Short of one prolonged exhaustion-induced crying spell in the rental car, my then 4-month-old son’s first trip with his father had few hiccups. They flew from Atlanta to Orlando, got a rental car to drive to Winter Haven and spent four nights in Florida. But I did the packing for baby’s first trip, and I included more than a few extras to make for a smooth trip.
What I packed in the diaper bag for baby’s first trip:
- Baby’s birth certificate
- The baby carrier of choice
- Five to seven pampers
- Two bottles with caps
- Breast milk and freezer packs or three unopened containers of ready-made formula with the labels mostly peeled off for security (I did the latter.)
- Travel-sized Vaseline, which my husband and I use on baby’s bottom at every changing
- A small pack of baby wipes (without those plastic cases to carry the wipes in. They quickly dry out.)
- Spit-up cloths
- Travel-sized hand sanitizer
- One plush blanket and another lighter one
- A hooded jacket for the baby
- A pacifier to clip on and a spare
- At least one hat that actually fits
- One extra onesie
- Two extra bibs
- Travel-sized coconut oil and bath soap
- Traveling changing mat
- Travel-sized Lysol
- A book and small toy
- Don’t forget your needed travel items too including your ID, wallet, cell phone, charger, jacket and a printed boarding pass because technology has a way of not working when you need it.
What I packed in the carry-on for baby’s first trip:
- Cozy socks
- Two small bath cloths for baby
- Spit-up clothes and bibs
- Two bottles and the bottle cleaning brush
- One extra blanket
- Pre-planned outfits, socks and shoes (The pre-planned part is essential for me to avoid over-packing.)
- One extra pair of pants
- Extra jacket, socks and onesies
- Extra pampers, baby wipes and formula
- You may want to add a swim pamper and breastfeeding needs.
How we planned baby’s first trip same day | Honeycomb Moms | Flying out of town on baby’s first trip is no easy task. Pick up travel preparation tips from one family’s story.