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We started travelling with our daughter before she was three months old.
Multiple city trips in her first six months. More than one flight. More than one “why did we think this was a good idea?” moment. And yes — I travelled solo with her more than once.
Travelling with a baby is not easy, exactly. But it is not impossible either. What made the biggest difference for us was the right gear, a loose plan, and a willingness to adjust mid-flight when things did not go perfectly.
Here is what actually made it work.
For moms packing in a hurry
Here is the short version of what actually made baby travel easier for us:
- Astro Alan Diaper Bag Backpack — the hands-free bag that made solo travel possible
- Doona Travel System — easier through airports, taxis, hotels and eliminates the need to carry a separate car seat
- Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat — our reliable infant car seat for travel days
- Baby Jogger City Tour 2 + Baby Jogger Adapter
- Momcozy Portable Breast Milk Chiller and Portable Bottle Warmer — the feeding product that removed the most stress
- Pacifier in a clean case — especially helpful for takeoff and landing
- Muslin cloth — feeding cover, shade, clean-up cloth, emergency everything
- Wipes + diaper cream in the outer pocket — because digging through the bag mid-flight is not the moment
- One full baby outfit + one spare top for you — reachable, not buried
- For full list of diaper bag essentials – Read the Diaper Bag Edit.
If you only do one thing before travelling with a baby, make the essentials easy to reach. The gear matters, but the setup matters more.
The bag: backpack, always
We tried a shoulder bag.
It lasted one trip.
With a baby, you are already carrying more than you think. Your body is tired. You might be wearing her. You might be holding a boarding pass, a bottle, a pacifier, a stroller, or your own coffee that has gone cold. The last thing you need is a bag that slides off one shoulder every time you bend down.
A backpack distributes the weight properly. Both parents can wear it without adjusting everything. And when I was travelling solo, having my hands completely free was not optional.
We chose the Astro Alan Diaper Bag Backpack for exactly this reason: structured, roomy, practical, with lots of pockets, stroller straps, and a built-in changing station.
Was it the most delicate, aesthetic little bag? No.
Did it make travel easier? Absolutely.
Practical over stylish, every time.
Stroller and car seat: choose the setup that removes the most friction
For city travel, airport days, taxis, and moving through unfamiliar places, the stroller and car seat setup matters more than I expected.
There are two routes I would seriously consider.
Option 1: The Doona travel system
If you want the simplest possible travel setup, the Doona Car Seat & Stroller is the one I would look at first.
It is not a regular cabin stroller. It is an infant car seat that converts into a stroller, which means you are not carrying a separate car seat in one hand and pushing a separate stroller with the other. For airport travel, taxis, quick city trips, and solo travel, that simplicity is the whole point.
The biggest benefit is that you can move from car to stroller mode quickly without unpacking your whole setup or waking the baby more than necessary.
I would especially consider the Doona if:
- You travel often in taxis or rideshares
- You fly with a baby under 1 year
- You live in a city or walk a lot
- You want fewer pieces of gear to manage
- You are travelling solo and need your hands free
The tradeoff is that it is still an infant car seat, so it will not last forever. It also does not have the same storage or long-term stroller use as a separate travel stroller.
But for the 0–6 month travel stage? It was a lifesaver.
Option 2: Lightweight stroller + infant car seat combo
The other route is a lightweight travel stroller with a compatible infant car seat.
This gives you more flexibility. A separate lightweight stroller may fold smaller, have more storage, and last longer than the infant car seat stage. Your car seat can click in when needed, and the stroller can still be used later once baby outgrows the infant seat.
Our car seat was the Graco SnugRide Infant Car Seat — reliable, familiar, and easy to use as part of a travel setup. The combination of a compact stroller and infant car seat made arrival days feel less chaotic because we immediately had a functional setup.
I would choose this route if:
- You want a stroller you can use beyond the infant car seat stage
- You need more basket storage
- You want something lighter to push around all day
- You are not using taxis/rideshares constantly
- You prefer separating the car seat from the stroller
You could either choose the Graco travel system for easiest compatibility but it’s not the most compact travel option.
The other option is to get the lightweight Baby Jogger City Tour 2 with the Baby Jogger adapter for car seat compatibility. That is extremely lightweight and you can actually keep it in flight cabin as well. We chose the Baby Jogger. It was comfortable for our baby and it worked for us well after our baby outgrew the car seat. Please check your Graco car seat model for compatibility.
To summarize,
If you want the fewest pieces: Doona
If you already have a Graco car seat: Baby Jogger City Tour 2 + correct adapter
If you want easiest compatibility: Graco travel system
If you are flying, check your airline’s car seat and stroller policy before you go. Many airlines allow parents to check a stroller and car seat for free, but the exact rules around gate-checking, cabin storage, and onboard car seat use vary by airline. The FAA says the safest place for a child under two on a U.S. airplane is in an approved child restraint system, not on a lap.
Feeding on the go: the Momcozy chiller and warmer
This was the product that removed the most stress from longer outings and flights.
The Momcozy Portable Breast Milk Chiller meant I could store breast milk for a much longer time and Momcozy Portable Bottle Warmer meant I was not dependent on finding a microwave, a café, hot water, or someone willing to help me warm a bottle in an unfamiliar place.
For a breastfeeding mom who was also pumping — or for anyone giving bottles on the go — that mattered.
It made feeding feel less like a logistical emergency.
For airport travel, breast milk, formula, toddler drinks, baby food, and cooling accessories are allowed through TSA in quantities greater than 3.4 oz / 100 ml. Separate them from the rest of your liquids and tell the TSA officer before screening.
Rules and screening experiences can vary by airport and country, so I would still check your departure airport, airline, and destination guidance before you travel.
Flying: the strategy that made the biggest difference
You cannot always time a flight perfectly around a baby’s nap schedule.
But you can try.
We looked at her usual nap windows and booked flights that overlapped with them where possible. Not because it always worked — it did not — but because the attempt alone reduced the chances of landing with an overtired, overstimulated baby who had been awake for six hours.
The two things that consistently helped on planes were simple.
Feed during takeoff and landing
Pressure changes can be uncomfortable for tiny ears. Sucking and swallowing can help — whether that is breastfeeding, bottle feeding, or using a pacifier.
We kept a feed or pacifier ready for both takeoff and landing without exception.
Bring one or two tiny distractions
For the early months, high-contrast books worked better than most toys. Black, white, and bold patterns held her attention in a way soft pastel illustrations did not.
By the 4–6 month range, one small supervised fidget-style toy or spinner could buy us a few quiet minutes. Not an entire peaceful flight. Just a few minutes. Sometimes that is enough.
The pacifier was our non-negotiable flight backup, even on days she did not seem that interested in it at home.
What to actually pack: the travel version
For the full everyday diaper bag contents, see our diaper bag post. Travel is different.
For travel days, I would adjust the bag like this:
- More diapers than usual — at least 2 extras beyond what you think you need
- A full spare outfit for baby
- One spare top for you, packed where you can reach it
- Diaper cream
- Wipes in the outer pocket
- Tiny Twinkle Diaper Changing Pad
- Muslin swaddle for feeding, shade, wiping, and emergency clean-up
- Pacifier in a clean case clipped to the bag
- Bottle or feeding supplies, depending on how you feed
- Momcozy warmer charged and packed, if using bottles
- Disposable diaper bags
- A small toy, contrast book, or teether for the 4–6 month stage
- Boba Wrap or any other baby carrier
The key is not to pack the whole nursery.
The key is to make the things you actually need reachable.
A diaper cream buried under three outfits, two blankets, and your own headphones is not helpful at 30,000 feet.
What I would not pack again
I would not pack three full outfits unless it was a very long travel day.
I would not pack a pile of toys for a baby under six months.
I would not bring a huge blanket when a muslin cloth did three jobs.
I would not overfill the diaper bag so badly that I had to unpack half of it just to find wipes.
And I would not assume that more stuff meant more prepared.
More stuff often just meant more digging.
The honest truth about travelling with a baby
Some trips were smoother than expected.
Some were genuinely hard.
What helped was deciding in advance that things might not go perfectly — and being okay with that.
A baby who cries on a plane is not a failure of planning.
It is a baby on a plane.
The gear reduces the friction. The mindset carries you through the rest.
Travelling with her in those first six months gave me some of my favourite memories from that season. Not because every moment was calm. It was not. But because we learned that we could still go places, still adjust, still be a family outside the house.
Do not wait until it feels easy.
It gets easier as you go.
📌 Save this for anyone planning their first trip with a baby. You’ve got this Mama. Lots of love, Mama Rooted.
Also on Mama Rooted
- The diaper bag edit — what goes in, what stays home
- The diaper caddy setup — 19 items, one grab
- Newborn essentials — must-haves, nice-to-haves and what to skip
