Baby's day out - packing for the littles ones

Most people that have a baby know that babies come with a whole lot of baggage… Having said that in a manner of figurative speaking, the same is true when speaking quite literally! Hitting the road with and without a baby are not just 2 completely different experiences, even initiating that said experience is chalk and cheese.

Without a baby, one simply ‘walks out the door’. All I had to usually think about was my keys, wallet and phone. After having a baby, leaving the house was a challenge in itself. I had to make sure the baby was fed, so that it wouldn’t be hungry once we hit the road. The nappy needed a last minute fresh change to make sure the baby stays dry and comfortable throughout. The baby needed bundling up, the number of layers depending on the temperature (living in London I had to check the temp right before leaving the house, along with a peak out the window, to see if it was sunny or rainy, and get an idea of the wind chill, glancing at people passing by helps, you know if you need to step out with your cardigan, coat or brolly – Londoners will understand, as we can have all 4 seasons in one day! Whilst I often do that for myself too, it’s imperative to get the bundling right for the baby!). Prepare the milk bottle, and also keep some pureed snacks. Keep extra nappies, nappy sacks, wipes and changing mat. Make sure the stroller blanket is at hand. Oh and also the baby’s favourite stroller toys – Lotto the Ladybird, Sam the snail and Charlie the caterpillar.

All this, for a trip to the market to get some groceries, or the café to have lunch with a mum-friend (desperately hoping the babies would have slept by then!) or to grab some bargains from the season’s Sale.

Packing for the baby to go away on holiday (or even to visit Mum’s or Auntie’s for the bank holiday weekend) is all of that and so much more. The thought of going away somewhere with the baby in tow is so daunting for some people that they give the idea up altogether. I know a number of people that were great travellers before they had kids….

Our philosophy has always been that life goes on, bigger and better, after the baby. Having the little ones is no reason to stop you from venturing out into the world with them. It undoubtedly takes more effort, more planning and more organisation, but it’s definitely worth it! We’ve travelled on so many journeys, taken some 14hr straight flights, hiked and holidayed, all with a baby and a toddler together, and not just survived to tell the tale but massively enjoyed ourselves too.

From experience, I’m putting a list together of essentials for packing for a baby. These are not just the things I always kept with me whilst travelling but also some tips and tricks which I found handy. Scroll to the bottom for a printable list.

1. Clothes:

Always keep at least double the clothes to the number of days. I would in fact go even further and advice to keep an outfit for morning/evening/night for most days. That’s because I have suffered quite a few nappy leaks and milk accidents. Food and other drink spills are just as unavoidable. I always packed extra body/sleep suits, which for me were a life saver. Read my post ………………… to see why! Since babies’ clothes are so tiny, there really is no need to be frugal about packing extras – just roll and squash them all in together.

2. Nappies:

Always pack extra nappies. I used to have an idea about how many nappies were used each day, so I used to count how many would be used altogether on all the days of the trip, then pack atleast 3 days’ worth extra. I didn’t mind bringing back any extras that weren’t used, but never wanted to be in a situation where I’d run out. That’s not just because of the inconvenience of having to run out and find stores to buy them on the holiday, but also because I have learnt on my travels that the quality of the same brand of nappies varies in different places. The last thing you’d want when away on a holiday is for the baby to be uncomfortable because of a new nappy, have rashes, or for the nappy to leak because you haven’t figured it completely out yet…

3. Changing mat:

(Whilst on the topic of nappies, it’s worth discussing the importance of owning and carrying a changing mat. I have found myself making use of a changing mat quite a bit when out and about. I’d use it on the tiny changing tables of the plane toilets, or even more locally in the baby changing areas of the mall) I would always keep a changing mat with us on our travels; I felt it made changing the baby easier and more hygienic.

4. Wipes:

I keep wipes in my hand luggage when travelling to this day. It’s so much easier cleaning the kids up when their mouths and most of their fingers are sticky and a strange shade of orange or purple from what they had been eating! Wipes are, of course, quite useful for nappy changing times. I like to always use the unscented, 100% pure water wipes.

5. Nappy sacks:

For disposing off the stinky little packages. But also useful to keep at hand to throw away any little rubbish that constantly keeps coming as a by-product of having little kids – tiny wrappers and things like that – I find it convenient to have a designated disposal system: just pull a sack out, put all the little rubbish in it, and close it off, keep aside in the handbag till possible to dispose in a bin.

6. Baby food/milk:

Babies get hungry quite often – they need little amounts in short times. It’s always a good idea to keep some amount of food at hand – I would always pack enough with me in the checked-in luggage to last through the trip and also keep some in the hand luggage; every time we are going out and about I would take out some from the luggage and replenish it in my hand bags. It’s so easy to pack snacks for the baby with such a wide variety of healthy baby food available, with organic, chemical free choices in almost everything. Some ideas are:

i. Fruits

ii. Rice cakes

iii. Biscuits

iv. Raisins

v. Fruit and vegetable pouches

vi. Baby brekkie/lunch pouches

I always had all of these with us whenever we were going away…the kids loved them and the variety would be a real treat for them.

7. Toiletries:

Babies’ toiletries are always a must carry when going away. You can do away with a lot of your own toiletries, as we tend to do sometimes when we know the hotel we will be staying at offers high end products that are quite nice to use. But no place does baby products, and even if they do, they would be different to your own, and yoy wouldn’t want to experiment on holiday and it’s always best to use your own trusty items. Some of the essentials are:

i. Baby body wash/bath

ii. Baby shampoo

iii. Baby lotion/powder/oil

iv. Baby comb/hair brush

Baby toothbrush/toothpaste

8. Medicines:

Don’t forget to pack any medicines the baby is on at the moment. In addition, keep some precautionary medicines. The ones I always keep are:

i. Calpol (Paracetamol)

ii. Ibuprofen

iii. Arnica (for any injuries)

iv. Savlon (multi purpose)

v. Sudocream (nappy rash cream)

vi. Medicines for Gripe, such as Infacol or Gripe Water

vii. Plasters and antiseptic wipes

9. Dummy:

Don’t forget to pack a dummy if your child uses one, also maybe an extra one for good measure, just so there is no problem should the 1st one get lost or dirty, especially during crucial times such as take offs and landings during an aeroplane journey. My children however, never used one, if someone even tried to tempt them with one they would spit it right out!

10. Toys:

We always packed at least one favourite toy and one favourite book for each of our 2 children. When they are babies I felt that apart from the obvious use of having a toy to play with, having their favourite toy also provides a sense of stability and familiarity - that there is something of home away from home. We always ask our kids to pack their favourite toy and book before each trip, and they love it! It’s such a joyous task for them and at the same time they feel so mature and responsible choosing and then packing their prized possession.

11. Baby blanket:

We always had our baby’s blanket with us whenever out and about. Whether out on the buggy or aboard the aeroplane, the blanket was always used and always appreciated.

12. Bottle feeding gear:

If your baby is bottle feeding, you obviously need to keep the bottles, but there are also other things that would need to accompany. You will need to keep a sterilizer to clean the bottles. I didn’t have a sterilizer with my first, and never took it with me anywhere when I eventually did get it for my 2nd. So I would need to keep a bottle brush and liquid detergent in a tiny bottle (little goes a long way) to clean the bottles (I would still keep this to clean bottles even when I did get a steriliser) and I would then use boiling water from the kettle in the room for the bottles. Also keep the breast pump if you use it.

13. Portable toilet seat:

Whilst certainly not an essential, this was one interesting product that is not too well known, but one that I made a lot of use of. Our first was toilet trained fairly early, whilst still a tiny toddler, after which he absolutely refused to wear nappies. This posed a problem when we were on holidays, with long days of being outdoors and little knowledge of the nearest toilets. This seat has movable sides which can be folded downwards to make the seat prop up on the ground, with a disposable toilet bag underneath – and there you have your instant, portable toilet! There is a whole packet of several disposable toilet bags that comes it. This seat can also be used over your regular toilet to make a great baby’s toilet seat (also called toilet training seat), which we used for quite a few years for both our kids, even when we had stopped taking it outdoors for a long time. It would be kept next to the toilet, and they would pick it up and put it over the toilet on their own whenever they needed to use the toilet. Great buy, in my opinion, thought it was worth a mention here! Link to this:

Printable Checklist for what to pack for Baby’s day out:

1. Clothes

i. Body suits/sleep suits

ii. Cardigans

iii. Jackets

iv. Leggings/socks

v. Outdoor/Snow suits

2. Nappies

3. Changing mat

4. Wipes

5. Nappy sacks

6. Baby food/milk

i. Fruits

ii. Rice cakes

iii. Biscuits

iv. Raisins

v. Brekky/lunch pouches

7. Toiletries

i. Baby wash

ii. Baby shampoo

iii. Baby lotion/powder/oil

iv. Baby comb/hairbrush

8. Medicines

i. Calpol

ii. Ibuprofen

iii. Arnica

iv. Savlon

v. Sudocream

vi. Gripe water/infacol

vii. Plastics and antiseptic wipes

9. Dummy

10. Toys

11. Baby blanket

12. Bottle feeding gear

i. Bottle brush

ii. Detergent

iii. Steriliser

iv. Breast Pump

13. Portable toilet seat

i. Seat

ii. Disposable nappies

iii. Disposable nappy sacks