How to Pack Light with a Baby

In the first year of his life, our little traveling babe will have taken 15 flights, including one transatlantic! Needless to say, we’ve learned a thing or two about baby packing tips. In the beginning, like all parents, we were lugging around literally everything he had. We basically moved our entire house with us to our travel destination. No longer! Here’s how we make it work with two suitcases and two carry-ons (and no broken backs!).

Note: I specifically split our tips into do’s and don’t’s for good reason: I’m typically a terrible packer. It completely stresses me out every time, despite the fact that we take upwards of 20 trips a year. Practice will make perfect eventually, right?! From one terrible packer to (maybe?) another, I guarantee these do’s and don’t’s will help you!

Do Plan Outfits Ahead of Time

Sorry/not sorry if this is annoying, but one of the best ways to avoid overpacking is to plan exactly what you’re going to wear. How do I do this? In addition to looking at our itinerary, which includes the place we’ll be that day (city, countryside, beach) plus our general activities (sightseeing, road trip, sunbathing, hiking), I also look at the weather. You’ll get a fairly accurate reading about a week before your travel dates (weather.com plans out 10 days in advance). You can also look at historical weather for your location. Available on weather.com, this will give you average highs and lows for that time of year.

I can personally attest to the importance of this, as there’s an infamous story in my family of a trip to Italy in the spring. We all had to layer literally everything we brought because “spring” turned out to actually be 40-degrees Fahrenheit. Not to mention the December Disney trip when we raided the Main Street sweatshirt shop because it was freezing, and we only had shorts. Needless to say, checking the weather against your port of call and activities is essential. Plan out your baby’s outfits as well. This will ensure you don’t need to throw in an extra layer for every outfit “just in case”.

Not sure how to plan out your outfits? My favorite tip for this is choosing a pop of color (think: blue or red) and keeping everything else neutral. This way, you know your shoes, accessories, bags, etc. will go with every outfit. You will have a little room to improvise away from your planned outfits if needed. Stick to this for you and baby. Lay all of your outfits out and snap pics of them, so you remember what goes with what.

Do Make the Clothes You’re Bring Last

While you’re planning your outfits for each day, think about how you can consolidate, so you don’t have to wear something entirely new each day. We know you don’t wash your jeans every day at home, so there’s no reason to throw those in the laundry pile after one wear on vacation! Consider rewearing your pajamas more than one night and definitely rewear outerwear.

For baby, the same applies. If your little love is beyond the spitting up phase, some clothing items, like pants, can usually last more than one wear. Make sure your baby’s pajamas last more than one night (ideally two), too. One of our favorite products for ensuring that our baby doesn’t wet through while he’s sleeping (because no one wants to clean urine-soaked sheets on vacation!) are these diaper booster pads from Sposie. They’re completely flat, so they pack easily in your diaper bag or suitcase. We also used them on our last long flight (9 hours!) to ensure that neither baby nor we needed our clothes changed because of a diaper overflow. They’re a go-to for us at home as well!

If you are going to be doing activities where you might get dirty or you just want some insurance, you can easily do a bit of laundry on your trip. Most hotels will do your laundry for you, but we also launder smaller items like socks, underwear, and bras, in our bathroom sink or tub. Tide sells travel sink packets that are specifically designed for this. If you won’t have an outdoor area to let these items air dry, hang them in the bathroom for at least 24 hours, then finish the drying with the hotel’s hair dryer. On small items, it goes faster than you think! For treating spots, stash a Tide Pen in your diaper bag.

Do Make Your Clothes Pull Double Duty

Think about how you can stretch your wardrobe where possible. Planning to sightsee and go out to dinner? Make that outfit work from day to night, without adding any transitional pieces (like you might have done in your pre-parenting days). Wear clothing and shoes that are both comfortable and fashionable. I personally have these flat ankle boots and stylish, non-white sneakers to accomplish this. Wear them with a trendy top plus dark jeans.

Your accessories should work the same. While I always carry a purse at home, when we travel, I use our diaper bag to carry anything I’d want in my purse. I also stopped packing additional jewelry and accessories. This isn’t only for space reasons (although that does help!), but also because babies love to tug on earrings, necklaces, and scarves. It’s so much easier to stick with studs, my wedding band, and a watch. I can always bling out on the days when I’m at home!

Don’t Bring Things You Don’t Need

I know this should go without saying, but almost everyone overpacks! Once you’ve planned out each outfit, don’t go crazy bringing backups. You really only need 1-2 total items in case you get puked on. Leave everything else at home, including all of those “just in case items” (What if I get invited to a ball!? J/K, but seriously, you don’t need a ball gown). Do you really need heels? All that jewelry? Special baby towels? Nope. Embrace flats for day and night, save your bling for home, and let your baby use the hotel towels.

Speaking of special baby items, there are plenty of things you can buy/rent when you arrive. Baby food and diapers will be readily available in supermarkets/pharmacies in almost every country. You can research what brands stores in your destination have available ahead of time. One of my favorite ways to do this is the Moms Love Travel page on Facebook. The members are moms from around the world who travel (duh!). I sent a message to them for our recent Ireland trip, and several moms who live in Ireland commented with the best organic baby food and diaper brands, plus the name of the store in which I’d find them. We brought enough to get us through 3 days and bought the rest on arrival. This is a huge space saver. Diapers take up so much room, and baby food pouches area heavy.

For baby’s sleep needs, nearly every hotel will provide you with a crib or Pack’n’Play free of charge. Some of the better ones also gave our baby a stuffed animal from the hotel’s gift shop. When staying in an Airbnb, message the host to see if they have something on hand. If they don’t, you can utilize a rental company. Staying with family or friends? The same applies. Ask them if they can borrow a crib or Pack’n’Play from a neighbor or friend, and reach out to a rental company if they can’t. In addition, many car rental companies also rent car seats. Just make sure you reserve them ahead of time. If you want to bring your own, you can ticket counter or gate check it for free. See more on that in my post about flying with a baby.

For parents, hotels also provide a wealth of every day items outside of the free toiletries—all also free of charge. Almost every hotel will have umbrellas that you can use throughout your stay. Most hotels also offer things like razors and toothbrushes, and many also have ear plugs, headphones, beach towels, and toys/games for kids. Email or call the concierge ahead of time to find out what’s available and relish in your extra suitcase space.

Don’t Let Bulky Items Weigh You Down

If all else fails, compress it all. Compression bags can save your life. We invested in this Samsonite pack for our honeymoon and have used them on almost every trip since. You don’t need a vacuum to suck the air out, so they’re very travel-friendly. If you’re traveling with winter items, especially, they will save you a ton of space.

Good luck, my friends, and happy travels!

This post was created in partnership with Sposie.