One of the perks of living in Kansas City is its close proximity to a myriad of lakes. Whether you are sticking closer to home with a trip to Clinton or Smithville lakes, or you’re making the drive to the Ozarks, you have plenty of great options for a day on the water. We just so happened to have spent baby’s first Independence Day at Table Rock.
In the short time that we’ve been parents, we’ve found that having an infant has not stopped us from doing the things we have always loved. The privileges of having one kiddo, who sleeps easily on the go and has not yet mastered crawling! We keep a diaper bag stocked for a spontaneous adventure, and we engage in some casual pre-planning and event management when it comes to bigger outings like baseball games and lake days. Here are a few of the tips that helped us enjoy a weekend on the water.
- Keep your expectations realistic. Nap times, blow outs, bad moods, and meal time are daily occurrences with a tiny human. Our first attempt at a day on the water resulted in a day in the lake house while our son took a rare 3-hour nap. Getting on the water is possible, but it requires the understanding that it won’t look like it did before baby. Keeping a chill attitude about the whole thing will help you to avoid disappointment and to go with the flow when things do not go according to plan.
- Schedule is everything. Quite possibly more important than the items you pack is the schedule you make. Because each baby is different, it is up to each parent to know their own kiddo and do what is best for him or her. Plan around your little one’s nap schedule, and everyone will be much happier. We didn’t even think of leaving the house until he’d finished a good, long nap. We also planned to be at a friend’s dock near nap time, so that we’d have a quiet, shady place to give the baby a rest. There’s nothing quite like sipping an iced tea and rocking your little one on the water.
- Purchase or borrow an appropriately sized, U.S. Coast Guard approved flotation device. Missouri law requires that every vessel have a flotation device not just for your infant but for every boat passenger. While most “PFDs” only need to be readily accessible, every child under 7 must wear his or hers while onboard, unless totally enclosed in a cabin. In Kansas, every child under 12 must wear one. Not only is it the law, but it is one of the biggest safety concerns facing any person on the water. Make sure the PFD is in good condition, and take the time to fit it properly on your munchkin before you head out to the water.
- Bring extra food. It is easy to dehydrate quickly, so pack extra bottles and formula or be prepared to nurse more often. If your little one is eating solids, a serving or two of food is good to keep on hand. We love organic pouches for their ease on days out and about. Our little dude lapped up an entire pouch of pears as an afternoon snack.
- Beware the sun. A little one’s new, sensitive skin poses additional factors for sun safety. The US Food and Drug Administration and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend avoiding sun exposure for infants. Sunscreen is not suggested for children under the age of 6 months. Even for kiddos who are old enough to be lathered up, hats and swim shirts are great ideas to protect that sensitive skin. We spent our day on a boat with a canopy. If you do not have that option, you can look at umbrellas to create shade for baby.
Consider the swim diaper. I recently learned that the only purpose of the swim diaper is to catch number 2’s. Number 1’s run into the water. Decide what works best for your family: disposable swim diapers or reusable, cloth swim diapers. We invested in a couple of cloth swim diapers because we knew our kiddo would be ready for a bigger size by our next lake weekend. We kept him in his regular diapers on the boat, and changed him into his swim diapers before we got into the water. I did, however, forget to put him back in regular diapers before his nap and he peed all over both of us.- Pack strategically. If you are anything like our family, you are already traveling with multiple people, a PFD for each of us, coolers of food and beverages, extra large beach towels, floaties, trash bags, etc. While we never like to carry around more baby gear than we need to, boating is a time when we’d prefer to carry as little as possible. We put the baby’s bottles and food in a cooler with the rest of our food. Then, we filled a small bag with two to four disposable diapers, a dry onesie for the trip home, an extra swim diaper, a travel-size package of wipes, a plastic grocery bag for wet clothes, sunscreen, and a portable fan with a mister. The baby’s stuff took up very little space, and we had everything we needed.
- Don’t forget the camera. If you’ve planned ahead, you should have everything you need to care for your tiny companion and enjoy your day. You’ll be having so much fun that it might be easy to forget to snap a few pictures. Don’t forget!
