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We have our first flight with Ava TOMORROW as we head off to London and the Cotswolds for a friend’s wedding. I have honestly been SO nervous to get on a flight with Ava, hence why it’s her first one at 17 months, but I realize I can only control so much.

When looking for packing lists for traveling with a toddler, the lists I found online were SO extensive. Some people pack TONS of items that I just did not find necessary. Now, we are traveling to a location with easy access to stores, so that does change my list a little, but I do recommend doing your research ahead of time to see how easy it is to purchase diapers and snacks once in your location. This might change your packing list a little.

Once we are back in the States I will update the list and mark what items we did not use and make note of any items that I wish we had brought.

What our baby wore

• Comfy romper – I love these ones from Old Navy
• Pair of sneakers
• Pair of socks
• Cloth bib for teething drool – we would not have brought this if she was not teething, but the teething drool is REAL

Diaper bag

We tried to pack a lot in our diaper bag because we will be traveling from 9am until 8am the next morning, so we need basically an entire day’s worth of items for our baby. This includes all of her sleep items because the flight from New York to London is overnight.

Please note that we will have our things in a rollaway carry on suitcase, so we can easily grab her snacks and a change of clothes as needed!

• Sleep sack – this is optional because not all babies may be using a sleep sack at night
• Pair of pjs
• Blanket – this is optional because not all babies may be sleeping with a blanket, but our girl does
• Stuffed animal – this is optional because not all babies have a stuffy they sleep with or must have
• Pacis – we brought two because Ava has a tendency to drop these and lose them quickly
• Bag of wipes – we use Costco brand
• Diapers – Ava goes through about 6-7 diapers a day, but we brought 10 to have a few extra in case of a blow out situation, we use Costco brand
• Wipeable bib for eating – we debated bringing this but it hardly takes up space and will save us from dirty clothes
• Snack container – a staple for our diaper bag regardless of travel
• Bottle of Motrin – of course our little girl is pushing through her canine teeth during this trip so we brought Motrin, but we otherwise would not have
• Bottle of Earthly teeth tamer – of course our little girl was pushing through her canine teeth during this trip so we brought her teeth tamer, but we otherwise would not have
• Plastic garbage bag – for any sort of clean up or potential blow out clothing
• Portable sound machine – we had this from earlier road trips and it works like a charm, just make sure it’s fully charged beforehand
• Aquaphor – this is what we use for our diaper cream
• Sunscreen stick – this lives in her diaper bag already
• Nail clippers – this lives in her diaper bag already
• Hair ties
• Sippy Cup
• Snack Cup

Suitcase

• Rain jacket – it was rainy in London and the Cotswolds during our trip so we brought along her rain jacket
• Rain boots – with all of the walking in the Cotswolds we were glad she had rain boots
• Cardigan – I’m all about easy layers when traveling 
• Romper – she will wear this on the flight home
• Dresses – white one, purple twirl dress, pink twirl dress, magnolia patterned dress
• Pants – black pair
• Shirts – sweater, short sleeve shirt
• Socks – two pairs 
• Slumber pod – we borrowed one from our friends but if we had not been able to borrow one we would not have brought one
• Additional bag of wipes – we use Costco brand and brought just one more bag of wipes in addition to the one in the diaper bag
• Pair of pjs
• Hair comb
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste
• Neosporin – she has an open cut on her ear that we need to keep from getting infected
• Band aids – for the inevitable scraped knee running through the Cotswolds

Other items

• Travel stroller – here are some more options BabyJogger, Uppa Baby Minu

• Diapers – we did NOT bring bags of diapers and instead will purchase them upon arrival in London

• Car seat – we did NOT bring our car seat and instead rented one through our car rental, it was super easy to set up

• Pack n play – we did NOT bring one and instead had the hotels we were staying at provide one which they did no problem

• Book – Ava LOVES reading books at night and it is a part of our nighttime routine, but we saved room to buy her a fun London children’s book instead because who doesn’t love a little souvenir?

What to research before your trip

If I gathered one thing from reading all of these online blogs about traveling with a little one it is to research and prepare ahead of time. Here are some things I recommend looking up before you leave.

• Does your hotel/place of stay provide a crib/pack n play? This dictated our bookings.

• Can you rent a car seat? We opted to do so through our car rental company, but you can also do so through BabyQuip. Some people do not like doing this because they prefer their own car seats, but we have had SO many friends just rent one and none of them have complained.

• Where is the closest market? Can you buy diapers, wipes, snacks, medicine there?

• Where is the nearest hospital? Hopefully you will not need it, but it’s always just helpful to know.

• Will I have access to a washer & dryer? This can save you a ton of space on packing clothing. We purposely booked a cottage instead of hotel to have laundry access as well as kitchen access.