Baby Toiletry Bag Essentials (Travel Edition)

Oh the joys of travelling with a baby! No pun intended seriously. Travelling with kids can be quite fun and fulfilling in many ways, albeit exhausting. There are too many things to juggle. There are food and nap time-struggles. But if you are brave enough to give it a go, it's an amazing family bonding time, away from all the responsibilities and daily household chores. It's family therapy. We started travelling with our baby when she was only a few months old and we love it! Each time it's a new experience because they grow so much so quick. You guys seem to like all the travel essentials and packing tips blog posts so here's my take on packing a toiletry bag for the little one.

If mum & dad have their own toiletry bag (blog post here), little Miss Aiza needs a separate one too. We’ve travelled far and wide with our daughter. She did her first international flight at 8 months when we spent 5 weeks doing a whirlwind European trip spanning 10 countries. Now that's something. I envy her childhood.

We prefer to travel light, however, when it comes to this (now) 16 months old kid, I do try to cover all the basics. I can’t just be washing her beautiful baby skin with hotel hand wash. Yes! we totally do that for ourselves (anything to pack light hey!). In fact, it’s perfectly acceptable to use hand soap to do your laundry even. But I can’t bring myself to use it for my baby’s skin. Hence we always carry her skincare and bath essentials. This also minimises any risk of rashes and allergies from new products. We also carry basic medicines and other knick-knacks that I'll be sharing this blog post.

My biggest tip for travelling light is transferring toiletries into smaller containers. This is how I did it. Imagine the space saved!

Here’s what we always carry in our luggage for our baby (technically a toddler now).

• Mustela Cleansing Gel - Hands down the most gentle cleansing gel/body wash for babies and toddlers alike. It’s an all-rounder for face, hair and body.
• Savar Body Lotion - The bottle is small and mess-free. It also hydrates her skin very well. Love that it’s all-natural. Unfortunately, the brand doesn't make the baby range anymore. I'd recommend Weleda Calendula Baby Range as the next best. All products in the Calendula range are very gentle for baby's skin.
• Savar Baby Balm transferred into a small container- to be used as nappy change cream or for any other purpose (face cream, anti-dryness, etc). Any natural baby balm is good. We've used ones by Weleda, Mustela, Tui brand and Moms Co. They all work ok.
• Sudocream travel size for any possible nappy rash
• Frankie Apothecary Natural Sunscreen SPF50- This is our favourite sunscreen for baby. The jar is heavy and made from glass so it’s best carried by transferring into a small container.
• Hair Comb
• Hair Ties pack- because when they get older they love to stash them in places you can’t find.
• Coconut Oil in a small container for moisturising nostrils during the flight (aeroplane air is so drying, it can irritate baby’s sensitive airways). Coconut Oil also comes in handy for taming hair or moisturising their hands and lips. Our favourite coconut oil is Shesha Naturals extra virgin coconut oil.
• Weleda Teething Powder in a small container - because those tiny pearls can come out anytime. Incidentally, she started teething during our flight back home after we finished our 5 week Europe trip. These days we use Nude Alchemist Teething Tamer Balm. I’d prefer carrying this balm over Weleda teething powder as it’s mess-free. It only needs to be rubbed outside of jaw hence no reasoning with the baby to take in the powder.
• Liquid Paracetamol - it’s a must. Also, carry an empty syringe to measure and dispense medicine into baby’s mouth.
• Bonjela Gel for teething - we carried it just in case but it’s not a must-have for us currently. We are quite happy with Nude Alchemist Teething Tamer and hence don’t feel the need to carry any other teething products.
• Nail Clippers- because baby nails grow by the hour. If you are travelling any more than a week, baby nail clippers are a must.
• A pack of Anti-Bacterial Wipes to clean high chairs and other surfaces that we come across
• A pack of WaterWipes to wipe her bum and also face & hands when needed. Water is still the best and most preferred option.

Sunscreens for the entire family. Frankie Apothecary

This is by no means an exhaustive list. Every family travels differently and have different needs. We like to travel light so our kit covers the basic essentials. You can go all out if that's your travel style.

This is also not a full packing list for baby. I aim to do one of those soon (think nappies, shusher, baby carrier, favourite toys, books, silicone bib, sleeping bag, towel, UV hat, cap and other essentials). This is just a peek inside her toiletry bag.

If you'd like to read more about our travel process and travelling style, please read more here -

Our Travel Process and how we picked cities for our 5 week Europe trip with an 8-month old.
Top 30 tips for travelling with a baby
How I travelled to 8 European countries in 4 weeks while 6/7 month pregnant
Our top 22 tips for travelling to Europe

I'd love to know your baby essentials? What's that one thing you must pack? Share with me in the comments below.

Love
Nishu