What to Pack in a Diaper Bag for Flying: Baby & Toddler Plane Essentials

The first time I had to pack my diaper bag for flying with a baby and a toddler, I panicked. I wanted to get everything right. I didn’t want to have to dig into my carry-on in the overhead bin to grab a toy, or a diaper or a snack.

And while the toys/diapers/snacks are the main “food groups,” if you will, of packing a diaper bag for a day of flying with a baby, toddler, or baby+toddler, I’m going to break it down in this list.

Use this checklist to expertly pack your diaper bag or family personal item when you have littles in tote, for a flight you’ve so patiently awaited. Keep an eye out for my personal tips of what has worked best while in the air, at the gate and on the runway.

I am thrilled to partner with Coterie in making this diaper bag packing guide for parents who plan to fly with a baby or a toddler.

Key takeaways in this guide

• Your travel diaper choice matters: an absorbent diaper designed to fight leaks and blowouts like Coterie diapers are what I choose in high-stakes situations like travel days and flying.
• Neatly pack your diaper change fanny pack/belt bag with all the essentials for a diaper change (I list my picks below), so that you can change diapers like a pro in the airport, on the plane or when you arrive.
• Snacks: I take non-perishable snacks, along with fresh ones, whether they’re from home or ones I bought at our vacation destination. Ideas will follow!
• I take toys that pack flat, as well as ones that can be played with both on the plane AND at our hotel or B&B. Toys that are interesting for both a baby and a toddler are a double win.
• Lastly, I’ll recommend my exact travel diaper bag, and some other airplane diaper bag tips that even seasoned parents may not have considered!

Diapering and changing

There are a few key groups of things I’m going to outline in diapering at altitude:

• Trusty travel diaper
• Diaper cream, wipes, changing pad
• Diaper fanny for airplane bathroom changes!
• Hand sanitizer

In short, here are my choices for each of these and why they’re ideal for flying with a baby or toddler in diapers.

Travel day diapers

I’ve tried lots of diapers while traveling, and some have led to blowouts, waistband discomfort, irritation or leaks. The best option I’ve found is Coterie: this is a diaper with real-world performance that I can count on, while flying, while in transit and while on the road for vacations with my kids.

It’s not a coincidence, either: Coterie diapers give me peace of mind that I don’t have to use my spare T-shirt in the diaper bag because of leaks while my baby is sleeping on my lap in row 32. And on that note, I actually never have had to use my spare T-shirt (but I do keep it in my diaper bag in case I spill a drink or my toddler spills juice on me, and I’ll get to this later).

Coterie diapers are reliable, and that’s what our family needs when there are things out of our control like flight delays and unforeseen time spent on the runway. I used to have fears about how to change my baby on an airplane, but now I know that if we all nap a while and don’t change diapers every 3 hours, a Coterie diaper can handle the job because of superb absorbency.

See more about Coterie diapers my guide to the best diapers for travel days for babies and toddlers. They’ve shown us reliability and have eased our worries about leaks/blowouts ruining flight days with babies.

Try Coterie diapers here and stock up for your next trip. Use the Coterie discount code “HALFHALFHOME” at checkout for 15% off (new customer subscription purchases) with a min. spend of $40, and read our full Coterie review here.

Travel-sized diaper cream, travel wipes pack, changing pad

For diaper cream, I go with Coterie’s Bun Balm, which goes on clear (you can even use it for regular body use as a dry skin balm) and comes in this handy circular jar. It’s part of the Coterie Skincare Minis, which are all travel-sized and ready to pack into a carry-on when traveling with little ones.

Wipes: Coterie’s Travel Wipes pack is actually the best travel wipe I’ve tried, too. It’s thick, and it’s big—bigger than other wipes. It’s made with 5 clean ingredients, and I use them for messy faces, sticky hands, diaper changes and even sloppy spills.

Travel fold-out changing pad: the Sidekick diaper fanny bag comes with one. I’ll detail below.

Diaper change fanny (Sidekick sling)

It’s the #1 item I list as my secret trick in my guide of how to change your baby on a plane. It’s by far one of my favorite must-haves in my list of essential baby products for travel.

Instead of loading up my arms with a diaper, changing pad and wipes, I just throw on my Sidekick diaper sling, already neatly packed with everything I need, and carry my baby or toddler in one arm. It’s hands-free. It’s simple. It even looks good, and it’s unisex, so Dan can use it (and he does).

Hand sanitizer

Airplanes usually have a bottle of hand sanitizer at the ready, next to the bathrooms, but in case you’re out of luck, I recommend these tiny ones from Amazon.

Snacks

Packing enough snacks to appease a baby, a toddler or both will remind you why traveling with a baby is a whole new game. I used to pack just enough snacks for myself, and buy things in the airport or at a lounge, when needed.

With kids, you need to have the favorites, the backups, the spares in case of spills, and the works. Here are some ideas and tips for your airplane diaper bag.

For a whole list of tips about babies and feeding while travel, head to my guide on how to feed your baby while traveling.

Pre-packaged and non-perishable snacks for flying

A brand that I tell a lot of parents to check out is MadeGood. They make granola bars, granola “bites,” breakfast bars and mini cookies that are fun for toddler hands. What’s best is that they’re allergen-free (free of the top 9 allergens) which works great for me as someone with 3 big allergies, and they’re good in tight spaces where your neighbor on the plane might have an allergy.

If you’re traveling only with a toddler, it pays to get specific: head to my list of what to take in a toddler diaper bag for travel days when you’re going near or far.

Pouches

Yes, you can bring baby food pouches on a plane. And I would recommend putting plenty of them into your travel day diaper bag, with overflow into your carry-on. My baby likes the applesauce or fruit puree type, and my toddler likes the yogurt type from GoGo Squeeze.

Just to be on the safe side for TSA checks, I take the smaller-size pouches (~3.17oz) rather than the large 4-oz+ ones.

Water bottles

EVERYONE needs a water bottle for the flight. Do not forget them, and take sips during takeoff and landing to deal with ear pressure! If your baby is taking bottles, bring a bottle and a spare, in case of dropping one on the (gross) airplane floor.

For my toddler, we like the Thermos FunTainer and for our baby, the Dr Brown’s Straw Cup.

Snacks from home (fresh stuff)

I like to encourage my kids to both eat fruits and veggies, so a few things I pack from home in baggies are:

• Berries, already cut, or how they like to eat them, or watermelon (cubed)!
• Whole apples, clementines or bananas
• Sliced cucumbers, or steamed broccoli (we have a broccoli lover in our family)
• Proteins like hard boiled eggs, chickpeas, string cheeses or edamame (shelled)
• Juice box (sealed)

Just remember that upon arrival in international destinations, produce from your home country needs to be tossed and cannot be brought past customs.

Toys and entertainment

If you’re flying long hours, oh boy: get ready for being the CEO of entertaining your baby and toddler. Hopefully with some of my travel-friendly baby/toddler picks below, you can nail what’ll fit in your airplane diaper bag (plus carry-on, or your own personal item).

A few things we’ve taken (I’ll list the successful things):

• Water Wow! by Melissa and Doug (”paint” with water, which is a good mess-free activity)
• Squigz: suction toys that stick to airplane windows, airport windows, hotel windows….
• Indestructible books: these virtually can’t break, and they’re so thin, so you can take 5 and they barely make a dent
• A buckle book: if you have the space, this might fit better into a carry-on or a really deep diaper bag but it’s a nice challenge for ages 12m+
• Fidget spinners: attach them to anything that can handle suction (good for babies)

We’ve never taken iPads on the plane, but if that’s going to work for you and your kids, by all means, take what works in order to pass the time. Make sure you have a toddler-proof iPad cover.

More must-haves for your diaper bag: flying with babies & toddlers

A few other things that we have taken, that I think most families will want to take along are…

• A travel-sized sound machine for nap time. If you’re delayed and want familiar sounds from home, consider any of these best sound machines for travel like the Hatch Go mini white noise machine.
• An extra T-shirt for yourself and/or your partner. Hopefully it won’t be for diaper blowouts that land on your chest, but I take mine to be for spills, stains, sweat, body odor, drool, snot or (hopefully no) vomit.
• Extra outfits for one or both of your kids. These could be for diaper leaks or blowouts, spills, drool, (hopefully not) throw-up, or anything else unexpected and wet/gross. I split my kids’ outfits into separate packing cubes so that I don’t have to fumble.
• Set it aside, but if it fits (bring it): the BEST EVER baby carrier for flying on a plane is the Baby Tula Carrier Lite. (Photo below!) Somehow, when I’d fly with only one kid, I’d fit this inside my travel day diaper bag when we’d fly! You can see my Carrier Lite review here.
• Passports: Of course, don’t forget passports and particulars for your kids! If you haven’t secured travel docs yet, you can visit my guide on how to get a passport for your baby.
• A few garbage bags: these are for misc. uses. Truly, it can be a save, if you’re on an airplane and need to start collecting your family’s trash items before the flight attendant comes around, or if a shirt gets so soiled you can’t look at it anymore. It’s also for using as a “this didn’t fit back into the diaper bag” spot when you deplane at your destination.

Travel diaper bag for flying, recommended

This all being said, Dan and I also like to recommend our travel diaper bag (yes, there is such a thing!) which is like an expert-level organization-friendly backpack for parents. It’s the Getaway Bag, reviewed at our No Reception Club Getaway Bag review,. It has been crucial for staying sane during our flights, and helped us so much with finding all our toddler stuff, calmly, during our 5.5-hr flight to Mexico City.

It has cool travel-forward features like a valuables stash pocket, zip-around laptop compartment for parents, snack or bottle cooler, three-level “storage shelf” system, wet compartment (for soiled clothes, or even bathing suits) and space to store the Sidekick diaper fanny. So, we love it!