselves. (Ok, I was the only one crying. And profusely apologizing to hubby, because at least I can own up when I know that ish was all. me.)

Fast forward to this summer: I read all the mommy blogs starting the day the trip to Orange Beach was first discussed. I was going to make sure we were going prepared this time. And I was going to make sure we were not camping. (And I was going to make dang sure I was not pregnant.)

We did a beach house with hubby's mom and stepdad, and aunt, uncle and two cousins that are basically Jacob's brothers. His grandmother has a permanent camper down at Orange Beach, so some of us were jumping back and forth with sleeping quarters and we went over there a couple of times to hang out with people we know.

With two babies under 2 and with the fact that Jacob just lost his job, I wasn't honestly expecting it to be as much of a vacation as it was time away from the house, if that makes sense.

But, y'all -- what a vacation!

Sure all four of us were sleeping in one room -- the first time we have ever done that. But God was definitely placing His hand of blessing and rest upon us last week, for which I am very grateful. The kids slept just fine, with their bassinets side by side crammed into a closet. They loved the beach, and generally loved anything we did.

Some tips and tricks and gadgets made this trip as awesome as it was. I'm a Pinterest gal; so here's a link to my Beach Trip board where you can find all the articles and blogs I read prior to this trip. There's only a handful of them, because I found they mostly said the same things; which, honestly, was a relief. I was sitting here overwhelmed by just the thought that I was going to need an arsenal of new things and ideas. (Side note: I've added a new gadget on the side of my blog with links to my "social media", including my Pinterest in case you wanna be buddies or just see what I'm up to like the stalker that I know I am.)

Here's a list of 10 said tips, tricks and gadgets that made our beach trip with two small children much more enjoyable (and these are in no particular order, especially as I am currently feeding breakfast to both munsters):

A spray bottle with water. And no, I did not use it as you would on a cat (though it has been tempting at times). I thought I would only use this at the beach; but I carried it with us everywhere. It majorly helped to keep the kids cool! 96 cents from Walmart for a travel size. Booyah!
Snack and gallon sized ziploc baggies. I used these to hold snacks, organize the diaper bag, pack shampoo, etc, and even as garbage bags. It keeps the sand out, the liquid in, and I love just being able to grab a baggie that has a helpful purpose.
Beach cart/wagon. Ohmygosh y'all, we bought all our big ticket beach items a month or two back and this was one we definitely splurged on -- but it has been so worth it! And not just for the beach! I get SO many comments and compliments dragging the kids around town just running errands in this thing. It folds and unfolds like a dream; and I love just being able to plop kids in it with some toys and/or snacks and have them happy to ride along anywhere. It makes super tight turns and is all around convenient. Truth be told: we only remembered it, like, once while actually at the beach. The tires on the one we got are plastic and smaller than super big rubber ones that might be made more for beaching. It worked; but as loaded down as we had it, Jacob pulled and I pushed from behind, and let's just say I won't be needing to work out my legs for a while. Piece of cake.
We did do the teeny blow-up pool, specifically for Mason. I loved the idea of it, and it did help to keep him cool up on the beach; but since my little boy has just hit the super busy and army-crawling age, it was more of a good idea in theory. Again: one of those things we only did once. But I definitely recommend for mommies who have slightly younger babies, ideally at the age they are sitting up ok, but can't crawl quite yet.
Another one of those things that was so-so was the baby tent. We, ourselves, bought one of those sport umbrellas to use as either an umbrella or a tent, depending on what we thought we would need when we got to the beach. Upon arrival, hubby's aunt gave us their old tried and true baby tent. Pros: It had a floor so kids (and towels, etc) could sit in it without sitting in the sand, so no need to bring the Graco; it also had walls, which were ideal for the couple of times we ended up hitting the beach at nap time. (I can't see you, you can't see me.) I also put the blow-up pool inside the tent the one time we used it, to keep it out of the sand. Cons: The tent was a little more tedious to set up and take down, though not extremely; and even though it had a floor, as everyone knows, sand will eventually find a way in. I also worried the kids got too hot in it. Though it had a window in the back and the entire front was a big open door, it was hard to harness a shifting breeze (when there was one).
Camping high-chair. As I read on the mom blogs prior to the trip, I also honestly use this item so much just in my day-to-day life. Especially as Mason gets big enough for a high chair, but Katie is still using one, but we only have the one. See my dilemma? It was so nice not to have to break down and bring the big high chair; and the bumbo seat is so much less portable. I originally bought it thinking I would take it on the beach to use for feedings and containing (here's looking at you, Mason). We didn't take it even once to the beach -- though it wouldn't have been a bad idea. It was just, after we were given the tent, we had to start picking and choosing what was actually getting drug down to (and then back up from) the beach. But I definitely used it for all other feedings everywhere else.
That baby powder trick you keep hearing about to get sand off? Works like a charm.
At the last second I added a mesh baby carrier to our Amazon cart while ordering things for the trip. It has been super great to have for all swimming events including the ocean, as well as just walking around my house and yard in the summer: it breathes, it dries super quickly, it's portable, it's strong and well-made. Again: my baby boy is super busy now, so of course he is constantly trying to crawl up my face. But it's nice to have this mesh carrier when Jacob's not around and the kids want to go swimming: have one on my hip and the other in a floatie. Boom: mommy genius. (That is, until Banshee Boy starts climbing up my chest and Sissy wants "downdowndowndown".)
My plan for food was to just buy a bunch of those Gerber Baby Little Entrees and then Katie Jo would be set. But then we suddenly found ourselves poor, so I had to get innovative and use whatever food I had in the pantry and refrigerator. ("What is even in those things??") (Because I totally pay attention to what I'm feeding my kids.) Last year, we were going through a rough patch financially, and so hubby was taking his lunches and dinners (and breakfasts and snacks) to work. Thus I already had washable, divided, food containers. So I made some homemade mac n cheese and a pot roast, threw some carrots, peas, and green beans in the smaller pockets and voila! -- Katie had homemade Little Entrees! #mommygeniusstrikesagain Saved us some $$ and gave me some mommy confidence; and it really wasn't a pain, especially considering how much food I was already having to pack just for Mason. So I definitely recommend packing as much of your own food as possible. It uses what you have and it's more expensive to "buy when we get there" and you may end up buying more than you need.
My final tip is to know indefinitely how long you are going to be there. Ha ha, Sam. No really. For some reason I was under the impression we were only staying until Friday, not Saturday. So guess who had just enough food until Friday. *raises hand* We ended up leaving Friday night instead of Saturday morning anyway because the kids woke suddenly in the night and we thought, "It's been such a great week; why not insure one miserable experience like driving 3 hours in the night with two screaming children?" I kid. That was only the thought process as we hit Mile 160 at midnight and the kids still had yet to sleep.

In reality, this whole trip wouldn't have been at all possible without my gracious in-laws. They saw us going through a hard time and needing to back out of our preplanned (and hard-earned) family vacation and told us to come along anyway. I totally recommend bringing four adults for every two children. I got to go kayaking and jump off the pillars under the overpass. I got to go out to eat, see the new Incredibles movie, and stand in line for an hour and a half at Build-A-Bear (for Mason, y'all) because of those wonderful people who claimed, "No! Really! We love spending time attempting in vain to entertain your busy and whiny children while everyone else is having fun! Go!"

A huge thank you to my husband's family who made this entire trip possible. It was a paradise in the desert. A pick-me-up in a place when we thought we would stay kicked down, at least for a while. We love y'all.

Quick update: Jacob did, indeed, get hired with a garbage company yesterday. He'll be a diesel mechanic again, and he couldn't be happier (or more relieved). Thank you for all of your prayers, support, and words of encouragement to my family in such a confusing and frustrating time. Praising the Lord that it was only two weeks of unemployment. He's got this, y'all.

Finally! Baby beach montage!!!!