Clothes aside...what am I packing for the kids?

Since becoming parents in 2022, we've traveled a lot with our son - mostly domestically and one international trip to Canada. This will be our first major international trip (overnight flight, significant time zone changes) but I'm going to pack a lot of the same items we've used on past trips that have made our lives easier.

Car Seats / Stroller Situation

• Doona for the 6 month old; this doubles as a stroller and car seat

• WAYB Pico+ Carrying Case for the 3.5 year old - cannot say enough good things about this car seat. Make sure you get the backpack carrying case. This thing is light as a feather - 8lbs!!

• Baby Jogger lightweight stroller - needs to be compact enough to fit in a European rental car, but comfortable enough to recline fully for naps on the go (Doona not great for 6 month old naps on the go). I honestly struggled with this a lot - almost bought the Zoe Double Stroller, but realized it likely wouldn't fit in our rental car in France with 3 checked bags!

  • If the toddler gets tired, we will buy an umbrella stroller while there

  • Rain Cover for stroller...y'all, I'm preparing for the worst

  • Stroller Caddy to carry all my drinks and things

Travel Must-Haves

• Toddler headphones

• Toddler Tablet - come at me, it's fine. He only uses it when we travel. Also I originally bought him a Kindle but that thing was so hard to figure out I don't recommend that to anyone! Just bite the bullet and get an iPad mini.

• Travel Monitor - doesn't require wifi, has never glitched on us one time. Cheap & effective.

• Portable Sound Machine

• Travel Bottle Washing Kit - this is so convenient when staying in hotels! Bottles need special cleaning brushes and this kit doubles as a drying rack. I also like to bring travel size bottle soap.

• Toddler blanket - for the plane, can double as a stroller blanket for baby. Guys, this is the best blanket ever - so soft, cooling feel, I get it embroidered for all my friends having babies!

• Structured Carrier - for naps on the go and can use it when the toddler wants the stroller. Recently I've come to love this structured carrier! Any baby younger than 6 months though I recommend the Solly Wrap

• Detergent Strips - bringing a handful of these since I'm certain there will be at least one blowout en route. Our VRBOs all have washers, but no dryers!

• Stain Remover (travel size) - again, preparing for the blowouts

Diaper Bag Must-Haves - Plane and/or Out and About:

• Water warmer - warms water to mix formula more easily. I like this one because you can use it while it's charging/plugged in. Note - you must get the adapter if you use Dr. Brown's bottles!

• Formula dispensers - makes it easy to pour while traveling

• Toy tethers - let's just try to keep these teething toys off the ground

• Water resistant wet bags - again, blowouts

• Alcohol wipes - I wipe down everything, the last thing I need on vacation is sick kids!!

• Pacifier Wipes - baby doesn't use a pacifier but she does like to throw her teethers on the ground constantly. Always nice to have these handy when sinks aren't convenient.

• Spray diaper cream - this is a game changer for travel

• Busy Baby Mat - great for restaurants and laying out finger food for baby! We used this mat at restaurants until our toddler outgrew high chairs. There are many different tethers you can use for bottles, water cups, utensils, and more.

• Disposable changing pads - you just never know where you'll have to change your baby

• I think it goes without saying you need diapers, wipes, burp clothes, plus at least one extra change of clothes in your diaper bag, but I'll mention it anyway!

I have a weird thing about kids and people in general being in pajamas on flights...call me old fashioned. My kids will NOT be boarding our 4pm overnight flight in pajamas; however, I will change both of them before they fall asleep. We have a 4 hour layover in Barcelona the next morning where we will all plan to freshen up and put on "day clothes" for our arrival in Florence.

I was relieved to learn most VRBOs/Air BnBs offer portable cribs, some even offer high chairs for a small fee! So we won't need to pack any of that.

Now where will I pack all the clothes...that's a problem for another day!