Travelling With A Baby – How I Went To Amsterdam For 5 Days & Fit Everything For Me & The Baby Into A Backpack

Travelling with a baby doesn't need to be difficult. Read how Paul took her baby on a trip to Amsterdam and packed light with only one bag.

I don’t know why I set out to do this. My sister was in Croatia and going to come visit me in England and we decided to meet in Amsterdam first. I had the option of going away for 2 days alone, or 5 with the baby. I choose 5. Oscar is a good traveller and overall a pretty easy baby so I thought, hm, how hard could this be. Travelling with a baby to Amsterdam could be fun. I could do this. Right? 

Travelling with a baby doesn't need to be difficult. Read how Paula took her baby on a trip to Amsterdam and packed light with only one bag. Competitive packing at it's finest. She stripped down to essentials and had a few tricks up her sleeve to make travelling with a child to Amsterdam actually really fun.

I wasn’t worried about the travelling to Amsterdam or even being on my own with Oscar. I was more worried about the stuff. All the stuff that you need for a baby. All the stuff we think we need for a baby.

Do we need all this stuff? 

I will say there are a few points that I think made this doable for us.

  1. I was going to buy diapers and formula there. I already checked if they carried his brand.
  2. I practically live in leggings and t-shirts and the weather was going to be mild.
  3. The B&B I choose was going to supply a travel cot and a high chair. PS. In the fantastic more local/less touristy Jordaan area. 
  4. We would be using public transportation and a taxi. You don’t need a baby seat in a taxi. This might scare people off. 

Travelling with a baby doesn't need to be difficult. Read how Paula took her baby on a trip to Amsterdam and packed light with only one bag. Competitive packing at it's finest. She stripped down to essentials and had a few tricks up her sleeve to make travelling with a child to Amsterdam actually really fun.

So let me start the breakdown. First off, me. Like I mentioned. I am still pretty much rocking leggings and t-shirts 9 months post baby so luckily it is something that can be rolled up small. I did bring one pair of jeans with me and a cardigan that I wore on the plane. I brought one pair of shoes since we were not going anywhere fancy. Everything was interchangeable so there was a variety of outfits. Not pictured are my personal bits cause no one needs to see my underwear m’kay.

Travelling with a baby doesn't need to be difficult. Read how Paula took her baby on a trip to Amsterdam and packed light with only one bag. Competitive packing at it's finest. She stripped down to essentials and had a few tricks up her sleeve to make travelling with a child to Amsterdam actually really fun.

Next up baby.

I brought more clothes for him but again all things that could be interchanged. I brought enough diapers to get me through the day and a pack of wipes. Travelling with a baby was turning out to be ok.

Travelling with a baby to Amsterdam and packing light

Now here really Punkies is my secret weapon.

Dr. Bronner’s Baby Pure Castille Soap. If you are not familiar with Dr. Bronner, besides being an eccentric hippy, he released a whole bunch of multi purpose products under his empire. The castille soap is a fantastic product that can be used for washing, shampoo, clothes, etc etc. You may have wondered if I brought enough clothes. I didn’t, but I washed some the first 2 nights I was there with this soap. I also used it to clean Oscar’s bottles with, to wash him, and to wash me. I didn’t use it to clean my teeth, although it is advertised as being able to do that too. The second secret weapon is Bio Oil. I used it when I was pregnant for stretch marks and I have never stopped using it. It is my go to facial and body moisturiser these days. It can also be used as a hair serum and baby oil for purposes of this trip. Not pictured in my make up bag is my inhaler, birth control, travel conditioner, toothbrush and travel toothpaste. Sexy I know. 

travellingmakeup

Last but not least cause well, baby has to eat! We do a mix of baby led weaning and purées so I knew I’d be able to get him some food in Amsterdam that he could eat but I brought enough to get me through for most of it.  Once I got to a store, I bought diapers, formula, wipes and more snacks.

babyfood

So that was it. I stuffed all of that into that backpack. I brought a folding travel stroller and my Babyhawk Carrier since I knew there would be periods at the airport where the stroller would be gone and where in town we wouldn’t bring it (like Anne Frank’s house). There were a few issues, although minor (my shoes gave me blisters, I borrowed a pair from my sis). It rained one afternoon and we got soaked, but went back to B&B to change. We took a tram one day and there was no easy access for the stroller so we had to carry it. Minor really.  You know what though? 

We had an amazing time!!!

Travelling with a baby to Amsterdam

Travelling With a baby to amsterdam

Travelling with a baby doesn't need to be difficult. Read how Paula took her baby on a trip to Amsterdam and packed light with only one bag.

I def would do it again. It’s Europe, so yeah, things are a little bit more easy. It was pretty much like a backpacking trip and very carefree. I know when he gets older it might be more difficult but for now I will take advantage of these days as I can. I mean look at him, pushing him in the stroller was like instant nap time! I swear he was living it up and partying hard in Amsterdam!

Travelling with a baby doesn't need to be difficult. Read how Paul took her baby on a trip to Amsterdam and packed light with only one bag.

Thinking of going to Amsterdam with your kids? Check out this great guide by Babyccino too!

About Paula 171 Articles
Paula is an old school goth with a riot grrrl heart. Self-proclaimed #mamaboss at Punky Moms. Born in Miami Beach with a background in music business, she followed love and moved to the UK in 2012. She has one little boy named Oscar, a dashing English husband, and a furball terrier at home. She is trying desperately not to miss the Florida sun. You can follow her on IG @riotmthrrr

6 Comments

  1. I agree, traveling with Zach at that age was so much easier than when he was 3. Take advantage of it now!

  2. This is great! I wish we had that soap when we went away last week. It sucked trying to clean the bottles with what we brought. In the end we gave up and gave them to the hotel staff to clean

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