15 Essentials You Should Pack in Your Carry-on When Flying with a Baby!

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Flying with Your Baby: Baby’s First Plane Trip!

Flying with a baby can be an overwhelming experience for parents, especially first time parents who have never travelled with children.

In this post, I share the essential items we packed when we took our first flight with our then, 6 month old baby. Since then, we’ve been on a few more plane trips and have relied on our list of essentials for each plane ride.

Whether your baby is a few months old or a toddler, these items can help you have a much smoother experience on your plane trip with a baby.

From your arrival at the airport to the minute you step on and off of the plane, and each moment in between, what you pack for your plane ride can help to keep you and baby comfortable, happy and relaxed. All vital for a successful plane trip!

If you stick around until the end, I have also included some of my top tips for flying with a baby.

Be sure to keep reading for my #1 Tip for flying with a baby! A must-do for every parent flying with a baby!

Preparing for Flying with a Baby!

Just days before our daughter turned 6 months old, we set off on our first plane trip and international vacation.

Both my husband I consider ourselves seasoned travelers, who travel regularly on airplanes. If you’re familiar with some of my other posts, you might remember that I actually LOVE packing, and look forward to packing my carry-on and suitcase for both short trips and longer vacations.

However, babies make everything different! While planning and preparing for this trip I actually found myself getting a bit nervous about what to pack in my carry-on, how the flight would go and how my baby would tolerate all of the action.

The Packing Process for Flying with a Baby!

I started packing at least a week in advance because I wanted to be sure that I had everything we would need for our trip. I actually packed and then repacked a few times LOL.

In the end, I felt confident we had everything we needed to keep my baby fed, clothed, content and safe. The most important things!

The list I came up with was a combination of items to keep her comfortable, practical items (just in case), and a few things for Mom LOL. We didn’t end up using everything I brought along, but the majority of it did come in handy.

Considering we didn’t want to travel with too much stuff because we had to maneuver our own bags, plus the baby, her travel necessities (car seat and stroller) and travel documents, I tried to stick to only what I thought we needed for travel.

Regulations for Flying with a Baby

When travelling with an infant under the age of two, you have the option of purchasing a seat for them, or holding them in your lap for the duration of the flight.

When we booked our ticket, I was a bit surprised to find out that if you’re infant is sitting on your lap, rather than in their own seat, that they aren’t allowed any bags on some airlines. Not even a carry-on or their baby bag.

Most airlines will permit you to either check or gate check (for free) one or two baby travel items, such as a car seat, stroller or pack and play. This is whether they are lapheld or have their own seat. If they have their own seat, they are also allowed some luggage. Be sure to check with your specific airline as the permitted luggage varies greatly.

Packing for Flying with a Baby: Carry-on vs. Checked Luggage vs. Gate Check

We opted to hold our daughter on our lap, so we had to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t allowed any luggage of her own, despite having more stuff than both of us lol. Everything we wouldn’t need on the plane was placed in our checked luggage, and decided that we would buy some others (like diapers, which can be really bulky in your luggage) at our destination.

We checked her travel car seat, and chose to gate check her stroller, so that we could use it until we were ready to board the plane.

For the plane ride, I managed to fit all of my daughter’s and my stuff into her baby bag, and brought along a small tote as my purse. I stored her breastmilk cooler bag, a sweater for me and my travel documents in the purse for easy access.

The Takeaway from our First International Plane Trip with a Baby!

Now that we’re back home, I can tell you that flying with a baby isn’t as scary as it may seem, especially if you travel with the right things! At times it can be overwhelming, but it actually went a lot better than I had imagined.

Let me share a bit about our trip with you. We travelled for 1 hour by car to get to the airport, spent 3 hours to go through check-in, security and the boarding process, and then took a 5-hour plane trip. Needless to say this was a very long day for our little one, but she handled it like a champ!

By the time we arrived at our destination, the one hour process it took to clear customs and immigration, and collect our luggage seemed like a breeze. Despite it being past her bedtime, my daughter was wide awake observing everything going on. She had plenty of sleep on the plane, so I didn’t worry too much about her breaking her sleep routine.

While we’re on the topic, in addition to packing the right items in our carry-on, part of what helped to keep her cool and calm during our journey was trying our best to stick to her nap and feeding schedule as much as possible.

I say as much as possible because when you travel it’s almost a given that you have to be a bit flexible as things will not always go as planned, but for the most part we tried to create a bit of normalcy by having her eat and nap similarly to how she did at home.

Carry-on Essentials for Flying with a Baby

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I’m going to share with you what I consider our travel essentials for flying with a baby! I will pack these items on every future trip I take with my daughter, and recommend them for anyone travelling with a baby by plane.

Of course, depending on your baby’s age, you can tweak this list to suit your family’s needs, but in general each and every one of these items was helpful during our plane journey.

As a bonus, I have included a few tips to help you have a smoother and safer trip with your little one as well. No matter where you’re headed, whether it’s a 3-hour plane ride or a 12-hour flight, this list of essentials is perfect to help you get your carry-on packing started.

Tip #1: Before you even begin your packing list or take out your carry-on, you should contact your airline to find out what luggage (carry-on, checked or gate checked items) you are entitled to when traveling with your baby.

As I mentioned above, whether you are traveling with a lap-held infant or are paying for a seat for your baby, your luggage allowance varies by airline. Knowing how many bags you can check, carry-on and gate check makes a huge difference to your packing process.

This will also held you when deciding whether to travel with important necessities like your breast pump, breastmilk, formula, water, baby food, car seats, strollers, pack and plays, etc.

Ok! Are you ready to pack?

 

1. Muslin Swaddle or Large Blanket

Our muslin swaddle served as a great multi-purpose item: a blanket to cover baby, a nursing cover for me that could easily be draped over while I was nursing (very useful other travelers with prying eyes), or to cover a sleeping baby.

You don’t have a lot of space in the plane so a blanket that you can throw on quickly and easily, and served multiple purposes was a big help. It was also lightweight but could easily be doubled if you wanted more coverage.

We Love These Ones:

2. Baby Earmuffs

I would not have thought these would be on my essential list, but I don’t think I will ever travel without them for my daughter.

They were recommended to help reduce the noise at take off and landing for baby, but I found them most helpful to help reduce distractions and noises while baby slept.

Planes can be very noisy (carts going up and down the aisle, people chatting, the toilet flushing, etc.).  Our baby earmuffs helped our daughter sleep through all of that.

Once your little one is a bit older, they may prefer toddler headphones to listen to their favourite music or show.  These ones are great for little ears, and have a volume control feature to protect their delicate ears.

 

We used these ones:

3. A Small Diaper Caddy or Tote

You won’t want to be walking up and down the aisle with a huge bag, or even loose diapers and other necessities when going to change your baby.

What I found helpful was to pack everything I needed for a diaper change (a few diapers, wipes, diaper ointment, disposable diaper change pad, disposable diaper bags, a change of clothes, and anything else you need) in a small makeup bag.

Having everything in one place made it easy for me to grab it while holding the baby when heading to the bathroom for a diaper change.

Airline bathrooms have diaper change stations just above the toilet. The space is still cramped, but having my little tote with everything I needed together made the changing process really easy.

We used one similar to this:

 

4. Disposable Diaper Changing Pads

As I mentioned in #3, I brought along disposable diaper changing pads, stashed in my diaper caddy. I didn’t want to bring my regular changing pad on the plane because it was kind of bulky.

Even though I didn’t want to travel with my usual diaper changing pad, I still wanted something to lay down on the airplane change table.  These disposable diaper changing pads are great because they didn’t take up much space in the carry-on, and you can just throw them out after using. We brought along 3 for the plane ride.

We use these ones:

TIP #2: I recommend bringing along 1 diaper per hour of your flight, plus some for the airport before take off and after landing. There is a big chance you won’t use all of these, but babies have a way of surprising you when you least expect it. They also can use more diapers when they experience change or are in a different environment, so you want to be prepared!  You definitely don’t want to be up in the air, with no more diapers, when your baby has an unexpected blowout.

 

5. Nursing Cover

We actually didn’t use our nursing cover for breastfeeding during our first trip, we used it for it’s other purpose, covering our car seat while in the airport.

This was for several reasons: to help the baby sleep, the reduce all the stimulation when she was winding down, and to help minimize some of the exposure to other travelers in the busy airport.

We use this one:

 

6. Toys

You will want to keep your baby distracted, especially during a long plane trip. We brought along 3 toys: one soft, one for teething and one new.

The logic here is that the soft toy was great for cuddling as she was getting tired and winding down for naps. The teething toy was perfect because she is teething right now and is constantly looking for things to put in her mouth.  Finally, the new toy was something novel that caught her attention and kept it for much longer than the other toys.

When choosing toys for the plane, select items that will stimulate your baby without creating a great deal of distraction for other plane riders.  Think of items that will appeal to their age and developmental range, and will keep them entertained for a while.  For some ideas, check out my post on 0-6 month play or 6-12 month play!

Babies have a way of getting bored very quickly, so anything that you can do to keep their attention for a bit longer is a bonus!

Choose toys that you can stand to lose if they get misplaced or lost; don’t opt for your little one’s favourite toy, as this create a crisis situation if it goes missing before your vacation even starts.

We brought along:

TIP #3: Bring out one toy at a time to help prolong the playtime excitement!

8. Wipes (of all kinds)

Along with baby wipes for diaper changes, you’re going to want to carry wipes to help disinfect the plane surfaces (think tray table, seats, arms, etc).

Your baby will touch (and possibly try to put their mouth on) just about every surface around you, so you will want to ensure these surfaces are clean.

We also brought along toy and pacifier wipes, which were great for cleaning bottles, pacifiers and toys that fell on the floor or got dirty. Even if you think that won’t happen, trust me, it will! Many times LOL.

We used:

 

9. Change of Clothes for You and Baby

I mentioned in #3 that you should have a change of clothes for baby in your diaper caddy. I would recommend that you have a second change of clothes (ideally something easy to put on and take off like a sleeper) in your carry-on.

Blowouts, spills and accidents happen, and you won’t want to be stuck thousands of miles in the air without anything clean and dry to put on your baby, especially if it is a longer plane ride.

It is a great idea to bring a change of clothes, or at least an extra shirt for you. If your baby has an accident, you don’t want to have to go the rest of the plane ride with baby poop or spit up all over you.

10. Baby Food (Breastmilk, Formula, Food, Water, Snacks, breast pump, etc).

Bring everything that you need to feed your baby! You are permitted to bring any food related liquids for baby in your carry-on.

Sometimes, they will test it at security, other times, they just ask you to let them know that you have it so they are aware when they are screening your luggage.

Airlines permit that you can carry a reasonable quantity, so bring whatever you need to keep your baby fed and happy. Don’t forget that you need enough to last through security checks, customs, immigration and travel to your destination as well!

Your breastmilk can be packed in a cooler bag, with ice packs. If the milk is frozen they typically don’t test it. My milk stayed cold for over 11 hours in my cooler bag! I was pretty impressed.

If you pump, it is also a good idea to carry-on your pump. Firstly, you don’t want it getting lost if your checked luggage doesn’t make it to your destination right away and secondly, if you are able, you can pump on the plane!

We used:

TIP #4: Even if you plan to nurse your baby, it is a good idea to bring some milk just in case.

During the flight, we had a lot of turbulence and had to hold baby in a certain position (not nursing friendly).
So, I was very happy I had a bottle of milk with me to be able to give her, until I was able to change positions.

For more on pumping, check out this post!

 

11. Medicine

You don’t want to be in the air when you realize your baby has a toothache, fever or some other illness.  Bring along any medications your baby regularly takes, plus Tylenol and allergy medication if you will be feeding baby food on the plane.

It is better to have them with you just in case, than to be unprepared. If your baby is congested before the plane ride, you may want to bring along some saline rinse and something to help clear their nose to avoid stuffiness and ear pain.

12. A Baby Carrier

Whether you are bringing along your stroller and car seat or not (gate checked or checked with luggage), it is still a good idea to bring along a baby carrier.

On our way back home we used the carriers to carry her around until we boarded the flight.  It was also really helpful during boarding as well, to keep my hands free to hold my carry-on, passport and boarding passes.

On our return trip we gate checked, but still used the carrier for the boarding process and when we were exiting the plane and had to wait a bit of time to claim our stroller and car seat.

We Used this one for Mom:

And this one for Dad:

If you’re a Nursing Mama…

 

13. Nursing Bra

In that tight space, you will want to make nursing as easy as possible, so a nursing bra was a must for me!

I like these ones:

 

14. Button Down or Nursing Friendly Top

Just like #11, you are going to want to make nursing as easy as possible in the airport and on the plane. I found wearing a button down top the best for easy access. Choose one that works best for you.

15. Snacks for Mom

If you’re breastfeeding, you know that hunger strikes anytime and often.

I brought along some snacks to avoid paying high prices for airplane snacks. It ensured that I had healthy options that I liked to keep me nourished during the trip.

I purchased some water to carry-on with me so that I didn’t have to wait for the flight attendants to come around with the drink cart.

Final Thoughts on Packing your Carry-on When Flying with a Baby

That sums up my list of essentials items you should pack in your carry-on when flying with a baby. We packed a few other items as well, but these items by far stood out as the most important.

I felt so well prepared for any situation that came up.  During both plane rides we actually had some of the other passengers come up to us to tell us what a great job we did and how well behaved our daughter was.  She was awesome, but I think that our packing essentials helped to keep her happy and occupied, resulting in a great first plane trip.

Flying with a baby can seem overwhelming but as I always say, the more prepared you are, the better things are likely to go. I hope this post has helped you on your journey to pack and prepare for your baby’s plane trip.

I Would Love to Hear from You!

Where did you and your little one take off to? I would love to hear tips and ideas from other mamas as to what they found helpful to bring along during their plane trip.

Have questions for me? Feel free to leave them in the comments or contact me!

 

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