Summertime means pool days on pool days (or the beach if you’re lucky enough to live by one!). But everything changes when you have a toddler running around. You have to come very prepared for any accident, hunger, sun protection, and more hahaha. But it is WAY too easy to go overboard, which is what I did at first which is almost just as bad! Showing up with full arms struggling to get from the car anywhere with a 1000 lbs pool/diaper bag while also carrying your baby is a mistake I learned from quickly!

SO, I advise bringing the necessities and consolidating depending on how far you are going. In the spirit of summer, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite sun protection, snacks, toys, etc. for both Diego and myself when we’re headed to the pool. Dustin doesn’t need any snacks hahaha.

P.S. – If you need some inspiration for keeping your kids entertained and happy at the pool, I made handy little collages of my favorite items which you can also find on my Pinterest! You can save this little graphic and refer back to it whenever you need to and on the blog, you can shop every item if you hover over it. Now let’s get started!

Clean Sun Protection

There are a few things we don’t want to leave the pool with and that’s 1. a sunburnt baby and 2. ANY kind of sun damage. So along with trying to protect our families and ourselves from the UV rays of the sun, it’s important to me to use only the cleanest ingredients and brands I can trust are not full of chemicals. Remember being a kid and your mom spraying you with white sunscreen that smelt like weird fruits and made you feel sticky? That’s what we want to avoid for the pool’s sake and our own!

The Coola Sport Spray is SPF 50 and is the perfect easy sunscreen for Diego’s body because it is water & sweat resistant, it’s also easy to apply since I literally have 2 seconds to put it on him before he runs away. Then I use the Suntegrity Moisturizing Sunscreen with SPF 30 for our faces because it’s non-greasy and has ingredients like aloe that moisturize. Both sunscreens have great skin-nourishing, clean ingredients!

The Patyka Anti-Pollution Mist is one of my favorite products because it actually stops UV oxidation, free radical production, and UV induced inflammation. Just a quick face mist is all we need! For those times when we do get a little too much sun, CV Skinlabs Rescue+Relief Spray  has not only a cooling feeling, but it is meant to heal burned or irritated skin (also great for eczema).I also use this spray after any laser or face treatment,  its amazing for the  whole family.

If we are heading somewhere after the pool I always bring the CV Skinlabs Calming Moisture so there is no gross dry pool skin. It can be used on the face, body and scalp, so it’s also great for sunburns. If I want to clean up my pool look (aka don’t look like I just woke up), I blend in a little Ilia Sheer Tinted Moisturizer and I’m ready to go.

Pool Entertainment & Toys

One thing I didn’t think I needed in the beginning was pool toys. But let me tell you when you see your kid try to steal toys from other kids at a friends house, you will wish you brought some of your own! (haha) It also, depending on their age, lets you relax while they play with the toys and you don’t have to find ways to entertain them in the pool.

Some of them even help Diego swim better! We love to use the kick-board to make a game of practicing his pool kicks. Throwing a beach ball or basketball has also helped him swim, giving him a goal to swim towards.

Healthy Snacks By The Pool

Hungry kids are not happy kids! I try to bring a variety of snacks that include things easy to munch on and pack that don’t need to stay cold along with some fresh fruit or veggies depending on how long we will be outside. It can be hard if you aren’t bringing a cooler to not resort to chips and food that has no protein or nutritional value. So these are some of my hacks for bringing foods that are still healthy but don’t require a cooler.

Justin’s Classic Almond Butter has 7g of protein and is a HIT when used as a dip for the banana chips. I make my own homemade banana chips, which you can read how to do here, but Bare is a great brand when I haven’t made any! Lilly’s hummus, Mama Chia’s Green Magic squeeze pack, and Hippeas chickpea puffs are all snacks with fiber and protein. These are super easy swaps for even the pickiest eater. They will have no idea how much healthier these items are instead of grabbing the similar unhealthy options!

Honest’s juice boxes are one of the few low in sugar with few natural ingredients. It’s a much cleaner option than most juices which are full of sugar, artificial flavors/colors, and chemicals which can leave our little one’s bodies wired and on the route for a big sugar crash later.

Those are all of my pool bag essentials! I would love to know what you pack with you when heading to the pool, so let me know in the comments below! Also be sure to give me a follow on Instagram to stay up-to-date on all of my latest posts.