January 27, 2012 at 6:15pm

These days, parents are busier than ever. Whether it’s shopping, visiting, travelling, dropping off bubs to day care, driving to sporting commitments, birthday parties, etc. the list goes on! It seems we are always on the go. So with baby or child in tow, you need to be super organised. Luckily, there are a growing number of products catering for babies and children on the go that makes the task easier.One of the big problems for a parent when away from home is that it doesn’t matter how long you are away for, you still need the same amount of baby stuff to cater for all contingency plans. So packing a compact baby bag is one of the necessary skills a mum learns first. My mother gave me some good advice: “always have a baby bag packed and ready to go, this way you are relatively free to walk out the door when need be”.

So what do you need for even short trips At least 3 nappies (for number 1’s, 2’s, and 3’s)o Baby wipes(Huggies sell a great littletravel pack of 16 fragrance free wipes ) o Nappy bagso Rubbish bago Change mats, as restaurants and café toilets don’t have baby change tables. (Huggies also sell packs of 4 disposable change mats, if you don’t want to carry around a personal one)o Change of underclothes (for number 3’s)o Food – either milk or solids and water.

The b.box is a great product that contains storage for nappies, wipes, disposable bags and has a cute change mat available in different colours and designs. This modern go everywhere wallet is compact enough even to fit into a large handbag.

The Milk After the changing is sorted, the next thing is baby food. Always pack a little more than you need, in case you are away for longer than expected. There are so many food travel products available now, parents are spoilt for choice. If your baby is bottle feeding, pack a couple of clean bottles filled with water and teats along with a milk powder container.Pigeon revolving milk containers are popular, being light and compact, and able to hold two measures of formula powder. Providing warm milk is essential. You can warm the water before you go and keep it in a thermal container, such as those sold by Fridge-To-Go, or you can heat up water with a plug in device in the cigarette outlet of a car (but these outlets are being phased out of new cars). BambinOz has a convenient new bottle warmer that delivers instant heat by way of an exothermic reaction (remember the pocket warmers? - same concept). No electricity or batteries required and completely reusable. They fit most bottles and include an insulated carrier. The flexible heating pouch could also be used for food.

Solid food Apart from milk, solid food is often a necessary item to keep in a baby bag. It is desirable to carry food that is lightweight and non-breakable (there is nothing worse than pureed food and glass throughout a baby bag). Rafferty’s Garden have a wide range of soft pack pre-packaged baby food which are perfect for babies on the go. Bellamy’s range of organic fruit snacks are also soft packed and come in resealable packaging. Sitting your young child in a high chair at a restaurant, resort or friend’s place is not an issue now, as products like the BambinOz Portachair make it simple with their clever fabric roll-up chair that securely fits onto a normal chair, providing a safety harness for children aged 5-30months.

Bibs and wipes After eating, sticky fingers, vomit and food on clothing can be an issue (taking a spare set of clothes is always a good idea).Heinz Baby Basic offer a great range of hand and face wipes in convenient travel packs (great for parents too!). They also sell disposable bibs so you don’t have to carry dirty bibs around in your bag. The Wiggles toddler travel wipes provide 60 flushable wipes, so your rubbish bag won’t get full but if you prefer washcloths Purewipes offer innovative, extremely compact and lightweight wipes that look like a tablet but expand when added to water.

Bathing on the go Bathing babies or children on the go is an issue not many people think of, but these days many hotels, friends or families bathrooms don’t have a bath, not to mention campsites, which makes bathing small children very tricky. One of the hottest products on the Australian market is the Flexi Bath , a fold up baby bath that is both compact and lightweight, and available in 6 cool colours. Washing your little one is easy with the large range of travel packs of baby skincare available on the market (it isn’t necessary to carry around large, heavy bottles). Gaia Natural Baby have a great compact Baby Starter Kit of very small plastic bottles of bath wash, shampoo, soothing lotion etc, which you can refill. Combine this with Huggies disposable washcloths and bath time is sorted!Finally, what about getting around? For long car trips, an AeroSleep anti-transpiration car seatsat insert provides sweat-free comfort by circulating fresh air and removing excess body heat between the seat and child. Dreambaby also provides many products for car travel including adjustable car shades and fun, comfy seat belt covers in cute designs.

Pram advice Once out of the car, most children get around in a stroller or pram. There are so many types of prams on the market, it is getting confusing. Opt for something that you child will be able to sleep in as they get older (regarding length) so you will be able to go out and know your child can sleep comfortably, and hopefully, for a long time! Also, a pram which helps protect a child from the elements, such as wind and rain, is useful. Dreambaby have a large range of pram accessories, like stroller hooks , stroller bags, insect nets and weather covers to help getting around. When considering a pram, also make sure it has a good breaking system (hand and/or wheel breaks). There have been many tragedies in recent years involving runaway prams. Wheels and suspension are also a factor - big wheels are good for all terrain travel and perfect for wheeling onto the beach or over broken footpaths or curbs. Sometimes however, a pram or stroller is not practical, especially if hiking or where you know there will be a lot of stairs. Babies and children love to feel close to their Mum and Dad, so try to supplement a form of wheel transport with a harness such as the Tommee Tippee infant carrier pod, or a backpack. You’ll find the new backpacks on the market are extremely strong and comfortable for both carrier and baby.

Hopefully, the above tips will help and encourage you to get out and be on the go with your children.

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