The first beach trip with a baby....

     The first beach trip with a baby was awful!  I remember telling my cousin after the vacation, "It wasn't a vacation for me. It sucked. It is a whole new world now."
     This is not a "How To" article, but rather a reflection on how I went from having The Worst Ever beach vacation to The Best Ever beach vacation in a matter of one year. Last year, my oldest and only child at the time was 9 months old. I was naive, ill-prepared, and confused about vacationing with a baby. Our annual trip to the North Carolina coast included extended family in a large rented beach house for one full week. As the oldest grand-daughter of this motley crew, I was the first to introduce a baby into the dynamics. Our normal routine for the last ten years consisted of the men playing golf three mornings of the week while the women make their way slowly out the the water.
     For me: coffee - jog - coffee - shower - beach.
So, with the naive assumption that the routine would remain the same, I packed the jogging stroller. Here is how last year went:
6 AM - wake-up, feed, Steve off for Golf
7 AM - coffee
8 AM - Jog
9 AM - Feed and shower
10 AM -Beach for 2 hours
12 - Feed and try to put Camilla down for a nap, hang out at house by myself for three hours
3 PM -Feed and back to beach
5 PM - in for dinner

So, other than being exhausted, I was only seeing the beach for about 3-4 hours a day while my family bathed in the sun for approx. 6-7 hours.  I was heartbroken, stressed, lonely, and pissed. I ended up snapping at my husband, he got pissed also, and then pouted for a day. Last year = The Worst Ever beach vacation.

This year positioned itself to be more difficult. Now, Camilla is 22 months old and Rex is 3 months old. Double the trouble! I am not an expert, but I have just experienced The Best Ever beach week with my family. What works for me and a family who enjoys planting our derrieres in the sand all day long, avoids amusements, and cooks in each night may not work for others. As I mentioned, don't pin this article as "How to Vacation with Babies," but rather "What I didn't think about the first year...." OOPS.

My 4th of July Sparkler

1. Your life has changed, so change your normal routine. I was so glad to hear that Steve was not going to play golf this year. And, well, I didn't jog each morning. I just did my four minutes of Tabata instead (see the post "I Get It, I'm Overweight").

Rex and I hanging out while dinner was grilling.

2. Think about what schedule is best for the babies. The best time for Camilla and Rex to be in the hot sun is early day. Since we wake up at 6AM, we were on the beach by 8:30 and stayed till the hot part of the day, 12:30. Then, it was in for lunch and naps, avoiding the hottest part of the day.

Camilla's ready to go back to the beach with daddy for afternoon sun at 4:00.

3. If the family offers to help - Take it! My mom, who doesn't really enjoy being on the beach during the hottest part of the day, agreed to come up for lunch at 1:00 each day, after I had fed everyone and they were down for naps. This gave me an extra 2 hours of sun alone (priceless). Then I called it quits at 3:00 when mom would go back outside. If you don't have a family member to help, this is where you and your partner need to take turns to give each of you your own "alone time."
4. Praise your partner for their talents and preferences. I am really good at sitting in my beach chair and doing nothing for hours - so I was really good at "managing" the tent while Rex slept in the shade. Steve loves to wade in the water, sit in the sand, and get sand all up in his swim trunks. So, since a 22 month old also likes to do this I made sure to compliment Steve on his 'style.' I told him "thank you for playing with Cam. She is special to have a father who will get sand in his junk." And Steve told me on day 2, "Thanks for being a great mom." That was all I needed to hear.

Camilla and her chariot.

5. I nursed Rex on the beach. I don't know why I was so determined to feed Cam inside the beach house last summer. That modesty cost me two hours of 'sun time.' This year I just crawled under the tent and covered up with my super cute new beach cover up.
6.  Buy crap from the dollar store. Before we left for vacation I went and bought a bunch of cheap toys that could be thrown away at the end of each day. This way Camilla had something new and exciting coming out of mommy's beach bag to destroy.

7. It is a whole new ballgame - but it doesn't have to suck. Instead of telling a cousin after the vacation how bad it was, accept change before and prepare. It still can be a vacation for you. This year was for me! With a plan and an anticipation of how it would be - I was ready.