Baby Travel Essentials

Traveling with a baby for the first time can be quite overwhelming. You might find yourself over packing as you are quite unsure whether you’ll need stuff or not. Having traveled intercontinental with my baby twice helped me narrow down the list of necessities to bring may it be on a local or international trip. Here’s my list of baby travel essentials to help you on your next (or first) travel with baby!

1. Baby Bottle Washing Essentials

 

Soap. I’ve always used The Honest Company dishwashing soap because it seems to be gentle enough my skin, it doesn’t have a scent and it works great in removing the film off the bottles and nipples . I’d place just the right amount of soap I’ll need in little travel size bottles.

 

Drying Rack and Bottle Brush. I highly recommend the OXO Tot On-The-Go Drying Rack with Bottle Brush. I love how compact it is and how the bottle brush conveniently fits inside the rack when folded.

 

Sterilizer. I like using the microwavable sterilizer bags when traveling as they are a convenient way to sterilize anytime and any place as long as you have a microwave in your accommodations. I used the Munchkin Latch Microwave Sterilize Bags which can be reused 30 times!

2. Baby Feeding Essentials

Breastfeeding/ pumping

• Breastfeeding Cover
• Breast pump
• Storage bags
• Voltage Converter

Formula feeding

A few baby bottles and multiple bottle neck and nipples. I typically brought 3 baby bottles and 7-10 bottle neck and nipples for a full day outside depending on how many hours we will be out.

Disposable Bottle Liners. This is how I end up bringing just 3 bottles for a full day of feeding. It’s an important must have when traveling as it saves you a lot of space in that diaper bag. What I typically do when mixing the formula is: (1) Measure the amount of water in the bottle (without the liner) to get the accurate amount of water. (2) Pour the water to the disposable bottle liner (3) Place the liner with water inside the baby bottle (4) Mix in the formula (5) Cover, shake and feed the baby!

Formula dispenser. There are so many kinds out there. The number of dispensers you bring and the amount you place in each dispenser just depends on how much your baby has been feeding routinely.

To save us the bulk of bringing too many dispensers, we resorted to using disposable fro zip bags. I know they are not normally used for baby formula but I read a few people use it and I found it to be very convenient and space saving.

Water (boiled or bottled). Of course don’t forget your water! In the US it is quite easy to find bottled baby water or distilled drinking water which my L.O.’s Pediatrician recommended. In Europe, it was a bit challenging as most of the bottled water was mineral water so if you do end up using this, just be mindful of the mineral content and do your research. I ended up using either Evian or Glaceu Smartwater when it was available. In Germany, I boiled tap water and used it for my L.O.

Zip lock bags. I used zip lock bags to separate the clean nipples from the dirty one. I pre-labeled a big zip lock bag as dirty to store the used nipples and I kept the clean ones in separate small bags.

Bibs. Bring a number! I usually ended up using 5-6 in a day especially when my L.O. started teething at 2 months!

3. Changing Essentials

Disposable Pads. I always bring 2 in case there’s a changing accident and keep it in a zip lock bag to keep all contents inside the diaper bag clean. I used them on changing tables and when changing the baby on the stroller because you really don’t want to make a mess on that stroller.

Diapers. I brought 7-10 diapers everyday but this depends on your baby’s routine number of nappy changes. When you’re out and about, it is easy to forget to change your baby, so we made a rule to change her diaper every 2-3 hours when we’re out or after every feeding whichever comes first.

Disposable Wipes. I have tried several brands of baby wipes and by far the best are these Water Wipes. They are a bit more expensive than the regular wipes but you actually get to save more as 1 wipe goes a looooong way!

Bum spray. I mix my own bum spray since L.O. was born and I’ve had no issues with diaper rash. I always bring a small bottle of this mixture to help clean up especially for poopy diapers and I use it atleast once a day. My personal bum spray favorite is a mix of:

• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 ½ cup distilled water
• 1 tsp baby shampoo
• 2 drops tea tree oil
• 4 drops lavender oil

Extra clothes including mittens, socks and a hat. You never know when you’ll need them. Mittens and hats do fall off a lot especially when they like to take them off so always bring extra.

Zip Lock Bags. Zip lock bags were super helpful in our trip. I always brought one in case I had to change her on the stroller and I couldn’t find a trash can nearby.

4. Baby gear

Diaper bag. Any diaper bag will do depends on your style but I especially like this one from LAND or you can also use one of your stylish bags and buy a diaper bag organizer insert instead.

 

Stroller. I love being on the go and traveling with ease so when I did my research on the Babyzen Yoyo Plus, I knew it was THE ONE! I like how portable and lightweight it is. It even fits inside the carry-on bin and can be worn as a backpack (with the Babyzen travel bag) or you can shoulder carry it. You can also  check these in for free.

Baby Carrier. I love the ease of putting on the Babybjorn. My LO also feels super secure with this one.

Car Seat. Choose one that would attach to your stroller of choice. When traveling international, you can usually check these in for free.

 

5. Health

Thermometer

Infant Tylenol

Vitamins

Suction bulb

All these stuff is what I basically had in my diaper bag on a daily basis.

Additional tips!

• For hotels, ask for a crib. They are usually free of charge. Although I preferred using Airbnb for the convenience of having a kitchen and the essentials needed to make baby bottle washing a breeze. When booking with Airbnb, make sure to ask the host if they provide a crib. They are usually free of charge as well.
• When sterilizing, make sure to inquire about having a microwave oven in your accommodations.
• Before traveling, inquire if car seats are required. Although I highly recommend using them for safety.
• For international air travel, request or book bassinet seats (if available) and use a bassinet instead (if baby’s size and weight permits). They are free and you don’t have to pay a seat for the baby.

I hope this post helps you in your next (or first) adventure with your little one(s)! Happy travels!