I’ve been coming to Hawaii with my family since I was little. It was a winter tradition that my Grandpa started with my mom & aunt, a tradition that we also inherited (& by we, I mean my siblings and my cousins). Hawaii has always been a place of rest and relaxation, so if we were going to give “travelling” with a baby a test drive, this was probably the best place to do it. We tend to lay low, with most of our time spent on the beach. And since we stay in Waikiki, most restaurants + shops are all within a short distance.

With everything going on with covid and given the time of year, these were a few things that were different for us, this time around:

+ stayed in an apt: to avoid crowds / hotels. staying in an apt also allowed us to have a full kitchenette which was perfect for sanitizing Ryder’s bottles everyday. the apt building we stayed at was located right on the beach, so we also had the option of going up with Ryder if he needed a nap or whatever. He was fine playing / napping in his stroller most days tho, when he wasn’t playing with his cousins, but the convenience was worth everything – extra piece of mind, god forbid we have an off-day lol.

+ ordered-in: when we didn’t feel like going out to dinner or when we couldn’t find a restaurant with a patio/outdoor space. which was extremely rare, most of the places we like to go to were very accommodating and had patio or an outdoor space (just felt safer with Rydie).

+ masks & covid: we found that most ppl were good about wearing masks indoors, but even walking down the strip or through outdoor malls. most everyone was respectful of where we’re at atm, & others safety, which was nice. this might change if it hasn’t already, but when we were there they were operating on the vaccine passport just like here, at home.

This, obviously being our first time travelling with a baby, my brain went into overdrive worrying about what I would need for him, what we could afford to leave behind, assessing every potential situation…. any parent knows. So, I wrote out a list and decided very quickly there wasn’t actually anything we really needed besides a stroller, somewhere for him to sleep, sunscreen and milk lol. We make it so much harder on ourselves.

I will say, that for our first trip with him we wanted it to be a very low maintenance kind of trip. We didn’t bring a ton of stuff, but there were definitely a few key things I would bring again for next time:

Packing cubes: can’t travel w/o them, it doesn’t matter where I’m going. These come in handy even on weekend getaways, and honestly make packing so much easier + more efficient. I find that I’m able to pack wayyy more when rolling my clothes into the cubes. All my socks + undies get their own cube, all toiletries get their own cube..you get the idea. I have these ones from Calpak, as well as similar ones from Canadian brand, Poppy & Peonies.

Baby thermometer: in the era of covid, you can never be too cautious. I carry this baby thermometer in his diaper bag but it was handy to have while travelling, just in case.

Change purse: for my apt. key card, I.D + money. I hate having to lug around too much (esp on vacay) + this you can just throw into your purse/diaper bag or hang from your wrist to go grab coffee.

Bugaboo Fox2: I’m not obligated to talk about this stroller, but what a great investment. Handles like a dream, lightweight, durable, easy to fold up + we got the travel bag, which we were easily able to pack up the stroller in, prior to boarding our flight.

Mini stroller fan: we attached a mini fan to his stroller to keep him from getting too warm while napping etc. You can find similar ones on Amazon, they just recharge with an iPhone charging cord.

Bottle (cooler) bag: best $17 I ever spent! This came in super handy, since we were on the beach + in the sun all day. In the morning, I’d pack up his bottles in the bottle bag & we’d be good until it was time to come in to get ready for dinner. The bottle bag comes with a small removable ice pack that fits in it’s own mesh pocket.

Bottles: we like the glass ones by Philips Avent Natural 4 oz. We use the larger bottles for nighttime feed.

Teether: we love these ones bc you can attach them to the soother (so they don’t get lost!). Also love ones by Mushie.

Baby carrier: I love our Artipoppe carrier for everyday, but we also love the Baby Bjorn carriers.

Baby bag: baby bags can sometimes feel like the minivan of mom vehicles, but not this one. I love it’s clean design, durable / easy to clean exterior & optimal interior organization. There’s even a cooler pocket for bottles, a changing mat & teether. Favourite detail is probably the chain straps, which are removable.