Traveling with a 0-3 year old baby, the focus of the whole family will shift from the trip itself to the baby. This is no longer a simple walk-and-go trip, but requires the whole family to discuss, plan carefully, and fully prepare.
Have a family meeting to list and discuss your travel ideas, baby’s actual situation, and prepared itinerary plan one by one, and get everyone’s correction and approval.
Traveling with your baby, the first pass is not anything else, But the peace of mind for the whole family.
For our latest trip, it is pretty much like a small scale moving home. We have intentionally prepared two emptied boxes – the Huggies nappy boxes are very good in quality and can carry sufficient amount of goods we need to bring for this trip.
Why we are using the boxes instead of luggage sets, because we can dispose of them after we returned home. An easy and convenient alternative when you are concerned about disinfecting your luggage.
The main concern for me as a mum who is taking my baby girl for the first road trip is not missing anything necessary for her. I had to think carefully about what she needs daily and what are must haves for this trip.
Below is a checklist that maybe helpful especially for new parents who are taking your little ones for a road trip for the very first time.
For Your Baby
• Baby/toddler car seat. Ensure it is well fitted for safety and comfort for your little one. Depends on your personal preferences for your baby, here is a good recommendation for your little ones – Evenflo Tribute LX Convertible Car Seat.
• UV protection baby car window shade. It is so helpful with preventing my girl from coarse sunlights shooting onto her face and into her eyes during the day.
• Nappies that are sufficient for the days you are travelling. We brought an easy to carry Huggies Size 4 Diapers, Snug & Dry Baby Diapers for our most recent trip.
• Baby rear view mirror. It really helped the driver parent to monitor the bub’s condition.
• Baby wipes. For a trip less than a week, I prepared one Huggies wipes packs. The Huggies wipes with no fragrance are great to not only wipe bottom of your baby, but also good for wiping her/his hands
• For the convenience of clean my girl’s face in the morning or on the go, I brought my make up removers. And if preferred you can bring Mustela No-Rinse Cleansing Water for both cleaning baby’s face and bottom (highly recommended). You can fill any liquid in a small dispenser.
• Barrier creams. Instead of bringing the sudocrem which usually comes in 250g at least, I brought small sample sized ones from QV and Bepanthen.
• Baby bath oil/wash and hair shampoo. Same wise, for the convenience I chose to bring small sample size ones. This time I only brought a small bottle of Sebamed liquid face and body wash 20ml which I got in a sample pack from a Baby Expo. Try to find a smaller size such as 250ml or 300ml.
• Off! Insect Repellent Lotion for Adults & Kids to repel insects from biting your little one.
• 3 small baby bath towels (one for face, one for body and one for bottom). And one large towel to pat baby dry after the shower.
• One pair of kids Croc clogs or any water proof shoes for the baby to be able to walk and stand in the shower.
• Two pairs of shoes for going out. Make sure they are easy and comfortable walking shoes. We brought a pair of baby sneaker and one pair of Mikihouse branded shoes given by the granny. Both are easy for the baby to manage walking for a decent time. For baby sneakers, DEBAIJIA Baby Walking Shoes are a great choice.
• Light weighted and collapsible travel cot, that’s compact in size and easy to carry. You may consider the convenient Guava Family Travel Crib.
• Waterproof bedsheet and mattress protector for the cot. Baby/toddler sleeping bag. I did not bring a pillow this time. Purchase guide – the YENING Pack and Play Mattress or Cot Mattress Protector Pad.
For baby sleeping bag, depending on the size of your baby, check out our recommended baby sleeping bags.
• Light weighted and collapsible pram or stroller. Make sure it does have hooks and basket, as well as canopy for protection from the sun and wind etc and cup holder.
• Baby/toddler UV50+ protection hat. In Australia this is very important due to the extreme strong UV in this country.
• Daily changing clothings. I prepared one set of clothing for each day. And on top of that, depends on your baby’s peeing and pooing habits and amount, it will be wise to bring at least 2-3 extra pair of pants for each day of travel. Say for our 4-5 days trip, I brought a total of 13 pants/tights for my daughter.
• One to two set of pyjamas.
• One milk powder dispenser. We really love this Tommee Tippee Milk Powder Dispenser. Two sets of baby’s milk bottle/sippee cup, and feeding cups. 4 weaning spoons. One cup one toothpaste and one toothbrush for the baby.
• One bottle of baby dishwashing liquid such as Pigeon Liquid Cleanser and one sponge brush for wash baby’s dishes.
• I bring ready made main meals for babies from brands such as Only Organics, their Chicken Bolognese made of New Zealand Free Range Chicken or Beef Bolognese and my girl’s favourite yogurts from Bellamy, and snacks such as Bub’s Organic Strawberry, Pear and Quinoa pouch and to easily warm the meals.
We brought a portable milk warmer. Please ensure all the utensils in the above will fit into this milk warmer.
• Easy and light to carry sensory toys. For my girl, her favourite ‘toys’ are actually daily objects such as buttons, ribbons, used bath oil tubes and bottles etc, zips and facial tissues. So I did not bring any toys, instead simply let her explore and have fun with these daily objects. It really depends on your baby’s preferences, for example some babies really like activities on a tummy time water mat , whereas some loves sensory boards.
• A mom travelling bag or bum bag for my baby when we are going out, this includes a nappy changing mat, 2-3 Huggies nappies, a pack of baby travel wipes, few small towels such as the Hiphop Panda’s ones for wiping my baby’s face and hands, one small bib, two pairs of baby mittens in case if your baby needs to sooth his or her teeth pain or if you need them to prevent from baby scratching their faces etc.
I also include 2-3 scented nappy bags, and breastfeeding cover in this bag. If it is a long day trip, then I would switch to a bigger bag, and also bring the baby’s milk dispenser, a milk bottle, a feeding cup, two weaning spoons, a insulated bottle with warm water and a bottle of cold water.
For Mom
• Breast pads. I brought about 10 breast pads taking to account the days we will be travelling for. You will need to decide how many you need depending on your own circumstances and days you will be travelling for.
• Breastmilk pump if you really need one. Bring a manual one for the trip as it is easy and small to carry.
• Maternity pads, larger period pads or protective underwear in case if you still bleed or your period might come soon during the trip days.
• If you are struggling with holding your baby for breastfeeding, then perhaps a easy to carry small support pillow act like an armrest.
General
• Dettol wipes for disinfect surfaces.
• Dettol non-rinse instant hand sanitizers.
• Small bottle of isopropyl alcohol to disinfect your skin in case needed.
• Travel sleeping liner or travel sheets that can help you to sleep on hotel bed with peace of mind especially during covid.
• Your own travel kettle.
• Your own quick dry towels.
• First aid kits for the baby and parents.
The above lists are the most important essentials that we recommend parents to bring for your road trips.
If we have missed anything that you consider is important and cannot be overlooked, please do leave in comment. We hope this article will be an useful guide for you to prepare for your fun journeys.
Of course what cannot be missing for every journey is your beautiful smiles and happy mood!
Last but not least, be fun and creative, record your exciting family adventures with your smartphones, GoPro or Insta360, family adventures will be so fulfilled when you have so captured these precious memories.
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