Travelling with a baby

Last weekend, our family went up to Cairns to visit my husband's family.
We were pretty nervous since it was the first time riding a plane with Hazzy, our 4 month old son.
But we thought it would be good practice before our big trip to China next week.

Although it was just for the weekend, I wanted to be fully prepared.
So here is what I packed for the baby:

1 Baby car seat
1 Portable cot
1 baby wrap
1 flannelette wrap
2 baby blankets
25 disposable nappies
1/3 pack of wet wipes
6 short sleeve onesie
1 short sleeve t-shirt
1 long pants
1 long sleeve jacket
2 pairs of socks
1 nappy change mat
1 play mat
3 toys (mirror, rattle, soft book)
1 pacifier
1 baby care set (shampoo, bath soap, powder, lotion)
3 face washers
4 hankerchiefs
1 pack of tissues
1 baby sling
1 baby Bjorn

I know the clothes seems a bit too much, but better safe than sorry. What if Hazzy decides to puke, do an explosive poo, and leak his wee all in the same day?

Here are some things I should've packed:

1 extra pants/skirt for myself
1 cushion or pillow for plane ride
1 whole pack of wet wipes

Here are some of the things I learned after the journey:

1. You can take baby car seat, portable cot, and strollers free on Virgin Air. So don't pay the extra $15/person for extra baggage like we did.

2.  Portable cots are heavy,  I know, but it is worth it since the baby will at least get the very much needed sleep he couldn't get during the day at night.

3. You need to carry baby through the security check. You can't carry them in the baby Bjorn or sling. Hope this little information will save you the frantically fumbling with the baby carrier in the security line, like I had to do.

4. Take extra change of clothes for yourself. I only took one extra t-shirt and pj's, and of course Hazzy had to poo on my skirt, which I didn't have extra of. Had to wash my skirt in the loo and walk around wearing damp skirt all day.

5. Domestic planes don't give you bassinets to put your baby in, which means you need to carry baby throughout the flight. A sling and a cushion/pillow to rest your arms is a big help.

6. Even if you don't normally use pacifiers, take one for emergencies. Babies get cranky when they can't feed/sleep when they want to, so pacifiers may be the only way you can soothe them until they can.

7. You might have to feed your baby to sleep. Hazzy usually self-settles himself to sleep for naps. But during the trip he couldn't do that because of the change in environment. I had to feed him to sleep each time, so try to keep this in mind when you go through your feeding routines.

8. Take plenty of wet wipes. I thought 1/3 of a pack would be plenty for two days but we ran out at the airport on our way back.

Now that we are armed with this wealth of knowledge, hopefully our first overseas trip with the baby next week will go smoothly. Here is the ONE photo we took in the plane. Oh yeah, that's another point I should make.

9. Don't stress too much and miss out on the moment. Relax and take lots of photos.

Hazzy gonked out in daddy's arms on our way back to Sydney