How to travel lighter with your baby in tow -- fly baby fly

You do not need to bring it all with you!

Flying with babies is a whole new adventure. After a recent trip to Chicago (when we did not travel light), I discovered that there are many ways to avoid carrying 17 bags, a stroller, a suitcase full of diapers, a carseat and a sleeping place for the baby. Here’s how:

1. Call before you go. If you’re visiting friends or family, can they borrow a bouncy seat and a pack n play for a few days? Does the hotel already provide portacribs? Whitney and I bring our own sheets so it will smell like home and that’s a lot easier to pack.
2. Send stuff ahead. In the US, Jet Set Babies and Babies Travel Lite both send ahead kits of diapering and feeding supply “bundles.” You can do it yourself on Drugstore.com.
3. Shop when you get there. Do yourself a favor and carry on one diaper per hour of the flight and toss a few more in your luggage. Then plan to buy ‘em when you get there. On this same trip to Chicago, we only packed about 10 of Holden’s #2 Huggies and the drugstore we went to carried only #1 or #3 (of every single brand!) but we managed.
4. Rent some baby gear. After you’ve exhausted the free options, Babies Travel Lite lists many baby equipment renters across the country so you can have a high chair and a bag of toys ready when you get there. If you are traveling without your partner, you might want to consider doing this, as carrying all that crap AND a baby who needs to get changed or fed as soon as you get off the plane is pretty overwhelming.

Now, going to visit grandma doesn’t have to be like camping unless you want it to be…

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