Travel Favorites
My best advice for traveling with an infant or toddler is to recreate their normal sleep environment as best you can. There are a ton of products on the market to help make travel with your littles as painless as possible.
As a family who travels to visit out-of-town family pretty frequently, I wholeheartedly recommend all of the products below. They aren’t all sleep related but they have made all the difference in providing the comforts of home to my toddler.
Sleep success on the road can be mastered, add these products to your holiday wish list!
I’m all in on the Hatch Baby Rest sound machines. It’s what we use for my daughter at home, and I bought a second specifically for travel. These sound machines are sturdy enough to pack for a trip, so if you invest in one for your child’s room, just bring that along when you travel. I did that for many months before deciding to invest in a second product just for travel.
I recognize respecting budgets when it comes to kids and travel. I also recommend the rhom sound machine. This is another quality sound machine that also makes a get travel product.
Investing in a quality sound machine is a great sleep tool.
Portable Blackout Curtains is the holy grail of travel products for my family. I have two of these. They truly black out all the light that could filter through a window. They are easy to install and tear down. They are compact enough to throw in a suitcase without taking up a lot of space. They also stand the test of time. I’ve had mine for almost 2 years and they look brand new.
These temporary blackout curtains can be used for more than just travel. You can use them in your child’s nursery for years. These curtains will pay for themselves if you use them as your fulltime blackout shade at home or travel with them more than once in a year.
3. Slumberpod
This is my other top blackout recommendation. It is a tad pricier than the travel curtains, but if you intend to travel a lot you will want this in your on-the-go arsenal. Slumberpod conveniently slips over your pack ‘n play and is completely blacked out and ventilated. It even has a pocket to store your sound machine! This product makes sharing a hotel room extremely family friendly. Don’t hide under the covers until baby falls asleep, get a Sumberpod.
If you wash bottles or sippy cups by hand, this travel lawn boon is an essential. From personal experience, it can hold up to two bottles with all it’s parts. It stores two different brushes with a total of three brush heads. The compact style doesn’t take up much counter space either. I never leave home without this.
5. Babyganics travel soap (and hand sanitizer)
All the convenience of home… on the road! It’s the little things. Babyganics is a staple in our household. Having travel sizes available makes it easy to keep our post-bedtime routine. Throw the hand sanitizer in your purse or diaper bag for a mess-free solution to handwashing on the go.
6. Monitor
If you can’t bring your monitor from home, I recommend you purchase an inexpensive monitor you can bring on the road. The peace of mind a monitor provides is worth the extra expense. This is the one I invested in specifically for travel purposes. It made traveling so much easier when I didn’t have to take my home monitor down and unplug everything. This monitor has worked great and serves its purpose well. My family was used to a video monitor and this one packs up conveniently making it easy to travel with.
I purchased these packing cubes to store newborn essentials in my hospital bag and have been using them ever since. The variety of sizes leaves options for storing your travel equipment, (sound machine and monitor) diaper essentials, (diapers, wipes, creams) a bags for dirty and clean clothes. Whatever you pack, organize it in the cube! It makes packing your carry-on and travel bags so much more organized. (A MUST for organization enthusiasts like myself!)
This little highchair is perfect for everything from tailgates to holiday travel. It packs up tight like a tailgating chair so it won’t take up a lot of room and it’s super lightweight. The detachable tray makes it great for eating or lounging on the go. It also has straps to attach to a regular chair like a booster seat. You could use this little chair at the beach, too!
We never leave home without this chair. It was actually on our holiday wish list last year.
9. Baby Wrap
If airport traveling is in your future, a hands-free wrap is definitely going to be your best friend. Even if you’re hosting this season, a little snuggle time during tidying up or cooking makes multitasking more manageable. Plus, you can fold this wrap up for easy storage in your carry-on or purse.
10. Kidco GoPod
If you have an infant who can stand but can’t yet walk, this is a great little product for travel or even at home. My family took this to a tailgate when my daughter was 8 months old and she loved it. I knew she wouldn’t be happy sitting in the stroller or being held, and this gave her the opportunity to stand and be part of the party. It even has straps to attach toys! Your baby can easily be a part of the holiday festivities even in high traffic areas without having to pack up an exersaucer. Its compressed packaging makes it easy to tote with you.
Take some pressure off holiday travel and invest (or ask for!) some of these amazing travel products. Most can be found on Amazon with Prime shipping so it’s not too late! They have truly made all the difference for our family.
Safe travels, happy holidays, and sweet dreams!
If your baby is already struggling with sleep before you travel, then sleep issues could be magnified after you travel to your destination. It’s not too late to implement a customized sleep plan! Check out our services page to find the right plan for your family. We offer FREE 15 minute mini consultations!
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