Diaper bags!

schef070911

BTDT (Been There Done That) mamas: what diaper bags have you loved? Any features you found particularly helpful? Did you pick a backpack or one strap (traditional?) style? Trying to decide and there are waaaay too many to choose from!  Thanks in advance from this FTM

SnarkasaurusRex

I use this SkipHop one and I've really liked it. It has tons of pockets for storage so I can keep it pretty organized. It also has straps to attach it to a stroller, which I've used and appreciated more than I thought I would. DH has these diaper bag inserts that he puts in a backpack. I also use the backpack sometimes (like when we fly), but I also will use the inserts if I want to carry a purse instead of a diaper bag and still keep things organized.

Koukonei

With my son, I scored an amazing deal on this bag: https://www.poshtots.com/diaper-bags/diaper-bags-by-style/all-diaper-bags/petunia-pickle-bottom-huckleberry-swirl-cake-satchel/1377/2156/1309/16655/poshproductdetail.aspx (got it almost brand new secondhand for $40 Canadian).

I love it, but since we're having twins, I needed something bigger this time around and bought a JuJuBe be prepared bag (also secondhand for $40). Love that this one can be wiped down and the inside is antimicrobial. I think it would be overkill for only one kid though, it's freaking massive haha!

shaunessa

We bought a generic diaper bag for me to carry and invested in a messenger Diaper Dude for my husband (Retails for $93.00).  He absolutely loved it!  Now you know who the diva is in our relationship! 

I wanted to add that I bought a diaper backpack when my son was about 12mths old. I no longer had to carry bottles, lots of diapers, burp cloths, 3 sets of clothes, etc.  The older your LO gets, the less you have to carry.

chelle087

I had an Eddie Bower diaper bag from Target with DS and was not a fan.  I thought that the material that the bag was made out of was too puffy, so even though the bag should have been large enough with enough pockets, it wasn't.  It just didn't fit as much as it looked like it should have.  For the most part we ended up using a backpack instead.

HGRich

I scored a Vera Bradley diaper bag unused from a friend for ten bucks. As a FTM I have no idea if it's big enough or practical enough but it was obviously a great price. 

rachelmiller03

I hate the bag I have now, and will be looking for a new one. It is a messenger bag, (I don't know the brand- found it at Burlington), but it really hurts my shoulder, and it feels too bulky with not enough room inside. I feel bad because my MIL purchased it. Right now, I just stick a diaper and a travel wipes in my purse if we are making a quick trip out. 

dlynn484

@HGRich I have a Vera Bradley one and liked it with my son.

If I didn't already have a diaper bag that I liked, I may look into a backpack diaper bag. 

schef070911

Thanks everyone!

@chelle087 I was actually at Target and Babies R Us this weekend with my mom and there were diaper bags with historically well-made brands like Eddie Bauer and Columbia at both.  I had wondered if they were the same construction quality! Good to know

BeachMommy2B

I used the free Carter's Diaper bag I got as a gift at Babies R Us for spending so much during a certain weekend. It was a black "micro-fiber" but seemed a little neoprene to me, so it wiped off so easily. Never had a stain and held up until we no longer needed a diaper bag with DD. We will go with something similar and cheap again.

Virginialeigh

I picked a bag because it had a pocket on the side with a refillable wipes container. It looked super handy. Just push a button and voila wipes. Then I found out that when you put the wipes in it they dry out super fast in that little container because it's not fair tight. So it was a total waste.

mylittleirvz

I use a utility tote from 31 bags for our diaper bag. I love that it has several outer pockets but I do wish it had an inside compartment or two - it's just open. It works for what we need just fine though overall.

jenessa05

I scored a Columbia bag off our buy nothing group and I love it. My first bag was a Skip hop and although cute, just not big enough. The Columbia bag is very durable, easy to clean, has an insulated bottle holder and a zipper to expand the bag bigger or make it a little more compact. I highly recommend, plus I like that it's sporty and works for moms and dads ☺️

allybadry

I went through a couple of the more traditional style diaper bags (one was carters, and the other was fairly generic) and hated them both. I had been trying to avoid spending a ton. I eventually got this one by Lassig and loved it. https://www.laessig-fashion.com/wickeltasche-neckline-bag-choco-melange

DS is 15 months now and I still use it when we go out on the weekends.

With #2 on the way and fully expecting I will have two in diapers I purchased a Jujube Be Prepared for day trips and outings and will probably use my Lassig for shorter trips or times when its just me and baby.

We do use a backpack when we go to sporting events because it is a bit easier to manage and we can fit in extras bits for dad and I as well (jackets, blankets, etc), and DH has a messenger style diaper bag he uses because he thinks my bags are too girly.

MWoodside

I don't like to use an actual diaper bag. I use a medium/large bag of some sort. For my first 2 it was a canvas bag that had a couple inside pockets and not double shoulder straps and an attachable crossbody strap option.  DH will probably continue to use that.

i either want a black Madewell leather bag (super plain, leather) or some sort of large handbag this time.

i need to retain some of my style. Lol

pammasu0909

I've been using a $20 backpack from Walmart for 2 kids for two years.  It's awesome.  Ton of pockets.  I use ziplock bags to keep their clothes and diapers separate (also useful for containing messes.  Only downside is there's no insulated pocket, but that wasn't as much as an issue with my second kid.

mrsstuessy

I got a cute, just regular messenger style bag from a friend at my baby shower. I used that for a couple of years. It had some nice pockets on the inside. I mostly avoided bringing a whole ton of stuff with me though, so I didn't need anything bulky. I will probably treat myself to a cute backpack type purse for this 2nd one, since I will need a little more room and I think a backpack style would be nice. 

HappyAnjel

I have a coach diaper bag my mom bought me when I had my daughter.. It's tan and looks like an oversized purse but has enough space and pockets to keep everything I needed.. it's still in perfect condition so I'll be using it again this time.

blackasnight

Ju Ju Be diaper bags are super cute. I have the BFF Legacy. You can wear it as a backpack or messenger bag. I always get compliments from other moms. 

doozenberg

I love this idea, thanks for posting. I have a hand me down brown diaper bag I got from my sister. I'll likely just use that. However, I'm a big backpack fan so I think I'll try that out too to see how I like it. 

cafedisco

Maybe an UO but I think diaper bags are overrated and one of those "don't really need to worry about" purchases.

I was gifted a Vera Bradley one, which was cute but the strap hurts when you wear it for too long. I used DH's "man-bag" messenger style one much more often. 

Honestly, even as an infant, we found ourselves out in 1 of 2 situations:

1. Somewhere we needed a stroller and then we just throw the bag in the bottom of the stroller (read: doesn't really matter what kind of bag it is, sometimes I used a grocery tote even).

2. Babywearing out and about and then you either will need a backpack (reg one works great) OR a small, cross-body purse, which was my preference.

Even if you end up bottle feeding, you don't need that much for the first 6 months when you go out. 1 change of clothes, a diaper/wipes (we kept extras in the car), a paci, burp cloth and ziplock bags - done. Maybe a light blanket depending on where you'll be. Once they start eating solids, we just bought a little cute lunch box for snacks. 

What I'm glad I bought was 2 of those little portable changing station things. We leave 1 in each car. Once we were out of baby phase, that's all we used, plus the lunch box. I can toss it in my purse if I need to or just leave it in the car and run out if we need something depending on where we are.

I would have never guessed I had a novel about diaper bags inside of me just waiting to come out....sorry.

pammasu0909

@cafedisco I totally agree with you, but you forgot a few things... snacks (for mom and baby), small toy, and burp cloths.  Both my kids spit up ALL THE TIME so the diaper bag always had at least 4 burp cloths

schef070911

Thanks everyone! It's good to hear that so many of you are using not exclusively diaper bags as I always wonder how much these bags would cost without the "diaper" tag on them. You're the best!

BeachMommy2B

@cafedisco I have to disagree about not needing one, my DD had poop explosions straight up the back no matter what type of diaper we used or how tight it was....so we were constantly changing her. So if we were going to be out of the house for more than an hour we had to have a bag full of diapers, clothes, and bottles. I would have died without the diaper bag.

So I'm sure it will be a case by case basis.. i'm sure some will be able to get away without one too. 

cafedisco

@BeachMommy2B I guess my point was that it doesn't have to be a diaper bag...any bag can work as long as it's functional. And some diaper bags (like mine) are less functional. So I think it's more important to think about your lifestyle and where/when/how you'll be using a bag than anything else. 

Also, I wish you a much less poopy baby this time. We had a few hose-down-in-a-public-sink-situations but definitely not every time. 

BeachMommy2B

@cafedisco oh! ok yea that makes perfect sense, i was thinking you meant no bag at all, I read wrong. I was super envious for a second! 

Oh yes thank you, I had totally forgotten I had to start taking extra change of clothes for me in the diaper bag too! If I can get by without this one pooping all over my clothes in public I'll call it will be a win! 

shaunessa

@BeachMommy2B

So spot on with the up the back poop explosions!  I also used to carry an extra T-shirt in the trunk of my car in case LO spewed on me.  There's nothing worse than smelling breast milk/formula on your collar all day long!

jennielynn+

I'm in the non traditional diaper bag club. I EBF when my Babes was small so, no bottles. Also, we were never far away from the car. If we had a blowout, I had clothes, changing pad ect. I kept in the car. Most well made handbags have large pockets and are well organized. (This is what I tell my husband when a holiday is coming up. ) I always had room for travel wipes, two diapers, travel size aquaphor and travel size nipple cream. Now days its just the two diapers, a few books and snacks in my purse. 

ashleym112

HGRich said:

I scored a Vera Bradley diaper bag unused from a friend for ten bucks. As a FTM I have no idea if it's big enough or practical enough but it was obviously a great price. 

I have one that my mil got for me and I love it. I really like the pockets and the changing pad that comes with it, which is removable and machine washable. However, I do agree with @boone484 in that I may use a backpack once we have this LO. We never really used a baby carrier this DS, but I really want to use one a lot more with new LO so I think we're going to buy a backpack--haven't decided on one meant to be used as a diaper bag or a normal one but we'll see. It mainly just depends on what you think you'll need or how much you want to carry. I usually throw my wallet in the diaper bag so I wasn't carrying so much around, or I'll throw a few diapers and wipes in my purse if we're just going on a quick outing. 

Spinning off the poop explosions, I recommend getting a wetback for whatever bag you choose. They are lifesavers if your kid has accidents or spits up all over their clothes. It will keep it from getting everything else gross and cuts down on smell. 

dlynn484

Here's something I found after my son stopped having his diaper blow outs. I wish I would've found it sooner. Did anyone know why they have the envelope folds on the shoulders of onesies? If you don't, find out here. Makes complete sense!

https://www.buzzfeed.com/mikespohr/the-real-reason-there-are-envelope-folds-on-a-babys-onesies?utm_term=.jhm2BXXqD#.deRM5ZZrP

cafedisco

Just curious what kind of diapers you all used when you had those poopsplosions?  We had a few, but very limited.  Last time we used cloth though and likely won't again....hoping our target diaps will hold up!

Threadjack, sorry!

lovelongdog06

In reality, I've used a cheap $10 diaper bag from Ross, a regular backpack, a cheap Walmart sling bag, a Thirty One tote bag, and a drawstring stuff sack. they've all served their purposes.

If I were splurging and had the money to do so, I'd get a Petunia Picklebottom Boxy Backpack or Jujube BFF.

DaisyCW

@cafedisco We used Huggies Little Snugglers and never had explosions, then eventually moved up to Huggies Little Movers as so got bigger. From our experience, we had leaking probs with Honest Diapers and Pampers. Everyone will have different suggestions so if you do run into that problem, buy a small pack instead of a box and see what works for you best. Good luck! 

DaisyCW

I am a diaper bag fanatic! The best one that I've owned is to Skip Hop 'Chelsea' diaper bag. Designed as a back pack and bag. Also has the stroller straps and its light weight which becomes very convenient. 

BeachMommy2B

@cafedisco we used both huggies and pampers. We also tried the baby dry vs the snugglers and regular vs swaddlers. We found we liked the pampers swaddlers best. Huggies baby dry worked nice, but I felt like DD always smelled like pee when we used them. 

jennielynn+

@cafedisco pampers for the first kid. She really only had blowouts when it was time for a new size. Also, we left the nb pad in our carseat longer than we should have. FTM problems.

shaunessa

@cafedisco

For our son Huggies Pure & Natural worked really well the first 4 months, then we switched to LUVS.  Luvs didn't have a really good elastic band around the waist, but they held his pee in really good.  We always had leaks with Pampers.  If you do go the cheap route like we did with LUVS, I would fold down the back and front flap a little which would help prevent poop explosions from leaking.

M&Max

We used pampers swaddlers when DS was little (until about 10 months).  We then switched to Luvs and haven't had an issue.  We have had DS leaking at night so we use Huggies overnights with a Spoisie insert - haven't had a leak since then.  I think the best thing you can do is be open to trying different brands and different sizes when you experience leaks.  

ebloom3

Not sure if this was covered, but best diaper bag for cloth diapers? I cloth diapered DS and could never find a bag that could accommodate the cloth. It can get bulky, so I need something with some space. 

doozenberg

great question @ebloom3, I'm going to cloth diaper and would be interested in this as well. 

Koukonei

@ebloom3 we will be cloth diapering the twins and we bought a JuJuBe be prepared bag, it's enormous!