Before the baby, packing for a trip was super easy and even a little fun for me. I mean, no one likes the long security lines, the TSA checks and fearing you forgot to take that big bottle of water out of your bag before it went through the scanner, but I enjoyed carefully stuffing my clothes and shoes in my cute luggage.

When we decided to finally take Faren on her first trip, I almost immediately got nervous and anxious about what travelling with a little one would look like.

Would they toss my baby’s milk?

Am I going to too many things?

Am I going to pack too few things?

Do we take the big, heavy duty stroller or the smaller, more compact one?

A purse or a back pack or both?

How many diapers would I need?

What if the flight is delayed and I didn’t pack enough formula?

Man I had questions and a near panic attack while prepping for this trip.

This is why I love my community, though! I shared my fears of of our first trip as a family of three with my Instagram followers boy, did my mommy followers came out in droves with support, advice and tips!

I took a little bit of help from everyone and customised it into a travel plan that we totally aced! Keep reading to see my 5 must-haves for travelling with a baby!

1. Baby wrap – One of the best decisions I made was wearing my baby as we made our way through the airports. This freed up my hands to pull bags, check in, buy snacks and soothe baby throughout the journey. I’ve been an advocate of baby wearing since Faren was born and it absolutely came in handy during this trip. Using a wrap with padding and support is very important too. Here’s the baby wrap I use (everyday) and love!

2. Diaper bag (preferably this backpack) – I don’t even remember putting this bag on our baby registry, but I’m so happy I did! I’ve been using this bag for quite a while, but I was super impressed to see how it held up during travel. Even though it held so much, it remained lightweight, comfortable and really kept me balanced. In it, I packed, a change of clothes, a few diapers, wipes, formula, thermos with water, a blanket, socks, snacks and an iPad. One of my biggest fears was not being able to travel with hot water for bottle making. Thankfully the thermos was allowed and security informed me that they had to test the water. They used a strip, the results came back within seconds and we were good to go.

3. Crossbody Bag – Grabbing money, grabbing passports and boarding passes, credit card and gum; you need it all during your trek and I’ve found that taking a small crossbody bag versus a big purse was the way to go. It was easy to carry, added little to no weight and everything I needed was within reach very accessible.

4. Small carry-on bag – With baby on my chest, diaper bag on my back, my crossbody slung over, I had two free hands to work with. Travelling with baby means you have to pack a few things for yourself too. So, in my carry-on I had a jacket, more baby clothes and diapers for baby (just in case) and a few pieces of clothing for me.

5. Small, compact stroller – I was team Big Stroller initially, but was advised to take a smaller, more compact one for ease of transport and space saving. And it worked. We took the smaller one and it proved to be a breeze making its way through security check points and fitting in our rental.

Now that we’ve broken the travel-with-a-baby-ice, I’m ready to go again! Where to next?