Rose's First Beach Trip

Over the past week, it seemed like the weather transitioned from winter to summer.  One night it was so warm we actually had to turn on the air conditioning. With the promise of nice weather continuing through the weekend, we decided to take Rose on her first trip (of hopefully many) to the beach.

We were up very early and decided to get on the road after getting Rose fed and changed. We were fortunate that she rested most of the 2.5 hour drive down to the beach.

We arrived to fairly strong winds and cool temperatures down by the water's edge.  Thankfully, we all had our hats and several layers of clothing. Rose was so comfortable, she managed to sleep for a solid 3 hours on the beach as the temperatures warmed into the 70s. The only downside was that it remained windy.  Neither Colin nor I realized the exposed areas of our skin would get sunburned.

 Rose's first trip to Fort Fisher State Park Beach, NC

Enjoying the ocean even though it was cool and windy

The few hours Rose was awake at the beach she seemed to enjoy it.  She gave us some of her adorable smiles when we talked to her and she was very relaxed.  I doubt she actually took in the ocean and the sand, but I'm guessing the sounds of the waves and the seagulls were soothing.

Since Darwin wasn't forced to go in the water, he had a great time at the beach. We took a long walk and a short walk and Darwin was so comfortable, he also managed to take a nap.

Colin and Darwin did their usual racing on the beach

Mommy wearing Rose on our long walk

Rose napping in the Moby Wrap

Darwin relaxing by the water's edge while Rose gets fed

For the afternoon nap, 

Rose got to sleep on Daddy's chest

The skies clouded up by early afternoon and since we had been up since 4:30am, we were ready to make our way back home.  We stopped to have some dinner on the way back through Wilmington and made sure Rose was clean and fed before starting the journey back.  Rose lasted about 30 minutes before she got fussy. It was the witching hour, after all.  To calm her and give us all a quiet ride back, I sat in the back seat with her and Darwin so I could help her keep a pacifier in her mouth.  The drive certainly felt much longer coming home.

Even though Rose slept a lot at the beach, she still managed to have a good night of sleep with 3-4 hour stretches. Both Colin and I were grateful for the rest! As soon as we were unpacked and bathed, we all crashed!

I'd say it was a fairly successful first trip to the beach - or at least the best we could ask for with an 8 week old.  We only hope that Rose loves the beach as much as we do and look forward to lots of trips in our future.