10 Super-Useful Things that make Traveling-with-Baby Easier

Travelling with newborns or really small children can be quite challenging; especially when you are a first-time parent. But then, sometimes you just have to travel and sometimes you just want to travel. Having been there twice and having done quite a bit of traveling during the rear-facing-seat days, let me share with you 10 super-useful things that make traveling with a baby easier.

1. Car Seat Mirror 

When you’re on the road with a baby in a rear-facing seat, it’s almost impossible to keep an eye on the little one. And when you’re at the wheel it can be stressful trying to focus on the road, all the while wondering if all is ok with the baby back there. A car mirror is the answer, my friend!

We used to have a cute baby mirror strapped onto the headrest of the seat onto which the baby seat was kept, and with the rearview mirror adjusted, we could keep an eye on the baby from the front seats. The mirror was a convex one with a frame that was covered in fabric and with a stuffed elephant calf on it for added cuteness!. It also gave the baby some colors to look at.

2. Car Toy/ Stroller Toy

Toys you can fasten onto the rear-facing car seat is another thing that babies can be entertained by. Just make sure they are soft or have smooth edges. It could be something like a baby mobile or something that older babies can fidget with. You’ll find lots of small soft toys that come with velcro straps, and when you transfer the baby to a stroller, you can move the toy too.

A tip for the toy: Pick up 2-3 toys for the car seat/ stroller. That way you can rotate them and the little one won’t be bored of ‘the only toy in the car.’

3. Soothing Music

Babies generally like car rides. They seem to be soothed by the droning sounds from the car/of the road, often showing you what it means to ‘sleep like a baby.’ 😁But there can be some cranky days.

Carrying music-that-soothes comes in handy when the baby gets restless during a drive. For this, you might want to find out what kinds of music your baby takes to before you begin your long drives or road trips.

We used to carry what we called ‘sleep music.’ Our older one liked to fall asleep listening to Kenny G’s Forever in Love and our little one took to Brahms lullaby. These were the sleep tunes we played at home during nap time and they helped the kids wind down for some shut eye. We made sure to have the number in the car too, and when the baby became restless, it helped calm him/her.

4. Silicone Bibs

A regular cloth bib should work for a drooling baby, protecting his or her clothes from getting drenched with spit. However, if your baby is prone to throwing up during drives, silicone bibs are very useful, especially when you’re on the highway and you cannot keep stopping to clean up.

These bibs that are made to catch food-spills can actually hold the barf until you’re able to stop the car and take care of it.

Tip: Put a sheet of thick paper towel (the thicker picker-upper types 🙂 ) and it’ll prevent things from flowing out of the bib too. Cool idea, no? 😉 (We used this in the toddler stage too when our older one developed motion sickness. If motion sickness is something you have to deal with, you might also want to read this – Acupressure wristbands for motion sickness.)

5. Travel Changing Pad (with pockets)

This is another baby product I highly recommend. These are changing pads that come with pockets on the side, making sure you do not forget your baby essentials when you’re out running errands, or on a road trip.

This comes with a mat you can open out on a car seat or a changing table, and then fold away. Make sure your changing pad comes with at least two pockets so you can carry everything you need for a diaper change or two. And when you’re done, you can bundle it all up and velcro it shut, and carry it like you would, a small bag. It is a blessing for those in-flight trips to the toilet, too.

I wish I’d discovered this when I had baby number one. I’m not even sure it was in the market then. I found this when I was baby-shopping for baby number two, and in it, I was able to carry in it 3-4 diapers, a pack of baby wipes, a tube of diaper rash cream and an extra onesie, too. Another great part of it was a little space for a roll of small trash bags. Thanks to this feature, I didn’t have to worry about remembering to carry small bags for diaper disposal.

6. Aquaphor

This is another of those products I swear by. I always carried a tube of diaper rash cream but I did not like using it unless I had to. I know people who’ve used it to prevent diaper rash. However, my diaper rash prevention product became Aquaphor. I find it to be a fairly simple ointment that is fragrance-free and devoid of a whole lot of chemicals that you generally find on skin products.

(After we had one bad case of diaper rash that turned into an infection (during a trip), I made it a must-use for every trip we went on, or if we were to be out all day. I preferred using this because it acts as a skin protectant. Now if you do not have this before your next trip, you can go for something you are sure to have at home — your Vaseline petroleum jelly. Also a heavy oil with more of that jelly in it, it will prevent wetness from getting to your baby’s skin.

These products are also reliable skin protectants to use when the baby has loose stool. For your travel needs, you can go for a tube that fits into your changing-pad pockets.

7. Stroller Bag

A stroller needs no mention. We all know how useful a gear it is to wheel the baby around, allow the baby to sit comfortably or sleep well when we’re out sightseeing or spending an afternoon at the mall. But did you know that there are bags for strollers, and these can be really useful for your flights?

If you worry about how your strollers are put away and how dirty it gets when they are returned, this is what you need to protect them. This lightweight bag can be folded and stowed away in a diaper bag and you can pull it out at boarding when you need to put the strollers away, at the gate.

Let alone the umbrella stroller, your regular stroller with cup-holder, storage basket and all, fits in it.

8. Baby Carrier

Also among the things that make traveling with a baby easier, are baby carriers. For those trips where you cannot carry a stroller, or for stopovers during an International trip, baby carriers can be very helpful. You can wear your baby (the cherub will also be happy) and you can take care of your luggage too.

You could use these for hikes, and when you have to go where strollers are not allowed. (Instance: We took turns carrying the baby up to and around the Space Needle Observation Deck. Strollers are not allowed on the elevators, there.)

9. Nursing Covers

Now you don’t need these if you’re on a road trip in your own vehicle or you’re travelling with just family. This is more useful when you’re on some mode of public transport or flights.

I mostly managed with stoles and dupattas but when we had to go on an international flight that was to last over 22 hours in total, I went for one of these as the strap helps keep the cover in place as opposed to the stoles and scarves.

Tip: You might want to get the baby used to it before the flight. Mine was not used to being curtained so we had a few practice sessions because I did not want her to throw a fit on the flight. Having gotten used to the cover, using it on the flight meant ‘absolutely no complaints.’ :D.

10. Pacifiers and Pacifier Wipes

Now if you’re a new parent, you may or may not know this —
It is advised that you nurse your baby during take-off and landing because having their jaws at work during that time prevents ear pain caused by the change in air pressure. If you’re not nursing, giving a bottle or a pacifier should help.

If your baby likes, or doesn’t mind a pacifier, you might want to look for a pacifier clip for your travels. This way when the pacifier drops out of that little mouth, it doesn’t have to fall and get dirty thanks to these clips that can go onto the stroller, car seat or the baby’s clothes. (Check out the Winnie-the-Pooh pacifier clip in the pic. above, if you’re still wondering what I’m talking about. 🙂)

If you have an anti-pacifier baby here’s a BIG TIP 😉

Once, we had an unpleasant experience when the carrier we were travelling with, refused to let me nurse. And I had delayed a feeding by a little bit so as take care of those little ears during the change in air pressure. And when we weren’t allowed that, baby got hungry and upset. She spat out her pacifier; she preferred her thumb to a pacifier but was in a bad mood to even think of using her thumb! I was dreading the stares that would come the-bawling-baby-&-her-mommy’s-way when a bulb went off in my head!

Now, remember — I wasn’t allowed to nurse her. She wouldn’t take a pacifier. And she couldn’t get herself to lead her thumb to her mouth! Just in the nick of time, my mind raced to my mental notes for baby care and I remembered I could use my pinky. But then I was on a plane and my hands had touched the armrests and whatnot! I reached into our diaper bag, fished out some pacifier wipes, cleaned my little finger and let it pacifier her. Voila! We had a calm baby who could wait till the seat belt signs went off.

Now you know where to return to for this ‘list of things that make traveling with baby easier.’ I’m sure it’ll make your travels a whole lot less challenging. And if you have other products and tips that will be useful for trips with babies, do share them in the comments. 🙂
Happy Tripping!

Related posts:
10 Road(trip) rules for the Pregnant
Motion Sickness: Acupressure Wristbands to the Rescue!

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