Last year, during fire season, I had to make a run for it as homes near mine were being evacuated. Luckily, we had time to gather supplies and decide what we needed to stay at my in-laws for a few days, but in the event of a true emergency, we wouldn’t be so lucky.
Looking back, I wish I had put together a more comprehensive 72-Hour Kit for babies, especially considering I had infant twins at the time. It doesn’t have to be daunting or even that heavy.
But we’ve got you covered with our 72-hour emergency kit for babies:
- 1 gallon of water
- single serving packets of baby formula (make sure you have enough servings for 3 full days)
- 2-5 baby bottles or standard water bottles
- 2-5 water bottle adapters
- Diapers
- 3 packs of wipes
- 5 onesies
- 5 zip up pajamas
- 3 pants
- 6-10 socks
- burp cloths/blankets
- receiving blankets
- emergency blankets
- thermal bag (like this Flatbox that you can also use as an eating surface)
- pedialyte singles
- sunscreen
- hand sanitizer
- pacifiers
- infant tylenol & motrin
- diaper cream
- gallon ziplocks
- infant carrier or sling
Note: we highly recommend packing clothes that are a little bit too large for your baby, and make sure to switch out the clothes every 6 months or so.
Also, be prepared to nurse in any situation, and be ready to carry your child in a sling or baby carrier even if you haven’t previously. Skin-to-skin contact and being held can be soothing in times of stress and crisis.
Make sure to shop for a good sturdy backpack, but also keep in mind that you will be carrying your own 72-hour kit in case of an emergency. Make sure your kit and your babies kit are in bags you can handle on your own, or that all the items are in one bag that is large enough to store everything.