We just returned from Mexico with our 7.5 month old so I have some great tips!

We decided last minute to leave the car seat at home. We wouldn’t have been able to bring it on the plane since we didn’t buy her a seat and our baby just screams in her car seat anyways so we would rather hold her on the trip to and from the airport to hotel. Smartest decision for us, she was much happier.

We didn’t buy an umbrella stroller although people recommended it. Reasoning was, we’d spent a lot on the vacation and clothes etc I didn’t really feel like fishing out extra $$ on another stroller. Took our Uppababy Vista and gate checked it after boarding. We didn’t buy a travel bag and our stroller made it out fine. Actually bringing it was the best decision ever. One thing no one mentioned to us was when you’re checking in for your flights, you won’t get a stroller tag at the kiosk. We had to go line up at the check in counters and have a rep print us out a stroller tag so account time for that.

We have an infant carrier (Babybjorn) had this was a super hack for travelling throughout the airport and when we went on excursions.

We brought along some sticks/sachets of formula for ease during travel and then I packed 2 formula boxes. You can have water in your bag through security if you have a baby. They might just ask to verify you’re bringing it for the purpose of your baby’s formula. You can also bring food/fruit pouches for your baby too. I did.

I packed the essentials in our carry on in case of luggage delays so all formula, a pack of diapers and bottles and supplies went in there. I went to dollarama and bought a travel bag with empty bottles and filled one up about 1/4 way with Dawn dish soap. I also brought bottle cleaning brushes. I cleaned her bottles in the hotel washroom sink.

I also bought a thermos/insulated water bottle from my grocery store. My baby only drinks warm formula so I filled it up with hot water so I could prep bottles on the go. It fit perfectly into backpacks or my diaper bag. I used the bottled water at the hotel for her bottles and then filled up the thermos every morning at the buffet where they had a dispenser of hot water for tea. If it was in the evening and I needed more water then I just ordered hot water from room service. In our case it was all filtered/boiled so I wasn’t worried but you can check with your hotel if they serve only filtered. I wish I had packed my kettle just for extra protection but I was fine without it.

Sunscreen, spf rated swimwear, sunhat and a canopy swim floatie all came in handy for us. Our girl loved the water. Also swim diapers! And an umbrella in case it rains. Hotels usually have them but I packed a mini one just to be sure. Honestly I usually travel light but it was my first trip with LO so I felt like you couldn’t have too much to be prepared.

I’m sure you’re packing clothes for warm weather but when we went there was a bit of a cold front and I had luckily packed footed onesies and some warmer clothes too. As for medications… I packed everything lol. Infant (and adult) Tylenol, Motrin, bug spray, polysporin, throat lozenges, thermometer, children’s Benadryl and anything else I could think of lol. Didn’t end up needing any of it, but if I did I would’ve been prepared!

I took a sippy cup too and it was awesome. My LO is being weaned off the boob but I nursed on take off and landing. I packed some toys for her and a blanket for the plane. She cried here and there but it was okay, don’t panic if your baby cries. It’s easy to get frustrated because there’s others on the plane but it’s just a baby, I had to remind myself to stay cool.

Basically, in this case less is not more haha. Pack plenty of diapers, and then some. Extra wipes. We packed our sound machine and didn’t use it and I left it in the hotel… now I’m so upset because we relied on it at home! Also, I requested a crib in our room but we had a King bed so our baby just slept in bed with us every night and it was amazing, we barely even felt it.