Babies at the Beach

Before I blog about the fun we had at the beach, I want record a few details about each child during our trip. We truly had a great time, but we had a very real vacation with a 16 month old and an almost 4 year old. I'm sure the first year Avery leaves in a car at the beach, either driving or with a friend, I'll want to look back at this and chuckle.

This was Sam's 2nd trip to the beach, but last year didn't really count at 4 months old. I had no idea how he would do on the beach and how he would do sleeping, since he hasn't had a night away from home since November. We went out on the beach Sunday after dinner, and he was pretty unsure about it. He wasn't crazy about standing in the sand, he definitely didn't want to sit, and walking was kind of tough. He handled it like a champ of the rest of the week. Walking was still a challenge, but he had no trouble dumping sand on himself, drinking salt water out of his bucket, and consuming sandy snacks. And snack he did. He was sure he needed to eat most of the time was on the beach. Other than eating, he liked to sit in the beach chairs, splashing in a bucket of water, and playing in the sand. He wasn't a huge fan of the ocean.

He did really well sleeping in the pack-n-play there. The first few naps and nights had tears, but they were less and less each time. I only let him stay in his bed for an hour in the morning so that he would nap earlier in the afternoon. He should have been exhausted between the beach and the exploring he did in our cottage. He was in every cabinet, drawer, and room. He cleaned out a whole drawer of kitchen utensils, and that's what the kids played with all week. I don't know that he's much busier than Avery was at that age, but we had my parents to help with her.

I knew Avery would still love the beach, and she did. She loves to run by the water and put her feet in. She is not interested in doing much sitting on the beach. She said running on the beach was her favorite. We also got to swim twice since my parents came at the end of the week and stayed in a hotel.

I also knew our biggest challenge with Avery would be sleeping, and I was right. Each year at the beach, it took her a few nights of crying to get acclimated. This was also her first year in a bed there. Couple all of that with the bed time issues we were having at home due to storms, and you're in for a mess. I sat with her the first night until she fell asleep, and that had to be continued for the entire trip. We finally switched from laying with her to sitting in the floor. What we did not expect was Avery waking in the night screaming. We had one night of complete sleep, and other than that, someone ended up in her bed between 2-4 am each morning. Thunderstorms and fireworks every evening did not help us at all. The poor child was terrified, and I know I was not always the most patient. We even had crying at nap time. I made the mistake of putting Sam across the hall from her, so a lot of crying wasn't an option. By the last few nights we just resolved to knowing we would get I the bed with her to get through our time. Nothing drives me crazier than a sleep issue, so I was and still am at the end of my rope with this {because it returned home with us}. We have been blessed that Avery has been an extremely good child, and while she continues to be, the last 6 months has been the most challenging season. Lack of sleep exasperates the silliness, babyness, and inability to keep from loving Sam until he falls down. Listening also takes a hit. So, we all need our rest to recharge and ward off an extra behavior challenges. There were several times that I was definitely not at my best.

As I said, we really had a great time and I can't wait to share all of our pictures. But all of the above was part of our trip as well, and needs to be recorded, at least for awhile. We've already booked our cottage for next year and are anticipating another great time. We'll have an almost 5 year old and a 2.5 year old. What could go wrong?