The essentials for a week at the seaside with your baby

The first seaside holiday with your baby is often a source of anxiety for new parents. What should you pack for a holiday with your baby? In what quantities? How can you be sure you haven't forgotten anything? Yet with a little organisation, there is no reason why it shouldn't go smoothly! To help you get organised for your seaside break with baby, we have put together a printable checklist of everything you need to bring for your child.

Does this baby holiday checklist apply to all babies?

This list applies to babies from birth up to around 3 years of age. However, some items will no doubt be unnecessary. For example, a breastfed baby will not need formula milk. Likewise, a travel cot will not be essential if your holiday accommodation already has a cot. We recommend crossing off straight away anything that does not apply to you, so that the list is tailored to your child's needs.

How many clothes should you pack for a week's holiday with your baby?

This largely depends on one key factor: will you have the opportunity (or inclination) to do laundry? If so, then 4 bottoms, 4 bodysuits, 4 sleepsuits, and 5 tops should be sufficient — there is no point in overloading yourself. Otherwise, we would recommend packing 7 bottoms, 7 bodysuits, 7 sleepsuits, and 9 tops instead.

How many nappies and cotton pads should I pack for a week's holiday?

This depends on how many times a day you change your baby's nappy. Roughly speaking, if you are still changing your baby 8 times a day, you will need 8 nappies plus 1 spare per day. For a week away — 7 nights and 8 days — you will therefore need around 72 nappies if you are using disposables. If you have the option to do laundry, you can bring your washable nappies with you.

For cotton pads, apply the same rule as for nappies, simply adding 2 extra per day for washing and nappy changes. For a baby being changed 8 times a day, you will need roughly a pack of 100 cotton pads. As with nappies, if you are able to do your laundry, feel free to bring your usual washable wipes.

What should you take for a trip to the beach with your baby?

Swim nappies, a sun hat, sunglasses, and so on. Find our 10 essentials for baby's bathtime and swim outings.

What precautions should you take when going to the beach with your baby?

The beach is a real joy for children: the warmth, the sand, the water, the waves — so many opportunities for fun and wonderful family moments! But it is also a place that can be very dangerous. To make sure your family outing does not turn into a nightmare, there are a few simple precautions to take.

First of all — and we cannot stress this enough — it is strongly inadvisable to go to the beach between 12 noon and 4pm, particularly for very young children. This is when UV rays are at their strongest. Furthermore, even outside these hours, it is essential to protect your child properly from the sun. A sun hat, sunglasses, and sun cream are all absolutely necessary. We also strongly recommend using a UV-protective top.

It is also not advisable to bathe a baby under one year old when the water temperature is below 32°C. Young children do not regulate their body temperature well. If you choose to take your little one in the water, make sure to take them out when they come up in goosebumps, start shivering, have chattering teeth, cold skin, or bluish lips.

We would also advise against leaving your baby without a nappy at the beach. Their skin is far more delicate than ours, and the sand can irritate it. The sand also harbours bacteria that can cause infection.

We hope these few tips have been helpful. Do feel free to let us know which essentials we may have missed. And in the meantime, we wish you a wonderful holiday with your little one!