1st beach trip with 2 1/2 yr old, 4 mos old, in-law's and cousins.....any advice?

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you'll have an army of loving babysitters. Take advantage of Aunt Nellie and Cousin Mary and leave Junior with them for a few hours and enjoy a little R&R.

[Anonymous]

Don't try to do too much - we went to the beach last year with our one-year old and her Granny, and neither one lasted more than two hours on the hot sand. It was enough for us to do that every morning, then spend the afternoon napping and splashing in the pool. We took a blow up pool but DD loved the sand and water so much, we never used it (so I would definitely play that by ear). You could also set the pool up at the house in the shade so your toddler can splash while your baby naps. The key for us was to not take too much stuff with us to the beach itself - we rented an umbrella at the beach for the week and brought mats to sit on and a small cooler with water and snacks. And when Granny offered to babysit in the evening, DH and I took her up on the offer and went to the movies! We ate simple foods (lots of hot dogs and fruit) and had very little planned (my favorite time of the day was just sitting on the porch swing with a book while DD napped). Good luck!

[Anonymous]

We just returned from one week in outer banks with our 1yo and 3yo, along with close friend's 1yo and 3yo, sister, mother and husband. We had a blast! Here's what we did:

1. Brought a blow up pool for beach, SPF tent for baby naps, and lots of shovels/buckets/trucks!
2. Beach chairs for all
3. Lots of toys, puzzles, finger paint, walkie talkies for indoor games
4. Brought cheapy wooden frames, then went on beach to collect shells and kids decorated frames using glue and shells! So cute.
5. Spray sun screen is perfect for re-applications on beach once they are covered with sand but still need protection (don't have to rub in).
6. Stayed completely off email and cell phones! Heaven.
7. Cooked all meals and let entire family take part. Also split up a couple nights so that one couple cooked one night, one the other, etc. One night the husbands actually did go out and bring in food to eat which was nice too.

What I WISH we did:
1. Cleaned house very well since rental and the maids sweep in and out and could use same rag for toilets as for kitchen, etc. You never know what is left behind (in our case hand-foot-and mouth virus). Ugh.
2. Come back just a little earlier so that kids could unwind (and us) at home in regular routine before launching into full work week.

Enjoy! Vacations are so good for the soul (although we are all pretty tired this week)...count in for the recovery factor too!

[Anonymous]

Oh my OP here......thanks for your input! You've made me laugh my sides off as well as given me really solid ideas. good to know it can be done with some relaxation for adults as well....thank you thank you thank you....