Travelling with Diapers

When it comes to traveling with diapers, there are two main scenarios one will face: driving or flying. Naturally, driving would be the preferred method because you’d be able to pack as many diapers as your heart desires, however, since driving can take a lot longer than flying, you’re faced with a pressing issue: do you prioritize the convenience of getting to your destination faster or do you prioritize the convenience of packing your diapers in your car? Well, you might be surprised that flying may actually take a lot more time than you may think.

How long do we spend at airports trying to fly somewhere? We are there at least two hours before the flight leaves and that’s not accounting for delays or cancellations. Then we stand in line waiting for the rental car; good luck getting out of there in under an hour. On your return flight home, you’d have to return the rental car and then go through the same process praying that the flight doesn’t get delayed or canceled. While the flight time may only be a few hours, how many hours do we spend until we actually get from our home to our destination? On top of the nightmare of trying to fly with diapers, getting through TSA while diapered, potentially explaining to TSA why we are wearing diapers, and changing in those very public restrooms, flying with extra bags of luggage stuffed full of diapers will cost extra. Don’t even get me started on rental car prices.

However, there’s a much better solution. Instead of flying, make your next vacation a road trip! Not only would you not have to spend a ton of money on expensive plane tickets, you’d save a lot of money on the rental car, too. Furthermore, you’d have a lot of storage space for your diapers. If you really think about how much time you spend between flying and compare it to how much time you’d spend driving to your destination instead, you may see that it’s about the same. For example, if you spend 1 hour getting to the airport, wait 2 hours for the plane, get delayed 2 hours, get on your plane that takes 2 hours to get to your destination, wait 1 hour in line for your rental car, then finally drive 1 hour to your hotel from the airport, how many hours did you spend doing all that? 9. You spend 9 hours sitting around feeling bored the entire time. Even if you aren’t delayed (good luck with that!), you’re still sitting around for 7 hours. Wouldn’t you rather be driving through the country? Stopping in old-fashioned diners? You’d be going on an adventure that you can control. Doesn’t that sound great?

If you do need to fly, your best bet would be to ship diapers to whichever hotel you’re planning on staying at. Call ahead after you make your reservation and ask if you can ship packages to the hotel OR you could just as easily have them shipped to an Amazon locker, a UPS store, or a FedEx store that’s near the hotel. The amount of diapers you’d need is simple: I’ve always used N + 2 where N is the number of diapers you need a day. I’ve used more diapers on average while I’m on vacation every day, so let’s say 6 diapers a day to be safe. 6 + 2 = 8 diapers a day. If I’m there for 5 days, I need 40 diapers. Of course, if you have the room, feel free to throw some extra diapers in there.

You’d need to ensure that your changing bag is restocked with all the essentials: a change of clothes, scented trash bags, various diapers, powder, and whatever else you need to remain discreet and dignified while flying diapered. You absolutely need to take every precaution to be respectful of others; how would you like sitting next to someone that reeks of pee for hours? Change before every flight even if your diaper is dry. Wipe your diaper area with baby wipes with every change. Use a tiny bit of powder to feel dry and smell fresh. I also recommend that you do not drink a whole lot of anything while flying. We aren’t trying to continue training on a plane, after all.