Pack for Baby Without Bringing the Nursery (newborn to pre-crawlers)

Getting ready to pack baby up for his or her first plane ride? We live in California and when my son was born, we knew that we would have to jump on some planes and visit both sets of grandparents who lived out on the East Coast. They were excited and all ready to roll out the red carpet and show off their new grandson to all their friends. I was not so excited and dreaded the thought of having to haul all this new baby gear across the country with me.

Through lots of trial and error, I was finally able to get my stuff, my hubbie’s stuff and baby’s gear all into two backpacks and two roller bags for a trip to the in-laws when he was 8 months old. Since then, it’s only been getting easier.

Here are four general tips on how to pack for baby without bringing the entire nursery. To figure out how to pack baby’s first aid kit, the carry-on and suitcase and the big stuff go to the following sections:

• Baby’s First Aid Kit        
  
• Pack for Baby: The CarryOn + Suitcase        
  
• Pack for Baby: The Big Stuff
• Pack for Baby: Checklist

Tip 1: Leave the bulky stuff home. Borrow, rent, or buy it.
If you’re heading to visit family or friends, give them a call and see if they can borrow all the big stuff like cribs and high chairs. Next check and see if they’d be willing to go shopping for baby and pick up diapers, wipes, formula, food and anything else that can save you from having to pack it all in your suitcase.

If you don’t want to trouble your hosts or are headed for a hotel, I would recommend contacting a baby supply and equipment rental company. They can save you the hassle of trucking all that baby stuff around and lighten your load. These companies are great and can drop ship everything to your destination.  Click here for a list of these baby supply and equipment rental companies.

Tip 2: Account for gifts
If you’re headed to a place where baby is going to be blessed with tons of gifts, be sure to leave room for them and pack accordingly. If you know grandma’s big into baby clothes shopping, you can probably leave 1-2 outfits behind and just break out the new wears.

Tip 3: Make a list and stick to it
Make a list and don’t keep adding things to it because there’s more room in the suitcase. Weight restrictions are pretty strict these days, so if you pack your suitcase to the brim, you’ll probably end up paying some hefty fees or have to repack your suitcases on the fly at the check-in counter. The extra space is always great for gifts that you might have to bring home.

Tip 4: Be creative
We’re often worried about bringing all of junior’s toys to keep him occupied. You can leave pretty much all of them behind. Luckily, there are tons of things that you can use on the fly that will fully entertain a baby. Here’s a list of some of our favorite toys on the fly.

Related articles:

• Baby’s First Aid Kit        
  
• Pack for Baby: The CarryOn + Suitcase        
  
• Pack for Baby: The Big Stuff
• Pack for Baby: Checklist
• Baby Travel: Intro to Flying
  

• Toys on the Fly
  
• Best Portable Cribs
• Family Travel Tips for Roaming on a Budget