Traveling with Baby: Absolute Lifesavers

When Soph was tiny we traveled to Panama to see my family several times. How did I manage to fly alone with a newborn? By bringing the following things along:

• Medela Freestyle portable pump + mini cooler: 

As an exclusive pumper, meaning I didn’t actually put the baby to the breast but SOLELY pumped and fed her bottles of breastmilk, the Freestyle was an absolute lifesaver for traveling. It’s small and holds a charge, so you don’t have to look for a plug or carry huge batteries with you. The flight to Panama from Boston is 5 hours. If I didn’t find a way to pump or otherwise empty my very full boobs I knew I would explode mid-flight. The Freestyle was perfect for this! I wore a pump friendly bra and voila- I even managed to STAY IN MY SEAT WHILE PUMPING! Amazing..

• Medela Quick Clean Sanitizing Wipes:

These were my LIFE while pumping on the go. These wipes are meant to REPLACE SOAP AND WATER. Yup, you read that right- these allow you to sanitize baby’s bottles and your pump parts with no need for soap and water, just these wipes.  They are also great for cleaning toys, teethers, binkies.. you name it. Anytime anything touched any part of the airplane, this Mama would break out the wipes and get to work sanitizing WITHOUT MOVING FROM MY SEAT. Can you tell how obsessed I am with these?

• BabyZen Yoyo+

This stroller is EVERYTHING. It’s light and easy to carry yet comfortable for the babe. Best part? It folds up to fit into the overhead bin ON YOUR FLIGHT! No checking the stroller.. Also, it’s oh no easy to fold and unfold- with enough practice, you can even do it one handed! Absolute lifesaver for traveling with baby, I seriously CANNOT recommend this stroller enough!

• Single Serve Milk/Formula Packets:

When I was done breastfeeding, single serve formula packets became my go-to for traveling. I would pack a couple into the diaper bag along with a bottle or two of water and Chickie would be all set for the day milk-wise. After she transitioned to whole milk at 12 months old, I started using these single serve milk cartons. Milk you dont have to refrigerate? THAT’s what I call a traveling WIN! Note that if you’re in the US, single serve milk cartons are only available online.

• Baby Wrap:

This might be TMI but if you’re traveling alone with your baby and need to use the restroom your options are limited, you can use a baby wrap or hand baby over to a stranger…. I went the baby wrap route.. ? Besides giving me the ability to pee, traveling with a baby wrap also allowed me to “force” Chick to sleep when she was fussing at high altitude. There was something about this baby wrap that just made my Little Bird immediately pass out! I would wrap her and walk up and down the airplane’s isles a couple of times and TA DAA, sleeping babe! ??

• Disposable Bibs:

I started using these once baby was eating solids. To this day Chickie is SUCH a messy eater so these are a must in our travel diaper bag! I’ve started using them anytime I’m out of the house and don’t want to have to wash the silicone bibs we normally use. Once Soph is done eating with the disposable bibs to the trash they go! Easy peasy!

• Entretainment:

Finally, make sure to pack some toys for baby to stay entertained. Pro tip: make sure the toys aren’t LOUD ? I made the mistake of bringing a loud, squeaky toy for a flight once and I got all sorts of side eye from the people around me.

Hope this makes your travels with baby a little easier! It did for me.. Remember, you need to worry about you and your baby. Everyone else can worry about their own damn selves! We were all annoying little kids once. As long as you are paying attention to your kids and doing your best to keep disruptions to a minimum that’s ALL YOU CAN DO and whoever isn’t cool with that CAN GO GET THEMSELVES A PRIVATE PLANE! You got this, Mama!!!