It sounds silly to say, but there are babies and toddlers in the place you’re traveling. Meaning, they have the things you probably need and don’t need to pack literally everything.

So, what do you REALLY need to bring? What are some things that may not be available at your destination? Take it from us: we’ve brought it all, then laughed at ourselves for bringing too much, and then still had to go buy some things we needed for our baby.

Some baby clothes

Of course you have to bring baby clothes! But if you forget some onesies, don’t worry: children’s stores, home stores and large big box stores at your travel destination will likely have baby clothes.

If you forget a jacket for the current weather, or a baby hat, you can usually find that at a store, if you are in a city abroad. Otherwise, try your best to pack the most sensible baby items for the weather forecast.

A few diapers

You need to bring a few diapers, but you don’t have to bring a ton! (Note: This applies unless your child is in Preemie diapers, which are harder to find, or a specific type of Pull-Ups during potty training toward age 2, for example).

After lots of experience traveling, I have found that bringing plenty of diapers—as much as we plan to need—is ideal when we’ll be on a road trip in rural destinations. A store might not be a 5-minute drive away, like we are used to. But for international travel and packing light, bring several days worth of diapers, and buy the rest on site!

A stroller or baby carrier

I would suggest bringing your own baby carrier or stroller, or the product in which you plan to transport your child. These things may be in short supply where you are going, or, they may not be the right size for your baby. We always bring our own travel stroller and our travel baby carrier.

Some helpful medicines and remedies

We touched on this a lot in “What to pack,” as well as “What to do if your child gets sick.” We learned from having our child sick on three of three international trips between the ages of 8 months and 20 months that having our own brand of trusted infant pain reliever/fever reducer in our native language (English) is indispensable.

And so is having a thermometer

Things for sleep

For sleep, every family has their essentials when they realize what their baby needs while away from home.

  • Sleep sack
  • Travel sound machine, or travel night light
  • Particular lovey or stuffie
  • Travel blackout curtains
  • Travel crib

Products for pumping or breastfeeding

All our packing lists at the what to pack page will help you out with how to remember all your pumping and breastfeeding or bottle-feeding products for each age group.

  • Breast pump and all parts
  • Breastfeeding accessories like hand pumps, milk catchers, pain relievers
  • Bottle brush travel set for washing pump parts and bottles
  • Small container of dish soap or sanitizing spray
  • Milk cooler
  • Other products that you’ve been using in your pumping, nursing or bottle-feeding journey

Specific brands of baby formula

If your child is on a special type of baby formula that may not be available at regular stores or outside your home county, I would definitely pack that, as well as a healthy supply of it.