We just got back from a week at the beach with friends and did some things to help with the water intake while we were away from home.

1. Leave out the water: our friends bought multiple jugs of water with water spouts and left them out on the counter. Having easy access to refilling cups ensured that we chose water over another drink in the refrigerator. It served as a reminder to fill our water bottles before we left home and even gave the kids access to drinks so they could help themselves. Water jugs with dispensers can be purchased at a local food store once you arrive at your destination or purchased at home and thrown in the car so you're ready to go once you reach your beach house or hotel room.

2. Keep an extra jug in the refrigerator: they also kept a jug in the refrigerator for those times when we wanted something cold. The water was always the most accessible drink in the refrigerator--right on the top shelf so we saw it before we saw the juice and soda behind it. In a hotel room, a few bottles of water can be left inside a refrigerator or an ice bucket so they're ready when you return to your room.

3. Keep a Nalgene refill in your beach bag: a water bottle that is too big becomes difficult for small children to use, though you need a lot of water if you're going to be in the sun all day. We solved this problem by bringing small water bottles that we kept refilling from our Nalgene bottle. This extra water also came in handy when one of the twins got sand in their eye and we had a clean water source for helping them clean it out.

4. Take water breaks: whenever the twins came up to the beach blanket, they had to take a sip of water. Making sure that they drank enough water reminded me to also drink water.

5. Order water at restaurants: we were spending enough money at the beach, so we made a commitment to only order tap water in restaurants. The money we saved on drinks went towards games and rides at the beach carnival.

Even though I was on a trip, I ended up sticking to my new water regimen better than I do at home. And staying hydrated set good habits for the twins to remember down the road.

Melissa is the author of the infertility and pregnancy loss blog, Stirrup Queens and Sperm Palace Jesters. She keeps a categorized blogroll of 1800 infertility blogs and writes the daily Lost and Found and Connections Abound, a news source for the infertility blogosphere. Her infertility book, Navigating the Land of If, is currently on bookshelves (May, 2009). She is the keeper of the IComLeavWe (International Comment Leaving Week) list which is currently open for July.