At Multicultural Kid Blogs, we consider ourselves a (very large) extended family, and so today we are taking time to celebrate those members that are about to or have recently welcomed new little ones into their lives. We are so happy for them!
The co-hosts of this blog hop, listed below, have each written posts related to baby showers or more generally about becoming parents, plus we’d love for you to link up yours below.
Also be sure to visit our Facebook page to leave your advice and well wishes for our guests of honor!
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As an expectant MKB member myself and a mom of almost 3, I have some experience in caring for the baby and have a more or less clear idea of what I would need for my new baby. It took some time to figure out what items are needed and what are not. However, every family, every mom/dad different when it comes to all the necessities they have to have in their reach in order for care for the baby.
Today I would like to share with you my own tips on organizing a diaper bag and at the end of this post I will quote some of the fellow bloggers from MKB and from KBN on what they have/had in their diaper bags.
How to organize your diaper bag:
1. Decide on your diaper bag. Before you buy one, check your stroller/pram and see whether you will be more comfortable hanging the bag on it or keeping it in the under the stroller/pram. Also check how comfortable you are carrying this bag on your shoulder, across your chest or whether backpack style will be the best for you.
2. Decide on what is ABSOLUTELY necessary first (diapers, wipes, change or 2 of clothes, burp clothes, spare bibs, changing mat, nappy rash cream, bags for keeping used diapers, formula – if you are using, bottles, snack). Then calculate how many of those you will approximately need for every hour you are out. Add 1 or 2 extra – just in case! Add anything else extra you need (lanolin cream, hand cream, water bottle for yourself, snack for yourself etc).
3. For many moms a diaper bag is also a handbag. So deciding on where you keep your keys, documents and wallet in the bag is important and it is always best to separate them from everything else. In my personal experience, this ideally should be THE most organized part of your diaper bag.
4. Important note 1: diaper bags ARE messy. Or they get messy. It is just normal. Organizing everything in perfect order before leaving the house may eventually turn into everything being all over the bag. So when you actually sit down to take something out, you might end up taking everything out first in order to find what you need. And it is OK!
5. Important note 2: you don’t necessary need a special diaper bag. You can do what I did – use a comfortable, spacious, yet light backpack or handbag, that you love. But it took me 2 diaper bags before I found that is what I wanted!
I hope these tips are useful. Now, let’s see how bloggers answered my question on what was in their diaper bags:
Yours truly: “Diapers, wipes, snacks, disposed diapers bags, change of clothes, couple of towels, tissue paper, colors/crayons and coloring books/pages, few small toys, water bottle, nasal aspirator, couple of packs of milk. Since my diaper bag is my backpack, it also has all necessary things for me – some make up items, wallet, keys, vaseline (which I also use as diaper rash cream), hairbands for me and my girls, panadol and my homeopathy medicine, my phone and sometimes my charger. You’d think I have a huge backpack but it is in fact quite small!” (Follow on Facebook)
Nadia of Teach Me Mommy: “Diapers/nappy, wipes, bags(to throw diapers out), we call it nappy bags, bum cream, aqueous cream, sun tan lotion, pacifier, toy, snack box, spoon, small blanket, when I breastfed I had my cover up throw in too, and when we go out now, a bottle and an extra pair of clothes/warm top. For me: I just grab my phone and wallet!” (Follow on Facebook)
Maggy of Red Ted Art: “Baby wipes & a change of clothes essential.” (Follow on Facebook)
Adriadne for Positive Parenting Connection: “A busy bag! I have a zippered bag with paper, stickers, coloring pencils, small books, pom poms and other small fun toys. This is great to keep the kids busy if we get stuck waiting like at a doctors office, traffic jam, restaurant.A few plastic bags in a ziplock too…never know what you might need to stow or throw away.” (Follow on Facebook)
Rachel of Kids Activities Blog & Quirky Mama: “A diaper in my back pocket, Chapstick in my front pocket and keys and wallet in my hand. I had a fully stocked diaper bag with my first and it got smaller and smaller. I have six kids.” (Follow on Facebook)
Betsy of Betsy’s Photography Blog: “A spare change of clothes including undies stays in our car; activity bag for son might have a snack, drink, a couple small toys. My purse has room for me to put several small books and a snack… that’s about all we normally take with us aside from my wallet, keys, etc” (Follow on Facebook)
Leanna of All Done Monkey: “Diapers, wipes, diaper cream, change of clothes, snacks, water, wallet.” (Follow on Facebook)
Georgina of Craftulate: “Spare diaper, spare clothes, baby wipes, mini first aid kit, snacks, toy phone, tissues.” (Follow on Facebook)
Rebecca of Here Come the Girls: “Nappies and wipes, change of clothes, little books to read, pack of crayons and mini colouring book, tissues, plasters, headache tablets for me!” (Follow on Facebook)
Caitlyn of Suzy Homeschooler: ” Cloth diapers, cloth wipes, cleansing spray, wet bag for soiled diapers, change of clothes for little, small quiet toys (like books and plastic dinosaurs), SNACKS (I might be brave enough to occasionally leave the house without a change of clothes but I never ever leave the house without an apple or banana or bag of crackers), sunglasses for each child, sunscreen in the summer, extra mittens in the winter, nursing necklace (I don’t use a cover when I nurse but I do put on a special necklace with big beads and a ring on it for my little one to fidget with and focus on while nursing), small notebook and pencil to write down grocery lists and blog ideas whenever they happen to pop up in my mind (I kick it old school, no fancy phones or tablets), and the weirdest thing in my diaper bag is dice. We use the dice to play math games while we wait places, or we roll the dice to see how many bites they have to take of their food if they don’t like something served.” (Follow on Facebook)
Jonathan of Dad’s the Way I Like It: “Nappies, calendula cream, wet wipes, change of clothes, bag for dirty nappies, a bottle, often a few snacks.” (Follow on Facebook)
Stephanie of Parenting Chaos: “Diapers, wipes, touch up makeup bag, hand sanitizer, camera, sunglasses, change of clothes. sippy, Excedrin, sun block, granola bars, iPad, phone, wallet. little toys, books, and fidgets.” (Follow on Facebook)
Olga of The European Mama: “don’t have a diaper bag- all goes into the stroller or in the car.” (Follow on Facebook)
Galina of Raising a Trilingual Child: “at list 5 diapers! perfumed bags for their disposal, breast pads ( as I was breastfeeding and my milk was pouring ), a scarf to cover us while breastfeeding, an handkerchief, a changing mat, a rattle, a pan and my wallet, as it was actually working as my purse for a long time.” (Follow on Facebook)
Co-hosts
Multicultural Kid Blogs
the piri-piri lexicon
Vibrant Wanderings
Creative World of Varya
La Cité des Vents
Spanish Playground
European Mama
Dad’s the way I like it
World Music with Daria
All Done Monkey
Leanna @ Alldonemonkey
This is so fun to see what everyone carries in their diaper bags! Thanks for including mine 🙂 And you’re right – it’s sounds like you’d need a big bag to carry all that you do. I’m impressed to hear that it’s small!