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As a new parent, I have heard plenty of times that “your traveling days are over” and “you cannot really travel with a baby as you used to travel before”. That is correct, you cannot travel the same. But, you can still go on trips if you adjust a few things. One of them is your packing list, which should now include a list of traveling essentials for baby stress-free trips.
Table of Contents
When I found out I was going to be a mother, the first thing I did was read all the mommy blogs I could find. And while all of them recommended so many things to buy, I realized the baby actually needs 3 things: a bed, a breast/bottle, and a blanket. Everything else we buy is for our comfort, to make our life easier, or because of social pressure.
I won’t lie to you, this list is full of things you can buy, some of them are budget-friendly, and some of them are quite expensive. I have created and tried this list for myself and have tested most of the products as well. I will add a disclaimer for the products I have not personally used, mostly because I couldn’t find the ones I use on Amazon. But I have always looked for similar products that have great reviews (and a huge number of them), so I hope I can still be of help for these as well.
First, if you haven’t already, there are two things you can do to minimize your costs here. One of them is to register for Amazon Family, which is the best thing to do early in your parenting journey, as you have a 20% discount for diaper subscriptions. The other one, if it’s not already too late for you, is to create an Amazon Baby Registry, and add all of the things on this list of baby travel essentials.
Essentials for traveling with a baby
These are the things you are not allowed to leave your house without. Add them right now, as we speak, to be sure you don’t forget.
- ID
- Medicine – for fever or stomach issues, both syrup and suppository form
- Daily medicine – like vitamin D
- Special medicine – what your baby needs
- Thermometer
Traveling essentials for baby feeding
No matter where you go on your babymoon, you will need to feed your baby. You’re going to pack very light if you’re exclusively breastfeeding, as you will only need some reusable nursing pads and a few breastfeeding bras for yourself.
If you’re formula feeding though, you will have a much bigger list, without counting the formula itself (and the measuring spoon). Also, don’t forget to either pack or buy at the destination some dishwashing detergent for the bottles.
Check out the items below!
| Baby Bottles | Chilly’s Bottle |
|---|---|
| Bottle Brush | Formula Containers |
|---|---|
Out of these items, only the formula containers are not exactly the ones that I have. The writing on mine has actually faded due to the use, so I cannot really even remember what brand were they. Everything else I wholeheartedly recommend. I have tried 3 types of baby bottles and about 5 types of brushes. Nothing beats Dr. Brown’s for colics and Nuk for the brushes.
Traveling with baby essentials – Diaper change
Another thing you cannot avoid is the fun part of parenthood: diaper changes! And this is the area where you cannot really avoid packing more. Of course, you can buy diapers at the destination, but you still need a few with you on the flight, and I suggest you have more than your precious baby usually needs. They WILL poop more while on a trip, just to mess with you.
| Changing Pad | Disposable Diaper Sacks | Water Wipes |
|---|---|---|
| Diaper Cream | Baby Diapers |
|---|---|
Out of these products, only the changing pad is not the one I use, as I have simply bought a no-name from a baby store. But, I would love for it to have more pockets for wipes and creams, and the one above looks like it fits the bill. Also, don’t forget to always have tissues with you. They come in handy for plenty of purposes.
Baby travel essentials – Cosmetics
Do you remember when you used to pack your full make-up kit for just a weekend trip? Well, you might do the same now, but you most probably aren’t. There are still a few cosmetics you need to pack for your little one, and the ones below are just the bare minimum they need.
| Mosquito Repellant | Physiological Serum |
|---|---|
| Baby-Friendly Sunscreen | Hair and Body Wash |
|---|---|
From this list, the mosquito repellant is the only one I haven’t used myself. I have used some stickers a few times, but they were not as efficient as I wanted. Luckily, last summer was not very wet where I live, so I could mostly manage with a mosquito net on the pram. This summer though, I’ll have to go for some spray repellant, and I intend to buy the above-mentioned one.
Travel essentials for baby – Personal care items
These items are perfect to add to your baby registry, if you are at that phase now, as you will definitely need them at one point in time anyway. The pacifiers are not mandatory, as some babies don’t even want them, but the other things are definitely important.
| Nursery Kit | Nose Cleaner | Teething Toys |
|---|---|---|
| Pacifier Soother | Pacifier Clips |
|---|---|
| Pacifier Soother | Pacifier Clips |
|---|---|
The Nose Frida is unfortunately unavailable where we live, and we also had to buy a special nose cleaner as we couldn’t manage with the ones we tried. But we have learned to properly clean our son’s nose with salt water and a syringe, and this is working way better for his needs.
If flying and your baby doesn’t use a pacifier, please remember to give her something to suckle at take-off and landing, as those tiny little ears might hurt. Also, don’t let them unsupervised with a pacifier clip, as there’s really a strangulation hazard with any type of chain.
Travel with baby essentials – Clothes
Now, I won’t make a list of all of the clothes you need to bring with you, as you will know this better, plus it depends greatly on the length of the trip, the activities you’re going to do and the weather at the destination. What you must not forget to add to your traveling essentials for baby list though is really to pack the following:
| Bibs | Burp Cloths | Blanket | PJs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bibs | Burp Cloths |
|---|---|
| Blanket | PJs |
|---|---|
The only thing that really matters when choosing the items above, is that the PJs have zippers, if possible even 2-way zippers. Here, in Europe, they’re not so spread yet, and I cannot understand why! These have changed my life since I discovered them, and I swore not to buy anything with buttons for a very long time.
Baby Essentials for travel obsessed parents – Electronics
When it comes to your little bundle of joy, the recommendations are clear: as few electronics as possible, especially during the few years of development, will help them develop properly. There’s no doubt about it.
But there are a few things no parent can live without, and one of them is a baby monitor of some sort. There are quite a few options on the market, some with just audio, some with video, some with breathing detection even.
Our choice was based on the need to have only one device for multiple purposes, so we choose Lollipop as a baby monitor. It’s lightweight, can be mounted anywhere, you don’t need a video output as it can be seen on your phone, it even has white noise options included and will notify you if your cute baby has left the crib.
| Baby Monitor | Sensor Pads |
|---|---|
A piece of equipment that I never thought I’d use is a movement tracking and monitoring sensor, but post partum anxiety emerged so here we are. The Babysense 7 is great for us, as it doesn’t require our son to wear anything, it has given us exactly one false alarm until now (he crawled until he reached a very distant corner in his crib), it doesn’t require Wi-fi, and we have only recharged the batteries once.
Babysense 7 can be also ordered with a baby monitor, so you can maybe order this one that fits both purposes, and plenty of people recommend Nanit Pro as an all-in-one solution, but keep in mind that it’s not safe to swaddle your baby until later than three months so the sensor will basically be useful just for this amount of time.
If you’re interested in having your white noise machine separated, an option everyone recommends in the Hatch Baby Rest, as it also has night light and time-to-rise lights. For us the most important factor was to keep us lightweight, so this is why we choose the Lollipop.
Travel essentials – Baby carriers
And finally, we have reached the moment when we are going to talk about carrying the actual baby with you. For this purpose, I have two solutions and a few accessories that I recommend: a baby carrier and a baby pram or buggy.
Unfortunately, the baby carrier I use, Manduca XT, seems to not be available in the US, and this is pretty sad, as it’s the best thing in the world. What I found online that is similar to Manduca, as it can be used from birth up until 45 pounds and has multiple wearing options, is the LÍLLÉbaby, and the reviews speak pretty loud as well.
| Baby Carrier | Baby Pram |
|---|---|
Now, everyone will tell me that the baby pram I choose is extremely expensive and it’s not worth that money. And this might be the case. But my main baby stroller was so difficult to steer, that I almost cried with happiness the first time I used Yoyo BabyZen.
This stroller is perfect for traveling parents: it’s small, it can fit in the overhead compartment of an airplane, but sturdy enough to hold up to 48 pounds, you can move it easily with just one hand and it goes almost in a lie-flat position. There is also an option to buy the 0+ and 6+ set, to be able to use it from birth, but I really didn’t feel the need for the 0+ part as we didn’t travel that early on anyway.
Read my very detailed review of the Yoyo+ Babyzen stroller, where I explain better all the features and advantages of choosing this as your travel baby pram.
For the baby pram, there are a few accessories I personally use, and you can see them in the table below. The most important one is the travel bag, as the flight and gate crew will ask to see it, as you should only deposit your stroller in the overhead bin while covered.
If you get your buggy with a fabric cover of any sort, hold on to it as the other types of covers can be very expensive. The rest of the accessories are, let’s say, nice to have, but the really not important one is the “bottle holder” we all know we’re using for coffee. Check them out below!
| Baby Pram Backpack | Foot Muff | Cup Holder |
|---|---|---|
| Insect Cover | Rain Cover | Parasol |
|---|---|---|
And last, but not least, you might need something to put all of these things in. Not exactly baby specific, there’s no denying you need a good rolling suitcase, as you can use a free hand to push the stroller. For this purpose, I fully recommend Samsonite B-lite Spinner, for which I have actually written a full review. You can read it here.
Traveling essentials for baby stress-free trips
Phew, that was tough. But hey, you can save this post for later and use it anytime you need. You can, of course, add or remove items so that they can match your situation. And because I loved creating this list and found it super useful, I have created a printable and editable checklist that you can buy in my Etsy shop. Check it out here!
