When my baby girl turned 8 months, she and I had been on a trip every month since her 3-month birthday, totaling 15 flights (including connections — yes, connections count; you’ll see why when you travel with your baby too). We have kept traveling since then, a little less frequently, but I’ve learned a few lessons and thought I’d share with you my top recommendations for items when traveling with a baby.
You know that the journey begins in your living room with your checklist, right?
Packing Cubes
Packing cubes make packing a ton of stuff (i.e. your clothes along with your baby’s clothes in the same suitcase) possible. Any cubes will do — it’s impressive how a little bit of organization and separation can create harmony inside a bag.
Travel Changing Pad + Diaper Wallet
This is clutch, literally. It makes changing diapers anywhere a snap.
Car Seat/Stroller Travel Bag
We have a Mesa car seat/ Cruz stroller from UppaBaby and it comes with a travel bag for each. I learned on this last trip that the base and car seat fit in the travel bag for the car seat. I also learned that you don’t have to put the stroller in a bag when you fly — just walk your stroller onto the jet bridge, and collapse it. The airline will check the stroller right there, and then bring it back to you on the jet bridge when you reach your destination.
Pacifier Clip
To avoid #thattimewhen your baby spits out their pacifier on the plane, and it rolls 4 aisles away. Yea, been there. Get a pacifier clip.
Arm and Hammer Pacifier Wipes
You just never know — even with that clip, the pacifier can swing around, and come in contact with germs. So, if you’re into it, get some handy pacifier wipes.
Kiinde Pouch
While I LOVE everything by this company, a real MUST HAVE are these pouches to travel with. They freeze flat, do not leak, and easily stack in whatever cooler you bring with you. They also pop into the outer bottle holder that makes feeding on the go really easy. ProTip: If you are still breastfeeding, choose the “slow” nipple so that it simulates the flow from your breast.
Insulated Backpack (for milk)
There are many versions of a bag like this, and it is a MUST HAVE for travel. Either you will need it to keep the milk needed to feed your baby while traveling, or to keep your milk cool/frozen to bring back to your baby. A major tip for flying: if your milk is frozen, I have found that TSA will not test it; if it is slushy or in liquid form, TSA will take it, and test it which really freaks me out. #hateit
Nursing Cover
For when you are sitting next to 2 men and need to pump or breastfeed your baby. I like this one by NuRoo because it has snaps that allow you to wear it in many different ways, including an infinity scarf, an open scarf, and a cape. Whatever floats your boat, Mama.
Crossbody Purse
Something small enough to keep all your essentials while walking through the airport/train station: your ticket, wallet, cell phone, hand sanitizer, lip balm, that extra pacifier.
Jacket/Sweater with large pockets
To keep anything miscellaneous within reach: socks, tissues, a banana. You never know what you’ll find in there — is kind of like the bag Mary Poppins carries, but pockets.
Travel Drying Rack
Once you get to your destination, you may want to clean out your bottle and/or pump parts. This small, travel drying rack is just the thing you need.
Wet/Dry/Staging Bag (Sarah Wells)
One of my favorite things — it’s included in the Queen + Baby Liquid Gold Gift Box — is the Sarah Wells Pumparoo. It’s an insulated wet bag, with a staging mat to put down when you need to spread out your pump parts or bottle parts and don’t have a clean/trusted surface. I used this at work to keep my parts in between pumps, and I also used this when traveling.
Do you have any tips or tricks you've found helpful on your travels? Please share below!