Hi friends!
We have been traveling with our little ones for years and I am never excited about it, especially when they were much younger. Putting together a well-equipped carry-on bag feels impossible. I try to keep it light but I definitely want to have enough tricks up my sleeve if/when she starts to get restless.
I thought I’d just share my lists here for both baby and toddler ages – taken straight out of my Google doc. Maybe it’ll come in handy for other mamas traveling with young children.
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Carry-On List for Babies (Flying)
Here are the items I packed while traveling with my 4-month old at the time…
- Ergobaby carrier (I didn’t really pack this, I just wore it through airport and security)
- (3) 9-oz bottles of breast milk (I packed one for each hour, but only needed 2)
- Swaddle blanket
- (3) bibs
- (3) burp rags
- (6) diapers
- Package of baby wipes (great for baby, but also disinfecting your area)
- Pacifier
- Small book
- Extra sleeper and onesie
- (5) toys – one musical, one light up, o-ball, rattle, and teething
- (3) pacifier clips (attached these to her toys to avoid them falling on the dirty floor!)
- Security blanket (optional if your baby has one – I think this helped give Willow a familiar smell)
- Baby birth certificate (I needed this traveling Southwest)
- Nosefrida (you just never know)
- Munchkin Arm and Hammer trash bags (in case of dirty clothes, diapers, etc.)
- Travel tissue pack
- Travel hand sanitizer
- Lip balm
- Extra shirt for myself
- Ipad
- Pen
- Cell + charger
- Gum
- Wallet
- Sunglasses
- Tylenol (for us and baby)
- (2) Luna bars
Carry-On List for Toddlers (Flying)
Here are the items I packed while traveling with my 20-month old at the time…
- Empty water bottle – I’ll add some water to this once we get through security.
- Empty sippy cup – planning on buying a carton of soy milk or similar to fill her milk sippy up after we get through security.
- Stickers – endless fun for this kiddo.
- Snacks – some of her favorites lately are fig bars, veggie sticks, animal crackers, dry cereal, and larabars.
- Toys – I’ll grab a few of her favorites that are easy to pack, as well as a few new ones to surprise her and hopefully keep her interested. Non-noisy ones!
- Crafts – mess-free coloring, to be exact. Hoping that this kind of stuff will keep her busy. She likes to color at home, so let’s hope it’s the same situation in the air.
- Books – Maybe 2 board books and a book with flaps (they keep her entertained for a while!)
- Minnie stuffed animal – her security plush. :)
- Blanket – she loves these and carries them everywhere (and sleeps with them).
- iPad + headphones – we found these headphones on Amazon and tried them out with her. She LOVED them. We’ll buy a couple of her favorite Disney movies to have on hand and some Daniel Tiger episodes.
- Baby birth certificate – we need this since she’ll be sitting on our laps to prove her age.
- Tylenol – I just like to have this in case.
- Bib – to avoid any mess if she wants to snack.
- 2 burp cloths – we never use these anymore, but on a flight… I want to have them in case of any messes.
- 6 diapers – I know we won’t need all these… but you watch. I will say that and then we will use them all. Ha!
- Baby wipes – a given for sticky hands and faces… and to wipe down the entire seating areas and trays. Too much germs on a flight for me.
- Change of clothes – again, just in case.
- Arm and hammer diaper trash bags – in the horrible event that she goes #2, I want to contain the smell by using the scented trash bags.
- Tissue packs (2) – just in case.
- Travel hand sanitizer – to keep it germ-free.
- Lip balm – I just bring it everywhere and Willow loves putting it on.
- Ergobaby carrier – we don’t usually use this anymore, but she still fits and I am gonna try to use it through security, at least.
Roadtripping? Baby Checklist
- Wubbanub – THIS is the holy grail. Her comfort. We can’t go anywhere without at least two.
- Toys – her favorite Minnie Mouse, musical toy, security blanket, and rings.
- Teethers – she’s in the heat of teething, so I’ll definitely have a few of these on hand.
- Touch and feel book – she has been so into books these days, and this one will occupy her a bit.
- Diapers – self-explanatory necessity.
- Wipes – again, just a necessity.
- Sun hat – just in case she gets restless and we pull off somewhere to relax in the sun a bit. Grabbed an i play hat at Target.
- Extra onesie – A blowout on the road would be a nightmare. Fortunately, blowouts these days are soooo rare, but you know… just in case.
- Lightweight swaddle blanket – love muslin swaddles so much. She loves to cuddle with it when napping in the car.
- Snack cup + puffs – these are a saving grace whenever we are in public and she starts to fuss a bit. Let’s hope they will have the same effect in car. We use these cups for puffs.
- Mum Mums – she loves these teething biscuits.
- Banana – easy snack.
- Sippy cup – we take this cup with us everywhere.
- Bottle – extra bottle for feeding.
- Soy formula – I’ll be bringing a whole tin for the 3 days.
- Waterbottles – for us and for her sippy cup/bottle.
- Burp cloths (2) – just in case things get messy (or you know, when they get messy).
- Hand sanitizer – I always have it.
- iPad – we are downloading a few of her favorite Disney movies/shows for entertainment if necessary!
- Spotify – not exactly “packing” this, but worth mentioning that we will be depending on this for the Disney Junior and Disney sing-a-long playlist I’ve created for her. She loves music!
