Traveling with a Baby?

Traveling with a child is no easy thing to do. And yes, it can be stressful but with a little (okay, a lot) of planning, you can avoid some of that stress. The first thing I like to do for any possibly stressful situation is to make a list. (I also made a list of tips on how to rock travel with kids here.)

Since I’m a planner by nature, I made a baby travel packing list to help get organized which I’m going to share with you.

I made this list as soon as my family (the in-laws, brothers, sisters, kids – the whole gang) decided to take a vacation to the Caribbean when my baby was just over a year old. We had to take two planes, a boat, an open air trolley, and a dodgy van to get to our destination!

It made me stretch my powers of planning to the limit. But did we have fun? We sure did! And you can too with some pre-trip planning. This is going to be a long post so get comfortable!

Here is the list I used, and still do, with an explanation for some items that aren’t self-explanatory.

Items to Carry On

Identification

1. Driver’s License
2. Passports (if applicable)
3. Insurance Card
4. Child’s Immunization Record – You will want this just in case, heaven forbid and knock on wood, they get sick during the trip
5. Child’s birth certificate – Sometimes airlines will insist that you prove that your kid is less than two years old if you didn’t pay for a seat for them (Are you surprised? Because you shouldn’t be after the arm and two legs it costs to just get your luggage on board!)

Money Matters

1. Cash
2. Credit Cards – If you’re going out of the country, it’s a good idea to let your credit card companies know because you don’t want to be s.o.l. trying to buy diapers or some other necessity.

Travel Documents

1. Itinerary – It’s a good idea to give a copy of your itinerary (flight numbers and times, hotel, tours, etc.) to someone at home.
2. Tickets (for the plane, boat, or what have you)
3. Airport Parking Receipt (if applicable)
4. Car Rental Info (if applicable)
5. Property Manager Info – This is for if you’re renting a house while you’re on vacation. I highly recommend this because it is so convenient to have a kitchen and laundry facility when traveling with a baby.
6. Names, Phone Numbers, and Addresses – I don’t know about you, but I can only recall my husband’s phone number because my cell phone does all the heavy lifting. But what if your baby decides to chuck your phone in the ocean??

Electronics

1. Cell phone
2. Cell phone charger
3. Your Child’s entertainment device – My go-to devices are a DVD player, Leap Frog and headphones

Clothes

1. A change of clothes for yourself
2. A jacket or sweater for yourself – planes and airports always seem to be sweltering hot or arctic cold
3. At least one change of clothes for your child

Diapering

1. Diapers – Get disposable for travel unless you want to lug around dirty cloth diapers. Pack however many your child usually goes through for the duration of your travel and double it. For example, if our flight is 12-6pm, I know that my baby needs a diaper change when he gets up from his nap at noon for lunch. He usually needs a change right after eating and then again right before I put him down for a nap at around 2pm. Then he’s up around 3:30pm and we do it all again. That makes six diaper changes. I double that and now I’m packing 12 diapers! I know it seems like a lot but I’m so glad I did! We had a 17 hour travel day due to bad weather delays once and I was so thankful I had plenty of diapers!
2. Wipes
3. Diaper Cream – The Monkey Butt cream just seems to work the best on my baby. Honestly I was shocked because well…it’s called “monkey butt.” But I’ve tried fancier (read: more expensive) creams on him and nothing worked as well.
4. Changing Pad – The J.L. Childress Full Body Changing Pad is quite large. And believe me, you will appreciate it because you do NOT want your baby touching anything in that bathroom at the airport or on the plane.
5. Dirty diaper disposal bags – you can use doggy poop bags (these smell like lavender!)

Food Related

1. Water bottle for yourself
2. Water bottle for your child
3. Snacks – for yourself (granola bars) and for your child (yogurt melts, teething biscuits, etc.)
4. Bib
5. Burp cloth – burp cloth can also be used as swaddle blankets. They’re versatile, soft, and amazing!
6. Nose & face wipes
7. Formula (if you’re formula feeding)

Medical Kit

1. First-aid kit 
2. Your meds – Don’t forget that you have to be well in order to take care of your little one so don’t forget things like antacids, headache meds, etc. for yourself.
3. Dissolvable teething tablets (if applicable)
4. Lanolin – it’s not only great for sore breastfeeding nipples but it’s great for chapped baby lips (planes are so drying!)
5. Epi-pen – I got one to bring for my son, even though he had no known allergies, because I knew he’d be trying new foods. Just another thing to keep in mind!

Miscellaneous

1. Disinfecting wipes
2. Clips to hang diaper bag on stroller
3. Nail file
4. Lip balm
5. Moisturizer
6. Sunglasses
7. Diaper bag – I suggest just a large tote bag to use as your carryon/diaper bag. Then you can use an organizer like this because you probably won’t be able to fit ALL of the above into a normal diaper bag. Also a plain large tote will be more versatile for bringing stuff to the beach/pool or shopping. The alternative is to do what I did at first, which was to buy a large diaper bag and fill it with as much as I could. Then use a beach tote for any overflow (coats, extra diapers, etc.).
8. Car Seat – We bought the Cosco Scenera as our extra car seat for my husband’s car and took it on trips. It is incredibly light and easy to install. Plus, it isn’t nearly as expensive as our regular car seat which I wouldn’t dare take to travel. What if the airline made me check it? Baggage handlers aren’t exactly known to be the most gentle with luggage. (No offense baggage handlers of the world. I understand that the bags just keep coming….)
9. Stroller – We also bring along our Mountain Buggy Nano Stroller because it is extremely light, especially considering it’s durability. However, it’s like an umbrella stroller where you can feel every bump and crack in the sidewalk. We got this used from a friend of ours about three years ago. There are more ultralight strollers to choose from now and are probably cheaper.

Items for Checked Baggage

Clothes

1. Bodysuits (aka onesies)
2. T-shirts
3. Shorts
4. Pajamas
5. Hat
6. Sunglasses – These aviators were just the cutest! I just wish my son’s head hadn’t been too big for them. (His head is huge like his daddy’s!)
7. Swim trunks
8. Swim shirts
9. Shoes – sneakers, sandals, and water shoes
10. Jacket

Diapering

1. Diapers
2. Swim diapers
3. Diaper cream
4. Wipes
5. Diaper pad (If you didn’t pack it in your carry on.)

Toiletries & First Aid

1. Baby toothbrush – I started my baby out on these but quickly graduated to these.
2. Fluoride free baby toothpaste
3. Hairbrush
4. Baby body wash – I like to use unscented for him and myself because scents attract mosquitoes and I’m a mosquito magnet.
5. Sunscreen
6. Mosquito repellent – I have used this Repel Lemon Eucalyptus repellent everywhere from the beach and jungle to dense forests. And it worked unbelievably well. And like I said, mosquitoes LOVE me! IMPORTANT NOTE: I never spray it directly on my child and use it sparingly on my own skin. I did, however, spray it liberally on my clothes, especially my socks and shoes, backpack, and the baby carrier. I was careful not to get it anywhere that my baby could touch and get in his mouth or eyes. That would be very, very bad.
7. Sterile saline nose spray – I like a spray because it’s just faster for my squiggly little worm.
8. Nasal aspirator (a.k.a. booger sucker) – The Baby ComfyNose is cheaper than The NoseFrida Snotsucker. The NoseFrida requires refills of their blue spongy filter, but the ComfyNose just uses any ol’ tissue as a filter.
9. Baby nail scissors – These cute nail scissors are fantastic! My husband kept snipping too far down until I got these. The scissors are very sharp and curve away. I don’t make any promises but we’ve never had an accident since.
10. Alcohol wipes
11. Baby thermometer – I use a rectal thermometer for my child because it’s the most accurate.
12. Cotton swabs
13. Oogie bear ear and nose cleaner – I seriously love this thing. Yes, everyone makes fun of me when I use it on him but I don’t care. I never have to worry about going too deep up his nose or in his ear using this.
14. Epi-pen and any other prescription medication
15. More dissolvable teething tablets
16. Tweezers

Food-Related:

1. Non-perishable snacks
2. Formula
3. Baby bottles
4. Bottle cleaner travel brush – This one is awesome because it also comes with a travel drying rack.
5. Baby spoons
6. Bibs
7. Food containers – Anything from plastic sandwich bags (dry foods) to plastic containers (wet foods) maybe applicable depending on what you’re feeding your baby.
8. Burp cloths
9. Insulated lunch bag or small cooler with cold pack
10. Sippy cup

Sleep Related:

1. Sound machine – This is what we use for him at home but it’s extremely portable weighing in at less than 2 pounds. The sound quality is excellent and there’s lots of options to choose from. It is definitely in the higher price range though. This is another one (although the sound is not as good) that a friend uses and her daughter loves it. And it has a nightlight and a light projector.
2. Rattle or favorite snuggle item
3. Plush crib sheet – My son just loves rubbing his face in his crib sheet because it’s a soft chenille. Using the same sheets as you do at home gives them the sense of the familiar and recreates their normal routine (as normal as it can be on vacation).

Safety Related:

1. Outlet covers
2. Door knob covers (if applicable)
3. Finger pinch guard

Miscellaneous

1. Travel laundry detergent (for sensitive baby skin)
2. Toys
3. Wet bag
4. Blanket for airport floor
5. Blanket to snuggle
6. Books – I would really limit this to one, maybe two, because books are heavy!
7. Favorite movies or shows – I brought all his favorite Baby Einstein DVDs. They were a life saver!
8. Baby floatie – We used this one, and it was great because it provided my baby with some much needed shade.
9. Life jacket/water wings – I bought the Stohlquist Unisex Infant/Toddler Nemo Infant Life Jacket/Personal Floatation Device (Yellow/Blue, Less Than 30-Pound). We have gone on many boat rides and have taken him into the ocean many times with less worry. We’re always right there with him but it only ever takes a second for them to get away from you.
10. Non-slip bath mat
11. Rinse cup – I like to use the Nuby Rinse Cup because of the soft lip that I can press against his head. He used to hate getting his face wet.

Traveling with a Baby Means Packing Everything but the Kitchen Sink

It’s a lot isn’t it?? Have you ever been told to pack only half of what you think you need? Well, throw that advice out the window! I used every thing I packed and had to get more stuff at the destination because of being grounded (a blizzard prevented us from getting back home.)

Don’t Fail to Plan

I’ve always heeded the wise words of Benjamin Franklin – “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” But unexpected things always happen, especially on vacation. So after all the hard work, take a deep breath and think about the warm breeze going through your hair while you sip a fruity cocktail and how it will have been worth it! And don’t forget to check out my post on How to Rock Traveling with a Kid. Happy and safe travels!

Did I miss anything on this list? Tell me and I’ll add it!