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Writer's pictureMeghan Jenay

I took my newborn to Europe

What you need to know when preparing for baby’s first flight.


Rome, Italy


A little over a month ago my fiancé and I packed our bags to head across the pond for AJ’s first international trip. If you’re anything like me you would rather have more than enough in the most minimalistic way, if that even makes sense. As a new mom, preparing to take my newborn from Los Angeles to Italy felt a little overwhelming. To ease some stress on your end I am sharing my packing list and tips to ensure you have a smooth plane ride. To give you all a little background we were gone for 10 days. You can alter your numbers depending on how long you plan to travel.

 

Diapers- I packed 3 packs of Honest Company diapers totaling to 96. I know that may sound aggressive, 96 diapers for 10 days, but it was the perfect amount! We even had ~15 diapers left over.

Baby Wipes- I recommend packing two packs of wipes. (Learn from my mistake. I only brought one pack of Honest Company Wipes and was forced to buy a different brand overseas leading to the worse diaper rash.)

2 Washable Changing Covers to place on public changing tables.

5 Bibs- My son is currently drooling and spitting up all over the place so bibs are a must-have. I only brought five because they are easy to hand wash and hang up to dry.

10 T-shirt onesies- One onesie per day. I always keep a spare t-shirt onesie in the diaper bag at all times.

4 true “short” one piece outfits- Try to stay away from multiple piece outfits to keep your travel light.

2 onesies with feet- One onesie per flight. (I brought 5 onesies with the built in feet and only ended up using 2 of them since it was summer time in Europe) My son tends to get hot easily so I typically only dress him in a diaper and t-shirt onesie.

1 pair of shorts

1 light jacket

Breastfeeding cover up

2 burp cloths to keep in diaper bag

A pacifier if your baby prefers one. Unfortunately my son is anti paci, pro boob. Food for baby- I am exclusively breastfeeding so feedings were super convenient. I only brought one plastic Nuk bottle and a single breast pump, my Elvie. The Elvie is great because its wireless, small, lightweight and it fits in your bra. The best part, you don’t have to pack your everyday bulky breast pump machine.

A lightweight breathable blanket that can be used for swaddling, a cover, or a last minute surface protecter if you have to suddenly change your baby in an unlikely place.

1 swaddle

1 baby blanket

One handsfree baby carrier

Stroller/Carseat - I brought my Doona stroller and I absolutely love it because it converts from a carseat to a stroller and it’s FAA approved so you can bring it on the aircraft for baby’s seat.

Noise cancelling headsets for baby in the airport and for when baby is sleeping on the plane.

A roll of dog poop bags to place your dirty diapers in when you don’t have a trashcan accessible at the moment.

A travel pack of Clorox wipes to clean surfaces.


 

These items were the bare necessities needed to travel. You know what’s even better? They all fitted in one carry on suitcase along with my clothes. My son was three months at the time of our trip so the plane travel was super convenient. I highly recommend feeding baby before boarding the aircraft and ensuring his/her diaper is clean and dry before getting settled into the seat. Once arriving to our seats I wiped down everything baby can come in contact with. With AJ keeping his hands in his mouth I wanted to ensure everything was wiped clean. During takeoff make sure your baby feeds! Whether it's giving the baby a bottle or breastfeeding, this will help their ears. Our takeoffs and landings were super smooth due to him feeding. Once he dozed off I transferred him into his carseat, placed his noise cancelling earphones on him and then covered him with his blanket to make him feel secure.


Kids under the age of two are able to travel free of charge as a lap child, but I highly recommend purchasing a seat for the little one so you can bring the carseat onboard. I understand in some situations one may not have the finances to purchase an additional seat; in this case I recommend asking the gate agent if the flight is full once arriving to the gate. Many gate agents will gladly seat you all next to an open seat if able. Once AJ was sleep, I let him sleep until he naturally woke up. Every hour when he was awake I made sure I kept an eye on his diaper to ensure it never got full. This kept my little man happy and prevented diaper blowouts on the plane. As discussed earlier, feed the baby on the descent.

I truly hope this post eases some of you mamas who are debating whether or not you should travel with little ones. I highly recommend it before they get to the point where sitting still is another job! As of today my 4 month old has taken 6 flights domestically and internationally and the flights have been wonderful. If you have any specific questions feel free to comment below and I will be happy to assist! Thank you all for reading and safe travels.


With peace and love,

Meghan Jenay

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