The picture above is what my days at the beach consisted of -- a small bag with sunscreen, a beach towel, a book/magazine and possibly a chair or umbrella. How simple is that? Took me less than five minutes to get ready for the beach and another five to walk down and maybe two minutes to 'set up.' I could lay on that towel for hours and then break to the ocean if I got too hot sunbathing. I would come back to the house for lunch or nap on the beach through lunch. Clocks did not belong at the beach, we came back whenever I got too much sun or it was dinnertime. Another two minutes to 'pack up' and I was on my home to shower and relax!
Fast forward one year ....
THIS is our 'set up!'
Love,
THIS is our 'set up!'I started thinking about our beach trips all the way back in March!! I purchased a tent so he would be covered from the sun and have a non sandy place to play! In May, we purchased a 'beach' stroller so we could easily wheel him to the beach and one of us would not have to carry him. We can not just wake up and go to the beach whenever we feel like it. It is usually after his first nap of the day around 11am. And this is our beach process:
- dress Jaiden is a new diaper, swim trunks and a rash guard.
- put sunscreen on him.
- pack his bag which consists of: extra diapers, wipes, swim diapers, multiple changes of clothes, 3 bottles, formula, water bottles to mix his formula when we get to the beach, puffs for him and a hat or two for him to wear once we get there!
- dress myself and get my bag together: ONLY a book (which I may or may not get to even take out of the bag anymore!)
- snacks and a water bottle for myself and J.
- pack underneath the stroller: all of his toys, sheet to lay out so he can crawl on it, tent, 3 towels, water bottle for ourselves, sunscreen for all three of us.
- put Jaiden in the stroller and make sure he has two toys with him to play with on our walk down.
- get 2 chairs, Jaiden's 'pool' and the umbrella out of the closet to bring with us as well!
Now that we are packed we grab our chairs and put them over our shoulders and begin our walk to the beach. After trudging our stroller through the thick sand we make it to our 'spot' and begin to set up -- unpacking the chairs, setting up the umbrella and tent, getting towels/sheets put down, getting toys out and then placing Jaiden in the tent!
We sit down for a matter of minutes before Jaiden has escaped the tent and is now heading for the sand. He LOVES to eat it ... and with all our best efforts he has eaten plenty of it!! After chasing him and getting sand out of his mouth we take a walk. On this walk he may or may not take a twenty minute nap, being awake by the time we get back to our spot. He plays with his toys and we continue to keep him from eating all the sand off the beach. Every five or ten minutes we head down to the ocean for him to dip his feet in the water (and to get the sand off of his face!)
Towards the end of the day we put him in a swim diaper and bring our chairs down to the ocean. We sit in the water and Jaiden splashes and waits for all the big waves to come! He is fascinated by the bubbles that the waves make and when the waves go back out. He continues to eat wet sand in between each wave!!
The end of our beach day includes changing him into a non wet/sandy outfit. He goes back in the stroller and we pack up our beach day!! We are fairly quick because we know Jaiden NEEDS a nap!! Another trip through the thick sand and we wash our feet off, 'unsand' everything, bring everything inside, give Jaiden a bottle and put him down for a nap.
So no longer is it a easy, care- free, restful beach day like last summer but one day down at the beach with the two people I love is worth the time and energy that it takes to make it happen!!
- dress Jaiden is a new diaper, swim trunks and a rash guard.
- put sunscreen on him.
- pack his bag which consists of: extra diapers, wipes, swim diapers, multiple changes of clothes, 3 bottles, formula, water bottles to mix his formula when we get to the beach, puffs for him and a hat or two for him to wear once we get there!
- dress myself and get my bag together: ONLY a book (which I may or may not get to even take out of the bag anymore!)
- snacks and a water bottle for myself and J.
- pack underneath the stroller: all of his toys, sheet to lay out so he can crawl on it, tent, 3 towels, water bottle for ourselves, sunscreen for all three of us.
- put Jaiden in the stroller and make sure he has two toys with him to play with on our walk down.
- get 2 chairs, Jaiden's 'pool' and the umbrella out of the closet to bring with us as well!
Now that we are packed we grab our chairs and put them over our shoulders and begin our walk to the beach. After trudging our stroller through the thick sand we make it to our 'spot' and begin to set up -- unpacking the chairs, setting up the umbrella and tent, getting towels/sheets put down, getting toys out and then placing Jaiden in the tent!
We sit down for a matter of minutes before Jaiden has escaped the tent and is now heading for the sand. He LOVES to eat it ... and with all our best efforts he has eaten plenty of it!! After chasing him and getting sand out of his mouth we take a walk. On this walk he may or may not take a twenty minute nap, being awake by the time we get back to our spot. He plays with his toys and we continue to keep him from eating all the sand off the beach. Every five or ten minutes we head down to the ocean for him to dip his feet in the water (and to get the sand off of his face!)
Towards the end of the day we put him in a swim diaper and bring our chairs down to the ocean. We sit in the water and Jaiden splashes and waits for all the big waves to come! He is fascinated by the bubbles that the waves make and when the waves go back out. He continues to eat wet sand in between each wave!!
The end of our beach day includes changing him into a non wet/sandy outfit. He goes back in the stroller and we pack up our beach day!! We are fairly quick because we know Jaiden NEEDS a nap!! Another trip through the thick sand and we wash our feet off, 'unsand' everything, bring everything inside, give Jaiden a bottle and put him down for a nap.
So no longer is it a easy, care- free, restful beach day like last summer but one day down at the beach with the two people I love is worth the time and energy that it takes to make it happen!!
Dada & Mama J
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