There are lots of smart things to bring on a trip with a baby. Some of them have even turned into “must-have’s” for us. This guide is about the absolute smartest things to bring when you travel with an infant. Some are travel-specific products, and some are just things that are great to have when you have a little one with you far from home!

Your “personal item” or diaper bag

In this case, “personal item” refers both to your diaper bag that you’ll have with you in the front or backseat of the car, or the bag you can store conveniently under your seat on the flight. In both cases, I’m referring to “every baby item” that you may need during those days in transit, at your fingertips.

A few things I like to take are:

  • Changes of clothes: have a change of clothes for you, and any other adults traveling with you, as well as for your child (for unexpected food spills, milk spills, water spills, vomit, spit-up and diaper blowouts)
  • Enough diapers for the travel day, so that you don’t have to dig into luggage in the trunk, nor in the overhead bin on the plane.
  • Pacifiers, stuffed animals for naps on the go, a travel sound machine and a light blanket: all help with soothing.
  • Hand sanitizer in a travel-sized bottle: you just never know when you might really need some!
  • A snack for YOU: If breastfeeding, pregnant or if you’re just generally hungry, stash some packaged fruit leather, granola bars or tiny snack packs of something nonperishable in a part of your diaper bag where you can find it. These have saved me from being “hangry” if a bigger snack is too far away.

My note: If flying, and if your luggage gets lost, it’s easier to replace generic things like baby clothes and diapers. It’s harder to replace the things you need for your child like medicines from home, breast pump parts that aren’t available abroad and specific items for sleep. Having an assortment of these in the diaper bag or in another personal item could save your sanity!

Have reserve toys

If you have a tantrum or your child is bored, keep some smaller reserve toys that you can take out as a last resort. You can also expect to abandon any toys that you brought and didn’t work out, like with this short story:

Who knew that a fidget popper bracelet would cause so much stress for a 20 month old, but it did. On our Mexico trip, our daughter would get frustrated by a “fidget popper bracelet,” but then ask for it and get annoyed when she was playing with it. So we stopped giving it to her and told her it was gone when she would ask for it. It was completely forgotten by the second and third day of our trip.

Seat belt accessories (international)

Not all cars outside of the USA have ratcheting seat belts, so you may need an accessory clip to lock in the seat belt. This will be common in Latin America and Europe.

Try this product: metal seat belt lock. It’s simple, but could save your child’s car seat when you leave the US and Canada.

“New snacks”

Bringing snacks that are new and fresh can be helpful for “novelty” when traveling long hours with a child who is eating solid foods. Serving up new flavors, new textures, new brands and new types of food (pouches, granola bars, puffs, toddler waffles!) may cure boredom and hunger, FAST.

Remember to check our food safety travel guide in this course, to learn about all the disclaimers on food safety while you’re far away from home with a baby.

A compact baby carrier

This is probably the first thing that comes to mind when we think of “travel essentials for babies that we can’t live without.”

Even if your child has been protesting a baby carrier at home, bringing it for travel can be a lifesaver. Being hands-free and carrying your baby off the plane in a baby carrier is a sure way to also be able to carry your personal item or a carry-on.

Baby carriers can be the save of the day for naps, when all else fails. Bring a lightweight compact carrier that folds up for travel! The one we recommend is the Baby Tula Carrier Lite: a nylon baby carrier that folds up into a fanny pack or waist bag for either parent to wear, or to toss into the stroller basket. Check out the Baby Tula Carrier Lite full review to see how we’ve used this travel essential.

Medicines and remedies

After the first trip during which our child was sick, we learned immediately that future trips will come well-stocked with medicines and remedies.

We mention this in every section, but it’s true: having essential baby remedies will make a long night easier if you don’t have to find a 24-hour pharmacy to head to during a health scare. Given how many fevers we’ve dealt with in countries abroad, we now swear by our baby thermometer and some infant fever reducers on hand.

You can bookmark our guide to what to do if your child gets sick while traveling to have all the advice at your fingertips.