Overcoming Parental Fears: The Beach (Sand, Water, Scalding Hot Sand....)

I am going to post every once and a while about my personal parental fears.  Sometimes they will have to do with being a special needs parent and sometimes they won't.

For Olivia's fourth birthday she wanted to go to THE BEACH! (queue Jaws music because that is what plays in my head, haha!)

"Why would you be scared of the beach?" you ask?  Here are all the things running through our heads before we even start planning a beach trip:

1. Braces and the beach.  My kid has AFO's (braces she wears on her legs).   They have soft foam on the inside to make them more comfortable and Velcro straps all over them to keep them on.  Now picture Velcro and foam with sand.......
• If sand gets in them, what happens? 
• Will she get some sort of rub burn from it being against her skin? 
• Will it impact her ability to walk? 
• Will the sand, sun, and water ruin her braces?
2. Lack of feeling in parts of her legs.  One of the SB conditions Olivia will face for her lifetime is lack of feeling in her shins and down. 
• What happens if she sits on hot sand and doesn't know it's hot?
• How will her legs respond to the sand being in there?  Will she know if they get rubbed too much?
• If the gets burned, will she have any idea and stop whatever she is doing?
3. Water is at the beach.
• Pretty much same as sand in #1 ;)
4. Slower blood flow/ healing time
• If she does get a scratch or bump in her legs, the blood flow isn't as fast so it can take a long time to heal. 
5. Plus then all the normal "we have 2 kids, one of them is only 13 months, how the he-double-hockey-sticks do we do this?!" thoughts

Sometimes as a parent you just have to figure it out.  So I read a LOT on beach quick hacks, how to take your kid in AFO's to the beach, and researched a beach wheelchair that my friend told me may be an option. 

Here is what ended up happening.  Let me just say, it was a super awesome and amazing day!!!

Coronado Beach had beach wheelchairs available for FREE!!!  How cool is that?!  We also had her wear her last pair of braces, vs her current ones.  They were a tad small but did the trick!

She just had to take a picture telling us she was 4 ;)

Our set up - 1 beach wheelchair, 1 stroller, 1 kids tent (folded up), 3 bags, 2 coolers.

We went to a fun place for lunch and this was the free birthday dessert. WOAH BUDDY!  Look at her eyes, hahaha.

Family time is always the best time <3

Be Happy.  Laugh.  Enjoy Chaos.