Traveling to the Texas Coast with a Baby
Our first trip to the Texas coast this summer went off without a hitch! We were so nervous to mess with our baby’s nap/sleep environment, but since our girl is such a strong sleeper and we really needed a vacation, we decided our first family vacation was well overdue and worth the trip. Turns out, we were all concerned for nothing and we had the best time relaxing and exploring the Texas coast with our little one, who was so exhausted from the beach and exploring each day that sleep was the least of our worries. Here are some things we learned and everything we brought with us that made our trip seamless and enjoyable for all:
Travel crib
Our travel crib was a very generous gift to us for our baby shower, so I won’t share a commissionable link, but I can’t say enough good things about this one that we have. It’s convertible into a bassinet if you have a little one under 3 months (or 19 lbs), as well as being a playard/travel crib, and is able to fold up and fits neatly into it’s own over-the-shoulder travel bag. One of the best pieces of advice that I received from my boss while I was pregnant was to skip the bedside bassinet, and just get a travel crib that has a bassinet attachment because you’ll use that piece well into childhood instead of ditching the bassinet after 5 months, and I have to say it’s truly a game changer in terms of value for money. We will use this travel crib for years to come, and baby girl slept so well (if not better?) than she did at home.
Packing cubes and portable bathtub
Since we were only going to be at the beach for a few days, we really didn’t need a big bag to hold all of baby girl’s clothes. But since her first travel bag is this LL Bean boat and tote, we also wanted to have her bag double as a beach bag, making for a potentially challenging logistical situation when we got to the beach. Enter packing cubes. I organized all of her clothes, bathing suits, sleep sacks, etc. into their own packing cubes according to category, so that when we arrived at the coast we could simply unload all of her clothes in their respective cubes, and the beach bag was free to use for other purposes. This also proved to be especially useful for the car ride because instead of shuffling through all of her stuff from the front seat, I could easily take out what I needed according to which cube it was in and save myself a headache in the car. If none of this is making sense and you need no other take away from this, just know that packing cubes will save your sanity as a parent on vacation – trust me.
Another extremely helpful tool to have at our disposal was this portable bathtub. We use this one at home now that little miss is officially too cool for school and can fully sit up in the bathtub. But another benefit of this tub is that it fully folds in half and comes with its own travel bag that can be transported anywhere. I wasn’t sure what the bathtub situation would be like at our AirBnb, so it just saved my sanity to know that we at least had our portable bathtub to make baby girl feel like she was comfortable getting ready for bed.
Beach tent and blanket
When we went on our baby moon last year, our beach tent sadly broke at the very end of the trip and since we haven’t been on vacation since then, a new tent wasn’t exactly at the top of our priority list. Luckily I found this amazing pop up tent on Amazon that is just the right size for a family of three (or maybe more) and the set up was so easy (although make sure no one is in the way when you unravel the cover because it quite literally POPS open). I also grabbed this beach blanket that folds up and carries so easily to and from the car and is able to be wiped down after a long day of sand and food spills. We have even used this at home in the backyard on days when it’s too hot to go for a walk in the stroller.
Toys for the car and house
Last but not least item to thank for the success of our trip was our trusty box of Montessori toys from Amazon. This little set has absolutely everything that keep a 7 month old entertained in the car for hours, in addition of course to Mommy jumping in the backseat for the last few hours to make funny faces and tickle feet for extra laughs, but you get the picture. This set was so helpful for us to have during any downtime at the house, or even just to make her feel a little more at home and familiar with our new setting. All of the toys are silicone, so no need to worry about anything breaking in transit, and the whole set fits inside a very cute little travel box for easy transportation. 10/10 at home and on the road.
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