What to Pack When Traveling with Babies for a Month

We went traveling for a month with our two babies.

Expectation: One large backpack and two baby carriers.

Reality: 1 80L backpack, 1 60L backpack, a diaper/food/toys backpack, a camera backpack, two car seats, a double stroller, and two baby carriers.

👍So close.

For Getting Around

Phil & Ted’s Double Stroller

I’m in love with this stroller. Simply amazing! Although I hate bringing strollers on our trips and always prefer to use a carrier, our oldest is in that awkward too-heavy-to-be-carried-but-can’t-quite-walk-for-longer-than-10-minutes-without-whining stage. So this was the perfect solution. They let us gate check it everywhere, and it was a savior for navigating around the airport.

I just want to mention that we went on a total of 11 (yes, ELEVEN) flights during our one month in Chile, and this stroller survived. We still use it daily at home.

Cosco Serena Next Convertible Car Seat

One word: lightweight. The Cosco Serena weighs only 7.65lbs! We already had two heavy-duty convertible car seats, but after some rave reviews from fellow family travellers, we invested in this one. Compared to the major pain of lugging our other seats, this was a game changer! Our 2.5 year old was able to sleep comfortably on the plane and liked it just as much as her usual carseat.

Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat

The only infant carseat we’ve ever had was the Britax, so I had no idea it was possible for infant carseats to NOT weigh 4359283475298457 lbs! Thank you Graco for proving me wrong!

ErgoBaby

ErgoBaby’s slogan should be “Did you know it’s possible to have a sleeping baby AND do wildlife photography at the same time?” – On second thought, maybe not. Either way, highly recommend for your littlest ones!

Fun fact: it can even adjust the camera settings for you and sing lullabies to your baby. Your mileage may vary, however.

Tula Toddler

Our oldest had outgrown the ErgoBaby, and also refused other backpack-style carriers. The Tula Toddler came through though, and we finally managed to have her sit and sleep in it! Maybe we do have a few more months of hiking left in us after all! 🙂

Must Haves

PackIt Freezable Lunch Bag

I originally bought this for my first trip without Baby, since I had to bring frozen breastmilk back. This was highly recommended by several moms in my area, so I decided to give it a shot. This lunch bag has the freezer packs built into the lining, and all you need to do is toss it in the freezer over night. It’ll then be good to go for about 10 hours the next day.

We now use it for day trips for bringing snacks for our toddler (milk, yogurt, cheese, etc) and it’s never been questioned at the airport security.

Potette

Because who doesn’t wish they had a potty wherever they go? What a genius invention. This little portable potty can be used as a seat cover or a standalone potty out in the wild. It was perfect for our just-recently potty-trained toddler, and gifted us some pretty epic side-of-the-road-super-duper-scenic-pee-breaks.

Entertainment

Leap Frog Laptop

We’re trying to hold off on giving our 2 year old any screen time, so this was the compromise. It’s actually pretty great, and she even memorized some of the songs on this.

Stacking Cups

These things have been going strong since our 2.5yo was 9 months. Unbelievably versatile; we use them as a bath toy, stack them up in a tower, or when we’re in dire need of a snack container. They sometimes even pass as a sleep toy…

Stickers

I think we got a solid 8 hours of entertainment out of one sheet of stickers. These things sure do go a long way! They did the job when our oldest was around 1.5. May be hit or miss though- stickers weren’t as huge of a hit on this trip at 2.5.

Luggage

Osprey Farpoint 80L Backpack

This bag fit all of our clothes and winter jackets. We always prefer backpacks to rolling suitcases since that leaves your hands free. We looked at a ton of reviews for Osprey backpacks and this one seemed to be the best fit for us. You really can’t go wrong with Osprey though, so I’m sure any of them will do!

Lowepro Camera Backpack

Read more about our camera gear here.