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What's in my diaper bag? Some of my favorite things I never leave home without! Every morning my routine includes, stocking up diaper essentials, food gear and snacks, and of course my own goodies. My husband is always ready to leave long before I am because he doesn't do this task, ever. So, I'm actually writing this post specifically for one person in my life, him. He literally would have no idea what to put in the bag if I didn't put this list together. I re-stock the bag every morning with all the essentials. And every morning he asks me, "Do we really need all this stuff?" Yes, hubs, we REALLY need all this stuff.
And packing is a breeze, thanks to my huge diaper bag, and my Totesavvy organizer. Everything has a specific pocket it fits in and it literally is more organized than any bag I've ever owned & of course it has way more stuff in it than ever before.
I'm headed on a weekend away for a girls trip soon and leaving the Mr.man with the husband & I want to make sure Jason doesn't find himself at Trader Joes with a blow out diaper and no set of extra clothes, diapers or wipes. Below I break it down for him pocket by pocket and category by category.
The Vessel:
Obviously the most important part. Of course, before the baby came I used my designer bags to carry my own stuff. And this bag was always full. It's called the never full by LV, but they've never met a new mom like me who needs all newest, hottest gadgets and baby gear I could find. Being in fashion I have always loved my designer bags and didn't want to exchange them out for "mom bag" so I used this one. Before I found the Totesavvy it literally was a bottomless pit. It didn't have compartments or pockets to actually organize all the stuff so it was just all piled high in there and overflowing all the time. Using my Totesavvy is a dream and I have no idea how I carried this all before.
i'm in love with this top from @oliviajames_womensapparel and I think she has a few left and its under $50!!
This organizer has so much space and it has enough pockets for everything to be organized by category. Which I love, I'm one of those people who's a highlighter hoarder and I color codes my calendars, so you can imagine how happy this makes me.
Totesavvy organizer by @lifeinplay.
Pockets for everything from diaper changing gear, toys, snacks, and swaddles.
Diaper duty:
⚫️ diapers
⚫️ wipes
⚫️ changing pad cover + swaddle
I always bring at least 3 diapers because you just never know, and there is nothing worse than not having diapers when you need them. I also bring the rash cream just in case, although we haven't really needed to use it. And we use baby powder at night because Finn sleeps 12 hours straight, and it helps absurd some of the moisture. And since we've been exploring more beach days, the baby powder also comes in real handy for removing sand from the hard to reach crevasses. Those rolls always end up hidden sand and if you sprinkle some powder on and wipe away, it makes it super easy and soft for babies skin.
I also like to bring our favorite bamboo swaddle by @xovebaby. It softer than any other swaddle I've found and it's actually bigger in size than most, so it's more like a blanket than a swaddle. It's a dream. Plus they are an absolutely amazing company who gives back. For every swaddle purchase, they donate to a child in need.
Eats:
⚫️ Swell bottle with filtered water- keeps the water warm for 24hrs! .... Seriously.
⚫️ bottles
⚫️ aiden + anes bamboo bib
⚫️ plum organics just Veggie puréed packets
⚫️ dried apples
Jason and I try and eat out at least once a week, like a mini date night. And everyone says, once Finn is mobile it becomes super hard to go to a restaurant with babies. So we try and take full advantage now before he's crawling. But, that doesn't mean it easy right now. Finn has wanted solid foods since he was 5 months. Whatever we are having he wants. We are in love with our Ola baby teething spoon! He can hold it and feed himself easily. Plus it keeps him occupied even without food on the spoon because it doubles as a teether! This child of mine has two teeth on the bottom and currently working on the top two so our okay spoon is a must. It also saves that valuable space in the diaper bag because it's two items in one!
Finn still gets 5 bottles a day so we always bring enough formula for 3 bottles, just in case we stay out longer or get stuck in traffic! Which happens often here in Northern California. This swell bottle is literally a lifesaver when the Freeway comes to a dead stop, Finn starts screaming and we need a bottle asap. He likes his bottles warm, so any bottle of water just won't do. This bottle keeps the liquids hot (or cold) for 24hrs! Like not kidding...a whole day and it's still hot! I know this is a post about diaper bag essentials but, the big version of this bottle can also hold an entire bottle of wine. 😉 Just sayin...
We also bring snacks! The truth is, he still gets all those calories from his milk, and doesn't need any solids but, to help his pallet form, we try and give him some of our whatever we are eating. However, sometimes when I'm eating something like spicy tacos (I'm obsessed with Mexican food) it's too hot for him and we need things to keep him occupied while we eat. Dried apples are amazing! He can suck on them for a long time which allows us time to gobble down our own meals without him trying to steal some bites. And if we run out of formula, and he isn't into apples that day, I do bring the purée packs just in case. He can hold the packet himself and can suck the purée out no problem, but he does get accidentally squeeze at the same time which means a bib is a must have item in our bag! I love the washable bibs from Aden + Anes, they aren't too small, easily fold up and they wash extremely well.
pheeww, that was a long one and no not all that fits in one pocket, but it was the food category so I lumped it all together.
Extras:
⚫️ change of clothes
⚫️ Grom squad hat
⚫️ sunnies
⚫️ sockies
Ok, so all of this is obviously explanatory, right? So I'll take this opportunity to tell you guys a little story. The husband is a last minute procrastinator about dinner decisions, and it's so annoying. He never tells me ahead of time what he is in the mood for, for dinner and never have all the ingredients. The other night, I was frustrated and ran out of the house to run to trader joes to grab on onion because I was missing that ingredient due to my husband waiting until the 11th hour to tell me what he wanted. I was in a rush so I just grabbed Finn out of the car seat, and carried him in my arms along with my wallet, and keys and the onion. It was around 5:30pm, which is rush hour at TJs, so the lines were long. As I stood 6 people deep in line I smelled Finn. I knew it was happening, but not to what extent. I didn't have the diaper bag, I only had Finn. As I finally approached the check out stand, the 20 something young guy behind the register just looked at me, and busted out with laughter, no really. Like laughter that makes you cry. I couldn't help myself and started laughing as well. It was all I could do as I stood there, covered in Finn's poop. No seriously, covered. Of course, I had my phone and snapped a pic for my husband, images and text below. Enjoy! I hope this post helps you avoid this and many other things that could happen if your diaper bag isn't properly packed. What's actually in my own bag and my favorite toys to bring along will be in the next blog. Stay tuned!
Note the side of my shirt Finn is not on, that also has poop on it. My arm got tired on one side, so I kept switching sides, and it was everywhere.
