Packing for Cottage Vacation with Baby

In my previous post I shared some tips for a long-haul drive with a baby. But what should I pack for a week-long vacation with a 5-month old baby? I will share some tips!

When Timothy was 5 months old, we rented a cottage for a week. It was a five-hour drive away. Why so far? Well, we wanted to be alone, we didn’t need a huge 2-3 bedroom cottage for just the three of us (or rather we didn’t want to pay for anything that big) and we really wanted an air conditioner. So we found a tiny cottage, secluded in a forest, located right on a lake, with air conditioner. As it turned out to be the hottest week of the summer, we were soooo glad to have a/c!

Anyway, figuring out what we needed to bring for our first ever vacation with Timothy wasn’t easy. That’s when we realized (as in REALLY realized) we need a bigger car! This is Timothy in the photo below. Can you actually see him among all the stuff (and that, actually, is not ALL the stuff we brought!!!)

Anyway. In the “Timothy’s” column in the packing list for that trip we have:

BIG ITEMS:

• playpen (to sleep in)
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• Tima’s bath (we have an inflatable bath tub that we used as an outdoor swimming pool where Timothy could sit up and splash around)
• 
• moses basket (he napped in it on the porch)
• 
• bumbo seat (Timothy couldn’t sit up yet, hated spending even a second on his tummy, and was bored spending time on his back… bumbo is awesome!)
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• wheels for the infant carseat (we took a one-day trip to Ottawa; as we didn’t bring the full stroller with us to the cottage, we brought the wheels that attach to the infant car seat, converting into a stroller, very useful)
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• carrier (to go for walks around the cottage on the dirt paths)
• humidifier (cause it makes the white noise that helps Timothy sleep better!)

BABY CARE

• baby sunscreen  (yes, they say it’s not advised until 6 months – but hey, I am sure sun is more damaging than sunscreen! I tested it and it was FINE.)
• vaseline (for the bum)
• wipes
• pampers (7 per day)
• toys (not too many – not at 5 months old)
• shampoo + soap + cloth
• towel

NURSING

• breast pump (as I mentioned, REALLY useful while in car for long stretches of time)
• bottle
• swaddling blankets
• nursing cover

MEDICINE

• snot sucker + saline drops
• teething drops

OTHER

• blanket (I didn’t wash it on purpose, so that it will have a familiar smell and will make sleeping in an unfamiliar environment easier; Timothy couldn’t care less :))
• two pacifiers (in case we lose one)
• garbage bags (for dirty diapers and soiled clothes)
• clips (to keep cloths, covers, etc. in place when ourside)
• water-proof cover (we had it permanently on a couch – the designated changing place)
• blanket to spread on the grass
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• sunglasses
• panama hat with wide rim (to protect the eyes and face from sun)
• swimming diapers
• laundry detergent (if there was a need to wash something Timothy burped or pooped on)
• birth certificate (if anyone questions whether Timothy is, indeed, our baby and wasn’t stolen!)
• clothes (couple of pj’s, onesies, socks… well, clothes is easy)

Again, Timothy was 5 months old. He was still exclusively breastfed at the time.

This was one of the best vacations ever. So peaceful and happy. But that’s a whole other story 🙂