I was exhausted, ready and anxious.
Our first flight with babe to an All Inclusive in Mexico.
I was worried about the flight, so much sun, the food?
And I laugh now when I think of all the people who told me just to go away and 'relax'.
What is that with a 1.5 year old at the beach? Definitely a different kind of vacation than I'm used too, and it was still amazing to have the sun and water at our disposal. I think the best part was seeing bub's face light up when we mentioned the beach or the pool.
He absolutely loved the water!

I know their needs change as they get older and I thought I'd share what worked at this stage for us and definitely became necessities for this trip.

5 Beach Vacay Baby Necessities:

Gap has a baby/toddler rash guard with long sleeves and a hood. Bought two for a good price and loved them.
Babybanz UV sun hat and glasses with 100% UV protection. They are annoying until they realize the harsh sun is the alternative then keeping these on isn't a problem.
Crocs! easy on and off for the beach, withstanding the elements of water and sand.
Sunscreen was the biggie for me and I have two personal fav's for baby, and myself as I actually used the Matter sun creme on my own face: Badger Baby Sunscreen Creme, and Matter, Mom and Baby, Baby Sun Care Creme.

Oh! there is one item I forgot to add.
We borrowed an ipad from a friend and to say it was a lifesaver is an understatement. I'm not an advocate for kids, especially babies being introduced to these things so early however it provided a good distraction on the plane at times, and we had no idea how handy it would be while at the resort. There is so much noise that's out of your control with the other suites, maintenance doing renovations, the lawn mower going off, dinner carts coming with room service...weird, random noises through the night...anyways, Thank God for YouTube and 4 hour loops of white noise sounds. Ironically we used the crashing wave sounds, I believe it was this one.

A little on the fence about an All Inclusive with an 18 month old. I think if the babes were smaller it might be easier, and our little guy has an early bedtime.
Unless you have a suite with two rooms vs. the one room or maybe if you can bring a Nana along, it gets tough to do anything other than room service for dinner. The long days full of fresh air made bed time even more critical and even if we hit up the buffet, I found it rushed and pushing it for the little guy.

Also the noise is out of your control. Funny enough, EVERY.SINGLE.TIME I went to put Colin down for his nap, the renovation orchestra would start up it's symphony right behind the headboard, I mean I was waiting for a Mexican to come crashing through the wall at times. So like any frustrated and wanting your baby to sleep effortlessly without the sounds of wall demolition, I called the front desk, and nicely asked for a cease fire. I swear I was nice, and remember I was a frustrated mom -- so that should tell you how nice I was.

I think there are resorts that cater more to families.
Or renting a condo/house somewhere and forgetting the All Inclusive is usually a great idea when our dollar isn't bombing.
Where are you favourite places to travel with the family?

Share your thoughts in the comments below or on Facebook. I would love to hear from you!
xo

jodi renée