I was planning to tag along with my husband on a simple business trip but with the level of planning and the amount of stuff we “needed” to bring along, we might as well have been going on bivouac in the rain forest, not stay at the Hilton. How is it possible for one baby to require so much equipment? We were only going to be away for five days and we ended up taking more luggage with us than my husband and I took on a 17 day European vacation last spring.

Aside from the two modest sized bags which held our own clothes and toiletries, there was also a bag for the baby. An entire suitcase filled with tiny clothes – outfits and pajamas for five days as well as backup outfits for those baby accidents that inevitably occur (especially when you aren’t prepared for them). Also included in that bag were cloth diapers for mom’s shoulder, extra receiving blankets, baby toiletries and just-in-case-we-needed-them medicines. Oh yes, and a bag of diapers. <continued below>

We brought along her infant seat as well. She can’t yet sit up and although her car seat can be used inside, she often seems to get overheated when sitting in it. And sometimes, when one of those ugly baby mood strikes her and nothing else will soothe her, sitting in her seat does. It seemed a sensible move to bring it, for that reason alone.

I brought her stroller along too and threw in the baby sling for good measure. Who knew when we might run into some terrain too rough for a stroller to navigate.

And of course we brought toys. I was fairly restrained in this area but how could I even contemplate leaving home without her favorite squeaky and rattle toys? Thus armed for any eventuality, I was ready to leave the security of home for the uncertain world beyond.

I think that this was the first time that we ever have had the entire luggage trolley at a hotel to ourselves. In fact, I think this was the first time we ever even used the luggage trolley.

I am happy to report that like a talisman, the extra outfits seemed to ward off the worst of the baby explosions we often suffer at home. I didn’t have enough clothes myself, but that’s another story. As baby was seized with a sudden bout of teething and gas as soon as we left home, both the baby acetaminophen and her infant chair were immeasurably useful. The stroller did not get a lot of use, the sling none at all.

All I can say is at least I was prepared. African villagers aside, I’ve come to realize that traveling light and traveling with a baby are two mutually exclusive concepts…