blog poll: what’s in YOUR diaper bag?

hooray!  we finally took the plunge this week and purchased a diaper bag!  there was much harrumphing about it on my part (sorry, honey) because I’d originally had my heart set on a DIAPER BAG diaper bag and not some other kind of gender neutral bag that could be co-opted to behave as a diaper bag for as long as we need it to, then put to good use when we no longer need it for that purpose.  this harrumphing of mine was born of long years of “oh, that’s so CUTE!” that I’d done over Peter Rabbit themed bags, then sleeker (but still specifically for diapers) more chic models, and more recently all of the cute diaper bag patterns that Amy Butler and others like her have created.   Plus, I’d found these awesome bags as I was poking around online.  COME ON!!  SO CUTE!! I’d always dreamed of owning and carrying one of these bags and this felt like just one more “dream” I had to give up.  Despite my grumbling, I could see the wisdom in not having a diaper bag that was so girly looking that J would refuse to carry it (or change the baby in public–can you imagine him carrying that Amy Butler bag into a men’s restroom at a rest stop on the toll road?  ha!), and so we went to REI with me stubbornly dragging my feet.  When we got to the bags, I had to admit (although, come to think of it, I may not have admitted this out loud to J.  sorry, honey.) that some of the bags were pretty cute and under normal circumstances I would have jumped at the excuse to buy one.  But we soon realized… we had no idea how big of a bag we’d want.  I was pretty sure I didn’t want something enormous (I have a tendency to fill bags up, no matter how big or small they are and that can get really heavy, really quickly), but on the other hand, I didn’t want a bag so small that the items would only fit in if you put them in JUST so with no room for growth.

We ended up purchasing two bags to take home and stuff full of baby necessities to see which one we liked better.  That made the decision easier.  I think we both leaned pretty heavily toward the same bag.  Of course, it was the more expensive of the two, but when we realized that we’d likely be carrying this bag a LOT for a number of years to come… the extra cost seemed insignificant.  In case you’re curious, this is the one we got.  It even has two outside pockets on the sides perfect for carrying bottles (my one secret, probably silly wish).

Now for the poll part:

For those of you who have children of the diaper bag age, what’s in your diaper bag?  ‘Fess up–are you the type who packs for every eventuality (4 extra pairs of socks, a snack for mom, baby Tylenol AND Motrin, 20 binkies…) or have you pared down to the essentials (diapers, wipes, butt cream–do you need anything else)?  Is there anything in there that you added after some incident taught you that you should carry it?  Would your list look any different if you were packing for a newborn?

I”m not necessarily looking for “you should definitely pack this” advice (everyone will have their own opinions and I’ll just get befuddled) but I’m curious to know what has worked for you.

For those of you who don’t have kids yet–leave me a comment if you’d like for me to publish a comprehensive diaper bag packing list when I’ve heard back from people.

p.s.  it’s oddly nice to realize that this particular dream is one that I probably would have had to give up no matter how a child came to join our family.  Hooray for non-adoption-specific angst!

8 comments ↓

#1 Sarah S. on 12.31.09 at 7:28 pm

I tend to be more of an “essential” diaper-bag packer. Diapers, wipes and a change of clothes. I have often been happy to be with a friend who packed everything if I forgot something, which was pretty nice. The one item I can highly recommend is an extra shirt for YOU if you have a baby that spits up a lot. Isaac was that kind of a baby and there were a couple of times that I didn’t have that extra shirt (being the essential only type of packer) and I was really, really sorry.

#2 Tina on 12.31.09 at 7:56 pm

The one thing I always found I needed and still need is a waterproof bag (or 2) for the dirty/wet stuff. I try to be as minimalist (to prevent it weighing more than the kid) with also being realistic.

#3 Laura Y. on 01.02.10 at 8:17 pm

Definitely an “essentials only” packer, but here are my essentials:
-burp cloth
-diapers (two)
-wipes (in a small ziplock bag)
-onesie (in case there’s a poop blow out 🙂
-extra ziplock bag (for pooped-on clothes)
-small jar of vaseline (my favorite butt cream)
-rattle/toy
-bottle
-plastic baby spoon (when the baby is old enough to eat)

#4 Susan on 01.02.10 at 8:42 pm

I have a 2 1/2 year old daughter, and I carry diapers, wipes, changing pad, extra outfit for her (in a ziplock bag because I’ve had bottles/cups leak), sippy cup, snacks, and a small toy/stuffed animal/book for entertaining or soothing a fussy child

For a newborn up to one year old, I carried bottles with water in them and then had a divided container for powdered formula instead of the sippy cup, burp clothes, infant tylenol, and milacon. I didn’t carry snacks until baby was on solid food (unless it was a snack for me!) The toy for soothing/entertaining baby changed as she aged.

Congrats on your purchase. I like your selection.

#5 Katie on 01.03.10 at 10:52 am

I hear your pain. I found this awesome diaper bag (unfortunately it is one of these smarter than you websites that won’t allow you to send the exact link: click on “english,” “4 family,” “messenger bags,” in the upper left, and finally “messenger bag casual.”

http://www.laessig-fashion.de/

But hey, then realized that due to shipping error a family member got TWO diaper bags – one not used at all. So, I’m opting for free over 60 euros – but it means good bye to the awesome colors and designs, but hello to a husband friendly all black bag.

Good luck with the filling, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that you’ll have another 2 months before it needs to be filled!

#6 sarah sister on 01.05.10 at 7:57 pm

With just Colin, our diaper bag was awesome. We had everything in it. Two outfits, pajamas, socks, toys, sippy cup, baby spoons, two microwavealbe gerber meals, bibs, every medicine we use, a camera, at least five Nuks, kleenexs, hand sanitizer, than of course five diapers, a changing pad and an entire pack of wipes. When, we had Luke, suddenly our roomy diaper bag felt very cramped. We still carry the same stuff in the four outside pockets (hand sanitizer, camera, nuks, kleenex, medications, bib) but the inside now holds one pair of pajamas for each boy, two diapers for each boy, the changing pad and a half pack of wipes. So, our advice is don’t forget to plan for the number of kids you hope to have in five years, not just the one you are having in two months.

#7 blogapotamus on 01.07.10 at 4:17 am

Obviously, the packing list totally changes depending on the age of the child, but for a baby, i seem to remember having at least 2 burp cloths, two full changes of clothes (for babies, this takes up a lot less room than it sounds!) a pack of wipes, 3 diapers, a changing pad, formula powder (once she was weened) and two bottles!

I’ve just treated myself to a new diaper bag for the Squid thanks to some Christmas money from brother and sister in law. 🙂 (Twas quite pricey, so I never would have bought it w/o the gift vouchers!) http://www.johnlewis.com/230530594/Product.aspx

#8 Susan on 01.11.10 at 4:20 pm

I’m so late to comment here…but anyway –
I used to carry everything from 2 diapers to a change of clothes and toys and tylenol and changing pad (that you made me, btw, and it was wonderful), and an emergency knitting project (in case baby fell asleep in the car and I had some time in the parking lot) and snacks and a sippy cup…
And then kid #2 happened and I cut down because hauling that thing around was such a pain. Now that the younger one is 2, I throw an extra diaper (no wipes, meh) in my purse IF I REMEMBER and call it good.

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