A stroller is great, but there are plenty of travel situations where having both hands available is infinitely more convenient.

Think airport security, cobblestone streets, stairs, crowded tourist attractions, hiking trails, or simply trying to grab your suitcase while holding your baby.

The Ergobaby Omni Baby Carrier is a particularly useful option for travel because it lets you keep your baby close while keeping your hands free. A baby carrier can also be much easier than maneuvering a stroller through crowded areas or destinations with uneven terrain.

One of the least glamorous parts of traveling with a baby? Cleaning bottles away from home.

If you’re bottle-feeding or bringing bottles along for pumped milk or formula, a full-size bottle brush and drying setup aren’t exactly ideal travel companions. That’s where a compact baby bottle cleaning kit can make life considerably easier.

The Momcozy Bottle Brush Travel Set includes multiple cleaning tools and is designed to be portable, making it useful for cleaning bottles and feeding accessories while you’re traveling. It also includes a drying rack, so you’re not left wondering where you’re going to put a freshly washed bottle.

A portable changing pad is one of those baby travel items that takes up relatively little space but can save you from some very unpleasant situations.

Because sometimes the “changing table” you’re promised is a questionable surface in an airport bathroom.

A portable changing pad gives you a clean, designated surface for diaper changes wherever you happen to be. Keep it stocked with diapers and wipes and you’re essentially carrying a miniature changing station in your diaper bag.

Never underestimate the power of having a few activities specifically reserved for travel.

A busy book can give babies and toddlers something to explore during long stretches of sitting still, whether that’s on a plane, train, or in the backseat.

The trick is to make it feel somewhat novel. If your child plays with it every day at home, it may lose some of its magic by the time you’re on hour six of a flight.

Pro tip: Consider keeping a few travel toys hidden away between trips so they feel “new” when you pull them out.

If your baby sleeps better with white noise at home, there’s no reason to abandon the routine the moment you leave the house.

The Momcozy Travel Sound Machine is a small, travel-friendly option for bringing familiar sounds with you. It’s designed to be portable, making it easy to use during naps and bedtime away from home.

A familiar sleep cue can help make an unfamiliar hotel room, rental apartment, or grandparents’ house feel a little more like home.

A good travel stroller can be one of those purchases that you appreciate more and more every time you travel.

The Joolz Aer² is designed around portability, with a compact fold and lightweight construction. It’s the kind of stroller that balances baby comfort with the realities of traveling.

A lightweight stroller can be particularly helpful when you’re navigating airports, restaurants, public transportation, and busy city streets.

Staying somewhere without a baby bathtub can make bath time surprisingly complicated.

A travel baby bathtub gives you a dedicated place to bathe your baby without relying on a questionable hotel sink or trying to figure out whether the shower setup is baby-friendly.

Look for a model that folds or packs down easily enough to justify taking it with you.

If your baby prefers warm milk, feeding on the go can become one of the more annoying parts of traveling.

A portable baby bottle warmer gives you another option when you don’t have easy access to a microwave or hot water. The Momcozy Milk Warmer is designed specifically for warming milk while you’re away from home.

This can be especially useful when you’re on a road trip, spending the day sightseeing, or simply don’t know when you’ll have access to a kitchen.

Hotel rooms present a unique parenting challenge: You need to be able to see what you’re doing at 2 a.m., but you definitely don’t want to turn on the overhead light and fully wake everyone up.

A small portable night light can solve that problem.

Use it for nighttime diaper changes, middle-of-the-night feeds, finding a pacifier, or navigating an unfamiliar room without turning the room into daylight.

Sleep is probably the thing parents worry about most when traveling with a baby.

A familiar travel crib can help create a consistent sleep environment, particularly if you’re going somewhere where you aren’t sure what sleeping arrangements will be available.

The Guava Lotus Travel Crib is designed specifically for travel and folds into a compact carrying case, making it much easier to transport than a traditional full-size crib.

Eating out with a baby is significantly easier when you don’t have to wonder whether the restaurant has a high chair.

A portable high chair gives you another option for meals away from home and can be especially useful when traveling to restaurants, vacation rentals, or family homes.

Some portable high chairs attach to existing chairs, allowing your baby to sit at the table with everyone else without requiring a bulky standalone high chair.

This is one of those baby travel essentials you don’t fully appreciate until you need one.

Wet bags are incredibly useful for storing:

• Wet swimsuits
• Dirty clothes
• Cloth bibs
• Messy burp cloths
• Leaky bottles
• Soiled baby clothes
• Anything else you don’t want touching the rest of your diaper bag

They’re particularly handy when you’re traveling because laundry facilities aren’t always immediately available.

If you’re breastfeeding while traveling, a nursing shawl can be useful when you want a little more privacy or coverage.

It’s especially handy during flights, in airports, at restaurants, or anywhere else where you might find yourself feeding your baby without access to a private space.

That said, breastfeeding parents should always prioritize whatever setup is most comfortable for them—there’s no requirement to use a cover.

Once your baby becomes a toddler, snacks can become an essential part of your travel strategy.

A spinner snack tray can give your little one easier access to food while you’re out and about, particularly when they’re on an airplane or sitting in their stroller.

And let’s be honest: snacks can buy you approximately seven more minutes of peace—which, on a long travel day, is basically a vacation in itself.

Airports, airplanes, concerts, sporting events, fireworks, and other crowded environments can be very loud.

Baby ear protection earmuffs can be useful for parents who want to reduce their baby’s exposure to loud environments.

When shopping for baby ear protection, make sure the product is appropriately sized and designed for infants or young children, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions for fit and use.