Traveling with a baby – packing list

I don’t know about you, but I hate packing. I don’t know what it is. Will I forget something? What will the weather be? What are we going to be doing? I always over pack because of the ‘unknown’. I knew I hated packing…but then I started packing for our family trip to DC. Packing for a baby is WAY worse! We were only going to be gone Friday – Monday and I had no idea where to start! So I kept procrastinating…until the night before. Ugh! I wasn’t even worried about packing for myself anymore – I was freaking out about what to bring for our 11 month old!!! I ended up over packing for her, but I was SO glad that I did. So I wanted to share what I packed for a few reasons. I have friends who are traveling with littles soon and have asked me questions and also because I don’t want to forget this list! So, here goes nothing! Don’t judge me 🙂

PACKING LIST

• Baby’s Birth Certificate – DON’T FORGET THIS!!! You have to have this!
• Diapers (DUH) – I planned for one for each hour I was traveling (to the airport, on the plane, time to get to the hotel) I found that Huggies makes slip-on diapers and that was SO awesome when we were out and about because I didn’t have to lay her down anywhere to change her!
• Wipes, Wipes and more Wipes!
• Changing pad – I brought disposable ones for when we were out and about and her regular one for the hotel room
• Blankets – I brought the nice big breathable A&A blankets and the one she gets wrapped in right before bedtime
• Wet bag or gallon Ziploc bags for ‘just in case’ moments
• Butt cream – our favorite is the Boudreaux’s Butt Paste – Maximum Strength
• A few of their favorite toys – I brought ones that you could put in the washer when we got home
• Toy clips/straps – we have these secure-a-toy ones and I also made some – these are a must with the stroller or carrier so things don’t get dropped!
• Clothes – I planned 2 outfits for each day and each outfit was in its own Ziploc bag. This helped with space and also with finding socks and matching pants, etc.
• A few books
• Sun hats – If your kid ‘allows’ it, get ones with the strap that goes under their chin. We had both and the day we used the one without, we almost lost the hat!
• Bibs, Bibs and more Bibs! I almost ran out. Luckily I had some disposable ones with too!
• A sweatshirt or jacket that you can bring along in case they get cold
• Shoes
• A couple of washcloths – they are softer than the ones at the hotel and you can use it to wipe them up or when you need to give them a bath. We use one every morning to wipe her face.
• A crib sheet
• Swim diapers and a swimming suit if your hotel has a pool
• A blow up bathtub to make giving a bath easier, or you can be like us and give your kiddo a shower instead. She does great!
• Travel sized shampoo and body wash
• Baby lotion
• First Aid Kit – we bought a small Johnson & Johnson one and brought that in our carry on
• Breast pump if you need it – storage bags for milk
• Snacks – we brought Puffs and Yogurt Melts (and some Goldfish for us)
• Empty bottles if you’re bottle feeding
• A sippy cup for water/juice
• Feeding sets – we brought 1 of the Take N Toss bowls and a few spoons and just kept washing them
• Disposable Place mats – we have these Minnie Mouse ones that we got as a gift and they are awesome. Why? They are sticky on all 4 sides and that means, that I can put the place mat over the edge of the table and that when my daughter goes to chew on said end of the table…I don’t feel like I need to wipe her mouth out with a Clorox wipe. LOL!
• High chair cover – if you’re weird like me, you have one. Our is a high chair and shopping cart cover in one. Again, my daughter is into the ‘let’s put everything in our mouth’ phase. Gross.
• Formula (We brought a few of the packets for on the go if we needed them. Ended up using 1 packet at the Capitol)
• Breastmilk – I brought 12 bags of 6 oz. frozen breastmilk in a cooler with tons of ice packs. The room didn’t have a freezer but the front desk took it for me and stored it in their kitchen freezer and I could come down to the front desk whenever I needed it and they got it for me (Hilton Crystal City was AMAZING and so accommodating!!!)
• Food for the kiddo – we brought pouches and I brought about 2 days worth of extra. We also brought measured out oatmeal so we could dump it in the Take N Toss bowl and mix in some breastmilk.
• Tips for the pouches. We brought the Munchkin attachable spoons and the ChooMee silicone tips – we ended up just using the tips and she did so great when we were out and about.
• Hand soap – sounds weird but I like have liquid antibacterial hand soap in a hotel
• Hand sanitizer – I have a TON of the little Bath & Body Works hand sanitizers and I hang them on almost every bag I can!
• Dishwashing liquid – gotta clean bottles, etc. somehow!
• Bottle Brush – bring a brush to be able to clean inside of the bottles/nipples
• Extra pacifiers – we had enough to have one attached to each carrier and for her to have a pacifier graveyard for when she slept at night
• Tylenol and Ibuprofen and any other medications you might need. (or if you have prescription meds)
• Car seat if you need one. You can check this at the gate, but I would suggest having it be on wheels somehow – I saw some people struggling with theirs. We didn’t take one since we took the Metro everywhere in DC
• An umbrella stroller – we have the Chicco Echo. It was perfect for traveling – has a nice size storage basket below, lays back flat and has a 5-point harness. I only took the stroller on shorter walks and to restaurants that I didn’t know if they had kid seats or not. Worked out great to feed her in our room too.
• Gate Check Bag for stroller – this protects your stroller from germs and from getting dirty. You’d be surprised how dirty the bag came back to us.
• Baby Carrier – Seriously can’t tell you how important this was for us. We brought our Tula and our Lillebaby Airflow. I used the Lillebaby on the plane (she slept the whole time both ways) and the Tula was when we were out and about walking. It was so easy to jump on and off the Metro and not have to worry about a stroller in the crowded area!

TIPS

• Throw an extra shirt in your carry on bag for yourself in case anything happens on the plane or in the airport. Leilani ended up spitting up on my shirt and I was not prepared with a burp rag and a nice lady across the aisle gave us some napkins she had with her lunch. I did however have a shirt in my bag but didn’t end up needing it.
• Ditch the regular diaper bag and opt for a backpack. It was way easier and less bulky/clunky
• Ask the hotel beforehand if they have cribs available. Ours did, but the crib ended up being a pack and play and wasn’t that comfy for Leilani and she didn’t sleep the greatest. But at least it was there. Even if we needed to put her down for a little bit to play with her toys while we got ready – cause who wants to put their baby on a hotel room floor to play? *shudders*
• If you need a freezer or refrigerator, I’d call ahead and ask if there is one available. We were told on the phone that there was a freezer in our room, but there ended up not being one.
• Pouches of food are amazing for traveling. We got ones that had fruit and yogurt and some that had veggies and fruits and grains – seriously makes life a heck of a lot easier!

Hopefully this helps a little bit with your travels and I will remember that it is here for when we travel in the future! Let me know if you have any additional ‘must-have’ items that you pack or any fun suggestions! Happy Traveling!

Some images from our trip: