Infant/Toddler 72 Hour Kit Checklist

My husband and I decided to watch World War Z one saturday morning. My husband laughed at me when I said this was a scary movie. It makes you think of every possible thing that could go wrong in your life. I've been meaning to get our 72 hour kits together, but just haven't gotten around to it. Now that I have my little one, I've decided it really is time to get them done. I truly believe it's extremely important to be prepared and a 72 hour kit is a great place to begin. I plan to do a whole section on Emergency preparedness, and I hope the things I research and gather will help.

I've researched lots of websites and blogs and have put together a checklist, the link is below, along with a explanation for most items. Of course, it's YOUR kit, you know what your baby will need more than I do, this list can be adjusted to your needs.

Infant/Toddler 72 Hour Kit Checklist

First off, decide what to put all your gear and supplies in. I've chosen a backpack, but there is the option of using a suitcase, or duffle bag. The discussion my husband and I had was even with one of us carrying our own backpack and the baby the other could manage their backpack and the baby's backpack. We only have one baby right now, so it's a bit easier than having multiple kids, in my opinion I still think we will use a backpack to keep my hands free.

Also, I've compiled a list, but for the most part, it's your family, it's your kid. You may not need everything I've listed and you may need something I haven't listed. Choose the essentials and go from there.

Food

I mainly breastfeed and my goal is a year, BUT I have to realize that we are going to be in an emergency situation and with the stress my body may not be able to produce milk, OR I may not be with my family and my husband will have to feed my baby, or some other adult, so having formula is just a precaution, but I think a smart one.

On the checklist it says 3+ food pouches, this is completely up to you to determine how many of these you want. I will always have at least three no matter how old they are, but usually at 4 months I feed them once a day, 5 months-twice, 6 months-three. So at 6 months I have 9 pouches in the pack, 3 per day. I would also recommend checking the expiration date on these and switch them out every 6 months. 

Clothes

Get the sweat outfit a year bigger so the child can grow into it, then each year when you replace the clothes they can wear the outfit that year. If you choose to put socks in your pack, they can be used doubly as gloves.

Hygiene

Remember with the diapers you need to adjust the amount to however many diapers you change in a day times 3. If you have too many it’s ok, they can be used as paper towels or other things. Wipes can also be used for cleaning and not just the babies bum.

Medicine

These items will be the last that I will get. I think priority here would definitely be tylenol and possibly rash cream. Depending how old your baby is you may not even need teething gel. This one just depends on your baby.

Luxury

Now, these luxury items, really are LUXURY. At this point you may not have much room left in your pack let alone the need for dispensing spoons and laundry soap (though, if you are using clothe diapers, I would assume this will be essential). So, pick and choose where you can, if you have room for some things, great, if not have them listed separately as things you will grab in a hurry.

Hopefully this is helpful, if you have any ideas of additional gear you might need, please comment and I will add it to the checklist.

Infant/Toddler 72 Hour Kit Checklist