Top 5 things not to bring on the plane when traveling with kiddos

How to stay a minimalist mommy gets harder with each new addition. But after hundreds of fights with little ones in tow, here's a list of things we plan to leave behind on our family trips.

Baby Jovie (6mo) playing with Daddy on a flight with nothing more than a plastic cup.

After just returning home from our holiday travels, I thought it was most relevant to start with a travel post about what we don't bring with us when we head to the airport. In an effort to keep it simple, below are our top 5 leave behind items for you to consider on your next family trip. Some you may agree with, some you may find radical - either way, take a look and consider giving one or all 5 a try on your next trip.

“Keeping it simple saves you time, money and (much needed) energy. It makes travel more enjoyable!"

#1 Leave the stroller behind

If you can afford to go wheel-less, I highly recommend it. When you travel you're often navigating through lots of traffic (like people in the airport) headed to small shops and foreign places, that you don't know will have ramps or access that you'll need (one would hope all places do - reality is they don't). Our alternative, I wear the baby and have the toddlers walk it out. Each has their own backpack with necessities they are responsible for and it's worked wonders for us. Much less baggage in tow.

What you may not know is in addition to the travel hassle of a stroller, if you bring a stroller you have to gate check it, which can be terribly cumbersome. Particularly if you're traveling solo. Where do you put your baby while you disable the stroller? How about all the stuff you stashed in the stroller, because you thought that was a good idea at the time? Now you have to unload all of it and carry it on board (that includes the blanket, toys, and other loose items). It's just better to leave the wheels behind, for both the journey and the destination.

#2 Pack-n-Play stays at home

If you teach (and train) your baby to sleep anywhere (which I highly recommend and will talk about in a later post) they won't need their own bed. Hotels have cribs (with sheets) that you can request (at no additional cost) and will save you lots of space and baggage. Or you can also ask around if you're staying with friends, most likely someone knows someone with a pack-n-play you can borrow.

#3 Baby toys, despite popular belief, are not required

One of the fascinating things about babies is they don't need rattles or noisemaking toys to entertain themselves. The world is big and bold and everything from a simple cup from the flight attendant will be great entertainment on the flight (even for dad - see picture above), to the magazines in the hotel and plenty of action along the way. Babies don't need a bag full of toys in tow, and if you set that expectation, yes you'll make traveling more difficult for yourself.

#4 Extra diapers & wipes are a waste of valuable space

We bring enough for the travel day and night and that's it. We typically plan to swing by the store the day we arrive and pick up diapers, wipes and some snacks. We limit the amount of space we use for purchasable items like diapers and wipes. This approach saves a lot on space, so you'll only need 1-2 suitcases instead of 2-3 with all the extras parents try and bring along.

#5 Formula (one more reason why the breast is best)

As a breastfeeding mom, I make a goal of 12 months, mostly because at that point they can consume cow's milk and therefore make travels easy. We've never had to bring (or buy) formula, worry about warming a bottle or washing bottles on trips. Traveling is much easier with a nursing mom. For flying, I nurse on the way up and down to help with babies ears. This is a huge advantage for traveling. For those who maybe formula feeding, I recommend bringing a bottle or two for travel and purchase it once you get to your destination to save on space.

While we've traveled hundreds of flights with our little ones, we've done less than 10 with all three of us, and we're certainly still learning. Feel free to share your tips and tricks for traveling with little ones as well (or what else you may want to know!). We'll get into more details in future posts, but thought this was a great place to start. For all parents brave enough to travel with kids, no matter your baggage choice, it's fantastic to travel as a family! Happy Holidays & safe travels!

---