How to Travel With Formula Fed Baby (from Newborn & Beyond!)

One of the biggest stressors on my first trip was how to travel with formula for my two month old. There is a lack traveling tips for formula fed babies online, so now I’m sharing my tips. This is what I did when traveling with formula for my newborn and now beyond!

These are my formula travel essentials for infants and some tricks for how to travel with formula. Like how to keep your baby’s formula safe and ready to feed at all times. I used these hacks not only when I travel, but also for daily formula feeding on the go!

Psst! This blog post contains affiliate links in it which sends me a bit of extra money if you use them… at no extra cost to you!

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My Travel Essentials for Formula Fed Babies

If you’re traveling with a formula fed baby, how ever old they are, these are my must haves to keep your baby fed, and happy, on the go!

Bottles

You’re going to of course need bottles if you’re bottle feeding your baby. I use the same bottles that I use at home, the Dr. Browns anti-colic bottles.

I like bringing both the small and the large bottles when traveling. The smaller bottles are obviously more convenient, taking up less space. But the larger bottles can be convenient for taking two feeds in one bottle. So it’s always good to have both as an option.

For a one week trip, when my baby was newborn, I brought five bottles. But when I traveled with him when he was five months, I only brought three. I think somewhere around that amount is good to bring. I never thought I needed more on either trip.

on a table at a restaurant there's a row of everything you need to formula feed a baby while traveling. There's a thermoflask 500 ml insulated water bottle, a formula dispenser, a bottle with milk inside, and a reduce reusable water bottle.

Reusable Water Bottle (or Freezer Bag)

To keep my baby’s bottle cold throughout the day, I put it inside a 24 oz Reduce water bottle. So far, it’s the only bottle I found to fit the tall Dr. Browns baby bottles with ice (to keep it cold). But if you’re using another baby bottle, another reusable bottle might work.

I use the Reduce water bottle like a fridge. I store a bottle in here to keep it cold, both when it’s full and when it’s empty. This way, I can reuse the same bottle throughout the day. The bottle stays cold, so bacteria won’t grow. The Reduce bottle advertises keeping contents cold for up to 24 hours.

Keep in mind, the ice does melt, so add in new ice if you need to. I usually feed my baby at a restaurant or cafe, so I’ll just ask them for ice. So far, I’ve never had any issues. Shop the Reduce water bottle on Amazon.

Stroller Cup Holder

If you’re traveling with a stroller, a cup holder for you stroller is clutch. I have the matching Uppababy brand name cup holder, but this universal one should do the trick for a quarter of the price. It can be used for your coffee, but more importantly, your baby’s bottle. The Uppababy cup holder fits the Reduce water bottle and keeps my baby’s bottle upright to avoid leaking.

If you’ve travelled with a baby bottle before, you might realize that it spills when knocked over. Dr. Browns bottles have travel accessories, but I don’t like using them. Instead I have the cup holder to be hands free, and keep the bottle upright at all times.

a vertical image of a travel stroller with a cup holder. In the cup holder is a large Reduce water bottle that fits, but barely.

Ice Tray & Ice Packs

An ice tray isn’t a necessity, but it may come in handy (and it doesn’t take up a lot of space). To keep your baby’s bottle cold when you leave in the morning, you’ll need to have ice on hand.

If you’re staying at a hotel, packing an ice cube tray isn’t a necessity because they usually have an ice machine. But the first time I traveled with my baby, I stayed in an Airbnb and I didn’t want to rely fully on the airbnb (maybe they won’t have, or I won’t want to use it!).

As I said, it’s really just for when you leave in the morning. Throughout the day, I was able to get ice at the coffee shops or restaurants where I bought food or coffee. So far everyone has always been accommodating.

Ice packs are also good to bring as a backup to keep bottles cold on the go. I also usually have an insulated lunch bag with me.

Soap & Sponge

Unfortunately, cleaning bottles doesn’t stop on vacation. So you’ll also need a way to clean your baby’s bottles every day! I brought a little refillable bottle with my baby’s dish soap along with a sponge.

Pro Tip: If you’re short on space, or staying in a few locations, cut the sponge into smaller pieces. This way you can throw them out as you go and you don’t have to travel with a wet sponge.

Dryer Rack

You’re also not going to bring your dryer and sterilizer with you on vacation, instead I used this travel dryer rack. Build it when you arrive and tear it down to pack it up. It’s comes with its own brushes too for easier bottle cleaning!

I also like that it folds up into a box. I store my liquids in here to protect them from being squashed and exploding during transit! Shop Travel Baby Bottle Drying Rack on Amazon.

Pro Tip: Book an Airbnb or a hotel with a kitchen to make using formula on the go just a bit easier. It’s very convenient to have a kitchen sink to wash bottles, and a microwave to sterilize.

the travel drying rack for baby bottles. It's a container that folds up, but then can open up with stems sticking out to hang bottles from. Behind is a dr. browns sterilizer back if traveling with an infant.

Burp Cloths & Bibs

My baby spat up… A LOT, especially as a newborn. To avoid always doing laundry and keeping his clothes cleaner I brought a lot of burp cloths and even bibs.

Formula Travel Essentials for Infants (Ready To Feed)

If you’re traveling with a formula fed newborn, you’re most likely feeding them Ready to Feed formula. That’s what I was doing when I traveled with my two month old. Ready to Feed is easy in one sense, as it’s already made for you, but it also takes up A LOT more space and weight in your luggage.

If you are traveling with Ready to Feed, there are a few extra things you might want to bring.

Pro Tip: To save on weight and space, buy the formula when you arrive at your destination. I brought for four days worth for my seven day trip. I checked the stock online in advance of the pharmacy where I could buy extra formula. This way, I didn’t have to travel with seven days worth of Ready to Feed.

Sterilizer Bag – Optional.

It is also recommended to sterilize bottles up until your baby is 3 to 4 months old. So if you’re traveling with a newborn, you’ll need a way to sterilize on the go. There are two ways to do this, but you will need access to a microwave.

I bought these Dr. Browns sterilizer bags (I can’t find them in the U.S.) that are each good for 30 sterilizations. You put the disassembled bottle parts into the bag, add water, and then microwave. You can also buy this Hakka sterilizer bag that can later be used for steaming food when you’re baby is ready to eat solids.

Or, this MAM baby bottle that self sterilizes. You’ll still need access to a microwave but it’s one less thing you need to pack.

Alternatively, if you have access to a stove, the old fashioned way is to boil the bottle parts for 5 minutes in a pot.

Extra Nipples for Ready to Feed Bottles

I also always carried pre-sterilized nipples for the Ready to Feed bottles in my bag. I actually haven’t used them yet with formula on the go, but I like knowing I have them in case of an emergency (i.e. if your bottle has been compromised, or forgotten!).

Also, if you don’t want to carry and wash bottles at all, you can always only use these pre-sterilized nipples with the Ready to Feed bottles. This will be the most expensive option, but maybe the most stress free, and you won’t have to deal with washing or sterilizing bottles.

Formula Travel Essentials for 4 Months+ (Powder)

Once your babe is a bit older, you can move on to powder formula. Although you can use powder when they’re younger, it’s riskier if it’s not made properly.

If you are traveling with powder formula, you’ll need a few extra items. I travelled with my 5 month old using powder formula. I do recommend also still bringing some Ready to Feed bottles for when you’re in a pinch. On a 10 day trip, I travelled with 10 Ready to Feed bottles and used almost all of them. I always made sure to have one in my bag every day.

A Travel Formula Dispenser

A travel formula dispenser is necessary when traveling with powdered formula. The travel formula dispenser lets you pre-portion the formula to bring only what you need for the day. When you’re ready to make the bottle, you simply pour out one of the containments into your bottle.

I like this one from Munchkin because it also comes with a single use container. It allowed me to bring 4 feeds if we were out for the entire day, which came in handy a lot. And if I knew I only needed one feed, I could bring the smaller container.

Reusable Water Bottle (or Budget for Water Bottles)

If you’re traveling with powdered formula, you also need filtered water. This is the filtered water that you’ll mix with the powder to make their milk. You have two options for how to travel with water for your baby. The easiest, is to buy filtered water bottles as you need them to make your baby’s formula. Add the water bottles in to the budget for your trip.

Or if you have a way to get filtered water, pack a reusable water bottle to travel with it during the day (this is on top of bringing the Reduce water bottle to carry the bottle).

There are usually ways to get filtered water on vacation. For example, if you have a kettle you can boil water and let it cool. Or if you’re staying in a hotel with a gym, they’ll usually have a filtered water fountain to use.

How to Travel with Formula Fed Baby

Here are some extra tips for how to travel with formula on the go that might come in handy, like going on a road trip, or how to travel with formula on a plane.

If You Can, Avoid Warming Baby’s Bottles

If you notice, I did not include a bottle warmer on my list of formula travel essentials for infants. In fact, when I was flying with my newborn, the flight attendant was shocked when I asked for ice instead of hot water. If you can avoid warming up your baby’s bottle at home to make traveling with formula SO MUCH EASIER!

Before your trip, try as much as possible to get your baby used to room temperature or even cold milk (that’s the best!). You don’t have to ever worry about reheating their milk. And you also don’t have to worry about bacteria growth on the bottle throughout the day.

If your baby can enjoy cold milk, it means you can store their bottle and safely save it for later if they don’t finish it. Once the milk has been warmed up, you have to discard it after one hour. Keeping their bottle cold stops bacteria from growing.

On top of this, you also don’t waste time warming up the bottle with a screaming baby in public! And even better – it’s one less thing to pack and travel with!

*My formula on the go essentials: Reduce travel mug, Dr. Browns baby bottle, refillable Thermoflask water bottle, and Munchkin travel formula dispenser.*

How Much Formula Should You Pack?

I always like packing extra formula. But formula isn’t exactly small, or lightweight. So depending on the length of your trip, you might want to see if your destination sells your formula.

Nowadays, you can easily check stock online. And you might even be able to pre-order for pick up to guarantee you’ll have when you arrive. Now you only have to pack formula for the first few days of your trip rather than the entire vacation.

Pro tip: If traveling with Ready to Feed formula, I packed extra bottles between the bars of the suitcase. See more of my pro packing tips!

Travel with Formula In the Car

Traveling with formula in the car is the easiest because the car can carry everything without a weight limit. You can bring all the Ready to Feed formula you want! I wouldn’t keep it in the car for long periods of time though, especially if you’re traveling in the summer (you don’t want it to spoil).

I also easily kept my baby bottle upright in the cup holders.

Travel with Formula on a Plane

I won’t lie, traveling with formula on a plane was definitely stressful. But I made sure to bring more than enough food for him just in case we were at the airport longer than anticipated.

I brought a small carryon with a few days worth of extra food. Then in my backpack, I had what we needed for the day (which extended beyond the airport travel).

I brought my Reduce water bottle to store the bottle with ice as I normally would. In this case, I asked the flight attendants for ice. It’s really as simple as that!

Can you Bring Baby Formula on a Plane?

Most airports will have a specific family travel security line. They know how to handle baby liquids, like breastmilk or formula. They allow you to bring both filled baby bottles and liquid formula. I would recommend keeping it all in one place that’s easily accessible because you will have to take it out.

If you’re traveling with powdered formula, you can pre-fill a water bottle with filtered water. But, I would recommend just bringing an empty water bottle and paying for overpriced water once you’re passed security. Just add that to the cost of travel!

Recap: Shop All My Formula On The Go Essentials

If I’m on the go with my baby, I always make sure to have a bottle inside my Reduce Reusable water bottle packed with ice to keep it cold. To hold this giant bottle, and keep my baby’s bottle upright, I have a cup holder attached to my stroller.

Once your baby is on to powdered formula, be sure to get a refillable water bottle, and Munchkin travel formula dispenser.

My Baby Travel Must-Haves

I cannot recommend the Uppababy Minu V3 travel stroller enough. The only negative is that the basket is a bit on the smaller size, but otherwise it’s perfect for an every day stroller at home and a travel stroller. It has a single hand close, it can fit a bucket car seat, it’s newborn friendly, and it fits in the overhead bin.

With the travel stroller, I also recommend bringing a carrier, like the Ergo Baby Classic. This is great for boarding a plane, and for when the stroller isn’t accepted (or just when the baby is being fussy and needs to sleep!).

I bottle fed my baby and used a Reduce 40 oz water bottle to store his bottle for the day. I used Dr. Browns Bottles and the Reuse Bottle. It fit the bottle with a few ice cubes to keep it cold for the day. The reusable bottle also fit in the Uppabbaby cup holder to keep the bottle up right and easy to carry.

To travel lighter, you can ask your accommodation for a crib or my travel crib of choice is the Guava Lotus. It is on the pricier side, but I like that it has a zipper side opening, a backpack bag for hands free carrying, and is very light.

See all my baby travel essentials on my Amazon Storefront.

How to Travel With Formula Fed Baby (from Newborn & Beyond!)