What To Pack On Your Carry On With An Infant
Let’s be honest: this is more of a reminder for me if, in the event, we ever decide to have another baby. But if you’re reading this, I do hope it helps.
One of the biggest sources of anxiety when I first had Raye was what I was going to pack in my carry on for our first international flight home together. The idea of flying with an infant is already daunting in itself, but as someone who was going through mad postpartum anxiety at the time, it could be downright debilitating.
While we had an exceptionally smooth infant-flying experience, I did plan and research for it months before our actual flight. I practiced how to change baby diapers in public restrooms, with a timer, on a broken changing table, all of it. The two biggest takeaways I can offer is organization and preparation. After taking multiple cross-country flights - both international and domestic - while she was still a newborn, these are my top tips on what to pack in your carry on if you’re traveling with an infant.
Assuming that you’ve done your research on international airlines that have bassinet options, I’m going to move forward. Here are some resources if you don’t know what I’m talking about. There are no bassinets available on domestic flights - bleh.
Passport Holder | The last thing you need when you’re trying to move quickly is to have your important documents get lost in the bottom of your bag with all the rest of your stuff. Get a sturdy organizer that can hold multiple passports along with whatever paperwork you’ll need for your travels. I also don’t want to store it outside your bag since that’s just an easy mark for theft; we don’t want to go there.
Disinfecting Wipes | As you’ll want to wipe everything down.
Muslin Swaddles | Bring 2. One as a bedsheet to lay down on the bassinet and the other as a lightweight blanket or catchall for spit up. I loved ours from Malabar Baby; they’re bigger than the standard muslin wraps, unbelievably soft and so convenient. We still use them to this day!
Wet Bag | Get one with a snap handle so you can bring it with you to the restroom and hang it up when you get inside. We were gifted this Kanga Care Wet Bag and I love its half moon shape that gives me more room to store all the essentials with room to spare!
Changing Mat | Back when we lived in Hong Kong and really had to think about compact items that doesn’t require a lot of space, I bought this Gathre Micro Mat and loved everything about it. It’s buttery soft, so portable and worked perfect in the wet bag. Since living in the states, I’ve picked up this Skip Hop Baby Changing Station & Diaper Clutch, but if we were to ever travel long distance again, I would bring the micro mat, for sure.
Diapers | I read somewhere to bring one for each hour of transit and brought a whole pack on our flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles. Needless to say, it was way too much. Depending on how sensitive your baby’s bum is, one diaper for every two to three hours should suffice.
Baby Wipes | No explanation needed. I took a handful from the original pack to put in a carrying case since I wanted to be as light as possible on diaper duty. This Huggies Clutch N' Clean has a flip top top for easy access and stores a good amount of wipes without taking up too much space.
Disposable Poop Bags | This Munchkin Arm & Hammer brand has saved me from situations where establishments did not have waste bins. I don’t travel with Raye without this in fear now.
Change of Clothes | For our very first flight, I packed four changes of clothes and Raye blew through three of them easy! 😳 As a general rule of thumb, I’m inclined to say two but… me, personally, I think I am going to pack three forever. Don’t forget to pack an extra shirt for yourself.
Portable sound machine | You won’t need it on the actual flight as the cabin’s ambient noise will lull your baby to sleep, but I do not leave our house on trips without one. I’m convinced the Hatch Baby helped Raye become a great sleeper when we first started sleep training and if there is space in my luggage, I will always pack it with us. However, if space is tight, we’ll bring this super compact sound machine which also works well.
Pacifier | Bring a couple and be sure to have a pacifier clip on hand. I gave her a pacifier for take off and on landing, she was passed out and slept through it all. Note to self: If baby is a bit older and passed the infant mark, bring a teether along with paci.
Nursing cover | The blogs I read said it was unnecessary and to use your kids’ muslin - but if you’re like me, my arms are always busy and thrashing about (fumbling with the breast pump or membrane tubing) and so the muslin kept slipping off. Bringing a coverall was just a better option all around. I prefer donning the apron-style nursing covers so I can easily peek underneath every two seconds to make sure my milk is coming out.
Breastmilk or formula | As it was in my nature to be over-prepared in the beginning of motherhood, I packed both breastmilk and formula for the first trip. Keep in mind, this will only work if your baby can switch between bm and formula. The idea was that if, in the event, my milk production took a nosedive (which it did) during the flight, at least we’d have an emergency backup of formula. From HK to LA, I packed three bottles of breastmilk and two scoops of formula. This Munchkin Formula Dispenser worked great for us. We did not use the formula as I fed Raye what I pumped on the plane, but the security of knowing I had extra to feed her was reassuring.
Bottles | I would advise against bringing storage bags because if you’re pumping en flight, trying to pour all that hard earned breast milk on a shaky plane is just a recipe for disaster. I had a Medela pump and would transfer the milk to one bottle, cap it and put it in the cooler. The flight attendants were really good about checking in with me to see if I needed more ice. Bless. OPTIONAL: Milton Sterilizing Tablets. To disinfect feeding equipment. I have never tried them because they weren’t readily available in Hong Kong but the mommy chat that I’m on recommended these and it seems simple and reliable. Medela also sells a Quick Clean Micro-Steam Sanitizing Bag that I might look into for next time. I will say after our first flight together, I got better at breastfeeding and stopped pumping on the plane because it was one less thing to worry about. If she was sleeping when I had to pump, I’d whip out my trusty Haaka and let it do all the work for me.
Thermos | A handy way to warm up your bottles! We have this smallish 10oz food jar one. If you are formula feeding, it might be a good idea to bring along your own water from home to mix with formula because studies have shown the quality of drinking water on airlines can be contaminated. Or be sure the flight attendants are serving bottled water (however, I have seen attendants fill up the bottle from the galley) but in my case, I filled our thermos with hot water and told TSA that it was for baby formula and they didn’t give us problems.
Big Ziplock plastic bags | For storing and organizing things. Because I did not bring any sterilizing tools, I brought enough spares to last me through the flight and threw all the used equipment into a big ziplock bag to wash afterward. It wasn’t exactly space-saving, but it worked for me.
Small cooler with ice packs | We used an old Genie Juicery cooler and the ice packs that came with it. I didn’t like the available options out there on the baby market at the time because some could only fit two bottles or were just too big to lug around. Look for something compact and insulated that can comfortably fit at least four with room up top and sides for the ice packs. This looks similar to what we have and has an adjustable, detachable shoulder strap that could be helpful.
Breast Pump | I would highly advise to bring your breast pump with you wherever you go. You don’t want to check it and then the airline loses your suitcase and you’re stuck engorged and in pain… in the middle of the night… with no access to buy another. Shudders at the thought! My Medela took up a lot of room in my carry-on, BUT, because I was so methodical in how I packed, I still had room in my bag.
Baby carrier | Such a lifesaver! If you can wear your baby around the airport, it’ll free your hands to go about your business while still keeping your baby close to you. When we flew domestic on a night flight, Raye slept the entire time in the Lillebaby and it was the best thing ever. Both B and I were very sad when she outgrew it.
Baby stroller | We bought a Doona in Hong Kong to make it easier to jump in and out of cabs and It. Was. Glorious. It doubles as a car seat and stroller and is so ideal to travel with. I know the idea of lugging around a baby stroller in addition to all the baby stuff you have to bring sounds exhausting but the Doona made us feel like smart, traveling, parenting pros.
All in all, I would say the three biggest organizational pieces in my carry-on were the breast pump, wet bag (that housed all of the smaller items listed above) and cooler bag. While this method worked out well for us, I’m always looking to improve.
Tell me, Is there anything you don’t travel without for your kids? For yourself? Do you have any recommendations or suggestions?