Planning a trip with baby and struggling with what to pack? Here’s one momstown mama’s rundown on what is useful and what is not.
The idea of jet setting with the baby came from my retiree mother who thought well, since we all have the time, why not. It did not take much convincing on my part, I was all over it.
My first thought – traveling with a baby will be interesting. As a first time mother I knew I had some research to do. After soliciting ideas from the momstown message board I managed to pull together a pretty hefty packing list for my little one.
Now that we’ve returned, I thought I would share what I found to be useful while traveling with a 6 month old and what turned out to be excess pounds in my suitcase.
First, the useful stuff:
A good quality umbrella stroller, I heard mixed reviews on this one in my pre vacation research, some people said go cheap, I totally disagree, we spent a bit more for options like a generous sun canopy and nearly flat recline and our baby was a happy little camper on our outings and around the resort.
Infant carrier and wrap – rated very high on my list and turned out to be my saving grace, when fussy time struck into the wrap she went, here my daughter felt safe and secure and I was able to continue my evening festivities knowing that she was OK. On excursions the baby carrier which is more structured came in very handy.
A variety of toys on teether – this one speaks for itself, to keep baby entertained and your piece of mind that their entertainment won’t constantly be hitting the ground.
Portable fan, battery operated (and extra batteries) – great last minute buy for $10 it was heaven sent for keeping baby cool in the hot, sticky weather and played double duty by blowing away annoying flying insects. It was mainly clipped to the stroller.
Portable high chair – made meal time so much easier, she had just started solids.
Leave at home: the items that didn’t make it out of the suitcase:
Baby monitor – my intentions were good on this one but the reality was we all turned in early. A useful tool for the cottage or overnight family visits however.
Bumbo – don’t ask I honestly thought it was a good idea.
Beach Towel – just use the resorts towels, and you can exchange for a clean one whenever necessary.
Way too much baby clothes – the reality is you won’t use them all and you will reuse items because you can. I averaged 3 outfits per day, reality I only needed 2.
Hope this overview on baby travel tips helps, if you have anything to add I’d love to hear them!
