Before kids, I couldn’t comprehend why parents would pack up their entire house to go away for a weekend. I mean, you’re packing for people that are a 10th of your body size. I’m not going to sugar coat it, but I judged them. I judged them big time. I thought that all you needed was some changes of clothes and a ton of diapers and you’d be golden. BUT, then I had one. Perhaps I’m ridiculous, but you need to pack everything. Because, the fear of a super cranky baby, in an unfamiliar place for them, is the stuff of nightmares.

A few weeks ago I went to my parents for 8 days. It was an awesome visit. Not only did LaLa and I get lots of grandparent time, we also got lots of friend time in. And I even went to dinner with some of my oldest friends sans LaLa. Not going to lie, as much as I love spending nearly 100% of my time with my sweet little screamer, it sure is nice to go for dinner and laugh so hard that you nearly pee yourself. Hashtag “I was pregnant problems”. Don’t worry, no accidents here, but the threat is real my friends. 

Anyway, because of wanting to ensure the trip was a comfortable as possible for my little wee-one, below is a list of some things I actually packed:

1. The baby.
2. The bassinet.
3. The bassinet stand.
4. The play mat.
5. Her vibrating chair.
6. 7 sleepers
7. 15 outfits.
8. 58 diapers.
9. Huge thing of wipes.
10. The swing.
11. The Baby Bjorn.
12. 7 receiving blankets.
13. 2 swaddling blankets.
14. 3 pairs of baby booties.
15. 3 pairs of baby socks.
16. Toys – an 8 week old baby needs toys right?
17. Breast pump and bottles.
18. Changing pad and sheet.
19. Baby monitor.
20. Three hats.
21. Four warm blankets.
22. Dishwasher case for bottles and bottle washer stick.

OK OK, I lied about the swing. But seriously, I packed all that and probably more things that I don’t remember because it was three weeks ago. What’s that all about? Insane right? Actually no. I mean I packed too many receiving blankets, and technically, I didn’t need her in a different cute outfit each day, HOWEVER, I used everything on that list. Crazy right? She weighed less than 10 lbs yet I packed 100 lbs of stuff. And because I was armed with my baby weaponry, for the most part, I had a happy baby and was able to avoid total melt downs.

That said, I’ll probably not pack that much again, but I will bring that vibrating chair everywhere we go until she grows out of it. It’s a godsend.