Traveling with Babies | What I Never Leave Home Without
I love to travel. I was, quite literally, born to travel. So, one of the best things about meeting my husband was that he was 100% supportive and together, we committed to seeing as much of the world as possible. So, when we added babies to the mix, I was so happy that my hubs was fully on board to keep the traveling up with babies in tow. Now that we have two little ones, we’ve got our process down to a science and I’m sharing the items that help us make it all go smoothly.
1. Nokia Thermometer - I’ve had a stupid amount of thermometer’s since having my first child. But, this one is truly amazing and worth every, single penny. You can create profiles for everyone in your household on your through the app and once you’ve taken a temp, you get a notification and can log that reading to the appropriate profile. You can also take and store photos and store them in the profile, which is tremendously helpful when you’re sharing something with your physician! I also LOVE that you can take a temp on your child without touching them. That has come in so handy when the babies are sleeping and you want to keep an eye on a fever. I have truly loved this purchase since the first day I received it and while I find it a necessary travel item due to all the exposure to germs you and your babies have when traveling, I have to say that this in one of my favorite baby items, period.
2. Ergo Carrier - I don’t know how anyone travels without an Ergo. I have gotten so many compliments from airport staff claiming that is by far, the easiest way to get your littles through security. I’ve had a lot of carriers, but this has just been the easiest to get on and off, and perfect for my babes at all ages. The newborn inserts are wonderful and keep your tiny one snuggled in and warm. I have been a big fan of the cool mesh version of the Ergo simply due to the fact that when you travel to a warm climate, it’s so comfortable. However, the rain fly/fleece lined cover is wonderful for traveling to cooler climates and is perfect for the Seattle Weather I happen to live in. As a bonus, the drool bib attachments have been soooo great for both of my kids when traveling. Since you can’t just pop it in the wash, I keep a few of these on hand when we are on holiday so the carrier doesn’t get nasty while we’re away.
3. JetKids Bed Box - My kids are both very small still and the Bed Box by JetKids is perfect for any flight over 3 hours for us. You can pull your kid on it through the airport if you feel comfortable and feel your little on is steady enough to navigate it, but we love it because we can store our kids airplane toys inside and then take them out on the plane and give them a bigger surface area while in their seats on the plane. For our littlest, we also make a bed up for his nap time, put a blanket over the seats, put on a sound machine and we have a nap on the go! Mama gets to catch a cocktail…
4. Water Wow Coloring Books - I can’t say enough great things about these coloring books. I like to get a new set when we travel so our toddler hasn't seen them before and they are fresh and new. So, we have this set, this set, and this book so far. When we travel, I take the pen holder out of a couple of them, so they store flat and hold onto the water pens to fill them all up at once, so you don’t have to keep filling one up on the plane. Before take off, or before you board is always a good time to avoid spills. They are also great for the car on trips and when you’re staying in a rental. Mess free entertainment is always a win!
5. Hussh Sound Machine - This sound machine last forever! It’s small, compact and comes with a perfect sized clip to hang on a stroller, baby carrier or on the crib. A friend introduced this to me a couple years ago and now we have two. It’s simple, only has three sounds, but we only use one and the amount of sounds you get out of this tiny thing is amazing!
6. Easy Umbrella Stroller - Now that I have two kids, I like to keep them both right in front of me when we are in airports or busy places. I saw a friend using this stroller in the airport and immediately wanted the details! She claimed that this stroller was excellent for traveling with two children and she was soooo right! I love that I can have both kids buckled in, but if my toddler is feeling like he doesn’t want to ride in a stroller, the seat can be easily removed and he can either stand on the scooter board or sit facing backwards, but not have to feel like he’s in a traditional stroller seat. Folds up REALLY easily and for being a double stroller, it’s pretty lightweight. Back when I just had one kiddo though, the GB POCKIT was my go to travel stroller! It’s AWESOME!
7. Travel Carseat and Travel Bag - Both of our boys can take a serious nap in a carseat, so we invested early in travel carseats. This one is wonderful because it only weighs 10 pounds, can be refacing or front facing and is really easy to clean. It’s very basic, so we really only use them when we’re traveling, but the cost is low enough that it works for us. We have two of the same seat so there won’t ever be fights over who gets what. The travel bag is great because of the wheels and the handle. If I have the baby in the Ergo, I can usually do one carry on back pack and pull both carseats in one travel bag and check it. Carseats fly free, so after we roll it to our check in, we’re done with them until we get to the other seat. I’m all about whatever makes traveling easier.
8. Antiseptic Wipes - This is pretty self explanatory, but I’m pretty intense when I fly with my babies about wiping EVERYTHING down. Seat, windows, tray tables. All of it. I also have these in the diaper bag pretty much at all times because shopping carts are gross, haha! Just like luggage carts and hotel cribs. So, we go through a lot of wipes when we travel.
9. Backpack Style Diaper Bag - Being able to have everything you need right on your bag is ideal. When you’re carrying your kid, it’s ideal to have the weight of your diaper bag’s weight evenly distributed on your back. I’m also less likely to set it down in a public place and forget it while watching my kids if it’s on my body securely and not just slung across one shoulder. I also have this one which I love.
10. Packing Cubes - These are soooo great!! I use them for my husband and myself as well, but they are perfect for keeping my two boys things delineated while we’re traveling. Helps me to keep their stuff organized and it’s easier to tell my toddler and husband where to find something when we’re trying to get ready in a hurry or he runs back to the room for something without me. I really LOVE Amazon’s brand packing cubes. I have two different colors for my boys, green and blue. I like having the Small, Medium, Large and Slim set for my kiddos because their items are so small right now. With the packing cubes, I’m able to get all of their things for a week packed into a carry on size roller back and I use the Slim Cubes to pack them with emergency clothing and such that are small enough to slip into my backpack. It works out perfectly! A lot of companies make packing cubes, so there’s a lot to pick from. I have a different brand for myself that I bought a few years back, but the Amazon Basics are really durable and I don’t have any complaints with them for the price.
Obviously, we travel with a lot more than these ten items when we go, but this does cover our “must haves.” We take these ten items every trip we take and have used absolutely all of them every time. If you know of something that we need to add to our list, please, PLEASE share!! This traveling soul isn’t slowing down anytime soon and I’m always looking for ways to make it even easier!
Thanks for stopping by!
heather-scherie
