Packing a Diaper Bag for Airplane Travel

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David has been on 7 airplanes already in his short 9 months of life! That’s 4 trips, with 2 plane rides each (with the 8th happening friday), and he’s been pretty happy and easy on every flight thus far.

The older he gets, the more nerve-wracking it gets because he’s in less of the baby-sleep-all-of-the-time mode.

The great thing about traveling with him now, though, is that he eats Puffs and that distracts him for a bit!

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I’ve traveled alone with him 2/4 of the trips, and while it’s much preferred to have an extra set of hands, it’s very manageable to travel with a baby by yourself!

The diaper bag requires more thought than what I pack in my suitcase these days. I always lay everything out that I’m packing in the diaper bag so I can make sure I haven’t forgotten something.

I love my Better Life Bags diaper bag, but I prefer the zip top of the City Caryall when I travel. It’s smaller, so I need to be strategic with what toys I pack, but it does the trick.

I took these photos in a bit of a rush on Sunday morning as I packed his diaper bag, and here is what I made sure to pack! (We had a short, direct flight, so traveling with a layover included would require a bit more I think)

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1. 4-5 diapers, 2. dirty diaper bags (ties off the smell!), 3. disposable changing pads, 4. disposable bibs, 5. Aden and Anais blanket, 6. 2 bibs, 7. tissues, 8. baby cookie, 9. his favorite lion teether, 10. another teether, 11. his favorite toy these days, 12. Tylenol, 13. full pack of wipes 14. Puffs, 15. pacifier hook to attach toys to him, 16. musical/light up toy, 17. my clutch, 18. a white t-shirt in case of a diaper disaster

*the last thing I threw in there is a bottle & powder formula, as well as some food pouches, for him to eat. I like using these travel spoons with the pouches when we are on the go.

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Gravy hates when we leave.

Actually, I think he quite likes it because that means more sleeping without interruptions for him!

The main thing I’ve learned on all my trips is to remain calm and let people help you. Fellow parents, and even grandparents, seem to always be willing to help if you need it. Take advantage! Since becoming a mom, I too have volunteered to help fellow mom’s in need because I realize how kind and helpful it is when I need it too!

I like to change his diaper right before we get on the airplane, and spend plenty of time walking around the airport instead of sitting, since we’ll be sitting for about 2 hours on the plane.

Generally I try to stay in my seat with him and let him play with toys once we are on, but if he get’s fussy all he needs is a simple walk to the back of the plane to bounce for a bit will usually snap him out of it!

I used the in-flight changing table for the first time on this last flight. It’s just a small table that folds down in the bathroom (I fly Southwest Airlines). It’s very small, but it worked just fine.

If you are traveling with a baby, don’t over think it. I used to pack an entirely different outfit in his bag but I found that I never needed it and it was just taking up space. So, now I just throw in the t-shirt and the blanket. In the worst case scenario, if the outfit he was wearing became completely soiled, I could just wrap his legs in the blanket in case he get’s cold in the t-shirt. David isn’t prone to blow-outs (he’s only ever had one) so the likelihood of it happening is slim.

Have any other questions about traveling by plane with a baby? Leave them in the comments below and I’ll try to answer them asap!

You can also read another post I wrote about traveling with an infant by airplane here!