Packing for a flight with a baby

Packing for a flight with a baby usually turns into one overstuffed carry-on instead of separate, organized bags for you, your partner, and the baby. It's rarely the big stuff you forget. It's the spare pacifier, or whose backpack the wipes ended up in.

Most baby travel checklists online are one long list scraped together from someone else's trip, with no split between what mom carries, what dad carries, and what's actually the baby's. None of them know if you're landing somewhere warm or cold, so you get a sun hat and a snowsuit on the same page.

Before We Go turns one trip into three lists: one for mom, one for dad, one for the baby, plus a shared list for documents, chargers, and anything nobody should end up packing twice. It factors in the weather where you're actually going, and it works free in your browser, no app install or account required to see your list.

Below is what that produces for a short flight in mild, partly cloudy weather: sun hats and shorts are already added for the weather, and the baby's list pulls in diapers, a bottle, and a pacifier automatically, next to the one toy nobody wants to forget. Clothing counts also adjust to how you're getting there: tighter to fit a carry-on when you're flying, looser once you switch the trip to driving.

Once the trip exists, you can move things between lists as plans change and refine it further in the AI wizard with details about your actual flight and destination. The same trip also keeps a shopping list and a to-do list, so whatever still needs buying or arranging before you fly doesn't end up in a separate note. Anything you mark as a favorite comes back as a suggestion on your next trip too, so you're not rebuilding the same list from scratch next year.

Create this trip*

Mom

  • 4×T-shirt
  • 5×Underwear
  • 4×Socks
  • Pajamas
  • 2×Shorts
  • Hat / cap
  • Sunglasses

Dad

  • 4×T-shirt
  • 5×Underwear
  • 4×Socks
  • Pajamas
  • 2×Shorts
  • Hat / cap
  • Sunglasses

Baby

  • 4×T-shirt
  • 5×Underwear
  • 4×Socks
  • Pajamas
  • 2×Shorts
  • Hat / cap
  • Favorite toy
  • 24×Diapers
  • Baby bottle
  • Pacifier

Shared

  • Documents
  • Phone charger
  • Power bank
  • Travel adapter
  • First-aid kit
  • Toiletries
  • Sunscreen
  • Wet wipes
  • Snacks

*The list above is an example for a 4-night flight in mild, partly cloudy weather. Create your own trip and it adjusts to your actual dates and the weather at your destination.

FAQ

What should I pack for a flight with a baby?

You get a starter list right away. Feed the AI wizard your actual flight and destination and it adjusts from there, so nothing important gets left off because the list was written for someone else's trip. Keep editing it right up until you leave.

Does the baby get weather-appropriate clothing too, or just diapers and the basics?

Both. The baby's list pulls in weather-based items like a sun hat or shorts on top of the basics, so diapers, the bottle, and the pacifier aren't the only things on it.

Can I also track things I need to sort out before the flight in the same app?

Yes, as a task. Add it to the same trip's to-do list and assign it to whichever parent's handling it. Packing items get suggested automatically; tasks don't, so these you type in yourself.

Do I have to work out myself how to pack light enough to carry on, or does the list handle that?

Flying trims the clothing count automatically to fit carry-on space. Switch the trip to driving and the same list loosens up, because a car boot doesn't have that limit. From there, the AI wizard can tighten it further if you want.

What actually goes in mom's bag versus dad's versus the baby's?

Mom and dad each get their own trimmed-down clothing list, while diapers, the bottle, and the pacifier land on the baby's list automatically, so nobody ends up carrying all of it in one overstuffed carry-on.

What if I'm flying with the baby alone, without the other parent?

Nothing breaks. Take the other parent out of participants and everything shared, like documents, stays exactly where it was. The only difference is there's no second adult's clothing to split off.

How do mom and dad actually see their own list on two different phones?

Whoever creates the trip sends the other an invite link. They join with just a name, no account required, and from then on see and can edit the whole list, including their own part, from their own phone.

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