Hellobee Boards

We just went on a beach vacation to the Florida Keys (not an all inclusive). Things that we found handy were
- Beach towels / sheets / mats to lay down on the sand
- A beach umbrella
- Bucket / shovel set for playing
- Swim suit and swim diaper
- Baby sunscreen (zinc oxide type)
- Sun hat
Some of the more bulky items we purchased once we arrived in the Keys, rather than trying to travel with them.

You don't need that much besides the obvious! Baby powder is great to remove sand from skin. Some resorts have pack and plays they'll set up for you by the pool which is great. Or consider bringing an inflatable baby pool you can set up next to the pool so your little one can cool off in his or her own little space.

If you want to be super prepared mention the trip to your pedi an ask what you should have in case of insect bites, rashes. Etc.

The beach umbrella and beach mats we bought in Florida, rather than flying with them. Your resort might provide some of that stuff though. We also bought the beach toys once we got to Florida, but we managed to fit them in our suitcases to bring home at the end of the trip. I forgot that we also found lightweight swim shirt to be very useful to keep DD's sun exposure to a minimum.

We live in Hong Kong and since warm weather is close by year round, have done lots of beach travel with our now 9 month old beginning when she was about 10 weeks old. Here are some of our favorites - they might be a little "old" for a five month old but are worth it if you will continue to travel.

This float by the brand Swimways is great. It has a detachable canopy, requires minimal air to inflate, and twists into a small flat bag for travel.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0035X4NNE/ref=mw_dp_sim_ss2?pi=SL500_SY125

We also use a UV tent that folds similarly for times when there are not umbrellas/cabanas available.
ttp://www.mothercare.com/ELC-UV-Sun-Tent/133014,default,pd.html

Swimsuits with built in diapers and UV protection are useful. iPlay is a great brand for these + matching sun hats...., and cloth pocket diapers (without the insert) are REALLY easy to clean and put back on if LO does a poo. Long sleeved rash guards are also helpful for minimizing the need for sunscreen, which my daughter loathes. Her current rash guard is a long sleeved, hooded number with a ruffled skirt from Gap's Sugar Rush collection - super cute!

Besides sand toys, we play with pinwheels and bubbles at the beach. The beach is a great opportunity for any sort of messy play or introduction to self feeding you are interested in because its so easy to wash off your baby.

You might also want muslins or a reflective sun hood, and a bug net to cover the stroller or carseat.

For sunscreen, I like Mustela Special Intolerances - hubby and I have even started stealing LO's for our faces.

Finally, we have a small foam fan that clips to the stroller - probably not totally necessary, but makes me feel better!

One item that is useless to us is baby sunglasses - she tolerates all sorts of headbands, hats, and footwear but sunglasses absolutely do not fly.

I also always end up with way too many regular diapers and clothes. Remember the baby will be in swim gear most of the time do will use fewer diapers and have less opportunity to dirty clothing ( so you can re use the romper/onesie they wear to breakfast)

Hope this helps, have fun!!

We live at the beach. I am a minimalist when it comes to stuff I have to lug around, so I'd say you need some sort of umbrella/tent (but on holiday, I'd rent one--whatever outrageous sum the hotel charges is worth it not to have to drag it on a plane), a sunhat with a chin strap (should be easy to find for a 5 month-old, but gets trickier as they get older), maybe some baby sunglasses if you like to sit on the beach all day (try BabyBanz, they have a strap instead of earpieces), and a beach-friendly ball to roll around (rubbery ones tend to have sand stick to them--go for smooth plastic). I would go easy on the beach toys. It's so easy to pick up a leaf/shell and a stick to scoop/draw in the sand with and you don't have to worry about collecting them when you're ready to leave.

LO is a boy, so we do rashguards and swim trunks, but honestly, I like the sun protection from them so much, I'd probably put a daughter in them, too. The little girl swimsuits with ruffles and such are cute, but they don't cover nearly as well as a long-sleeved rashguard and boardshorts. I basically only have to put sunscreen on his face, hands and feet! For a 5mo, I would skip water shoes, but once they're walking, those shoes are helpful at the beach because they can wear them into the showers on the boardwalk.

Have fun!