Thank you all for our comments on yesterday’s post. It seems like no matter if we have all girls or all boys a lot of us can relate to each other. This is why I love blogging.

Since going to the beach a few weeks ago, I have gotten a few emails asking for tips on what to pack for the beach. So I’m going to go through our packing list, which will no doubt seem excessive. But we did need and use everything we packed.

Thank goodness we now have a very large SUV. One child requires a lot of gear. Two kids require a whole lot of gear. For airplane trips to visit family, we aren’t able to bring quite as much, obviously. We have flown approximately 25 times since Hudson was born, so we are seasoned travelers with babies.

My parents have a pack n play at their house along with an activity gym and a bouncy seat. The hardest part, to me, about traveling with an infant is what to do with them when they aren’t sleeping and you aren’t holding them. You need a blanket to lie them down on the floor. Or bring your bouncy seat if you can.

But this time we were staying in a condo- just our little family of four. We had no idea what the condo already had there for us.

I made a list in my “Vacation Planning” section of my home organization notebook. So many of you gave excellent recommendations on what to bring to the beach and they were all so helpful! I used all the comments when packing my packing list.

So this is the packing list (not including items for TC and me):

Clothes for both boys (pajamas and one outfit per day)

A pack of diapers for each boy- regular diapers and swim diapers- (you just never know how many you’ll need. You can always buy them when you get there if there’s a good store where you’re going.)

Swimsuits for both boys

Swim shirts for both boys- I love those SPF protectant shirts. We’re a fair-skinned bunch and it would absolutely terrify me if my boys got sunburned.

Beach towels

Hayes’s bath seat– for him to sit in while on the beach

Baby pool- for filling up on the beach for Hudson to play in

Tailgate tent- we ended up using our tailgate tent because it was big and provided lots of shade. It was easy for all of us to sit under it.

Baby pop up tent- this is the tent that Hayes slept under. We kept it under the big tent and we could close the flap to keep sand and wind off of Hayes.

Activity gym- we were able to lay Hayes down on the floor to play while we were in the condo

Hudson’s favorite movies- we brought Finding Nemo and The Lion king

Portable DVD player- for the drive and in case the condo didn’t have a DVD player

Beach cart for transporting the tents, towels, shovels, chairs, etc. – this made our lives so much easier! I love this thing and will not take a beach trip without it!

Pail and shovel for the beach- Hudson loved shoveling the sand and collecting shells

Small folding chair for Hudson

Large folding chairs for TC and me

Battery operated stroller fan– this clipped on to Hayes’s bath seat and gave him a little bit of relief from the heat

Sunscreen- duh.

Pack n Play- Hudson had his own room and slept in a twin bed there, but Hayes slept in his Pack n Play so we didn’t have to rent a crib

Bottles- I brought enough bottles for a day so I didn’t feel pressure to wash them as we used them.

Bottle Warmer- My baby likes his bottles the way he likes his bottles– warm!

Formula- There was a very small grocery store that didn’t sell our formula, so I’m glad we brought a full case.

Toys- We brought a couple of Hudson’s favorite puzzles and his Schleich animals for him to play with at night and in case of rain.

White noise machines for both boys

A small fan for Hayes’s room

Stroller

Baby Bjorn

Water wings for Hudson

Baby floatie for Hayes

This was everything we brought. For a normal trip (where we could get to a Walmart or Target), I wouldn’t bring so much formula or as many diapers. We also wouldn’t need the tents. If I’m flying, I don’t bring the pack n play or the activity gym. We just get a crib from the hotel if we’re going to a hotel and use a hotel blanket for Hayes on the floor for him to roll around.

Small babies need a lot of stuff and traveling can be very overwhelming just because of everything you need to pack.

I’ve tried to do a “flying with babies” and “road trip with babies” post a few times, but even writing the post overwhelms me! Ha! It’s really not that bad, but you just don’t want to forget anything, if possible. And the good news is that if you do forget something, you can pick it up on the way or when you get there!

Do you have any tips to share?

1. I received a Michael Kors perfume sample in my latest Sephora order. It’s called Very Hollywood and it is very subtle and I am loving the scent! Might even have to buy some more!

2. Our blogging book club is currently reading Ree Drummond’s Black Heels to Tractor Wheels and I am completely sucked in. I love this story and she is a brilliant writer! We are currently reading Part Two of the book and will post questions for Part Two on Sunday night or Monday morning, so it’s not too late to start reading. It is such a quick read because it’s so good!

I am reading it on TC’s Kindle (and I am love love loving the Kindle) so I don’t have a pretty hard copy of the book, but Nina took this picture of what the book looks like without the jacket. Isn’t it pretty?

photo by Nina

3. Have you see the Shop With Me button in my header? Are you using Ebates? Are you a member with Zulily, Totsy, The Mini Social, and lots of other flash sale sites? I have been a member for a while and just never thought to put buttons on my blog for everyone to use. But I have been stocking up on little boy clothes in all sizes because the prices are just amazing. And the toys are wonderful, too. Gilt also has a children’s section and you can find some wonderful baby gear, clothes, and toys for great prices! Click on Shop With Me for invites to all of these sites.

4. I’m getting ready to host a Willow House blog party! I am absolutely in love with so many of the Willow House items and the magazine deals are incredible. So I can’t wait to share it with all of you!

5. We recently got our Baby Jogger City Select and I am so excited. This is the greatest double stroller! I love that it can be a single or a double. I love that there are so many configurations for when using it as a double stroller.

I love that sweet Hudson won’t have to be sitting behind and underneath his baby brother, but instead can face out and sit in front. The Baby Jogger folks knew what they were doing when they designed this stroller. It is so light weight. I would recommend this for the primary stroller for anyone with just one child and then buy the kit for the second seat when your second child comes along. It is truly a great stroller! Look at all of the different configurations. And yes, we got the black stroller. I’m sure I’ll regret it when Boudreaux’s hair gets all over it, but I just like the black!

So the way this works is you buy the base model of the stroller and then to turn it into a double stroller, you buy the kit for the second seat. To have it hold your car seat, you buy the car seat adapter accessory. I also picked up the Baby Jogger parent console tray which includes a cup holder and some zipper pouches and I picked up the child snack tray for Hudson.

6. I have gotten a few questions lately about what car seat bag we use when traveling. We travel a lot and prefer to bring our own car seats with us rather than rent one when we arrive at our destinations. To keep our car seat safe from being damaged on the airplane, we have the Childress Car Seat Travel Bag. Love it. TC can wear it as a backpack– and we can cram my makeup bag or Hudson’s toys in the excess space. Or we can wheel the bag. Amazing!

What are you loving right now?

A few months ago, I did a product review of the baby items we’d used up until Hudson was 4 months old. This is the link to the other post if you need to see it.

I get a lot of emails asking what I think about certain baby products and asking what we used for bottles, baby spoons, or strollers. Here are the answers to all of your baby product questions! I’m also going to do another post about the nursery and where we got a lot of those items and a post about baby clothes, for everyone that has asked.

(Disclaimer: I was not paid to promote any of these products and haven’t received any free baby items in exchange for this post.)

And for those that aren’t interested in baby gear, here’s a picture of my beautiful boy! He was dedicated to the Lord at church on Sunday in a very sweet baby dedication service. There were 42 babies dedicated!

Necessities

Boogie Wipes– These things are amazing. I first found them at Nordstrom, but they also sell them in the first aid section at Babies ‘R Us. I like to buy the ones with saline in them. They are so soft on little runny noses, but they don’t just wipe the nose. They also help stop the runny nose problem with the saline.

Halo Sleep Sack– We stopped swaddling Hudson when he was 4 months old and grew out of the blankets, then grew out of the Woombie. We switched to a Halo Sleep Sack so he could be covered and warm, but still have his arms free. The blanket is like a little sleeping bag and it can’t get tangled up around his face. It’s safe and it helps me to rest easier at night.

Packin Smart– These little goodies are containers that hold your baby’s snacks when you’re on the go. Your baby won’t be eating little puffs or yogurt melts until they’re 7-9 months old, but the Packin Smart is a great way to bring snacks in the diaper bag.

Burp Cloths– I love 3 Marthas and Swaddle Designs burp cloths. I also bought a big pack of cloth diapers and my mom sewed borders onto them for us to use as burp cloths.’

Bottles– Dr. Browns

Baby Spoons– Gerber

Saline Spray– Little Noses misting spray. It clears my baby boy right up when his nose is stopped up.

Toys

Fisher Price Little Superstar Sing-Along Stage– This toy lights up, sings, plays music so you can sing along, and it has a mirror. Hudson really loves it.

Fisher Price Little Superstar 2-in-1 Singing Band Walker– This is a lot like the Sing-Along Stage, but it’s a walker. Hudson can either sit and play or he can stand and walk behind it.

Evenflo Jump and Go(until 7 months)- He loved this thing until he was just too big to use it anymore. We started using it around 4 months and then he really learned to jump around 6 months. It was so much fun to just sit there and watch him bounce for half an hour!

Evenflo Exercauser (until 7 months)- We started using this at 4 months and he loved it immediately. He always liked being in it, but when he started sitting up he stopped tolerating being confined.

Vullie Sophie la Girafe– We still love Sophie. Hudson has four teeth now and he’s working on two more, so Sophie gets a lot of use!

Entertainment

Baby Einstein DVDs– These people are genius. The creators of Baby Einstein need a medal from mommies everywhere. Hudson sees the little Baby Einstein caterpillar and he goes nuts! Then he is mesmerized. I have videos for 3 months, 6 months, and 9 months. And each one just gets a little more advanced. Love them.

Praise Baby CDs– I don’t love the Praise Baby DVDs. They just don’t hold his attention. I love the music, but Hudson doesn’t stop to watch the DVD. But he will calm down in the car as soon as he hears Praise Baby playing.

Travel and Gear

Graco Pack ‘n Play– Now we use the Pack ‘n Play as a play pen and it is great. When I need to get dressed in the morning, Hudson hangs out in the pack ‘n play in my room and entertains himself so I can get myself together. We also travel with it and use it as a crib when we’re on the road. Such a great investment.

Stroller– We are still loving our BOB Stroller Strides stroller so much. You hardly have to push the thing. It is such a smooth ride and we absolutely love taking it with us. Even though it has been recalled, we like using our MacLaren Triumph stroller for quick trips or when we fly. So far, we haven’t chopped our fingers off.

I think the biggest concern is always whether your baby will like a certain toy or not or if you’ll spend tons of money on something that never gets used. We have had things that have bombed out at our house, but the items listed above are our favorites.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I’ll be happy to answer them.