It’s been almost a week since we got back from our first family holiday. Since we had a stopover both ways, this meant a total of four flights and about 25 hours of fly time.  So I thought I’d do a quick post of some of the items I thought were lifesavers.  I already listed the very essential items in this post on tips for travelling with a baby, and I referred to that post specifically when packing.

So I wasn’t really short of anything – but drilling down now to some specifics that you may overlook, but I thought were very handy and should ease things up a bit.

1.    Back Pack Diaper Bag

This I think is an absolute most for travel. It seems many mums prefer a shoulder or messenger style diaper bag and that’s understandable for everyday use. Not many people would like to log a back pack on a daily – it’s not very stylish. But for travel, a diaper bag frees up your hands (very essential!) – and for this reason we actually have both styles of bags.  We got the Storksak Changing Backpack – and although not wonderfully stylish, it gets the job done well. Tee insisted on this as he thinks it looks rather masculine.  It’s very roomy on the inside and pretty much accommodated everything – lots of extra clothes, bottles, blankets, baby food, toys, diapers, wipes – basically everything. It also seems very durable but even when very full, didn’t hurt our backs. I could wear it and still carry a 10kg baby!

2.    Microwave Bottle Steriliser

So I’m not particularly sure why we got a microwave steriliser in the first instance.  I think a friend mentioned that although she had the larger electric sterilizer, she was considering purchasing a microwave one. I didn’t even ask any further questions –  I decided to get both – particularly when I saw the Tommie Tippie Microwave Steriliser was on a 50% sale at that time. I simply bought it. I hadn’t used it much, but on this trip I thought it’d come in handy and it did – it’s specifically designed for travel too. It fits four bottles and sterilises in about 4- 8mins. If your baby is still an infant, it’s helpful to sterilise utensils properly – but by the time they’re picking up and eating everything off the floor – well, there’s less reason to, I guess.  Technically you could also sterilise by using hot water in an airtight container but an added advantage for me was that this further acted as good storage for the bottles.

3.    Stroller Transit Bag

So Tee said to me “if you do a blog post, you have to mention this stroller transit bag”.  He may have provided the inspiration for this post – I agreed with him.  A stroller is obviously a huge need when traveling with a baby. (The one day I forgot the stroller and we went out, phew – major arm workout for me) . But then how to transport the stroller could be a worry – and they’ve been cases of missing and broken strollers.  This Mamas and Papas Stroller Transit Bag is actually fab and I’m glad we got it. It fits our stroller perfectly and actually just looks like a suitcase. So we simply checked it in as one! It’s quite roomy even with the stroller in it and so additional items could be stored in there. For travel, might be worth getting this or something similar that fits with your kind of stroller. Also, although we checked in our baby carseat without a bag, I’ve noticed that there are also carseat bags, so might be worth getting that as well.

4.    Milk Powder Dispenser

Ok, this is a really small one, but it could help save some stress if your baby is bottle fed. Although I packed this on our trip, for the first couple of days, I was taking up the tub of milk powder everywhere we went (it fit nicely in the diaper bag). And then Eureka moment – I simply scooped the recommended quantity into the dispenser, sealed it and viola – much less stuff to carry. It’s airtight and was absolutely fine. Ours is the Tommie Tippie dispenser, but pretty sure any would do the job.

Finally, the one item I was hoping to include in this list was this Munchkin inflatable duck bath. It had such great reviews and I thought it’d be fun  to use in a bigger bath as I didn’t want to battle with bathing him in the bathroom sink. But for some reason, we struggled to pump it up. Most of the reviews mentioned that it was really easy to pump – so I’m not sure why we had so much difficulty. We ended up not using it and bath time was honestly not fun! I’d have another go at pumping it, because asides travel – it could be good for everyday use.

I think that’s about it! In terms of logistics, what items did you love and would you recommend for traveling with a baby? Do share!

Love, 

Kachee.. Xx

pS: Our Hospital Bags: what we packed vs what we used and Four Mini Favourites #1