What to pack when you go out with a baby

The working rule for a short outing: one nappy per hour you plan to be out plus one spare, a full change of clothes, and one more feed than you think you need. Everything else on this list exists because a parent somewhere got caught without it.

The core, every time

• Nappies — one per hour out, plus one. The spare is for the one that fails.
• Wipes and nappy bags — more wipes than seems reasonable.
• Portable changing mat — a folded muslin works; the floor of a public toilet does not.
• Full change of clothes — vest AND outfit. Blowouts do not respect layers. From experience: pack two vests.
• A muslin or burp cloth — shoulder cover, sun shade, emergency bib, all one square of cloth.

Feeding

• Bottle-fed — one made-up feed more than the outing needs, or water plus formula powder in a dispenser. A cool bag in summer.
• Breastfed — a cover if you want one, and a snack and water for the person doing the feeding, who always forgets themselves.
• Started solids? — a pouch or small tub, one spoon, and a bib that wipes clean.

Weather and comfort

• Hat — sun hat or warm hat; a baby's head is a lot of their surface area.
• Blanket or extra layer — rooms are colder than streets, and the reverse.
• The pacifier, if used — and its clip, or budget for losing it.
• One small familiar toy — for the queue you did not plan for.

For whoever carries the bag

• Hand sanitiser — for changes away from a sink.
• Phone, keys, cards — in the bag's outside pocket, because your hands are full now.
• A spare top for you — for longer trips. The blowout does not always stay on the baby.

Restock the bag when you get home, not when you leave — leaving is the moment you have a baby on one arm. A packed bag by the door is the whole trick.

Stage by stage care guidance is on the guides page.

This is general information, not a substitute for your own doctor, midwife or health visitor — they know your baby, and this page does not.