Baby travel checklist for Malaysian families

Travelling with a baby needs a short list of essentials, a longer list of arrangements, and much less equipment than most parents pack. Sort the passport and any vaccinations first, keep diapers, feeds and a change of clothes within reach, and feed your baby as the plane comes down. Most other things can be bought where you land.

The first trip is usually the hardest, and mostly for reasons that have nothing to do with what is in the bag.

Arrange these before you book

A passport, for trips abroad. Every Malaysian child needs their own, from the Immigration Department, with a photo where your baby's eyes are open and mouth closed. Allow weeks, not days.

Vaccinations. The CDC travel advice varies by destination, and some vaccines cannot be given below a certain age. Your doctor or a travel clinic can advise 4 to 6 weeks ahead. Your baby should be up to date with the National Immunisation Programme wherever you are going.

Travel insurance that covers your baby. Check infant cover specifically, and what happens if you have to cut the trip short.

A seat on the plane, or not. Under 2, your baby can fly on your lap, which is cheaper and less comfortable. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a child restraint on the plane for safety, which means buying a seat. Many airlines offer bassinets on longer flights for babies under a weight limit, so ask when you book.

Where you are going, if you are pregnant too. The CDC advises pregnant women not to travel to areas with a current Zika outbreak and to weigh the risk for places where Zika has been reported, which includes parts of our region. Check its destination page before you book, and check dengue activity at your destination as well.

The cabin bag, or the bag on the back seat

Whether you are flying or driving balik kampung, this bag stays with you. Checked luggage gets delayed and the boot is hard to reach on the highway.

• Diapers, one for every hour of travel plus a few spare
• Wipes, more than you think
• Two changes of clothes for your baby and one for you
• Diaper cream, since long journeys can mean longer between changes
• A changing mat, or a muslin you do not mind ruining
• Bottles and formula in pre-measured portions, or a cover if you breastfeed
• A dummy if your baby takes one, plus a spare
• Two muslins
• A thin blanket or swaddle, because planes and cars with the air-conditioning on run cold
• Infant paracetamol with its dosing syringe, with the dose for your baby's age and weight checked by a doctor or pharmacist beforehand
• A hat
• Your baby's health book
• Snacks for you, because you will forget to eat

A bag that does more than carry things earns its place. Our Expandable Diaper Bag is a backpack with insulated pockets that hold 3 milk bottles, and the back unzips into a padded changing space with a mesh cover for diaper changes at the R&R. It straps onto a stroller too. Stay with your baby whenever they are lying in it.

For the diaper changes themselves, our Baby Diaper Cream leaves a light, non-sticky layer that helps protect the diaper area from wetness between changes, which helps on a long flight or a slow drive. It can be used from birth and is halal certified by BPJPH, Indonesia.

Our fuller list for everyday outings is in diaper bag essentials, and much of it carries over.

Through the airport and onto the plane

KLIA, klia2 and most larger airports have baby care rooms with changing tables and a place to feed. Use them before boarding rather than counting on what waits at the other end.

Baby food, formula and expressed breast milk are generally allowed through security in amounts reasonable for the journey. Declare them at the screening point and expect to open a container. Check your airline's rules too.

Board early if you want time to settle, or board last if your baby is happier on the move. Both work, and neither works every time.

For the ears, feed or offer a dummy as the plane comes down. Pressure changes on the descent usually bother ears more than the climb, and swallowing evens them out. Feeding on take-off does no harm if your baby is hungry then.

Car seats, at home and away

Since January 2020, children under 12 who are shorter than 135 cm or lighter than 36 kg must ride in a child restraint system in private cars in Malaysia. Taxis and e-hailing cars were left out of the first phase, but a crash is the same in any car, so carry your baby in a proper seat whenever you can.

At your destination, a hire car may or may not come with a seat that fits your baby, and the ones supplied are often the wrong size or past their date. Bringing your own is safer, and many airlines carry a car seat free of charge. Check with yours.

Heat, sun and mosquitoes

Most trips from Malaysia go to somewhere just as hot, which at least means no winter packing. It also means the same hazards, sometimes doubled.

• Keep a baby under 6 months out of direct sun. Use shade, a wide hat and long, light sleeves
• Plan outings before 10am and after 4pm
• Offer feeds more often, since heat raises your baby's need for fluids
• Keep skin folds cool and dry, and see a doctor about any spots or redness that have not settled once your baby is cool
• Cover your baby's skin to keep mosquitoes off rather than relying on spray, especially for young babies
• Bring a mosquito net for the cot if you are going anywhere rural

Sun, pool water and hotel air-conditioning all dry baby skin. Our Baby Body Cream is a light cream with avocado, olive and sweet almond oils and shea butter that moisturises and softens your baby's skin and absorbs quickly. In a Mama's Choice use test with 29 mothers in Indonesia (2022), all 29 agreed it helps moisturise their baby's skin. It is suitable from birth and halal certified by BPJPH, Indonesia.

Our article on DEET in mosquito repellent covers which repellents suit which ages.

Food, water and tummies

For a baby under 6 months on milk only, this is simple. Breastfeeding travels with no equipment at all. Formula needs safe water, which in many places means bottled or boiled.

Once your baby is on solids, stick to food that is freshly cooked and hot, fruit you peel yourself, and bottled or boiled water for mixing anything. The CDC advises throwing away cooked food left out for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour when it is above 32°C, which covers most afternoons in our region.

Wipe tray tables and high chairs before your baby touches them. Diarrhoea is the complication to take seriously. Pack oral rehydration salts, and a baby who is not wetting diapers needs a doctor wherever you are.

Sleep, which will not go to plan

Expect a few bad nights. A dark room, the same swaddle or sleep bag your baby uses at home, and the same bedtime routine will help more than any gadget. A travel cot with a firm, flat mattress and nothing else in it is the safe option. A hotel sofa or an adult bed piled with pillows is not.

Short trips within the region barely shift a body clock. For anything further, the first two days are usually lost, so build them into your plans.

A realistic timeline

Buying your baby's supplies at home before you go is worth the suitcase space. Diaper sizes, products and infant medicine strengths differ abroad, and a tired parent in an unfamiliar pharmacy at 10pm is a situation worth avoiding. Change diapers a little more often than feels necessary on travel days. See a doctor if your baby's skin breaks out in blisters, spreads red patches or comes with a fever.