Best Baby Gear for Summer Vacations

We all know that the summer is prime time for travel and adventures with your babies and kiddos. While this can be a TON of fun, finding yourself in a sandy or wet situation without the right gear is far from ideal. Here is my list of must-have baby gear for summer time adventures with your little ones.

Wagon for Baby & Gear: For my family, a beach wagon is absolutely essential to a successful trip. We have taken one vacation with a beach wagon and one vacation without - the difference was amazing. Being able to wheel your kid across the sand and also free your hands up from some of the baby gear is a game-changer. My current favorite wagon is the Red Rider Beach Wagon.

Beach Tent / Sun Shade: You've hauled everyone down to the beach, and now your little customers are fussy, grumpy and baking in the sun. No worries, you have a beach tent in your wagon! Now, I have been through multiple beach tents over the past two years and the California Beach Tent is my favorite. It is a little pricier than some of the other options, but it is oh so easy to fold, set up and takedown. You will be tempted, as I was, to save $50 on a cheaper option, like this, or this .... but trust me, you will end up throwing it out anyways.

Sunhats and Sunglasses: My son has approximately 7 sun hats. This is not an exaggeration. I only have found two to be sufficiently effective at shading the sun and being comfortable enough for him to agree to wear for more than five minutes. This wide brim hat is my favorite hat for babies and toddlers in the summer, and while it says for 2+, the ability to tighten has made it perfect for my smaller kid as well.

Bottles and Lunchbox: Undoubtedly, someone is going to need a cool bottle of milk or some other "chilled" item when you arrive at the beach. No worries, because you will have this handy dandy Pack It lunch box / freezer pack combo that keeps bottles and food cold for a shockingly long time. And the best part is you will not have to keep up with an icepack --- the fewer items the better in my book.

Sunscreen: I love the Baby Bum sunscreen for my baby and the the supergoop sunscreen for myself. The supergoop is so clean, that I don't feel bad using it on my son if we happen to run out of or forget his baby bum.

Splat Mats: Saving my best recommendation for last, we use splat mats at the beach for the babies to play on rather than sitting on beach towels. The sand and water wipe off super easily and it makes for a good option when somebody needs to step get out of the sand for a few minutes.

That's all for now! Enjoy your summer at the beach, lake, or mountains!!