After a lovely 10 days in Europe, we are home and trying to get back into a routine. There are so many things to share and tell you about, so let’s jump right in. I had quite a few people say to me that I was so brave to bring a 1 year old with us to Europe for so long and ask how I did it. I’ll be writing some posts about all that to follow. I thought I would share a little bit about what is in my carry-on for a big trip like this with a baby.

1. I have a toiletries bag that I used for all the essential baby things. This way if/when you have to put your backpack in the overhead bin, you have a little bag of things that are easy to get to. In the bag are some diapers, wipes, teething beads, snacks, an extra outfit for her, natural disinfectant wipes for wiping down our area on the plane, and a ziplock of our liquids [hand sanitizer, diaper cream, saline nose drops to do just before take-off  to help with ear popping, and travel size poo-pouri in case she had a crazy poopy diaper on the plane].
2. I packed just a few toys [ones that can be rinsed off if dropped], and books for the plane. I packed a few favorites of hers and a new toy and new book to keep her interested. I didn’t go overboard on the toys because I knew being in a new place she’d be distracted by anything on the plane.
3. You want to be sure to pack lots of snacks, for BOTH of you.
4. I’m a reader, so I always have my kindle when traveling. I loaded a few books, and I was good to go. Now, I have to be honest, I didn’t actually get to read because on the way there, we all slept [thank goodness], and on the way back, Ainsley was being a bit of a stinker, so I was holding her the whole flight/she fell asleep in my arms for a few hours.
5. Water bottles for all of us. It’s a good idea to research the water quality in the places you’re traveling. I like to be extra cautious, so I got the Britta filtered water bottles from Amazon. That way, we filled them up anywhere and didn’t have to worry. For Ainsley, I bought these bottle nipple adaptors from Amazon that fit on to any bottle. HUGE space, and I used them every day for her. She also liked them because she felt like one of us.

So there you have it, my carry on. Matt’s backpack looked very similar to mine without the toiletries bag but with our iPad and headphones instead. I made sure he had an extra outfit for her, diapers, wipes and a toy. How do you pack carry on bags? Anything I should add?