What do I actually need in a diaper bag? Like how much stuff should I be able to put in it? I should get one that has the cooler lining stuff to keep BM cool right? Help a newbie out!
I haven't BTDT but I used to be a nanny in grad school and we would go out on short outings here and there. I would bring: diapers, changing pad, wipes, change of clothes, toy, snack (when appropriate). As far as a cooler on short outings I used a small portable cooler that was separate from the bag itself and was small and could only hold a bottle or two at a time. If you are out and need to pump and then transport that milk home you would probably need a bigger bag for pump parts and a bigger cooler. I'm planning on using a Coach diaper bag and also use that as my purse. I'll get DH a separate diaper bag thats more "manly" (if that exists lol).
When I had one kid, 3 cloth diapers, a bag to put dirty ones in, wipes (even though we cloth we use disposable wipes), a hat, extra socks, a teether, a couple of rattle type toys, nursinf cover and a light blanket. A bib and spoon, baby food as needed, Cheerios or other snacks when he was older. I never carried BM for DS1, with DS2 I had a smaller cooler bag for it.
Edit: I also carried extra clothes and a changing pad.
When I've had to carry bm I've just used the little cooler that came with the pisa.
Same as pp basically. Three flats or prefolds, extra cover, wipes, wet bag, full change of clothes for baby, extra shirt for myself, Aden and Anais blanket.
I used a skip hop studio with B and there was plenty of room for everything.
For the baby stage: A couple diapers, travel wipes, changing pad, diaper cream, burp cloths, change of clothes, I would put a light blanket and hat in there in cold seasons, sunscreen and sun hat for hot seasons, pacifiers, toys. I never used any kind of cooler when I traveled with BM, which I did a lot, unless it was a long road trip.
For toddler stage: Diapers, wipes, pad, change of clothes, snacks, toys, hand sanitizer, nail clipper, sunscreen, at least one sippy, bandaids. I usually don't bring it when I'm just running out anymore. I have diapers and wipes in the car for emergencies.
I haven't BTDT but I used to be a nanny in grad school and we would go out on short outings here and there. I would bring: diapers, changing pad, wipes, change of clothes, toy, snack (when appropriate). As far as a cooler on short outings I used a small portable cooler that was separate from the bag itself and was small and could only hold a bottle or two at a time. If you are out and need to pump and then transport that milk home you would probably need a bigger bag for pump parts and a bigger cooler. I'm planning on using a Coach diaper bag and also use that as my purse. I'll get DH a separate diaper bag thats more "manly" (if that exists lol).
I am intrigued by one that I can use as a purse as well. If I could throw my wallet and shiz in there that would be fantastic.
I haven't BTDT but I used to be a nanny in grad school and we would go out on short outings here and there. I would bring: diapers, changing pad, wipes, change of clothes, toy, snack (when appropriate). As far as a cooler on short outings I used a small portable cooler that was separate from the bag itself and was small and could only hold a bottle or two at a time. If you are out and need to pump and then transport that milk home you would probably need a bigger bag for pump parts and a bigger cooler. I'm planning on using a Coach diaper bag and also use that as my purse. I'll get DH a separate diaper bag thats more "manly" (if that exists lol).
I am intrigued by one that I can use as a purse as well. If I could throw my wallet and shiz in there that would be fantastic.
I did this, it wasn't necessary for me to carry a purse and a diaper bag. I took my "must haves" out of my purse and put them in the diaper bag. I did use a lot of the things in the diaper bag when she was a baby and probably stopped using it unless we were gone all day around 15 or so months. I also would just keep things in my car like an extra outfit or diapers so I always had what I needed.
So ideally my diaper bag would have a pocket on the outside that I can slide my wallet, phone and keys into without having to dig through my whole bag. Is this common?
So ideally my diaper bag would have a pocket on the outside that I can slide my wallet, phone and keys into without having to dig through my whole bag. Is this common?
Totally common. My mil gave me a little Vera Bradley wallet thing that I keep my cards and phone in and I clip my key to the outside and just throw the whole thing in the bag. That Al's makes it easy to switch to my own purse if I'm not bringing B with me somewhere. Now I just carry a messenger bag from The North Face bc I don't need to carry as much stuff for the time being.
So ideally my diaper bag would have a pocket on the outside that I can slide my wallet, phone and keys into without having to dig through my whole bag. Is this common?
Totally common. My mil gave me a little Vera Bradley wallet thing that I keep my cards and phone in and I clip my key to the outside and just throw the whole thing in the bag. That Al's makes it easy to switch to my own purse if I'm not bringing B with me somewhere. Now I just carry a messenger bag from The North Face bc I don't need to carry as much stuff for the time being.
So ideally my diaper bag would have a pocket on the outside that I can slide my wallet, phone and keys into without having to dig through my whole bag. Is this common?
Yeah, LOTS of pockets are a plus! I often do the above, too. I throw my wallet, keys and phone in the outside pouch of the diaper bag.
So ideally my diaper bag would have a pocket on the outside that I can slide my wallet, phone and keys into without having to dig through my whole bag. Is this common?
Yeah, LOTS of pockets are a plus! I often do the above, too. I throw my wallet, keys and phone in the outside pouch of the diaper bag.
Me too. My bag has two outside pockets that have magnetic snaps (one is designed for the changing pad, the other i keep toys in) and two smaller zipper pockets that I use for my things. Then there's 6 small pockets inside that I use for socks or other things that get "lost" easily.
After being a nanny and using different bags and just trial and error - I learned what I like and don't like in a bag and I am huge for compartments (so I am not digging as well). This is the bag I have purchased and I'm super excited about it!!!
In my diaper bag I carried 10 diapers, wipes, Vaseline, diaper cream, antibacterial wet wipes, those little baggies to put dirty diapers in, burp cloths, breast pads, a few changes of clothes when my son was really little. I always carried a small cooler with an ice pack for the breast milk. When it was warmer out I would add a hat and sunscreen once he was about a year. My son never took a pacifier but if your child uses one then you would need an extra one or two because they drop them. Now that my son is almost 2 and nearly potty trained I have a tote that I keep in my car with a few diapers and change of clothes.
My biggest thing in a diaper bag is a good amount of open space with lots of organization pockets, I preferred to have room for a small cooler vs. an actual spot for BM/bottles just because I like things super organized and felt more comfortable having an actual ice pack to keep it cold.
You want something that is easy to clean up, I prefer a light lining because it's so much easier to find stuff (my VB bag is kind of dark inside and it drives me nuts). This time I chose something that had stroller attachments because my VB was such a pain getting under a stroller and the handles weren't long enough to comfortably fit over the handles). You REALLY don't want your diaper bag to way a ton by itself.
I was originally an over packer.
Diapers, wipes, I like the arm&hammer diaper bags in case there isn't a trash nearby, feeding stuff (for the first month or so we had a single bottle, we used drop-ins, a baggie with formula, with an H2O bottle, and/or a bag of BM, and I also through my Medela Harmony in there with an extra storage bottle), extra pacifiers, an extra change of clothes, a rattle/something distracting, blanket, nursing cover, wet ones, hand sanitizer, whatever mommy needs for herself (I had things like extra pads, breast pads, lanolin cream, extra pair of underwear (in case I bled through or something), then my normal purse basics)
Proud babywearing, breastfeeding, vaccinating SAHM of 2U2!
We have a big fancy diaper bag and never used it. Instead we use one of those little draw string backpacks. We have a changing pad, a few diapers, and wipes in there. We can also fit a few snacks, a water bottle, and a milk cup. The big bag is way too much to drag around everywhere.
Unexplained Infertility
After two Clomid cycles, three injectable IUI cycles, two IVFs, two miscarriages, and one lap surgery, IVF #2 has brought us our little boy!
TTC #2 After months of being postponed or cancelled, FET #1.3 (Natural FET) brought us twin girls!
Re: S/O diaper bags
I haven't BTDT but I used to be a nanny in grad school and we would go out on short outings here and there. I would bring: diapers, changing pad, wipes, change of clothes, toy, snack (when appropriate). As far as a cooler on short outings I used a small portable cooler that was separate from the bag itself and was small and could only hold a bottle or two at a time. If you are out and need to pump and then transport that milk home you would probably need a bigger bag for pump parts and a bigger cooler. I'm planning on using a Coach diaper bag and also use that as my purse. I'll get DH a separate diaper bag thats more "manly" (if that exists lol).
When I had one kid, 3 cloth diapers, a bag to put dirty ones in, wipes (even though we cloth we use disposable wipes), a hat, extra socks, a teether, a couple of rattle type toys, nursinf cover and a light blanket. A bib and spoon, baby food as needed, Cheerios or other snacks when he was older. I never carried BM for DS1, with DS2 I had a smaller cooler bag for it.
Edit: I also carried extra clothes and a changing pad.
Same as pp basically. Three flats or prefolds, extra cover, wipes, wet bag, full change of clothes for baby, extra shirt for myself, Aden and Anais blanket.
I used a skip hop studio with B and there was plenty of room for everything.
For toddler stage: Diapers, wipes, pad, change of clothes, snacks, toys, hand sanitizer, nail clipper, sunscreen, at least one sippy, bandaids. I usually don't bring it when I'm just running out anymore. I have diapers and wipes in the car for emergencies.
I am intrigued by one that I can use as a purse as well. If I could throw my wallet and shiz in there that would be fantastic.
CJ 05/29/2013
I did this, it wasn't necessary for me to carry a purse and a diaper bag. I took my "must haves" out of my purse and put them in the diaper bag. I did use a lot of the things in the diaper bag when she was a baby and probably stopped using it unless we were gone all day around 15 or so months. I also would just keep things in my car like an extra outfit or diapers so I always had what I needed.
CJ 05/29/2013
Totally common. My mil gave me a little Vera Bradley wallet thing that I keep my cards and phone in and I clip my key to the outside and just throw the whole thing in the bag. That Al's makes it easy to switch to my own purse if I'm not bringing B with me somewhere. Now I just carry a messenger bag from The North Face bc I don't need to carry as much stuff for the time being.
Totally common. My mil gave me a little Vera Bradley wallet thing that I keep my cards and phone in and I clip my key to the outside and just throw the whole thing in the bag. That Al's makes it easy to switch to my own purse if I'm not bringing B with me somewhere. Now I just carry a messenger bag from The North Face bc I don't need to carry as much stuff for the time being.
Yeah, LOTS of pockets are a plus! I often do the above, too. I throw my wallet, keys and phone in the outside pouch of the diaper bag.
After being a nanny and using different bags and just trial and error - I learned what I like and don't like in a bag and I am huge for compartments (so I am not digging as well). This is the bag I have purchased and I'm super excited about it!!!
https://www.luglife.com/Tuk-Tuk-Carry-All-Bag?sc=18&category=3612
My biggest thing in a diaper bag is a good amount of open space with lots of organization pockets, I preferred to have room for a small cooler vs. an actual spot for BM/bottles just because I like things super organized and felt more comfortable having an actual ice pack to keep it cold.
You want something that is easy to clean up, I prefer a light lining because it's so much easier to find stuff (my VB bag is kind of dark inside and it drives me nuts). This time I chose something that had stroller attachments because my VB was such a pain getting under a stroller and the handles weren't long enough to comfortably fit over the handles). You REALLY don't want your diaper bag to way a ton by itself.
I was originally an over packer.
Diapers, wipes, I like the arm&hammer diaper bags in case there isn't a trash nearby, feeding stuff (for the first month or so we had a single bottle, we used drop-ins, a baggie with formula, with an H2O bottle, and/or a bag of BM, and I also through my Medela Harmony in there with an extra storage bottle), extra pacifiers, an extra change of clothes, a rattle/something distracting, blanket, nursing cover, wet ones, hand sanitizer, whatever mommy needs for herself (I had things like extra pads, breast pads, lanolin cream, extra pair of underwear (in case I bled through or something), then my normal purse basics)
Unexplained Infertility
After two Clomid cycles, three injectable IUI cycles, two IVFs, two miscarriages, and one lap surgery, IVF #2 has brought us our little boy!
TTC #2
After months of being postponed or cancelled, FET #1.3 (Natural FET) brought us twin girls!