Poolside With Marlie: Keeping Her Cool, Shaded, and Happy in Destin
This July — baby pool tips in hand — we spent two full weeks with family — and after a Fourth of July in Kansas, we packed up again for a week in Destin, sharing a house with fourteen adults and seven kids under one roof. Chaotic doesn’t begin to cover it. Magical is closer.
Between the pool, the beach, and a whole lot of Florida sun, we knew Marlie would be spending long stretches outside — and that meant figuring out how to keep her comfortable somewhere new. A baby’s first real beach week comes with its own kind of packing list, one that has nothing to do with outfits and everything to do with shade, airflow, and knowing when to call it and head inside.
A couple of items ended up carrying the whole week.
What Kept Her Comfortable, Shaded, and Napping
A pop-up UV tent for shade and naps. The [Babymoov Babyni anti-UV pop-up tent] became Marlie’s home base by the pool and on the beach. It’s collapsible, easy to set up one-handed, and gave her a shaded, contained space to lie down, play, and nap without us hovering over sunscreen reapplications every twenty minutes. I ran her [portable baby fan] inside it to keep the airflow moving, and more than once she napped straight through the pool noise around her — which, in a house with seven kids, is saying something.
Her first “swim.” We’d been excited for this one for weeks — Marlie’s first time in the water, using a [LONV water baby carrier]. Since she already loves being worn, the transition to a waterproof carrier felt natural for her. We wore her in and around the pool (very cautiously) and took her down to the beach without a second thought about ruining her regular carrier. Watching her face the first time her toes hit the water is a moment I didn’t know I needed until it happened.
A Few Things I’d Pass Along for Poolside and Beach Days With a Baby
- Set up shade before you set up anything else. A pop-up tent or umbrella base first, towels and snacks second — babies overheat faster than we expect, and having the shaded spot ready before she’s fussy makes the whole day easier.
- Bring airflow with you. A small clip-on or portable fan inside a shaded tent makes a real difference on humid days, especially for nap stretches.
- Ease into water carriers slowly. We kept our first “swim” short and stayed in shallow, calm water — it’s less about the swim itself and more about letting her get used to a new sensation on her own terms.
- Protect the carrier you already love. A dedicated water carrier meant we didn’t have to worry about salt water or chlorine ruining the everyday carrier we rely on for flights and outings.
- Build in a retreat spot. With that many adults and kids around, having one predictable, shaded, quiet space for Marlie to nap or reset made the chaos of a shared house feel manageable instead of overwhelming.
Looking Back
A week with fourteen adults, seven kids, and one very small first-timer at the beach — and somehow, it was one of the easiest weeks of the summer. Keeping Marlie shaded, cool, and close made all the difference, and watching her take in the water for the first time is a memory I’ll be replaying for a while.
If you missed it, I also wrote about how we handled Marlie’s actual first flights getting us there — packing, feeding, and keeping her calm at 30,000 feet.
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