Traveling with a newborn - the packing

I am a planner. I like to plan, I need to plan, and I'm good at it. So of course I had our packing list for our first family trip with our little one ready two weeks in advance not because I was planning on beginning packing that early but because I needed to for my own sanity.

A few of my friends have asked me what we packed for Brynlee so I figured I'd break it all down.

Our trip began on a Sunday morning with a 10:00am flight and ended on a Wednesday afternoon with us getting to our house around 5:00pm. We knew we'd be outside by the pools 2 full days, in the afternoon of day 1 of travel and in the morning of day 2 of travel. We also knew we'd be in taxis, shuttles, and an airplane.

In the end there were several things in our bags that were not used but my motto when packing was that "I'd rather be safe than sorry." If we weren't going to another country I probably wouldn't have packed so much because we could've found a Walmart or Target if needed, but alas we were going on an international trip and I wanted to cover my bases.


{Side notes:
-To make things easier to understand in my list I put the number of the items we actually used first with the number taken second (i.e., 4/5 - used 4/took 5). I only put one number if we used all of the items in that category that we took with us.
-I linked items listed to (a) previous posts I have written in case you are interested in knowing what brands we chose for our little one or (b) to the manufacturers' site because it is a new item we have purchased since I have blogged about our favorites.
-I went ahead and tried to anticipate a few questions that may be asked regarding several items and answered them below.}

A: Crib sheet (1)

2: Baby blankets (2) - we used these for activity time

3: Aden + Anais swaddles (4/5)

D: Cloth diapers (3) - we used these at night time since Baby sleeps through the night

E: Small wet bag (1)

F: Boppy Travel Pillow

G: Washcloths (3/6)

H: Hooded towels (3)

I: Disposable diapers (25/30)

J: Wipes - a 72 count package and the small diaper bag size
K: Disposable diaper sacks and disposable changing pads
L: Skip Hop diaper bag - washable (excellent!)
M: Burp cloths (9/15)
N: Bibs (6/10) - we love these and these (Carter's)
O: Toiletries - Baby's sunscreen, lotion, shampoo/wash, and Tylenol; diaper cream and a tube of Vaseline
P: Other toiletries - thermometer, baby nail files, nasal aspirator, baby brush
Q: Baby toys (8) - a few rattles, a teether, etc.
R: Tops/bodysuits - gowns (3) for nighttime, long sleeve bodysuits (6), short sleeve bodysuits (3), tops (1/3)
S: Bottoms - skirt (0/1), shorts (1), leggings (2/3), capris (1)
T: Pool accessories - bathing suit (1), hat (1), and a small fan (the fan is excellent for Rangers games)
U: Socks (5) and headbands (5/6)
V: Bjorn carrier
W: Nursing cover (I got mine made from Ruffled Begonia.)
X: Breast pads (10/14 pair) I typically use washable breast pads, but I didn't want to have to deal with that on the trip
Y: Pacifier items - pacifiers (2), pacifier clips (1), and pacifier wipes

Z (not pictured): Car seat and car seat base in a car seat carrier bag

In one suit case I had all of her things and in the other suit case I had all of our clothes including Brynlee's. In all we took the car seat bag that we checked and five other bags that we carried on - a diaper bag, a backpack, the Travel Boppy, and two suit cases.

Q and A's:

Q: How did you maintain the cloth diapers? (D and E)

A: We used the cloth diapers at night only. Typically during the night she only wets her diapers so all they needed was a quick spray down. Since we didn't have our diaper sprayer I filled up a cup with water and poured it down the diaper as I was holding it over the toilet. The first two nights I sat the diapers outside to air out so that I could pack them and the last night I used the small wet bag for storage until we got home.

Q: What is a Boppy Travel Pillow and how does it differ from a regular Boppy? Which one should I register for? (F)

A: Up until the week before we left I had every intention of just holding Brynlee for feeds on the plane and then using a pillow in the villa for all of the other ones. Before we left my mom and I went to Target to grab a few items for the trip and I stumbled across a barcode label that said "Boppy Travel" and got frantic. In my mind it was some sort of carrier cover for the original Boppy which would have been perfect. I eventually found a Boppy Travel Pillow to look at and fell in love. It has a pocket to hold the nursing cover, zips up to the size of a hobo purse, is washable, and counts as a pillow - score!

Q: Why did you take sheets, washcloths and towels? (A, G and H)

A: Brynlee has sensitive skin and we have to cautious when it comes to fabrics and chemicals. We figured that her bed and bath linens from home using our detergent would be best.

Q: Why did you get disposable changing pad covers and disposable diaper sacks? (K)
A: I wanted to cover my bases in case we had to change her diaper somewhere icky on the trip. I am so glad I spent the extra $6.00 total for these two items. We used them both on the planes and watched another dad and mom have to change their child in the airplane bathroom and then ask the stewardess for a trash bag for the soiled clothes - what a pain!

Q: What did you have in the diaper bag for the airport? (L)
A: I packed the diaper bag after I had laid everything out to pack for the trip so that I didn't pack even more items than I already had. I had: 3 disposable changing pad covers, disposable sacks for dirty diapers, wipes, 5 disposable diapers, diaper cream/Vaseline, baby Tylenol and syringe (just in case), thermometer, 4 quiet-ish toys, pacifier and toy wipes, pacifier and clip, a blanket, 2 bibs, 2 burp cloths, 2 pair of breast pads, socks, her hat (on the way there) and a change of clothes (I had 2 outfits on the way back after our blow out incident going to SJD). I also had my small wallet, lip balm, lotion, hand sanitizer, and gum for us.

Tip: We changed Brynlee's diaper in the car when we arrived at the airport in Dallas both coming and going. It worked out perfectly because then we didn't have to change her in the airport, only on the planes post-feeds.

Q: How did you handle the car seat? (Z)

A: When we arrived at the airport in Dallas I changed Brynlee's diaper and Hubs put her car seat in our second base (so our car already had the other base in place when we got back) and sat the whole thing in the car seat travel bag we ordered. We chose the J.L. Childress Ultimate Car Seat Travel Bag based on the reviews on Amazon and it did not disappoint - it was easy to get the car seat and base in and out of and was sturdy, even with all of our dirty clothes in it on the way home. We checked it for free since it was a car seat.

I hope this lengthy list and the Q and A's help! If you have any questions please feel free to ask!