Mom and baby travel needs are (obviously) quite different from when you weren’t a parent. Gone are the days when you only need to pack 1 snack and 1 water bottle for plane to get through your day; gone are the days when you only need a good book, iPad or music to keep you entertained during the flight…Or anything else that you may need in your carryon packing list. What I’m getting at is that my world is a whole new one and when we take our spring vacation in 5 days, I am going to be needing to pack a whole bunch of other things that I never even considered before I started paying attention to all the things I use in our lives with our daughter. So here’s my list of what we bought before our trip to Florida and what I am packing!
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Mom Travel Items
Pumping Supplies
I exclusively pump! As convenient as it is to nurse on demand or bring along formula (and I often envy those options), exclusive pumping is best for me and it requires extra supplies and planning. For example, Kyler and I are spending an entire day baby free at Universal Studios Orlando! That has some important challenges: 1. how will Ophelia eat while I’m gone and not there to pump? 2. What will I be doing that day to help myself during the day?
Answer 1: I am bringing my Spectra S2 pump and will do some power pumping sessions in order to freeze 6 bags/20-24 ounces of milk for my grandparents. We will also have cereal and purees made available for them. I just bought this awesome carrier for the Spectra pump and I am actually super excited because I love organizing things!
Answer 2. I will bring my manual Medela pump and Elvie Stride pump for the whole trip. So on our Universal Studios day, I will have my manual pump with me and a wet bag to keep everything in our 1 backpack that fits in the tiny ride lockers at Universal Studios.
Traveling with a baby while exclusively pumping means that I will be bringing extra items like…
bottles, sterilizing bags, and other components for pumping on the go like my recently purchase ‘fanny pack’ for pumping! I do not want to risk someone bumping into me at the zoo or aquarium in Tampa or the airport! I also got alcohol-free wipes to clean up my Elvie pump when we’re not at our lodgings.
Baby Travel Items
Comforting the Baby
- Dr. Brown’s pacifiers. I like these Dr. Brown’s ones because they are the exact same nipple as her bottles. When she finishes a bottle, sometimes I pop a pink in her mouth to keep her calm and go back to sleep.
- Fleece Sleep Sack- Whenever we start the signals for sleep time, we put the baby in a sleep sack. Either the Halo sleep sack or a fleece one. Our flight leaves at 6 am, so I am hoping that we can simply put her in a sleep sack with her favorite lovie and Copper Pearl blanket. Tell her that it is “bedtime” while also feeding her a bottle of fresh milk- with a bink on hand!
Entertaining the Baby
We are bringing her a couple toys for the plane trip. I have read that we should get the kiddos a brand new toy for the flight to help distract them- but we are not interested in having MORE toys than we already have at the house. Since she is only 6 1/2 months old, we think “hiding” some of her favorite ones in a couple days will be sufficient. Kyler and I are going to go around the house and pick out our favorite books and toys that we know Fee loves and then we will whittle it down from there!
Feeding the Baby
- Dr. Brown’s Bottles. Of course. I think we will pack 5 4oz-bottles.
- Oxotot Travel size drying rack with a bottle brush
- Dr. Brown’s Formula Pitcher to keep inside the fridge
- SkipHop Portable Changing pad
Cleaning the Baby
- A packing cube with her soap, Fridababy head scrub, and a few wash clothes- she doesn’t need a whole bunch!
- Travel baby tub- Kyler got a baby shower from his thoughtful classmates and one of the gifts was this neat travel bathtub.
Packing for Mom and Baby Travel Items
Carry-On Suitcase– A hard case carry on suitcase is what I am going with for my second carryon item. Usually, Kyler and I just go with 1 backpack/my lug bag each; however, I exclusively pump, and we are traveling with our infant- so that requires more stuff! I am going to opt for a hard case so that I can protect my wearable pump.
My Lug 3-in-1 Tote Bag- I use this as my carryon bag and so far it’s been great! It has a step like purse, strap like a tote and backpack straps. All of these can be removed and tucked away. It also has a strap that I can put on my suitcase so I don’t have to hold it on my back. This will come especially handy when I have Fee in the baby carrier! The Lug tote is not currently available on Amazon, but here are some other options for you to consider.
Packing Cubes!!! I am seriously in-love with packing cubes! This past weekend I decided to catch up on laundry, meaning that all my clothes were clean but none of them wer put away. This actually made for a great packing opportunity to pack from the dryer.
Most of Ophelia’s day clothes are Carter’s Simple Joy, which means that basically all her colors coordinate really well together. This made picking out a color palette and fav patterns a real breeze and everything fit into 1 big packing cube and 2 small ones. The two small ones are 1. for her back up outfits and 2. the outfits she will wear in the Seattle airport and when we land in Tampa. In addition to shorts, onesies, hat and swimsuits, we’re also bringing a couple shoes. I learned from a friend that baby shoes are important to prevent sunburned feet and even between the toes! So we have a cute pair of shoes from said friend.
Do YOU have and mom and baby travel items on your packing list! Answer in the comments! ⬇️⬇️
