I had just walked in to my mother-in-law’s home after travelling 15 hours across the country during Christmas holidays, with dubious connections and a five-month-old baby in tow, when I saw it—a glorious Pack ‘n Play crib, set up in the corner of my room, with clean sheets and a blankie, waiting for my little peanut to rest her weary head.

I had been bestowed the greatest gift a travelling mother could ever receive and I was never more grateful to my mother-in-law than at that moment.

Too Much Baby Stuff!

Babies come with a lot of gear, a fact parents realize all too quickly the moment they attempt their first outing past the front door.

Between the strollers, the car seats, the cribs, toys and the high chairs, you soon realize how little room there actually is to pack anything more than a change of undies and a toothbrush for the grown-ups along for the ride.

Baby Gear Rentals

Baby gear rentals are the way to go if you want to treat yourself to something that has a semblance to a real vacation.

Items like strollers, car seats, high chairs and cribs are standard gear rentals (some have package deals) and a quick peruse of the Internet can connect you with rental companies in your neck of the woods.

Many places also carry bottles, diapers, and wipes—the whole nine yards—all at the ready when you arrive to your destination.

Great Rental Options

A couple that I like are gogobaby.ca (in the Toronto area), and for locations in the U.S. there’s The New Parents Guide. 

Rates run from about $15/day for a Pack ‘n Play, to about $100/week for a “package” including stroller, Pack ‘n Play, high chair, baby monitor and even a basket of toys.

Is it Safe? Clean? 

I can hear my friend shrieking, “Eeeeewwwwww! What about germs?” or my mom—who drove us around without seat belts—saying, “Well, I hope it’s all safe.”

Rental companies clean and sanitize everything after each rental and are required by law to pass safety requirements on all pieces of equipment.

In fact, the only time I’ve ever had dubious equipment given to me on a vacation was when I had borrowed from a friend and had to scrub the Pack ‘n Play for much longer than it would have taken me to just set up our own.

Get it Delivered

The best rental companies will deliver your baby gear wherever you want it. When you arrive at your destination with everything waiting for you—no hauling your gear anywhere—you, like me, might just be moved to tears.

Bring Small Pieces from Home

Our first baby didn’t have a problem sleeping in anything from a dresser drawer to a laundry hamper; however, our second is a little more “sensory specific,” shall we say.

To solve this problem, we packed her own crib sheets and blanket when we travelled. And don’t wash the sheets when you leave home—sometimes the familiarity of smells from home help little ones settle into a strange crib.

Only Rent What You Need

We never felt the need to rent a stroller, especially since airlines let you wheel your little one right up to the ramp of the aircraft.

We also bring our own car seat in the off-chance that something goes amiss and we’re stuck at an airport with “no way out” because we can’t drive anywhere without it.

It’s also nice to know how your car seat buckles in when your hosts are parked in the “pick up only” zone and the nice traffic control officer has run out of smiles.

Well worth it

Renting just about everything else to ensure a the most comfortable vacay possible is well worth every penny—as well as every ounce of cranky, frustrated sweat it would take to haul said items across the miles.

photo#1: myllissa
photo#2:Jeremy Engleman