Traveling with littles

Top recs from your new mom friend 🫶

I'm a big believer in taking the first 2 months PP commonly known as the "fourth trimester" to recover and bond with baby at home, but I know inevitably things come up that require travel. If and when you are comfortable traveling with baby, here are a few things I'd recommend for your first trip.

All of these links can be found on my Amazon Storefront as well if that's an easier experience.

Flying with baby

• Baby carriers are a must. I always babywore our boys through the airport and on the flight using our Ergo baby carrier. Super easy, encourages baby to sleep, and you'll get to have your hands free. You have to take baby out during takeoff and landing but that is a good time to feed baby anyway (helps with ear pressure!).

  • If you have not done much babywearing, take time BEFORE the trip to practice. It's so important that baby is in the carrier correctly and that you're both comfortable.

• Decide how you'll travel with your carseat and stroller.

  • No matter where you're going, you'll need a carseat when you arrive. If you are planning to bring a stroller, think about if you want to use it through the airport and gate check it, or check it upfront.

    • Travel bags - I would recommend getting a travel bag for your carseat if you are going to check it, and make sure it is labelled distinctly. There are tons on Amazon, and many have straps to wear as a backpack, like this one. Same with your stroller, get a travel bag so it doesn't get banged up.

  • My biggest recommendation for travel is the Doona. I've never seen anything like it, it's both a carseat and a stroller all in one and it can easily go into any car. I can't say enough good things about it. It is pricey but you could look into getting a gently used one. We bought one for Tripp and have used it more times than I can count between the two boys, and plan to have future babes use it, too. Highly recommend if this is in your budget.

  • Another great travel car seat option is the Cosco Scenera Next - this is what our toddlers used once they outgrew the Doona. It's super lightweight, has great safety ratings and can be used for babies from 5-40 lbs!

  • You can also of course travel with your usual carseat! If it's heavy, you may just want to check it right away so you don't have to lug it through the airport.

  • Carseats do not count as a luggage item for most airlines - worth confirming for your flight

• Packing the diaper bag. Do yourself a favor and pull out a few diapers, a pack of wipes and a clean outfit and put it into a big Ziplock bag at the top of your diaper bag. Changing a baby in flight is tricky business and the last thing you want to deal with is digging in a big bag to find what you need.

  • Diaper bags do not count as a carry on item for most flights - worth confirming for your flight

  • Bring more diapers and changes of clothes than you think you'll need. My son Brooks had a tendency to blow out the second we took off so I started strapping one of my older son's bigger diapers over the outside of baby's outfit to protect the babycarrier. It's a *lewk*.

  • Sometimes there is a changing table in one or more of the airplane restrooms, but not always. Ask a flight attendant!

  • Bring some wipes for hands as well as the seat, tray table, window, etc.

  • Disposable diaper pails - a must

• How we do it. What works for my family is to carry on a small rolling suitcase, with our toddler's travel carseat strapped to it so we can easily wheel it through the airport. He's over 2 now, so he sits in his carseat on the plane.

  • In the suitcase is all of our essentials - basically anything we would need if our checked luggage gets lost or if our flight gets canceled and we have to stay in a hotel overnight.

    • Pajamas and change of clothes for each person (including socks and underwear)

    • Extra change of clothes for baby and toddler

    • Diapers and wipes

    • Medicine for adults and babes

    • Toiletries for adults and babes

    • Toys/books

    • White noise machine, crib sheet

  • What's really nice about this approach is that if you get to your destination late at night, all you need to do is open one bag and you have everything everyone needs to go to bed instead of rifling through all of the separate bags.

Driving with baby

• Travel at NIGHT if at all possible. Once baby is sleeping better, you will get to your final destination SO much faster if you travel at night while they are sleeping and there's less traffic on the road.

  • If you do this, make sure the driver is ready and able to be awake that long and I'd map out your stops in advance for safety

  • I'm usually the Passenger Princess so I always look for exits that have Starbucks on them (even if they'll be closed when we'd stop there) - it's a good indication that it's probably a nicer area and the gas stations nearby should feel safer.

  • We usually listen to an audiobook or podcast together or play games (I'll read out the questions for Jeopardy or similar trivia games) - anything to keep us both alert, awake and in a good mood while kiddos are sleeping.

  • And for really long drives, my husband will drive as long as he can and we'll stop somewhere along the way. We try to get breakfast and check out something fun in the morning before we get back on the road.

• Give yourself extra time to get there. We drove to a funeral about 10 hours away when my oldest was 2 months old and as much as we tried to maximize each stop, it still took MUCH longer than expected. Try to be realistic about the fact that it will take you longer than the GPS says.

  • Every time you stop to feed the baby try to get gas, use the bathroom, eat, etc. so you don't have to stop again for those things later

  • For a full stop, we would typically get gas first and I would use the bathroom while we filled up, then we'd go through a drive thru, park the car and I'd feed Tripp while eating my food

• Things to have in case baby gets fussy on the road.

  • Extra portable white noise machines and make sure they're charged up! Will help baby sleep more soundly

  • Portable chargers - we have two of these and have been using for years. Absolutely love.

  • Vibrating mattress pad

  • Extra pacis (if baby takes one)

  • Window shades for your car

    • These are great when it's sunny but we would often pop ours off so we could crack the window and bring in some fresh air when baby started crying - it weirdly helps!

• Consider climbing in the backseat. For the first trip, I sat in the backseat on and off so I could give baby his paci and help when he got fussy. I will say that for me personally it actually made it harder to be sitting right by him and not be able to hold him or breastfeed him when he got upset, so I opted to sit in the front for the most part. See what works for you!

• Tinker with your car's audio settings. Especially with newer cars, you should be able to set your settings to have the music come out only from your front most speakers, so it's not as loud for sleeping baby.

• Pack the car strategically. If you can, leave the entire backseat open so you can sit in the back to feed and change the baby more comfortably

  • In reach of this area you will want: extra disposable changing pads, disposable diaper bags, diapers, wipes, and a few extra changes of clothes

  • Good idea to bring some extra blankets in case bub gets cold

  • When driving, it is tempting to bring everything you could possibly need. Especially for this first trip, that is okay and somewhat unavoidable but try to pare down where you can!

    • Depending on where you're going, it may be better to get most of your diapers, wipes, etc. once you arrive

  • Big IKEA bags are a lifesaver for roadtrips. I use these around the house all the time to put away clean laundry or toys, but they're amazing for travel too. They hold SO much!!

No matter how we get there, I ALWAYS travel with my baby in a zip up cotton pajama. I find this to be most comfortable for baby and easiest for us to deal with with blowouts and diaper changes. And feet are covered so I'm not worried about baby socks or shoes getting lost.

Traveling with TODDLERS

There are no tips for traveling with toddlers 😂 - it's just snacks, iPads and distractions on distractions. I've linked our favorite items in my Amazon Storefront if helpful to see what we use to keep the peace on travel days.

• Carseats for Toddlers - We DO have both boys ride in their carseats on an airplane. In looking online it seemed there was debate on this but after all the recent issues there have been with airplanes, I'll never not have my kiddo properly buckled in.

  • We used this until they outgrew it - Cosco Scenera Next. It's super lightweight, has great safety ratings and can be used for babies from 5-40 lbs!

  • We haven't flown again since they outgrew this seat but we plan to get the Cosco booster seat for our summer travel

Above all, when traveling with littles my biggest advice is to embrace the chaos. Go in with a realistic attitude and give yourself, your partner and your baby grace. Remember that you and your partner are on the SAME TEAM. Do whatever you need to do to get through the craziness of a travel day and know that things WILL go back to normal after the trip.

Good luck and Godspeed.

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Your friendly reminder that this blog is not medical advice! This blog is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if they seek medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment for you or your family.

Affiliate Disclosure: There are affiliate links in this post, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will be compensated if you click through and take action. These are all items that I purchased with my own money, or was gifted from my registry, so please know I am only recommending things I truly use.