International Adoption Trip One: 10 Must Haves in Your Carry-On Bag

Just because your other luggage is bound to get lost…here are the 10 Must Haves in Your Carry-On Bag (but remember that this is your first trip and you won’t be bringing your child home if it is a two trip country).

1. Clothing: two pairs of underwear, socks and two shirts. If you have room you can also throw in a skirt or a pair of pants (never shorts). This is an emergency and you can sleep in underwear and wear the same pair of pants, right? You need to fit as much as you can in a carry-on.

2. All medications and toiletries.

3. Book and a magazine to read.

4. Language Translations.

5. All needed adoption paperwork with the phone numbers for your agency, your immediate family, and any close friends.

6. One bar of soap for washing clothing if suitcase ends up lost. Now that you can not travel with anything larger than 4oz I don’t think you will be able to find the detergent that I used when we traveled to Russia.

7. Copies of your Passport, Visa, and Drivers License.

8. Camera, charger, memory, etc.

9. Snacks for both adults and adopted child.

10. Toys for child to play with when you meet him/her and a lovey or blanket for him/her to keep while you are gone.