Our goal has always been to bypass Baggage Reclaim. We do not to check bags but instead to take only carry-on luggage. This saves an hour or hours at the far end. We want to be able to breeze through without waiting 60+ minutes to see if our bag came through.
Any baggage that is checked has the chance of getting lost. 7.3 bags per 1000 passengers is mishandles or lost, according to the Telegraph. That's over 24 million bags in 2014 alone going missing. Most 'lost baggage' is returned within 36 hours but it can be a stressful experience.
Checking baggage can also be expensive now that airlines are charging for extra bags. In fact some airlines charge for any checked bags now.
We have perfected the art of pairing down to almost nothing. Generally if you have your passports and your sanity, you'll be fine.
Check out my article on what not to pack. Also see the Super Dad Pack. For special items to take at various ages see here.
This article labors under the idea that all trips are back to a home where family members are happy to keep a permanent box of clothing and other essentials year round, or you have an identical twin that loans you clothes on the other end, and when you pack you are only packing for The Journey.
You are going to read travel websites which tell you to pack sun shades, travel systems, playpens and portable highchairs for baby.
I am going to tell you: your baby only needs you. You can shade baby's face in the car, you can carry baby in your arms, you can feed baby on your lap, you can snuggle baby in bed. You do not need endless stuff.
You need to be free!
- a big t-shirt to wear as pajamas
- a spare set of socks
- a folding hairbrush
- tiny shampoos
- small conditioners
- thimble-sized containers of hand cream
- eye masks
- ear plugs
What they didn't give us was extra nappies so we were glad we had brought twice as many as we needed - on the advice of some friends.
One thing I wished I had brought was adequate layers for the boys. My younger child threw up all over his two outer layers on the car trip to the airport so I asked my wonderful mother in law, who was driving us, to take the soiled clothes away. I assumed we wouldn't need the sweater and coat because we would only be in warm airport lounges and maybe sprinting between buildings briefly. As it turned out we waited shivering for hotel buses for half an hour or 45 minutes in December gales two days in a row.
There have been a few trips where we were caught out without something - for example the time I forgot to bring diaper wipes. Certain essentials should never be forgotten!
Here is a list of essentials for the trip:
- Wipes - even if the child is toilet trained, they are good for wiping hands, mouths and untidy surfaces (so don't forget to bring antibacterial wipes as well!)
- Diapers - at least twice as many as you think you need and of the highest quality. Now is not the time to skimp on generic brands without elasticated edges - now is the time to spend three months before the trip searching for deals on Huggies, Pampers or better generic brands than usual! You need maximum protection. We once flew on a transatlantic flight which was supposed to be 9 hours but turned into 11 and a half hours on the plane, most of which was turbulent and so the seatbelt sign was on for 6 and a half straight hours - basically from dinner until we started the descent to land. I was seated next to a portly middle aged man who was clearly single and had never had kids and I didn't feel comfortable changing the baby in the row next to him. Our connecting flight was tight and we didn't have boarding passes so we had to sprint through the airport carrying a soaking baby. So yes you never know so go for '12 hour dry' promises.
- Lots of disposable plastic bags or nappy sacks
- Tissue - everyone seems to get colds while traveling
- Backup clothes for the kids - for small babies, each outfit in a big zip lock bag so you don't have to root around for tiny socks, etc. And remember - layers!
- Backup socks and underwear for kids - I was the kid who was so travel sick on a flight to New Mexico that I threw up on my socks and had to wear them for the rest of the day because I hadn't packed any outside of checked baggage.
Enough socks and undies for two kids - Nappy ointment
- Baby Paracetamol and any other travel medicine
I spend my life searching for small containers for flight essentials - Phone - you may need it if you get delayed
- Phone chargers - both the wall kind and also the usb ended cord to use on computers on other end (some hotels and airport lounges have charging points)
- A pen - essential for immigration documents on the airplane - and a backup pen!
- Water bottle / kid cup - can help with kids' ears popping and hydration. We tried collapsible water bottles one year but they leaked so we have gone back to the normal kind.
- Visa documents and Passports for you and baby - it is illegal for an American citizen to travel in or out without an American passport - see my post on getting your baby an American passport here
- Documentation for everything
- frequent flyer numbers
- ticket numbers
- all paperwork and boarding passes from the outward flight
- On both ends of one of our trips, they lost one of our lap babies' boarding passes in the system. If we had had the boarding pass from our outward trip on the return trip, we could have saved ourselves buying the baby a new ticket. Mom found the boarding pass in the trash can and emailed it to us so we eventually got a refund but it was a stressful experience.
- Children's immunizations and other medical documentation
Extras to pack which we have found helpful but are not essential:
- Ziplock bags - for when they offer food and you/the kids don't want it now but will need it later
- Chapstick
- Hand cream - airport soap really chaps your hands!
find 100ml or less - this one wouldn't make it through security! - Folding bag
- Hand sanitizer - the soap sometimes runs out in the bathrooms on airplanes. You can sometimes find a hand cream and hand sanitizer combo which saves on space.
make sure it has enough in it for your trip! - Earbuds/earphones - often your own are better quality than the ones they give out on airplanes, and sometimes they even charge for their substandard ones! The poor quality ones might also damage your children's ears so we always either pack our own or don't let our kids watch movies with sound.
- Travel sickness bracelets - we have found these really helpful, if for playing with regardless of whether they help with motion sickness. It is now part of our Plane Ritual.
- Comb
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Face towel
- Brush
- Soap. My mom takes a tiny scrap of soap in a zip lock or a bit of cling film, as do we on transatlantic flights, but for longer trips around Europe we do soap in a case like this:
- Mints - helps upset tummies, ears popping if they're the chewy kind, and passing the time
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