Simplified Packing for Travel with a Baby

Last Monday, LJ and I packed our bags and flew to Philadelphia for the week. We spent a few days visiting Justin’s extended family who live in the area. Since Justin was unable to come with us, my mother-in-law was gracious enough to drive up from Virginia to visit her family with us and then watch LJ during the day on Thursday when I was busy. It was so wonderful to get to introduce LJ to his great-grandmother, great-uncles and -aunts, second cousins, etc. I also got to visit a few college friends who live in the area.

How cute are these three generations? We had such a special time together!

On Wednesday evening we headed back towards Philadelphia because Thursday I had all-day meetings and professional development with the company I work for. For those who do not know, I have a part-time administrative job with a nutrition counseling company based in Philadelphia. While I am able to complete all of my work remotely from home (mostly during nap time), the opportunity arose to travel out to participate in this day with many other members of the team and I jumped at the chance. Then LJ and I flew back to Indiana on Friday – it was a full, fun week!

I have now flown solo with LJ a few different times and while I am by no means an expert, I do feel like I’ve picked up some tips and tricks along the way. I have previously blogged about tips I use when flying with a baby (find that blog post here), but motherhood is a constant experiment and I want to share what I’m learning as I go. One of the key things I have found when flying with a baby, whether you’re the lone adult or have some help, is to pack as light as you can. It is difficult enough to navigate an airport with a baby but to try and juggle 17 things makes it that much harder. Today I thought it would be helpful to show exactly what I prioritize packing when traveling with a baby, as well as how I organize everything and cart it through the airport. As always, these are things that have worked for me – my tricks might not work for everyone but they sure have helped me simplify the chaos of airport travel! I hope you can find something here that is helpful to you.

Carry On Suitcase

When I travel solo with LJ, I try to get everything that I won’t need on the actual flight in one carry-on if at all possible. I know I could take a purse or something too but I prefer less bags to keep track of. I always roll my clothing items and utilize every square centimeter of space. Here is exactly what I packed in my carry-on for this 5-day/4-night trip:

Clothing Items for LJ

• Crib sheet (I always bring my own from home even though we use the hotel’s crib. I talk more about this in my post on tips for hotels with a baby here)
• 3 Pants (two leggings, one jeans)
• Four onesies
• Three sleepers
• Socks
• One Shirt
• One Sweatshirt
• Hat

In addition to these items, LJ wore a sleeper to the airport with a zipper hoodie over it. (Bonus Tip: LJ is in a super *fun* stage of pulling his socks off every chance he gets. A sleeper gave him a little more coverage in protecting from airport germs and also ensured he didn’t pull off and lose his socks. Win-win!)

We could have eliminated one sleeper, one pair of leggings, the shirt, and one onesie, but since my mother-in-law was kind enough to bring her sound machine for LJ to use so I didn’t have to pack mine, I had a little extra space to pack a few more items.

Clothing Items for Me

• White nursing tank
• Four tops
• One pair dress pants
• Pajamas (top + bottoms)
• One pair ballet flats

In addition, I wore a navy nursing tank, shirt, scarf, jacket, jeans, and my Converse sneakers to the airport.

Personal Care Items

• Jewelry (3-4 options)
• Curling wand + carrier
• Clutch to take for my work day
• 3-1-1 liquid bag (makeup remover, baby body wash, contact solution, mascara, moisturizer, toothpaste, eye cream, nail polish)
• Other toiletries bag for non-liquids (see below)

Random Items

A few random items I had in the front pockets of my carry-on were:

• my laptop (not pictured)
• a couple magazines (I only ended up taking two of the three pictured)
• hairbrush
• booklight
• glasses
• phone charger
• socks, bra, underwear (also not pictured but you get the idea 😉 )

All of that stuff listed above fit into my carry-on. I make sure none of it is stuff I’ll need on the plane in case I end up having to gate-check the carry-on due to limited overhead space (which I did end up having to do this time). It’s also helpful to have a carry-on with a handle and wheels for easy transport!

Diaper Bag

Many airlines let you bring a diaper bag as a “bonus” item and it does not count as a carry-on or personal item – check your airline’s policy!

I have a blog post dedicated to what I carry in my infant diaper bag and other than a few snacks for both LJ and myself, I didn’t pack anything extra in the bag. I find it’s helpful to keep this mostly the same set up as usual so I can quickly find what I need in the bag and have a little extra room if I need to stuff something in it (like LJ’s sweatshirt). I did not pack tons of diapers since it is very easy to buy some once at my destination. I also did not pack extra toys other than what I typically keep in the diaper bag. LJ was so interested in all the people and new surroundings that he didn’t really even need toys to be entertained.

Bonus Tip #1: I keep headphones in my diaper bag and always download a podcast or a Netflix episode or two since LJ often sleeps during the flight and it’s too difficult to read with him on my lap. And even though I try to limit LJ’s screen time, there is no shame in my mom game with downloading an episode of The Octonauts for use in a pinch – we’re all just trying to make it to our destination happily. 🙂

Bonus Tip #2: Attach the diaper bag to your carry-on. Back when I used my Ergo to carry LJ through the airport, my hands were always free to hold/pull luggage. Now that I needed one hand to push the stroller and one to pull my suitcase, I needed to come up with a strategy for carrying my nursing pillow, car seat bag and my diaper bag until I could check make it to the counter and check my car seat bag. My diaper bag comes with clips to hook it to a stroller, and these clips came in handy when I had my car seat bag on my back – I just clipped the bag to my suitcase handle and could easily navigate with everything in tow. I didn’t actually realize I could do this until I was already in the airport and wish I had known it all along as it makes things so easy! If your diaper bag doesn’t come with clips, I think a couple carabiner clips would do the trick.

Nursing Pillow

Okay so this isn’t a bag and I’ve already shared this tip but it bears repeating. If you are flying with a lap infant, regardless of if you’re breastfeeding, a nursing pillow is a personal item must. It gives your baby a place to sit/lay down during the flight without you feeling like you need to “hold” him or her the entire time. LJ usually falls asleep on it and my arms can stay free. I can’t recommend it enough!

Car Seat + Bag

Your destination may have a car seat for you or you may plan to rent one upon arrival, but I have always taken our car seat along. Most airlines allow you to check a car seat and/or stroller for free. I bought this bag on Amazon and I honestly LOVE it. It makes carrying a car seat (and base if you want) super easy, lightweight (yes, really!) and manageable.

Umbrella Stroller

I have previously used my baby carrier to carry LJ through the airport and around at our destinations. This worked great when he was smaller but he’s getting a little too heavy for me to want to carry him for long periods now so I bought an umbrella stroller for $4.50 at a consignment store. It’s certainly not the best stroller out there and I could have taken my nicer stroller from home; however, the umbrella stroller served its purpose through the airport and at our destination and since it’s inexpensive I wasn’t worried if it got banged up or damaged on the flight. Also, since I gate checked my stroller (remember, many airlines do this for free!), I could push LJ through the airport super easily. It was easy to transport around when we got to our destination and didn’t take up much space in the car, which left room for other luggage. Search yard sales, FB groups, etc for a used one or you can find an inexpensive one like this at stores like Walmart, Target, etc.

What tricks have you picked up from flying with a baby? Share your tips below – I’d love to hear what works for you!