I had the opportunity to go on a family vacation this summer with my son and husband. We traveled by car, for about 6 hours, and were gone for 3 days. As this is our first baby, we weren’t really sure exactly what we needed, and ended up bringing a lot of stuff we probably didn’t need. After this trip, I comprised a list of 5 Items I will Never Forget to Pack When Traveling With a Baby, some of which may not be on your radar, but will definitely make your trip more enjoyable. This means spending more time enjoying each other and less time stressing about what you wish you had brought. Additionally, in hindsight, I had no idea all these items would fit in a small bag, so no matter how you travel, they aren’t much extra to lug around. Also, everything I mention has multiple functionalities, so you can justify bringing these things if you are minimizing the luggage space in your car. Hope you find these as helpful as I did!
5 Items I Will Never Forget to Pack When Traveling With a Baby
- Bottle/Toy Washing Essentials
My son is 10 months, and eats solely from a bottle. If you are breast feeding, you still might find this useful if/when toys drop when getting on and off a plane, in and out of the car, public restroom floors etc.
Bring: Large Tupperware with a lid, dish soap you usually use, and a bottle brush/scrubber. Keep the items in the Tupperware as its own compartmentalized storage and bring out when something needs to be cleaned. Bonus: Tupperware can double as a toy. My kid found it fun and liked to rattle the contents inside.
- Monkey Mat/ Compressed Blanket for Playtime
Ok, this might be the no-brainer, but bring a blanket to spread out for car stretches, airplane floors, and hotel floors- obviously. But seriously, when you’re left to pack for both you and your kid, even the most obvious become totally forgotten. With that said, we LOVE our Monkey Mat! It’s a material that wicks away liquids and folds into itself in its own carrying bag. It’s an easy open and has storage- it can go inside your purse or in your diaper bag. It was featured on SharkTank, made by moms who knew the problem of letting newly mobile babies need to move when on the move, so that’s even more of a reason to look into spending the 20 bucks on one, right!?! If you don’t have a Monkey Mat, bring a muslin blanket. It can double as a sunshade, or as a cover-up on the beach over your swim suit, or if you nurse. Plus- who doesn’t own like a million of these anyways, right?
- Blue Painter’s Tape
Humor me here, ok… but this is a seriously awesome hack to bring. A roll of painter’s tape will save your life on a trip. You can keep cabinets, toilet seats, and drawers all shut with a stick of tape that easily comes on and off surfaces. Also, the tape can be used to keep containers shut for added protection when flying, and thrown in bags. My son uses a specific cream for his eczema we had to find a smaller container for, so we ensured that it stayed shut with blue painter’s tape. His puffs and crackers smooshed at the bottom of my purse I was bringing to a wedding the next day, and I just rolled painter’s tape and got up the crumbs. We kept the remote to the TV in the hotel room out of his mouth by taping it with painter’s tape to the nightstand. We covered outlet holes, pulled up phone cords, and blind pulls with the tape for safety. If the diaper tag falls off, use a small piece to keep the diaper on. Literally you guys … this stuff was amazing, trust me!
- White Noise Machine/App
This is a must! If you’re staying in a hotel room, Airbnb, or a family member’s place- you’re going to want to drown out the noise. Its hard enough to sleep in a new place, but add in sleeping with a baby next to you, and in comes the sound machine or app! Apps are free. Personally, we used a white noise machine, and we all slept better because of it. If by chance there isn’t a plug nearby, try downloading one on your phone. You can use this in the car seat, in the stroller, and basically anytime you need it!
- Extra Trash Bags
You know how Target has the phrase, ‘Recycle Me’ written on their bags- well it’s in hindsight that I realize how important this is. Before you go for a pit stop in a public bathroom bring a diaper, and wipes in a plastic bag and leave everything else in the car. When you’re done changing, put the dirty stuff in the bag and throw it away. This way you aren’t lugging an entire bag with you in and out of the bathroom. This minimizes the chance that you leave it there, with your phone inside, and have to drive back (or run through the terminal) to get it! Yes, this happened to me, if you’re wondering! It’s just so much easier to have everything in a disposable bag so while you’re figuring out how to get your kid from turning, whilst changing* you don’t have to remember all your stuff. Leave your stuff with your husband, or have your husband leave the stuff with you- and one of you take just the essentials with you into the bathroom! Thank this post later!