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Packing for a trip with your cute little baby is a balancing act. You want to have what you need for a smooth, uneventful journey over the river and through the woods. But you don’t want to have to hitch up a whole team of reindeer just to haul all the luggage and baby equipment, either.
Don’t worry—you got this!
You don’t have to pack for every contingency, but you do have to have the basics covered: The baby will need to eat, sleep, get a diaper change, and be carried and comforted. And Target has travel-friendly products to take care of all of it, and many of them can do double duty.
These are our favorite products to make travel a breeze, so you can hit the road with confidence. Oh, and if you forget anything, there’s probably another Target where you’re going!
Graco® Pack 'n Play Playard Nimble Nook
This playard doesn’t do double duty, more like triple duty—and looks great doing it. It easily converts from a travel bassinet for infants to a travel crib and playard for older babies. The bassinet configuration has a vibration mode to soothe the baby to sleep, too.
Graco designed the Nimble Nook to be light and easy to carry around from room to room—there are even two wheels to help you drag it. But that also means it folds up nice and small, with a handy carrying strap.
Brica Fold n Go™ Travel Bassinet
If you just need a place for the baby to sleep, Brica’s travel bassinet folds up to a light, compact package you can toss over your shoulder. You can set it up on the floor, or even between two adults in a king-size bed—and the lining is waterproof in case of a diaper leak.
The sturdy steel frame keeps its shape, locking securely in the open position, and the mesh sides provide ventilation. The Fold n Go Travel Bassinet is so easy to carry you might find yourself taking it to the park or the beach too!
MyBaby by Homedics SoundSpa On-the-Go Sound Machine
When my son was a baby, he could sleep almost anywhere, but sometimes the rigors of travel would still throw him off. But if we remembered to pack his sound machine, he’d be out like a lightbulb in no time flat.
This SoundSpa is battery-powered and has a clip so it can attach to the crib, bassinet, stroller, playard, wherever. The sounds (heartbeat, lullaby, white noise, or my personal favorite, ocean) are soothing, and the volume is adjustable so you can drown out any background noise.
Fisher-Price Soother Snugapuppy Calming Vibrations
Some babies prefer vibration to sound, or a combination of both. This adorable Snugapuppy can play gentle music and vibrate for 10 minutes at a time, enough to calm a fussy baby when nothing else seems to help. The soft plush puppy is fun to squeeze, with bright red accents to stimulate the senses.
And don’t worry about getting it dirty—you can simply remove the electronics from their hidden pocket temporarily, and throw the puppy in the washing machine. It’s also pretty inexpensive, so you even keep an extra in the car to snuggle on trips around town.
Brica goPad™ Diaper Changer
You could always change the baby on a towel on the bed, right? Sure, except that you don’t always have a towel, or a bed, or a wipe handy, or a bag for the dirty diaper—but don’t panic!
The Brica goPad Diaper Changer has a place to stash clean diapers and wipes, it folds out to provide a comfy changing pad you can use anywhere, and there’s even a little pop-up dispenser for plastic bags. An expandable mesh pocket can hold a fresh onesie, too, and the changing pad and carry-all sections can zip together or apart.
Skip Hop Grab & Go Snug Seal Wipes Case
No matter what diaper bag or changing pad you carry, keeping baby wipes from drying out can be a struggle. Once I found this refillable plastic Snug Seal Wipes Case, I was hooked—and it still comes in handy now that my son is out of diapers.
Hang one from the stroller handle, stash one in the car, and of course keep one in the diaper bag. A container of wipes will last so much longer when you don’t have to discard a dry one from the top every time, too!
Inglesina Fast Table Hook-on High Chair
My sister swore by this with her kids—and it held up well enough to use with both. The clever Fast Table Hook-on High Chair slides onto tables of almost any size, or a counter that hangs over at least a few inches.
The comfy seat cover is removable and washable, and the whole thing folds up into a carrying case that’s sewn into the back pocket. It’s a great high-chair alternative at grandma’s house, or in restaurants that don’t have high chairs that aren’t encrusted in food!
ErgoBaby 360 All Carry Positions Ergonomic Baby Carrier
The first time I flew alone with my son, I left the stroller at home—yes, on purpose! He just loved his ErgoBaby carrier so much, and I found it comfortable enough to wear for hours. It was utterly soothing for both of us, and I could usually get him to take a nap in there too.
The ErgoBaby 360 All Carry Positions Ergonomic Baby Carrier has a wide padded waistband and shoulder straps that are easy to adjust if more than one person is going to wear the baby—and having a snuggly baby snoozing against your chest is so pleasant, all the relatives and friends you’re visiting will want to give it a try. It works in four positions too. Back carry, for example, is great with older babies, all the way up to 33 pounds.
Boon TRIP Travel Drying Rack
Boon thought of everything—the TRIP has two dual-sided brushes perfectly sized to clean bottles, nipples, and breast pump parts, plus a drying rack to air them out, all in one compact package that snaps together and slides into a suitcase or diaper bag. Air can circulate when the box is closed, so the brushes don’t even have to be 100 percent dry when you pack them back up.
Travel-Sized Essentials
Johnson’s Take Along Travel Pack is a great value, offering airplane-friendly sizes of baby lotion, powder, head-to-toe wash, and shampoo by Johnson’s, and a tube of Desitin diaper rash cream, all for $4. While you’re stocking up on travel-size products, consider grabbing a 2-ounce Honest Company Hand Sanitizer Spray in Lavender, which smells much better than typical hand sanitizer.
Comfort Objects
Your baby’s love object is part of the family and absolutely must go everywhere she does. Make it easy on yourself by giving her something easy for her to grab and hold—and small enough to toss into even the fullest diaper bag or purse. (Oh, and maybe keep a second identical one stashed away just in case it gets left on the plane!)
Cloud Island™’s Unicorn Security Blanket is a plush unicorn head with a miniature blanket attached, and it couldn’t be softer or cuter. And WubbaNub®’s Giraffe Pacifier is a soft little friend babies love to hold while sucking on the pacifier end. Not into giraffes? There’s also a moose, a monster, and many more to choose from.
The Nuby Bandana Bib with Teether does double duty as a cheerful cotton bib to absorb drool, and a BPA-free textured corner for teething babies to chew on. Finally, make sure your baby doesn’t drop her pacifier somewhere icky by securing it to her clothes or car seat with the BooginHead Pacifier Clip, which works with all pacifier types.
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