What to pack for baby for a weekend away

This is a collaboritve post with Nurofen for Children

Our recent trip to Melbourne had me rethink the essentials when packing Phoebe’s bag. It can be so easy to overpack when travelling with a baby on a plane, but here are the items I packed to ensure a stress free trip with my babe.

What to pack for baby for a weekend away:

1. More nappies than I thought I would need. We go through around 10 nappies a day with Phoebe at the moment, so I allowed for 12-15 per day. We only had a two hour flight to Melbourne, but there was waiting time in airport as well as baggage claim and time in the bus to our hotel that I had to allow for. Thankfully Phoebe did her dirtiest nappy before we boarded our flight and she slept the whole flight down which meant no nappy changes in the air. A quick nappy change was needed in the airport before boarding our Skybus to get to our hotel. I packed all our nappies for the trip in a carry on case to ensure we had enough nappies at the airport.
2. One full pack of wipes. I have taken a half pack of wipes before and gone through them as quick as quick sand and hyperventilated about the occurrence of a poonami and having nothing but serviettes to mop up the mess. Always take a full pack of wipes. (the packs with 80 or more wipes in them!)
3. Plastic bags. Great for placing dirty nappies or clothes that need to be washed.
4. A bottle with formula/breast milk or a dummy for taking off and landing. I breastfed Phoebe on taking off and landing to prevent the cabin pressure hurting her ears. Being a breastfed baby, I packed limited formula and one bottle just in case Jacob needed to feed Phoebe while I was out.
5. Teething symptoms or an earache can come at any opportune time. I always take a small bottle of Nurofen for Children (suitable for babies 3 months old and up) whenever I travel just in case. It saves having to find a chemist in an unfamiliar location.
6. A spare set of clothes for each day you’re away. It may sound like overkill but when you’re away you don’t have the luxury of your baby’s wardrobe. Thankfully, baby clothes don’t take a lot of room and can be rolled up easily. If you have a baby that chucks up a lot, pack multiple bibs and tops. Pants and tops are great as opposed to onesies because you have to change the whole outfit if it’s a onesie. Bring spare socks so that footsies don’t get cold on the trip.
7. Nappy rash cream. It’s good to have on hand not just for nappy rash, but for any rash that may come up. Phoebe occasionally gets a rash under her chin and her sudocreme gets rid of it quite quickly.
8. Top to toe wash is a great to pack for bath time. If there is no bath in the hotel room, I just dampened the hotel washers with the baby wash to wash Phoebe down at night.
9. Toys or books that keep your bub’s attention. It could be a light up rattle or their snuggly teddy. Take it with you so your baby can be distracted by it if they are restless. Make sure you don’t leave it behind anywhere if they are really attached to it.
10. A muslin wrap or two. Great for keeping baby warm from the air conditioning to mopping up messes. I always have two rolled up in my baby bag.
11. Pre-made satchels of baby food and spoons. There was no need to warm up the food in the microwave on the plane and being a short flight, I decided to feed Phoebe her solids before we boarded the flight as opposed to on the flight which can be a messy affair if the flight is turbulent.
12. We packed the Baby Bjorn so Phoebe could be carried hands free. This worked well when we checked our stroller into the oversize checked in luggage. But you mustn’t wear baby in the Bjorn when going through the security and x-ray check.
13. A stroller that can be folded down into one piece. Many strollers and prams don’t fold into one item. Our Safety 1^st Stroller has a detachable seat, but can be folded down with the seat attached. Check with your airline how many oversized luggage baby items you can check in. Most will allow two to three items. We only checked in one stroller because I organized for a portacot at our hotel (which was free of charge to use) and we chose to travel by bus to and from the airport, so there was no need to take a car seatOn previous trips when taking our older girls when they were little, we would hire the car seats with the car hire and most times the car seats were free to hire because of our membership with RACQ.

These kind of conveniences can assist with the luggage situation. Have you ever taken your baby away for a weekend? How did it go? Can you add anything to my list?

I’m linking up with With Some Grace for Flog yo blog Friday.

This post has been written in conjunction with my disclosure policy.