What baby items will come in handy when traveling?

Properly prepared luggage is an essential component of every trip with a child. Check which items will be useful during the trip.

Properly packed luggage

Parents who are preparing for a trip with a child very often think about what will be useful during the vacation and while traveling. A baby and a toddler need many different things to make the holiday comfortable for both parents and the baby.

Parents should divide the luggage into 2 parts for convenience and safety:

• handy – with things that are useful during the trip,
• the right one – with things that will be used upon arrival.

Things in a carry-on bag, or a parent’s travel essentials

In the case of the smallest children the journey itself is not a pleasant experience. At first, the baby falls asleep by being rocked steadily during the ride. If he wakes up before you reach your destination, he may become frustrated with the limited space in the car seat. That’s when the whining and sometimes even crying begins. A good solution is to travel at night – then the child sleeps and wakes up less often.

When travelling by car, don’t forget to make short stops for feeding or changing. That is why you should have in your handy bag

• things to change the baby – diapers, wet wipes, bags for used diapers and a blanket or mat, on which you can change the baby,
• antibacterial hand gel or liquid – before feeding or changing diapers the parent should disinfect hands, so as not to expose the toddler to infection; if the toddler puts his hands in his mouth it is worth wiping them with disinfectant handgel (then it must be designed for children),
• thin blanket – it will be useful not only to cover the baby in the car seat, but also serves as a changing table,
• clothes for a change – it’s worth having 2 sets of clothes for a change; they will be great in a situation when the baby urinates, or gets dirty while eating,
• food and drinks- if the mother does not breastfeed the newborn, depending on the age of the child she should pack water, modified milk, a bottle with a teat, food in a jar and other snacks. It is important to give the baby water to drink,
• bib or tetan napkin – it is a great protection against getting baby’s clothes dirty while eating,
• soother – especially useful for toddlers during travel,
• car heater – will be useful to heat up the baby’s food, but instead of this device a regular thermos will work just as well,
• disposable towels – useful e.g. for wiping hands,
• toys – will make the time spent on the trip more pleasant for the child; it is worth taking new toys with you, which the child hasn’t played with before – then you can be sure that the fun will last even longer,
• favourite cuddly toy – if the child has a favourite thing without which it cannot fall asleep, it is always worth taking it with you,
• medicines for motion sick ness – even if a child does not have motion sickness, it is always a good idea to have medicines adapted to its age.

Things you should have in your luggage

Before you leave it is worth checking what things for the baby are in the equipment of the hotel or guesthouse to which you are going. More and more often in such places parents can count on an extra bed, a bathtub, a feeding chair and even a changing table. Many resorts also have access to a washing machine (for an additional fee), so you can take half as many clothes with you. Your luggage should include:

• asupply of clothes – for toddlers two sets of clothes per day are optimal, plus pajamas and warmer clothes for changing weather,
• a supply of diapers and wet wipes,
• food and feeding accessories,
• cosmetics and other grooming accessories,
• sunscreen – preferably waterproof with SPF 50+,
• preparations against insects,
• medicines and preparations for bites,
• a travel crib,
• a travel bathtub,
• diapers for swimming.

When traveling with a toddler, it is worth to have a child’s health book. If you are going to travel abroad, you will need an identity card for your toddler and additional health insurance.