In Harper’s 1st year, we went on multiple vacations and visited family and friends. We did not want having a baby to slow down our travel, so we probably overcommitted in year 1. We will see what year 2 has in store, but I see no signs of slowing down yet. The entire family is heading to France in June!

Having the right baby travel gear has made going on trips a lot less painful. I would not call us travel pros yet, but we are working on it. Here are some of our favorite travel products that come with us on every adventure!

The Lotus Travel Crib and Portable Baby Playard by Guava Family is a very well-designed travel crib that is very easy to put up and tear down. We have not really used it as a playard, but love it’s simplicity and safety as a travel crib. I love that the entire sides of the crib are made of breathable mesh and the one side zips open. I always loved this feature to cuddle up with my little one when she was getting settled in a new place since we were on the road. Now, we like to use it to let our toddler run free in the mornings!

The Lotus Everywhere Crib is certified as GREENGUARD GOLD which means it is free of chemical emissions. It doesn’t include things like flame retardants, PVC, phthalates, lead or heavy metals.

My other favorite feature is that a packs up into a bag that can be carried or worn as a backpack. This is a very important feature when you are carrying a baby, suitcase, car seat…..the list goes on.

The MONKEY MAT Portable Indoor/Outdoor 5’x5′ was one of my favorite spontaneous purchases. The Monkey Mat is a square, nylon mat that folds up into a small pouch. It has weighted corners and loops that allow you to stake it to the ground when you are in the grass or on the beach. Because it folds up into this small pouch, it allowed us to always have something with us in the diaper bag to allow our little one some play time when we were in an airport or on the road instead of carrying a bulky blanket. We have used this mat more times than I can count!

The Baby Jogger City Mini Stroller In Black, Gray Frame is a comfortable, compact stroller that folds up quickly which makes air travel easier with a baby. The Baby Jogger brand is also safe from flame retardants in their materials. We normally use a jogging stroller, but it is way to bulky and difficult to fold for us to travel with.

When I came across the Skip Hop Chelsea Downtown Chic Diaper Satchel, Black, it was love at first site. I was on the hunt for a diaper bag that didn’t look like a diaper bag, was big enough to fit all of our stuff but not too big. I looked at plenty of designer diaper bags that were 3 to 4 times more expensive and found all of them to have less pockets and weigh too much when nothing was even in them. When I came across the Skip Hop Chelsea Diaper Bag for $100, I snatched it up immediately. It has insulated side pockets for bottles, large exterior pockets, a zipper pocket to keep all of mama’s stuff, and plenty of interior pockets. A huge plus for this bag is that it comes with a long strap. Too many of the diaper bags I looked at only had short handles, and I knew I wanted a hands free carrying option.

The Ergobaby Organic 3 Position Baby Carrier Dark Cocoa is a super comfortable baby carrier. The Ergobaby is one of the only baby carriers that is safe for baby’s hips. The thick waist strap helps to reduce the pressure on your back and the thick straps ease the pressure on your shoulders. It also doesn’t hurt that our baby loves being in it.

phil&teds Lobster High Chair

phil&teds Lobster Highchair, Black has been the perfect travel companion when we stay in houses without kids or in vacation rentals. The Lobster secures tightly to an island or table, so we trust it to hold our little one. It also folds flat, so we can pack it in our luggage easily.