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I remember the first time we had to pack for a flight after our daughter was born. She was about six months old, had just started solids, and I had no idea where to start. Traveling with a baby was completely out of my wheelhouse and if you had asked me then, we obviously needed to bring, well, everything.

Looking back a year and more trips later, we've become well-versed in packing for our little addition. There is no getting around having extra things to carry but light, fast travel is something I strive for. I haaate the thought of being bogged down in an airport or train station with more than what is absolutely necessary. So here is my list of what pack when traveling with our baby.

​This post will cover planes, cars, trains, and cruises! But if you have something to add, drop a comment; I'd love to hear how you travel too.

Also read: Traveling As A Breastfeeding Mom (Without Her Baby)

For me, the thought of packing for the airport was the most stressful. With the strict regulations, max fluid requirements, and baggage weight, I strongly considered how long it would take us to drive to New Mexico from Virginia.

​But, it turns out that the TSA and airlines are actually pretty baby friendly!

If your child is over the age of two, then you do need to purchase a ticket for them and they will have a seat on the flight. You can either pick seats while purchasing the tickets or get the seats assigned at the gate. In my experience, most airlines and gate attendants are very accommodating with keeping parents and children together. Minors won't be separated from their guardian but I cannot guarantee that you and your partner will get to sit together, too.

If your child is under the age of two, you can either purchase a ticket for them or you can designate them as a "lap infant". This means that your child will not have a paid-for seat and if it is a full plane, the expectation is that baby stays on your lap for the duration of the fight.

​It can be helpful if you're flying with your partner or a friend, that way your child has another lap to move in between. If you're going solo (just you and baby), when you get to your gate for your flight, ask the attendant if there are any open seats on the plane. They might be able to adjust your ticket so you have a seat and baby has a, now free, seat.

If baby has their own ticket, then they can have their own carry-on. If your baby does not have a ticket and they are going to be on your lap, then they cannot have their own carry-on.

However...

Car seats, strollers, diaper bags

Car seats, strollers, and diaper bags are exempt from counting as carry-ons or personal items. Meaning, you can still have your carry-on, your personal item (purse/backpack/briefcase, etc), and baby's diaper bag and stroller.

Strollers

If you're bringing a regular, full-sized stroller to the airport, it will need to be checked before boarding your plane. You can check it at the counter where you would check a full-sized bag or you can check it at the gate. That way if you're there really early, have a long layover, or it's a big airport you can push baby through.

We found a travel stroller that folds up to literally the size and weight of a carry-on. It's small enough to store in the overhead bin, opens and collapses so fast, and maneuvers beautifully being pushed one-handed while pulling your carry-on with the other. We have packed our GB Pockit+ for literally every trip, from airports to cruise ships, and it works like a charm. Because it folds so small and fast, whether we were late to the gate (we almost missed that flight) or hailing a taxi in NYC, we didn't have to worry about a big, cumbersome stroller taking up time or space.

Now I will say, you will have to do your due diligence and do some research. The GB Pockit is for 6+ months. So if your baby is younger than that, you might have to bring your big stroller anyway or give yourself a hands-free option by babywearing/bringing a carrier.

Car seats

I'm not going to lie, I've never brought a car seat through the airport. But! I know plenty of parents who vouch for it.

For me, the idea of lugging one through the airport while traveling with a baby is too much of a hassle for me. If you're renting a car, most if not all rental companies can rent you a car seat too. These tend to go fast so I would complete that reservation as soon as you know that's what you're doing.

​But if you do bring your baby's seat, there are some strategies:

Look into car seat bags, travel belts, or car seat carts. These are all methods that can be used for carrying your baby's seat around the airport. I would also recommend reading this article for more car-seat specific information and air travel.

Diaper bags

Diaper bags do not count towards your carry-on or personal items. AND you're allowed one per child. How cool is that?

Now obviously, don't treat the diaper bag like a carry-on for yourself but that doesn't mean that you can't pack a few changes of clothes, some toys, snacks, and obviously diapers for your baby.

​You can have some liquids/pastes in your diaper bag but it has to clearly be baby bum accoutrements. So you can bring Buttpaste, sunscreen, wipes, Aquaphor, or whatever else you need for your little one. Just remember nothing over 3oz and everything needs to fit into one quart bag.

Pro tip: I would recommend packing at least two changes of clothes in the diaper bag. That way if one outfit gets messy, there's a blowout mid-flight, or if you're drastically changing climates baby can stay clean, dry, and comfortable.

Obviously the biggest reminder is to have baby's passport or birth certificate. Some airport agents might not ask for any proof for your baby, some might. Technically, children under the age of 18 aren't required to present ID when flying domestically. Different countries and airlines might have different policies if you're flying internationally.

​My philosophy is that it's always better to have something and not need it versus needing something you don't have. Better safe than sorry to pack ID for your baby.

Did you know you can pack snacks and bring food into the airport? I think I was at least 27 before I learned this.

​According to the TSA website, you can bring food on board for baby.

"Formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby/toddler food (to include puree pouches) in quantities greater than 3.4 ounces or 100 milliliters are allowed in carry-on baggage and do not need to fit within a quart-sized bag. Formula, breast milk, toddler drinks and baby/toddler food (to include puree pouches) are considered medically necessary liquids. This also applies to breast milk and formula cooling accessories, such as ice packs, freezer packs and gel packs (regardless of presence of breast milk). Your child or infant does not need to be present or traveling with you to bring breast milk, formula and/or related supplies."

​https://www.tsa.gov/travel/tsa-cares/traveling-children

This is very helpful for several reasons. If baby has just started solids you can make sure that there are developmentally appropriate things for them to eat. Familiar foods can help make your little one feel more comfortable if they're nervous. Not to mention snacks serve as a great distraction for how long they have to sit on an airplane.

To me, traveling with baby any way other than an airplane just seems less stressful. There are generally more generous rules for baggage, food, and water bottles and overall less security measures to worry about.

Traveling with baby via car is probably the most straightforward. You can pack literally anything you need (or want) to bring. But be prepared for at least an extra hour or two to your estimated time of arrival. Car traveling with a baby can be quite the undertaking. Between stops for you, stops for them, you'll find that it might take quite literally the whole day to make a five or six hour drive.

Remember, baby should not sit in their car seat for longer than two hours at a time. Plan for breaks to be about 15 minutes minimum to give their backs a chance to stretch from the shape of their car seat.

Do you need a rooftop cargo box?

In our experience, maybe.

When we road trip it's us (two adults), our daughter and all her gear, and our dog plus his stuff.

I know a few people who have the rooftop bins and they swear by them. But it will be up to you if you purchase one. My husband and I go back and forth on the opinion that it just gives you more space to bring more stuff. My argument is that the point of going away is to leave (most) of your home, at home.

But if you have more than one child or special requirements like wheelchairs, a rooftop cargo space might be a good investment. I'm a strong advocate for "you get what you pay for" and while the initial price tag might be a bit of a shock, if you consider it an investment and how long it should last, how many adventures your family will be able to go on, it might be worth it.

Car seat mirror versus live-stream monitor

If you don't know what I'm talking about, this is a live-stream car monitor.

Traditionally, many parents pick up a headrest mirror from the car aisle at the store and use that paired with their rearview mirror.

This can actually pose a safety risk should you end up in an accident. Technically anything that is loose in the car can become a hazard in an accident but the live-stream monitors seem to have better straps to keep the camera in place.

This also makes traveling with baby so much easier because instead of twisting to see the mirror or just not even having it line up right to see baby in the first place, these car monitors pretty much guarantee that you'll keep baby in view.

Overnight diapers

One parenting hack that I learned (and can't remember where from), is for road trips or even just longer car rides, have baby in an overnight diaper.

These tend to be even more absorbent than regular day diapers and should help keep them more comfortable.

Puppy pads

But can you guess why I'm suggesting puppy pads?

If you said blowout, you are correct!

There is nothing quite like the beast of a blowout when you're just trying to drive somewhere and you still have 6+ hours to go. Or even just an hour left.

Specifically a car seat blowout. These can have poop in every seam leaving you to pull into the closest parking lot to completely clean and change baby while your husband does what he can with a pack of baby wipes. (Can you tell I'm speaking from experience?)

​But the absorbency of puppy pads are amazing. And consider it multi-use. Line the car seat, use it for unexpected snack pouch spills, when your dog gets car sick. You name it, it can help you clean it up.

Pro tip: Cut coordinating slits into a puppy pad so that it fits on the seat of the car seat (either over or under the infant cushion is fine) and you can lace the crotch buckle through. This will create an absorbent barrier should poo leak out of the diaper at amazing angles due to the positioning of the seat and the seat harness.

Doggy bags

The same ones that you might use for cleaning up after your dog are very useful here.

These are great if there is just a mess to clean up in general, if you have a dirty diaper on the go, or to use as a mini trash bag for discarded wrappers.

​Especially if you're in for a longer trip, you want to keep your environment as tidy as possible.

So far we have only taken one cruise with our daughter and when we did she was about 8/9 months old. Here is what I learned, and what I wish we had brought traveling with a baby.

Diapers

I was so stressed about having enough diapers for our 8-day cruise. But this ended up not being too much of an issue. I packed nearly a whole sleeve in my one bag and when we stopped at our first port in Florida, I bought some more.

We ended up having just enough to have a few extra. So while it took up a lot of space initially, as they were used that space was freed up and created perfect room for souvenirs.

Infant swim float

I wish we had bought/brought one of these.

It turned out that the cruise line we went with was not particularly baby friendly. Our daughter was obviously not three and not potty trained so she wasn't allowed at the kid's splash pad or the pool while on the ship.

So despite having swim diapers, there wasn't much for her to do for our "at sea" days. I wish we had a swim float for the beach days when we were at port. I think it would have made her experience much more enjoyable.

And it would have given us another way to play with her without having to hold her the whole time in the water.

Remember these are not safety floatation devices. Please supervise your child the whole time.

Stroller

We packed our travel stroller for the cruise and it was amazing.

Because of its more compact size, navigating the hallways wasn't a hassle and it was so useful for all the laps we ended up taking on the walking deck.

Some people packed full size strollers but everything on cruise ships are narrower and more tight. So pushing her through the dining hall or going into the elevator wasn't at all an issue with the smaller stroller.

We also packed our carrier just in case but ended up using the stroller most.

Travel crib

Based on the cruise Facebook pages, I know that some parents choose to bring a Pack-and-Play or a travel crib.

I think this is pretty dependent on how big of a cabin you end up with.

I took the risk of not bringing one and it worked out best. Our daughter just slept in between us for the week, using us as the bumpers for not falling out of bed.

Our cabin would not have had room for a Pack-and-Play.

Now if you're traveling with a baby who still fits in a bassinet, there might be enough room for one of those.

Passport

Your baby will need a passport for taking a cruise. This is because while you're at sea, you're sailing on international waters.

They'll also need a passport to get off and back on the boat when you stop at a port.

​You can get passport photos taken at your local CVS or Walmart. You can download and print the passport application form off of your county's website and then take it into your treasure's office. I would check the website; you might need an appointment.

Out of all the ways that we've traveled with baby, by train was/is my least favorite.

Our trip was from Virginia to NYC for the cruise mentioned above and it was a six-hour ride. And not only was it a six-hour ride with a baby who was becoming mobile, but my husband had worked an overnight shift right before our 8am departure and was coming down with a cold. It was the worst. 0/10 don't recommend haha.

Changing pad

Now I'm only speaking from the experience of traveling with Amtrak. If you have a different rail system this might not be the case.

But for Amtrak, by far my biggest complaint was that there weren't any changing tables. None. Anywhere.

I guess I understand not having them physically on the train (despite having pretty spacious in-car bathrooms) but there also weren't any changing tables in the train stations.

Even Penn Station in NYC (that had locked and unusable nursing rooms) didn't have any changing tables in their bathrooms.

So if you're traveling with baby by train, definitely make sure you pack a changing pad because there is a chance you'll be changing your daughter on the bathroom floor.

Toys, activities, etc.

​Be sure to pack all the entertainment. These are great for planes and car rides too. Here are some ideas for what to grab:

There is also always the option to get up and walk the cars with your baby. For us, this was a little hard because the train was pretty full so there were a lot of people moving around. But if your travel time is less crowded, you might even be able to snag a table in the dining car and use the table for playing or coloring.

When traveling with baby my number one recommendation:

Bring a thermometer and fever reducer of your choice like Genexa or Infant Motrin.

At the end of our cruise, our daughter came down with a really high fever. She had never been sick before so we didn't know the signs until it was too late at night and the med bay was closed. We had to try and buy (very overpriced) children's Tylenol on the cruise ship and hope that she would get any amount of the medicine in her.

As we took our six-hour train ride back to Virginia with her still battling a fever, my husband and I were kicking ourselves for not having thought to pack medicine.

​Don't be us. Pack the medicine and hope that you don't need it.

As stressful as traveling and packing can be, try to remember that what's most important is spending time together as a new, expanded family unit.

Don't let little things get in the way and ruin the day. Make sure to take all the pictures (and yes, mama, make sure you're in them too). Be as present as you can be. The have-tos of home will be there when you get back.

And remember, if you forget anything, you can buy it so long as you have your wallet.

Keys, cards, tickets, phones, wallets? Check.

With love,

​Dakota

Sources:

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/tsa-cares/traveling-children

​https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification