You may remember, but we actually took our "first" beach trip with baby back in September 2019 when LO was 3 months old. It was.... interesting! (You can read more about that and what we packed here.)
However, when we want on this last beach trip -- our son's second beach trip -- he was 10 months old. My packing list for him changed a bit, and the overall experience was completely different, so I thought I'd share.
This time, we didn't bring any of our dogs (thank Goodness!), and it was the same 5.5 hour drive to the beach.... or it was supposed to be, at least! This time, our son got terribly car sick within the first hour, and it was awful. And good ol' mom didn't think to put an extra outfit handy, or even towels or anything (way to go, me!), so we made a pitstop at the grandparents' house to do some laundry and to clean him up. Our trip took a little longer than planned, as you can imagine.
But once we got back in the car and on our way, all was good. This time around, I packed only a few days prior to leaving (instead of weeks prior, like last time), and I feel like I packed less overall, but somehow our car was still packed to the rim. And like last time, I barely packed anything for myself - it was all for babe!
Through this packing list, I used my previous experience and didn't do any additional searching or researching, and I feel like I did pretty good! We used almost everything I brought, and we only had to go out and buy a couple things while we were there. Turns out, I'm getting better at this whole mom thing. And it helps that I am out of the baby blues / postpartum phase (although, maybe I should mention that I'm expecting again, so I have the other challenge of pregnancy brain to deal with now!).
So, here's an updated version of experience on what I packed for our baby's beach trip, what I actually used, what I didn't, and what I wish I had packed for our family vacation to the beach with baby (because I always miss something). I've linked to the specific items I purchased or that we have (from Amazon, because I'm an Amazon junkie), in case that's helpful.
Absolute essentials for going basically anywhere:
- diapers
- wipes
- bottles
- formula (unless you're EBF)
- pack-n-play
- burp rags
- onesies and other outfits
- car seat (we got a new one for this trip, and of course he puked all into it in the first hour... ugh!)
- portable changing pad
What I packed and used every day on vacation:
- bath chair & shampoo, soap, hair sponge, lotion and hair brush (PLUS BATH TOYS, THIS TIME)
- baby SPF swim outfit (although our LO was only out on the beach with us for a few days and a total of a few hours all week, under a massive tent... I was pretty nervous about him getting overheated and mostly kept him inside. I did have super cute baby sunglasses and a sunhat for him for extra sun protection, though!)
- pack-n-play sheets
- NEW: swim diapers
- NEW: toys and books
- NEW: foam floor pads
- NEW: dishwasher cage
- NEW: baby sunscreen
- NEW: baby walker
- NEW: our diaper caddy with all of our general baby items and first aid stuff - i.e. NoseFrida, nail file, baby Tylenol, gripe water, etc.
Things I DID NOT pack that, turns out, we DID need:
- stroller (we love our home stroller, the Nuna Mixx Travel System, but it's pretty big so we didn't have space in our car! Turns out, we needed a stroller while there to take babe on walks almost every day, so we bought a cheap Mickey Mouse umbrella stroller and it was perfect! We brought it home and use it here, too!)
- high chair (thankfully, we borrowed one of these at the beach so we didn't have to lug back and forth)
- kiddie pool (we picked up a cheap one at Target, and he LOVED it!)
- a play yard / play pen (this thing was AMAZING, we had Amazon ship it right to our vacation rental - we set it up and used it all day, all week. Then we brought it home and now we have it set up in our living room! This thing is so good.)
Things I DID NOT pack from the last beach vacation that we didn't need, again:
- swaddles / sleep suits (we don't use these anymore at his age)
- ErgoBaby carrier
- Boppy
- mittens and socks
- video baby monitor
- black and white baby book
- a baby beach tent (we were under a larger beach tent, and I thought that would be fine this time around)
Here are some pics from our beach trip. We had such an amazing family vacation, we loved it and are actually going back this month (because, quarantine - and why not??)! Follow me on Instagram to see more!
PS - if you're interested to know where we stay in Destin, FL, we own 6 beachfront vacation rental properties where we always stay. We have become so spoiled staying beachfront! You can learn more and rent on our website: www.beachblissdestin.com
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This is an updated version of my previous post about the same topic: What to Pack for 0-6 Month Old Baby's First Beach Trip
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