In the past two and a half years since my first daughter was born we have gone on ten overnight trips. In that time we learned what baby travel items are essential to a stress-free stay. I wanted to share that list with you. I should add, however, that these items are more specific for a road trip. If you are planning a trip involving a flight, these many not be the best items for you.
I am Amazon Affiliate and this post contains affiliate links. While I will earn a commission off of qualified purchases, all of these items were purchased because I truly love using them for my family.
Pop-up Jumper
This was one of the best purchases we made when M was little. We originally bought it to use in our home upstairs so that she would have the opportunity to practice her standing there as well. But because of it’s ability to fold, its prefect for travel as well. We have the Kidco GoPod and have now taken it on two trips for the twins and it’s a perfect snack or meal station if you don’t have room for a high chair in the car.
The other benefit of this activity station is keeping the baby contained while you are doing other things. For example, on our last trip we immediately opened this and put a baby in it so that we could bring in our bags and begin getting settled. It also keeps them from underfoot when you are cooking. It folds up like a camp chair so it takes up very little space in the car.
Additionally, the seat has a cup holder and a snack holder. While the netted cup holder isn’t quite big enough to hold a sippy cup, the solid bottom snack area is perfect for placing cheerios to keep baby busy. The seat also has multiple fabric tags around it where you can hook small toys.
Sit-me-up Seat
Another great baby travel item is the Fisher Price Sit-Me-Up Floor Seat. I literally love this thing. It can also be used as a replacement high chair or as a safe place to keep the baby out of the way. The seat comes with two toys attached to fabric tags, but you could swap those out with whatever is your child’s favorite.
One of my two favorite features of this seat is that the fabric is machine washable. So if your baby has a blowout, or throws up, or drops food, you simply pull the cover off and throw it in the washer AND dryer. When the twins were little, we were literally washing these things (we had two because we liked them so much) like once a week for one reason or another. My other favorite feature is that it folds flat. We would keep ours folded on the side of the couch until we needed them. This also makes them great for travel because they are light and take up very little space. We would even use them to take for holiday dinners at my in-laws.
One other hint, is that so many people love these, that you can usually find them used. I bought my first one for M at a consignment shop for $15 and I just re-sold it at a consignment sale for the same price. We received another as a shower gift for the twins and I am keeping that one since it was brand new. I plan to keep it as long as they can fit their little bodies in it. But beware! A two year old body can get stuck and the only way to get them out is to take the fabric seat off. Ask me how I know!
Pack-and-Play
I know this is so obvious. Everyone who plans to travel with a baby has already considered a pack and play. But you truly can never underestimate the value of a good one. We have this Baby Trend Nursery Center that we bought before M was born. Ironically, the local baby consignment shop posted the exact same one for sale when I was pregnant with the twins. I have a thing about stuff being uniform so I sent my mom to the store to get it the next day as soon as they opened. A twin tip is that you can fit the included bassinets together on one nursery center. We used that in our room until they were about two months old.
Another pro baby travel tip is that if you do not have room in your car for a pack-and play or if you are flying, there are many baby supply rental companies out there. We drove to Massachusetts when M was about 9 months old and we only had my small compact car. There was no way to fit a pack and play, high chair, and stroller in there. And we were staying for a week so we needed those items. I was able to order those three items and they were delivered to the resort the day we checked in. Then, the day we checked out I boxed everything back up, used the included shipping label, and left it at the front desk at checkout for them to mail for me. So easy!
Stroller
A stroller is another baby travel item that cannot be underestimated. Unless you are a regular baby-wearing family or you are travelling to a place that is not stroller friendly, strollers are a necessity. Especially a good one. I will probably have a post in the future cataloging all of the strollers I have gone through in the past 2 years (there’s been 6) with a specific review of my new favorite. For now I will just say I have two favorite lightweight, budget friendly strollers.
The first is a single umbrella style stroller. We purchased the Summer Infant 3D Lite before a trip to South Carolina for a wedding because, again, our regular stroller wouldn’t fit in our car. M was 11 months at the time and this was perfect for her. It reclined enough that she could sleep and had good shade for the sun. We still use this with her at two and a half, although now her feet can touch the ground so if you leave the wheels unlocked she will push herself around.
The second is a double; the ZOE XL2 v2 Best. I heard about this stroller in multiple twin groups before I decided to give them a try. They are a family owned company, which I love supporting, and the stroller really lives up to the hype in terms of ease of use. This stroller is super light and easy to fold. I even tested it and was able to fold it and put it in our van while holding a baby! This is a perfect travel stroller for those reasons.
Large Utility Tote
Now this one is not necessarily a baby travel item. Actually, it’s not really a baby or travel item. However, since I have not gone on a trip without one (and sometimes two) I thought it worth mentioning. If you do not know about Thirty-One Gifts, they are a direct sales company that sells a variety of bags, organizational items, and jewelry.
Previously I was a consultant with them and despite my lack of earnings I now have an impressive supply of bags. Including their best seller, the Large Utility Tote. I use this bag for packing everything from blankets, towels, and diapers to snacks, bottled water, and bottles. They can literally be used for everything and when paired with a top are a perfect travel bag for everyday items. I usually travel with at least two of these style bags in different sizes.
I have seen these bags duplicated at Walmart and Target, but I am sold on the quality and design options of the original Thirty-One brand bag. The best thing about these is their ability to function as whatever you need. They are not an item that will need to be done away with once your kids grow up, because you can continue to use them for other things.
Just Travel
The last thing I want to say is don’t let the fear of packing keep you from traveling with babies. As I said in a previous post, I was nervous with the twins, but it was totally doable. Now that we’ve done it again I can’t wait for our next trip. I’ll be sharing about our most recent trip to Lancaster, PA here soon. In the meantime, go out and make memories with your kids, at home or away.