Everything I Pack + Tips for Flying with a Baby or Toddler

We travel quite a bit, both for work and for fun family trips, and over the years I feel like we’ve really gotten our system down (just in time to add one a newborn to the mix, haha). This is actually the first year where traveling with our girls has started to feel… dare I say… easy!!! They’re now ages five and three, and have truly become little flying pros!

I remember how overwhelming it felt the first few times we flew with just Kennedy as a baby, and then again navigating the toddler stage with a new baby. It’s such a learning curve. If you’re in the middle of it, I promise it gets easier! After many flights, lots of trial and error, and figuring out what actually works, I wanted to put together an updated guide with all of our best tips for flying with a baby, toddler, and young kids.

Below are the things that have truly made a difference for us over the years – from the baby stage all the way through the toddler and little kid phase. These are the products we’ve used that are actually worth bringing and what makes travel days go more smoothly for us!

Traveling with a baby can bring it’s challenges, but I feel like the calmer I was, the calmer my girls were, too. I found that as long as I had snacks and some toys, we could make it during the flights without major meltdowns! One big tip I received was to introduce new toys on the flight. If your child has already seen the toy and played with it before, they are less likely to want to interact with it on the flight! Before we would travel, I would grab some new toys and keep them hidden in my bag until the flight. I revealed half of the toys on the way there, but made sure to keep some hidden for our return flights, as well!

A diaper bag is (obviously) a must! You want a bag that is easy to carry through the airport, which is why I really like using a backpack. I also put a felt divider in my bag to make it more organized – otherwise, I can never find anything when I want to! Of course, I kept the diaper bag stocked with diapers, wipes, and a portable changing pad.

two // snacks

When my kids were babies, snacks were basically an activity on the plane! These reusable bags are a great way to travel with your baby’s snacks. They weigh less and take up less space than Tupperware, and you can re-use them throughout the trip. I didn’t want to rely on processed food for my kids the entire travel day, so I filled these reusable bags with some cut-up snacks like tomato and cucumber. We are also obsessed with this snack cup in our household and used it for our favorite puffs on every trip! It’s the perfect size for babies to reach their hand in and grab a puff, but the unique design prevents snacks from falling out. You can even turn it upside down, and nothing falls out! We liked using this on the plane because I didn’t have to worry about dropping puffs everywhere on the plane floor.

This sippy cup was one of Kennedy’s favorite cups! It comes with two different spout options, but Kennedy preferred the straw so that’s the one that we typically used. It’s completely leak-proof, which makes it great for travel, and although the outside is plastic, the inside (where the liquid touches) is all either glass or silicone, making it a great non-toxic option. We brought the empty cup with us through security, and then I would purchase a water bottle and fill the cup.

We use these hand sanitizing wipes on every trip, I always make sure to have a pack in my bag at all times! These are a great, safe option for sanitizing your hands and your child’s hands before meals and snacks. As far as sanitizing wipes go, I think these are a great option, as they’re made without parabens, sulfates, phthalates, synthetic fragrances or dyes, and they kill 99.9% of common bacteria.

five // activities

Having LOTS of activities on the plane is a non-negotiable!! If you can pack a few never-before-seen activities, this is even better – I promise your baby will be more preoccupied with toys they’re just seeing for the first time on the plane. A few that my girls loved as babies: sticky notes – this might seem odd, but sticky notes are a great item to bring with you on the plane for babies and toddlers. I stuck colorful sticky notes all over the seat back and tray table, as well as the window. My girls enjoyed pulling them off and sticking them back on! My girls also loved this pink calculator – they enjoyed pressing the buttons, especially when they noticed that they showed up on the small LCD display (I think they thought it was a cell phone!). A busy book was my secret weapon that I can’t recommend enough, as it kept my kids entertained for a good thirty minutes on flights. Each page has a new, interactive activity to keep your toddler busy, from using a button and buckle, counting, telling time and lacing. The “pages” are made of a soft, fabric cloth and all of the illustrations and images are super cute. And finally, these silicone cups were always a hit on flights! These flexible silicone suction cups are so versatile – they stack, bend, and add virtually no added weight. Another perk was that my kids enjoyed playing with them in the bathtub during the trips!

The Doona stroller is honestly one of the greatest inventions of all time, in my humble opinion. Haha! This infant car seat has wheels built into its base and can switch from car seat to stroller in an instant. It makes traveling with a baby SO, so much easier. You can use it all throughout the airport as a stroller, then simply check it at your gate. Once you get to your destination, you can switch it to a car seat without even having to take your baby out of it. We always rent a car when we travel, and it’s so nice not having to rent an infant car seat, as well! It does come with a base that you can install in your family car, but when you are traveling, you can use it without the base – all you need is a seatbelt to install it. Installing it in a car is honestly so easy, I could do it with my eyes closed. Which is great because you will likely be taking your baby in and out of the car constantly while traveling!

This next section is for those of you who have toddlers or older kids. Like I said, our kids are ages five and three, and I feel like we just hit the easy stage of traveling with kids! We’ve been on a LOT of trips this year (including several overnight flights), and our girls are pros! Here are the things that we always pack when we’re traveling now:

Going through the airport is 10000x easier when the girls can scooter haha. These Disney Princess suitcases are easier to travel with than pushing a stroller and it makes it more fun for them! I also love that we don’t have to gate-check it and we can just put it in the overhead bin. Another good option is this carry-on bag – you do have to push it, but it’s short and wide, so the kids can easily sit on top. The front pocket is also the perfect spot for storing an iPad or tablet.

We do have two Amazon Fire tablets (one for each girl), and we only let the girls use them while traveling. We have found that this is such a good strategy, because when they do get to watch them, they are locked in! You can pre-download shows and movies to the tablet to watch on the plane, and it’s quite affordable and easy to navigate. We pair them with these toddler-size headphones (they’re under $15!) that won’t get too loud.

three // activities

We try not to use screens for the entire flight… so I always pack a few activities in my bag. One of the girls’ favorite activities are these sticker doll dressing books. There are a few different types of doll sticker books on the market, but make sure you get this brand – it’s the best! My girls LOVE dressing up the dolls – it requires some hand-eye coordination so they get to practice their motor skills, and the dolls are always super cute with coordinating outfits. I always pack several in my plane bag and suitcase, because they also make a great activity at dinners while we’re on the trip. Another item we love: these drawing pads. These drawing pads are some of the best money we’ve ever spent! They come in a pack of two for less than $10, and we use these EVERY single time we travel.The girls really like to draw on them, play tic-tac-toe… or they like for me to draw a picture and have them guess what it is! My girls also love these sticker stamper books – especially my youngest, who is three.

four // snacks

Another travel essential for my kids: lots and lots of snacks!! I don’t like relying on plane or airport food, so I always pack a ton of healthy snacks for my kids to enjoy while traveling. This stainless steel snack container is perfect for storing fresh fruit – I always cut up berries right before leaving for the airport so that they’re super fresh during the flight. These silicone bags are great for snacks that don’t need to be refrigerated, some of our favorites are mini Chomp sticks, Larabars, and organic pretzels. I also like to have these on hand during flights as a little treat for the girls – it also helps them if their ears are hurting during takeoff or landing!

Bringing our own water bottles is essential for traveling to keep us all hydrated! These are amazing because they’re COMPLETELY leak-proof, even when they end up upside down in your bag. They’re also super durable, which makes them great for traveling.

If you’re headed on an overnight flight anytime soon, then trust me and go ahead and order this airplane bed. We have used these on several overnight flights (to England and Hawaii), and they allow your child to fully stretch out and get some sleep on the airplane. They’re also lightweight, easy to pack, and I love that no pump was needed – I just blew it up with the built-in valves in a couple of minutes (shown here!).

As for packing all of this, my favorite little carry-on for the kids stuff is this bag. This one is short and wide, perfect for packing kids things and actually great for kids sitting and riding on top of it! The front pocket is the perfect spot for storing an iPad or tablet that is easy to grab on the plane. My favorite suitcase are these!!! We have two colors and they are seriously the best. These suitcases are large and spacious, but the bag itself is super lightweight (which is nice when I’m trying to fit all of my stuff and the girls in one bag haha). I try to organize all of our clothes into packing cubes and these have been my favorite, by far! They’re compression so you can actually zip them smaller once they’re full. This set includes seven packing cubes – four rectangular cubes for packing clothes and more, two small cubes for your cosmetics and toiletries, and a bag with a drawstring closure for footwear. For $35, it’s a great deal!

These are the things that have made traveling with our girls so much easier over the years. Let me know if you have any questions!! I’m always happy to share more!