I really packed all of this! PLUS: bottles and a bottle warmer. And all of my clothing and stuff too! I really did and all in one suitcase. (It was 2 pounds under the weight limit too).
Here are my tips and tricks that worked for me:
1. I scoured flights looking for the best times for us following my little ones napping schedule and guess hat it worked. Also we flew directly to our destination rather than a larger airport a couple hours away. It did cost a bit more, but I knew after 5 hours there was no way my little one would sit still for another two hour drive to our destination.
2. I really fit all of this in one checked bag, plus all of my stuff. I really did! I will show you how later in the post. Luckily with my credit card I do get free checked bags, but even if I didn't I would definitely recommend trying to fit that into your budget. It's too much work to try to haul little ones and carry on bags and carry on diaper bags and, and, and... You get it. We have to have a lot of stuff when traveling with babies and toddlers anyway.
3. You can check your stroller and car seat for FREE! Yes, you read that correctly. I did not gate check either item. I checked both when we checked the rest of our luggage and we didn't have any issues. I didn't have the energy to haul those heavy things with me.
TIPS for packing a lot into one bag:
Here is one of my tips, vacuum bags. Yes, these really work! I packed both my clothes and z's clothes this way and we were wrinkle free and fine when we got there. I just don't recommend doing this too far ahead and opening the right away when you get to your destination to avoid wrinkles.
Another thing I did was I took my life jacket and strapped it into the car seat. I turned to car seat upside down and packed all of my extra diapers in the empty space. I am not sure if that is frowned upon, but it worked well for us.
We are gearing up to fly across country again this time we have a toddler, so what I'm saying is with me luck! I will let you know how it goes! ;)
