Baby Gear for the Beach

I agree with previous posters' suggestions, but have a question. Are you breastfeeding your baby? If not, you might want to bring an insulated bag so that you can bring a bottle to the beach. Now this is just my being a bit neurotic, but at that age, I would just hold my child in the ocean and not go in deeper than your own knees, at least if you are on the Pacific. The currents can be very strong and floatation suits could give you a false sense of security. If there will be a beach wall protecting the beach from erosion, you might have the equivilant of a kiddie pool ocean are, which would be fine. If not, at least tether your child to you. Currents can be stong and fast and pull people pretty far out. You might want to save floatie things for the pool. At 9 mos, my son would have freaked if he had gone into the ocean without being held anyway. I think a lot of kids would.

when our daughter was 13 months we got her a life jacket looking thing (brand "surf club") that worked really well. it adjusted to fit, had her head well out of the water and allowed her to move her arms and legs freely. Unfortunately we bought it at a CVS in Texas when on vacation there, maybe you could find it online? also you can find uv proof wet suits (spf 50) online if you are worried about sun/ putting too much sunblock on. the main tip about water fun is that when baby takes a dunk, SMILE big, don't look scared, baby gets a sense from you if he should be scared about these sorts of things or not!
have a great vacation!

My daughter started using the suit with the blowup floatation in it from about 9 months. It worked really well. the thing is it worked well in a girls suit. I believe it was a speedo and I got it at target. for a boy there's probably a vest - or, at 9 months, in swim diapers, in mexico - I'd probably put him in the girls suit :) At the YMCA they had floatation vests that boys and girls wore and worked well

Ocean - I'd stay at the edge with lots of supervision. Sand, a little water - he'll be very happy.

Have a great trip.

I just returned from Hawaii with my nearly 9 month old. Here are some "MUST-HAVES"

- A long-sleeved rashguard/sunguard body suit and hat - spf 50
I got mine through Amazon. You won't have to deal with applying sunscreen where the suit covers so no worries there. There is a web site: www.uvsungear.com that sells them and other items you'll need as well.

-A pop-up shade.
This thing is a godsend. I got mine from One Step Ahead. No matter where I am, when I pop it up (goes up in mere seconds with no cords, rods, ties) people come over and ask where I got it. It's rated 50 SPF. I highly recommend you practice putting it down while you're still at home BEFORE you hit the beach. The kind I got had an online video demo of how to do this, which was helpful. It takes about a minute to pack away but it takes practice. It comes with it's own "backpack" bag and packs totally flat. I put it in my huge duffel bag with the rest of my clothes. It's so light and flat but will fit both you and your baby.

-Stick sunscreen. I found this easier to manage than lotion.

-avoid sun from late morning to mid afternoon when it's strongest.

That's all I can think of for now. My baby is very very fair and I was worried, but he had not a hint of sun on him. He loved being in the ocean! I brought a round "sit-in" blow up "floaty" but he didn't like it. That doesn't mean your kid won't though. You may want to experiment with floaty devices prior to your trip so you see what works before you pack it.