Baby Travel Checklist: The Essential Packing Checklist for Flying With Baby

PACKING TIPS FOR FLYING WITH A BABY

Below covers packing tips and a printable checklist for travelling abroad with a baby. This includes what you can take as cabin baggage and as hold baggage.

PLANE TRAVEL WITH BABY-CABIN LUGGAGE ITEMS

• Try and pack as light as possible for your hand baggage. Many major airlines allow you to bring a small bag for yourself AND a nappy/diaper bag for your baby, but others do not give infants their own allowance, meaning you must have everything in one bag.

• I now have a Mia Tui Jennie bag which I use all the time as I don’t need as many nappies, but a rucksack is super useful as you can keep your hands free when travelling. You can read more about the Mia Tui Jennie bag here.

Here are some of the top family-friendly airlines and a quick reference guide to those that do allow carry on for infants.)

A great tip: Have the essentials like a nappy, small packet of wipes etc in several individual bags such as a ziplock bag, and have it in an easily accessible place. Once you have you used them, you can replace with your next ziplock bag of supplies. No more rummaging around or taking the entire bag into a small aircraft loo.

• Bring food/drink and supplies for your journey and some extra for testing at airport and unforeseen delays. All the rest can go in your checked in baggage or be bought at your destination. See my post on various milk and baby food brands that can be found in different countries.

• If you are weaning, some large international airlines allow you to pre-order baby meals (BBML) which are usually jars of pureed food. Check the details on your airline’s website. They are either listed on the travelling with an infant section or under special meals requests – you cannot choose the actual content of the jar though.

• If you are breastfeeding, you may wish to bring a wrap or cover depending on how comfortable you feel. (For more breastfeeding on a plane tips, see here.)

• If you are bottle feeding, depending on the length of the flight, you may need to bring some sterilising equipment on board such as disposable sterilising bags. Here are some tips and ideas on how to sterilise when travelling.

• Zip-loc bags to fill with ice at the airport and the plane – to keep food and milk cool. (ice packs/cool packs are often not allowed through security as they are considered a liquid. (The UK airports allow gel-packs and USA allows all types)

• Small cool bag/insulated bag

• If you need to warm up food or milk on the flight, consider packing a small flask – you may need to empty any hot water before a flight, but you can always ask the crew to fill it up on-board. This way you can heat up baby food whenever you like.

• The Tommee Tippee bottle and food warmer flask is useful for this as it has a holder for you to decant the hot water into and pop a bottle or pouch in.

• If you are flying from the UK, consider ordering from Boots online in advance and collecting airside, once you have cleared security. This is not limited to baby products, so you can pick up your favourite make-up or suntan lotion too. Here’s information on how to order Boots at the airport.

• With your checklist for travel with baby, don’t forget a change of clothes for you, you partner AND baby. This is an absolute must, especially on those long-haul flights to Oz! It’s also useful to dress you and your baby in layers, so you can remove or add depending on the cabin temperature. Pack them in a compression waterproof packing cube to save bulk in your bag and make it easier (and cleaner!) to pack away soiled clothes.

• Something familiar for your baby, whether a favourite toy or blanket or both. I really like the This Works Baby Pillow Spray to help them sleep on a plane. I was bought it as a gift by a friend, and I’ve stuck with it, although it is on the pricier end.

PLANE TRAVEL WITH BABY -WHAT CHECKED IN BAGGAGE AM I ALLOWED? 

I’ve found since the arrival of Miss A, my suitcase is no longer my own and taken up by all her and now her sister’s essentials. However, the arrival of baby means that you do have extra baggage allowances which can be put in the aircraft hold.  Check my airline list on ‘What are the best seats on a plane and info on baby bassinets’ to find out your individual airline requirement. These are the basics.

 You can take usually take 2 extra items:-

1. A collapsible pram/stroller/buggy. Think about using a stroller travel bag to keep all parts of the pram together, and to sneak in a few extra items for free (I’ve put nappies in before!)

2. A car seat. For more information on using a car seat on the airplane see here.

(3. And on some airlines a collapsible travel cot as well. Qantas is one of these, if it is an international flight.)
The allowances do vary so much from airline to airline, so do check or tweet me @flyingwithbaby  and I’ll be happy to help.

4. If your airline only permits one additional item, check if they provide a separate allowance (often 10kg) of hold luggage. If this is the case, you can use that allowance to bring the other item, and put babies clothes in your suitcase.

Before you pack have you thought about packing cubes? 

Packing Cubes

Seriously, where have packing cubes been all my life? I had heard about them and then my husband bought some for himself. Needless to say, we have since bought more. It makes organising a suitcase so much easier. We always split our clothes between 2 or 3 cases, in case one goes missing, so this helps keep us all organised. You can check and compare latest prices here. I really like these ones from Hello Jolie as they have labels which makes sorting SO much quicker!

BABY ITEMS TO PACK IN YOUR SUITCASE – MY BABY TRAVEL CHECKLIST (PDF AVAILABLE ON LINK AFTER LIST)

Top Tip

Pack a few of your child’s items into your suitcase and vice versa that way should a suitcase go missing, all of you have some basic necessities…

• Short sleeved vest and long sleeved vests

• Sleep suits and baby sleeping bags

• Trousers/tops/dresses/cardigans

• Swimming costume & swim floats

• Swimming nappies/diapers (Fab tip: You can wash and re-use the disposable ones e.g Huggies little swimmers, if there is no number 2- saves space in suitcase and money!)

• Baby sunscreen – Read my review on sunscreen for babies with eczema

• Mini baby toiletries/hairbrush/dummies if you use.

• Extra Medicines ( Always have essential medicine with you in your hand luggage though.) A few nappies/wipes etc for the first day or two.

• SnoozeShade or CoziGo for your pram to help baby sleep and protect them from UV rays. I find this invaluable at home and abroad and they work much better than a blanket or muslin flung over the pram.

• A couple of small toys/books/pictures or shapes printed out

• Travel high chair (depending on where you are travelling to) Totseat, Polar Gear or a fabric one are good depending on your suitcase space.

• Sterilising tablets – so much lighter than even a travel steriliser.

• Baby milk/food for a day or two of your stay, to save you hunting for it in the middle of the night or through a haze of jet-lag.

• If an older toddler, then the Potette plus travel potty is very lightweight and convenient.

• A clip on stroller fan. Really handy for hot countries and light weight too. The foam ‘blades’ mean it is safe too.

• Ice block coolers to freeze and keep items cool on holiday day trips.

• Travel car blinds/shades

• Tin foil for blacking out hotel windows

• Night light

• Baby monitor

• Mosquito net and insect repellant

• More adaptor plugs

• Hand wash detergent for clothes

• Pop up UV beach tent which you can put in the shade while you sunbathe.

• Small paddling pool – can put in the shade while you sunbathe or squish into your shower to make a portable baby bath in your hotel room!

• Inflatable Play Nest e.g GALT – we loved ours in Kefalonia. SO handy for a non crawling baby and it packs up really small too.

Download my printable baby travel essentials with EVERYTHING you need for a trip – PACKING CHECKLIST FOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL WITH BABY

You may find the below tips for flying with a baby useful before you start packing too!

• Most major international airlines will have a very limited supply of baby milk formula, baby jars and nappies/diapers on board, but as you can never guarantee what is available, it is best to pack your own. (N.B American airlines do not seem to provide any of the above). Remember to also allow for flight delays or unexpected stopovers...Babies will also drink more in-flight, just like adults as the cabin air is dehydrating.