Update: This post originally referred to the service by its previous name, Babierge. It has been updated to reflect the company’s new name, which is BabyQuip.
Last week, Natalie and I took our first flight with Jack using carry-on luggage only. Before the little man was born, we flew 98% of the time without checking bags—even on around-the-world trips. But traveling with a baby changes everything, and it seemed like our carry-on-only days were behind us. It turns out they’re not…and it’s all thanks to a new service called BabyQuip.
It’s a brilliant service and one I never would have thought was needed until I became a (proud) dad myself. What BabyQuip does is use the sharing economy to provide baby gear, toys, books and games, etc. to traveling families who want to pack light but still enjoy the comforts of home and have the baby gear they need, while on vacation. It’s awesome! Currently, the service is available in dozens of U.S. markets and two international ones (Toronto and Vancouver) but they are expanding rapidly.
On our previous trips when we didn’t have Jack’s high chair, it was incredibly difficult to feed him since he was too small for a restaurant high chair and hotels just don’t have anything else to offer. But Babierge came to the rescue and it made a huge difference to our entire travel experience.
Natalie went on to babyquip.com and started ordering goods (full disclosure: they gave us a free trial). She ordered everything from his size and brand of diapers to his high chair. She also ordered some new gadgets and toys for him to try so that we could see whether he liked them and whether we should buy them for home. For example, BabyQuip provided us with an inflatable bed rail by The Shrunks and we liked it so much, we ordered it for ourselves when we got home.
BabyQuip has everything from full-size wooden cribs and infant swings to car seats, strollers and infant bathtubs as well as books, games and toys.
It was such a relief to arrive at the hotel and have the concierge ask if we would like them to bring up all the baby gear that had just been dropped off that morning. The hotel staff were blown away by the service, too, and someone quipped that they were going to need to use BabyQuip for their next trip. It’s really inexpensive, too. The high chair rental was just $6 a day and the car seat rentals are about $10 a day. At those affordable prices, it makes it so much easier to travel light and know that everything your little one needs will be waiting for you upon arrival. As new parents, there’s so much to worry about but this is one less thing!
