Packing for a Weekend Trip with a Newborn
Our first road trip was so last minute I’m surprised I remembered our baby. Okay, not really but it was very poorly planned. I packed one blanket, four burp rags, two pair of pants, two long sleeve onesies and a couple short sleeve for the little guy. Ummm hello Spencer did you forget babies spit up, throw up, and have blowouts? Needless to say I borrowed the relatives washer and dryer when we were invited over for dinner at their house. I also brought along my “trusty” hand pump I use that term loosely…because it only worked twice, after that it was a sad pathetic hand cramping experience that got me maybe an ounce each time I tried. My milk supply got ridiculously messed up on our trip due a lack of pumping and infrequent breastfeeding, it took me a week to get it back to normal. We also ended up having to go buy more diaper wipes just so we could make it home. With all of this in mind when our next weekend trip came up I was ready! This is what I packed for our second short three day trip to San Diego with 6 week old.
I divided everything up into four different bags. I had a pumping bag, diaper bag, family clothes bag and a catch all bag. We also brought a cooler to store pre-pumped milk, water and snacks for the trip.
Breastfeeding and Pumping Supplies
Medela Pump in Style Advanced Breastpump: (I brought along storage bottles and everything my pump came with)
Medela Lighter Adapter : this was a life saver for on the road!
Pumping bra: Everyone has their own favorite but you can click the link to see what one I use.
Pump to Nurse Bag: this bag showed up right before our trip and I LOVED IT! The size was great to store all my pumping gadgets (Minus the actual pump) plus the inside was easy clean up for any milk spillage. The two different compartments made keeping my dirty and clean supplies separated a breeze. I have the Garden design and love the fun colors.
Breastfeeding cover: My ma made me one but you can always use a blanket if you find yourself in a jam.
Nipple shield (if needed): My little guy is a lazy nurser mixed with me having what they call flat nipples. Basically the only thing that keeps them excited is the pump.
Nipple shield case: I have two shield, one I leave at home and one I keep in a case in my diaper bag.
Mini spray bottle for nipple shield: you have to wet the shield before putting it on, I have two mini spray bottles. One is at my nursing station and one is in my diaper bag.
Cleaning Supplies
Medela Quick Clean Breastmilk Removal Soap: The small bottle was perfect for traveling and I love the way it breaks down breast milk residue.
Medela Quick Clean Breast pump Wipes: I keep these in my pumping bag or diaper bag depending on which one I have with me. They perfect for road trips when you need to reuse your pump but haven’t been able to clean it yet.
At the hospital they gave us a pink bucket to clean my pumping supplies with while there, I brought this along with us as well. When we got to the hotel we put all our dirty bottle and pumping supplies in it and filled it in the sink to soak before we washed them.
WIPES!! I brought two unopened packs with us this time and it seemed to be the magic number. I also threw a small travel size one in my purse as our back up.
Diapers: Trust me, you’d rather over pack these then have to buy more of them, especially if your child is about to grow out of newborn ones. No one wants extra diapers their kid doesn’t fit into anymore.
Disposable Underpads: I got these while I was pregnant and use them for everything!! I was terrified my water would break while I slept so not only did we have a shower liner under our sheet I had one of these under my side of the bed; as well as on the sofa, my desk chair and in my car. Luckily I didn’t need it for that but they are great for changing diapers on! I keep one in my diaper bag for those situations where the changing table at the store looks like a murder scene or my favorite one…no changing table at all. My diaper bag came with a changing pad as well so I keep the under pad folded up inside of it. For our trip I brought a couple just in case, which worked out great when we had a blowout.
Empty grocery bags for dirty diapers or dirty clothes from a blow out. Sometimes you have to do a quick diaper change on the side of the road and don’t really want that stinky diaper just rolling around in your car until you find a trash can. OR you have a blow out and need to keep the dirty onesie away from…well everything else.
Blankets, Burp rags and more
2 bigger baby blankets.
4 small thin baby blankets (can be back up burp rags).
6 burp rags.
When it came to clothes I planned for three outfit changes each day plus my usually three I keep in my diaper bag. Chances are they won’t need all of them BUT when their clothes take up zero room and you never know how you eating gas station food will affect them. In my case he hated gas station food and spit up a lot more than normal and I was thankful for those extra outfits.
As for myself I packed as I did pre-baby then added an extra shirt for each day in case he spit up or heaven forbid had a blow out on me. All of our clothes, his clothes and blankets fit in our suitcase along with our bathroom supplies. We also brought along his baby washcloths and a sample size of his baby shampoo for sink baths.
This trip was much smoother and I noticed only a small change in my milk supply compared to our first trip. I could list every item we packed but feel I covered the main things that I wish I would have known as a first time mom going on a road trip. What are some things you would add to the list for other first time moms?
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XO,
Spencer