Hi moms. We are going to the beach soon and my lo will be 13-14 months. 2 questions. Has anyone taken a playyard---the fence like playyard not a pac-n-play--and used it on the beach? Was it worth it?
Also i plan on taking a pac-n-play for her to sleep in but i think we will all be in one room, not a condo. So how will i get her to take naps and go to bed when my hubby and i are in the same room? I'll bring the white noise and nite time music but she will be able to see us. TIA
Hi M.,
Sorry I can really help with any info with the play yard on the beach we have never done that, but I can tell you what works for us is hotel-like rooms. What we did was put our sons pack-n-play in the bathroom and shut him in there. It has always worked well for us. Hope that helps and have fun at the beach.
Put the play yard up in your hotel room and drape blankets over the sides for privacy.
if you plan to be at the beach all day this is a good idea, however it will probably only work if your child is already used to having playpen time at home otherwise they might not like this new idea of being confined. We use the pack n play though for time up out of the sand a play yard that is on the sand you might as well let the baby roam. Both of my daughters had/have some alone playpen time everyday and actually enjoy it. I also use it(pack n play) for naps on the beach (my youngest is now 12 mos)try to bring a light weight blanket to cover it with to help make it a little darker (leaving room for fresh air to circulate in the screen sides) and of course keep it under the umbrella. I only use it when my baby needs a break so make sure to give baby plenty of time to explore the sand and play. The best thing to do is either rinse baby clean then dry new diaper all that b4 putting in playpen that way its a break from the itch sand and baby can sleep or play comfortably. small baby pools are great a 1 ring blow up is fine for this age it can be refilled and cleaned easily plus its easy to cary. Be prepared though some babies arent gonna last more then a n hour or so at the beach my kids and I go all the time but if they are not used to it sometimes nothing works.
As far as the hotelyou may expect the scheduel to be a little off we have had it go 2 ways either the baby was so tired from all the fun activities we had going on that she slept great no probs (you can darken hotel rooms easily ) so darken for a nap put on white noise and I say go on the balcony w/ a book or some cards ect or if there is no balcony 1 of you go get some take out and have your own mini picnic in the hall, or enjoy a nap yourself. if your lucky at night the baby might be able to sleep even w/ the tv on if not be prepared for an early night, we usually keep the bathroom light on and turn the tv volume down then turn it off turn off rest of lights and pretend to be going to sleep yourself, so once the kids are really asleep we can turn on the tv and slowly adjust the volume LOL. Its sure not like vacations b4 kids but fun all the same, also once the baby is asleep you can try putting a blanket over the pack n play to block the light and then turn the lights on just b sure to take the blanket off b4 you go to bed. Or you could always have a little romance if you must stay in the dark, your baby wont know the difference ; ) Oh I thought that bathroom as a bedroom idea was great too just read that!
We would always set the pac n play up in the walk-in closet, if there is one in the master bedroom. I know it sounds weird- but it is a great place to sleep because it is dark and also keeps some noise out (we usually don't close the door all the way, just crack it).
I am a total beach nut, so both my girls have been to the beach several times even since before they were one. I just bring plenty of beach toys and a cheap beach tent I bought at wal-mart. Their beach swimwear include 50 SPF, hats and those SPF shirts. I don't think that a fence play yard is necessary for the beach. As for the hotel situation, the pack n play would be ideal. As for nap times, I am sure that everything will work out fine as your daughter might be too tired to even notice you are there if she's been playing on the beach. Don't sweat the small stuff and just enjoy your vacation!
The best advice I ever received regarding what to do with babies at the beach, was take a paddle pool (Blow-up kind works best if you don't have any place to store the hard plastic kind) and a beach umbrella. My husband would go ahead of the rest of us and set up our chairs and the pool with the umbrella situated so that the pool would be shaded for hours. Yes, they can still get into the sand, but we always would take them down to the water to rinse off and play a little. When we would come back up to the pool and chairs, they were usually ready for a nap, so in goes the blanket for a bed. So, DON'T add water to the pool. We made that mistake the first time we used the pool/umbrella.
Hope this works for you.
Milly
