“Must Have’s for Traveling with Baby”
*This post contains affiliate links to my must have items. I may receive commission for purchases made through the links.
Don’t let packing for a baby be stress-inducing, exhausting, or problematic. The following list of my favorites will help ease your mind.
The Comforts of Home While Somewhere Else.
The hardest part of traveling with a baby is you and they are without their comforts from home. How are we going to survive without our exact nursery set up? The smartphone speaker with the white noise?? The play yard that keeps the baby occupied and contained?! Each of these categories is meant to bring as much of home with you as possible without having to add another suitcase to the pile.
“Don’t let packing for a baby be stress-inducing, exhausting, or problematic.”
Strollers
To bring or rent a stroller; the ultimate question. I prefer bringing my own because I know what I’m getting. There was a cruise that we went on that provided strollers for the entirety of the cruise. Great! One less thing to pack! Come to find out, the stroller doesn’t fit through the cabin door and needs two empty hands to fold. It was more trouble than it was worth.
Baby Trend Snap-N-Go EX Universal Infant Car Seat Stroller
If your baby is still in an infant carrier, this is a must have. This stroller frame fits most infant carrier brands, and has a large basket underneath for all your things. There’s even a double option for those traveling with twins. When you also have luggage to deal with, the last thing you need is another thing to carry.
Summer 3Dmini Convenience Stroller
When you just want the easiest, lightest stroller to throw your baby/toddler in, this is it. The Summer 3Dmini Convenience Stroller is 11 pounds, and folds up into one of the smallest stroller bundles I’ve seen. I appreciate the pop out sun visor on the canopy for when the sun is at the exact wrong angle, and that it comes with storage/cup holders for the handles, eliminating the need to buy more accessories.
Gb Pockit Air All-Terrain
There are strollers, and there are items of magic. The gb Pockit Air All-Terrain is a magical item from another realm. If you want a stroller that can fold down to hand luggage size so gate-checking isn’t a concern, this is it. It weighs only 9 1/2 pounds, and even fits in most overhead compartments. The basket underneath isn’t the biggest, but will hold a smaller-sized diaper bag. Owners of this stroller suggest purchasing the carry-bag for it so you won’t get turned away at the plane for carrying it on with you.
SLEEPING
We all know how important sleep is to keep a baby happy and content throughout the day. With a change of environment, or even change in time zone, you already have things working against you. These items have been life savers for us when traveling with a baby/toddler.
Brolex Mini Crib Canopy Cover
Before we traveled with our baby, I panicked about what we would do with all of us sharing a hotel room. Do we have to turn off the lights at 8pm and all of us have to be quiet and go to bed? Try telling a 12 year old that. Then I read about parents who would put the baby in the bathroom or closet so a door could be closed and the baby would be separated. I didn’t feel comfortable with either of those options. Then came the Brolex. GAME CHANGER. It is made from a stretchy, breathable fabric that goes right over the crib or playard. It makes the light darker by about 50%, but doesn’t make the space too hot for baby. There are panels on each side that unzip if you need even more air passing through, and a panel on top that gives you access to the baby without having to take the entire cover off.
SlumberPod
If you like the idea of a crib cover, but would rather have something taller, this is a great alternative. This is a bit bulkier since it is taller and requires poles, but your child can stand up in their crib and not bonk their head on the fabric. This also darkens up to 95% of the outside light, and has a pocket for a monitor, which is, I think, its best feature.
Yogasleep Hushh Portable White Noise Machine
When we started sleep training, I was surprised at the advice that there should be a loud machine in the room, and it should be at the same volume as if you are standing in a shower. Which, if you haven’t noticed how loud the water is while you’re in the shower, is LOUD. We use our smart home speaker so we can have a whole routine set up with starting the white noise, turning off the lights, etc. with just one voice command.
Without the smart home speaker while traveling, the Yogasleep Hushh is a great option. I prefer this over other popular baby sound machines because it doesn’t time out. Our baby is so used to their sound machine that if it turns off, she’s awake and crying within 30 seconds. So a sound machine that turns off in an hour or less really doesn’t help me. The clip is handy because you can use this on your stroller, a crib, etc. There is also no need to pack batteries because it is rechargeable with a USB plug.
JBL Clip 3
If you want something a bit more versatile than a sound machine, a portable bluetooth speaker is a great option. We have an old smartphone, so we download whatever sounds, white noise, or music that we want, and then connect it to the speaker for baby’s sleep time. The clip means that it is easily transferable from a tabletop, to a stroller, to a beach chair.
Cuddly Cubs Fitted Pack and Play Sheets
Most hotels, resorts, cruise ships, etc. are going to have a portable crib or playard option for your child. While these usually come with sheets, the quality can be hit and miss, We have been to higher end resorts and on higher end cruise lines that have provided scratchy, thinner than toilet paper sheets for our baby. That’s why I started packing our own. The Cuddly Cub set is soft, comfy, and easy to add to the suitcase. I also like having two just in case, since accidents happen. Just make sure to point out to housekeeping or your room steward that they are your own personal sheets and shouldn’t be changed with the rest of the linen.
Feeding
One of the biggest things we have learned about traveling with a baby is that there’s no rhyme or reason behind what baby feeding supplies your destination will have on hand. Even if they are labeled as “kid” or “family friendly”, there may only be breakable plates or glasses with straws in your future.
The First Years GreenGrow Multipack
Our baby doesn’t like metal silverware. So, when we went on our last cruise, we weren’t left in a pinch when the only child utensils they had were metal. I appreciate that this kit has bowl with lids so you can use them at the dining table, or pack them in the backpack for snacks during the day. They are made out of sugarcane, so while they are reusable, they are also recyclable once your family has outgrown them.
Nuk Learning Cup
We were that family that showed up with bottles for bed time, but no sippy cup for during the day. Luckily, our destination had the Nuk cup on hand, and we fell in love with it. I appreciate the handles, but also the fact that they are removable once your child doesn’t need them anymore. And there are plenty of designs to match any family’s taste.
Hydro Flask
Did you know that airplanes don’t have hot water? I didn’t know this because it never came up as something I needed before traveling with a baby. Or maybe you’re at a location that doesn’t have somewhere to heat up breast milk or formula. The Hydro Flask is a great option because you can have hot water in there for hours. And depending on the bottle you use, you can drop it right in the wide mouth opening to use the water to heat your milk/formula, or drop the milk bag in for warming. We would mix the hot water with cold water to mix our formula.
Carriers
When you are somewhere that the stroller can’t go, a carrier is a must. That tiny human gets heavier and heavier by the second.
Moby Easy-Wrap Carrier
I always liked the idea of the wrap vs a carrier, but just couldn’t figure out the yards and yards of fabric while also trying to negotiate holding on to a writing baby. That’s why this Moby Easy-Wrap is a winner for me. It is a hybrid so you slip it on like a carrier, but it wraps fabric around the baby. As a plus-size parent, I also appreciate how easily it adjusts and doesn’t feel uncomfortable around my frame.
Ergobaby Omni 360 All-Position Baby Carrier
My husband prefers a traditional carrier over the wrap. So we also travel with the Ergobaby. He says that it feels more secure than the wrap, and he doesn’t like dealing with the ends of the fabric wraps. It took us a couple tries, but he is now able to put this on, throw a baby in, and then buckle all of the buckles to secure baby all on his own. We appreciate that this fits most parent body types, and comes with bells and whistles like a carry pouch, tuck away baby food, and lumbar support waist belt.
Toys
Keeping a baby happy and entertained during travel can be tricky. You don’t have your entire arsenal at your fingertips, and you have limited packing room. The best way to tackle this problem is by having a few favorites and creature comforts from home, but also a few new items that you keep hidden so that the surprise lasts you a good, long time.
Melissa & Doug Children’s Book Float-Alongs
Our baby has too many bath toys to count. So, the idea of bath time without toys seemed daunting. I appreciate the Melissa & Doug Children’s Book because it is a two-n-one: a book to read and toys to play with. There are a few different options for stories and types of toys, so a little can definitely go a long way here.
Nuby Ice Gel Teether Keys
Anything baby can safely chew on is a winner. We have purchased these keys twice now because even dogs love them! (This is not an endorsement to buy these as a dog toy. Our dogs got to them and ate them even though they have an abundance of ACTUAL dog toys). I like that they are colorful, soft, can be frozen if you want, and easy for baby to hold.
B. Toys- FunKeys Toy
If your baby/toddler is a bit older and constantly wants your keys over their toy keys, these are a great solution. Since they are a realistic design, baby tends to play with these longer. They are still colorful and chock full of kid-friendly materials and noises, but the stainless steel keys have the same clink of your real car keys, making them that much more fun.
Accessories
Battery Operated Stroller Fan
Weather can always be unpredictable. Even the best of planners can come across unexpected weather. I like having this Stroller Fan on hand because the flexible tripod legs means it can hook on to practically anything. It can be on the handle of a car seat, the front of a stroller, or even your bike handles. Then at night, it can be attached to a crib or stood up on a bedside table.
Bemece Stroller Rain Cover
Speaking of unpredictable weather, the worst is having to run for cover when rain happens. This stroller cover is an easy solution that will keep baby, stroller, and items dry. A front access panel makes getting to baby easy as pie, and the adjustable velcro straps means that it will fits most stroller brands.
All of these items have been tried and tested to prove that they help make your travel easier. I want your vacation to be as stress-free and seamless as possible. Let’s get together and plan your next vacation!
