I will admit, I congratulate myself if I can make it to any destination with everything I need. You know purse, cell phone, diaper bag, and of course, the baby. I'm sure you other mamas stand at your front door before leaving going through your mental checklist at least a few dozen times. No? I'm the only one?
Packing too much is such an easy thing to do. I blame it on "first-time-mom-anxiety". We tend to think of nearly every possible and impossible situation that could arise and pack all of the gear. I learned really quickly that in order to keep my sanity and make it anywhere on time, that I needed to consolidate Oliver's things. I surely didn't need to pack his bamboo cutlery for a trip to the grocery store, right?
I'm sure you all want a quick update on Ollie? He's sitting up now! It literally happened overnight. He's almost 8 months, too. Time is going so, so fast! Of course, I'm so happy that he's finally learned to sit up because now he will go longer while playing by himself. That makes things SO much easier when you're trying to juggle work and mothering. All in all, I'm so amazed by him every day - I can hardly believe he's mine.
Packing too much is such an easy thing to do. I blame it on "first-time-mom-anxiety". We tend to think of nearly every possible and impossible situation that could arise and pack all of the gear. I learned really quickly that in order to keep my sanity and make it anywhere on time, that I needed to consolidate Oliver's things. I surely didn't need to pack his bamboo cutlery for a trip to the grocery store, right?
I'm sure you all want a quick update on Ollie? He's sitting up now! It literally happened overnight. He's almost 8 months, too. Time is going so, so fast! Of course, I'm so happy that he's finally learned to sit up because now he will go longer while playing by himself. That makes things SO much easier when you're trying to juggle work and mothering. All in all, I'm so amazed by him every day - I can hardly believe he's mine.
Sorry, back to the diaper bag. Here is what I bring on a typical day out with my little guy. I breastfeed so - as you can tell - I don't have a bottle or water. If you formula feed, I recommend putting water in a mason jar and packing a glass baby bottle. Also, I always have my Ergo baby carrier with me but that - obviously - won't fit into the diaper bag. I just keep it in the car.
1. Diaper Bag
Instead of buying a diaper bag, I use an old backpack from high school. Seriously though, backpacks are the best when you have to wrangle a baby.
Did you know that Jansport has a lifetime warranty on their backpacks? If the backpack ever wears out or gets damaged, I can simply fill out the repair form found HERE and have it fixed and returned to me. Pretty great, huh?
2. Organic Burp Cloth
I would honestly suggest NOT spending your money on burp cloths and using hand towels or tea towels you already own. I received these as a gift so I make sure they get used! Once Oliver grows past the need to use it as its intended use, I will still pack it for hand wiping, nose blowing, or any other way to avoid single use waste.
3. Wet Bag
Wet bags are an important item you will need if you plan on using cloth diapers and wipes. This bag contains the dirty diapers, wipes, and soiled clothing.
4. Rubber Pacifier
You can decide whether or not a pacifier is for you and your little. Right now, Ollie uses it to teeth and it brings him some comfort. I opted for a natural rubber pacifier rather than silicone. You can find this particular one HERE.
5. Cloth Wipes
I keep these cloth wipes dry. I see no reason for them to be wet - I mean - toilet paper is dry when we wipe. Once the wipes have been dirtied, I throw them into the wet bag.
6. Homemade Wipe Spray
I'm sure just water would be sufficient but I decided to make a spray that had some extra goodies in it for ultimate bum cleaning. You can find my recipe HERE.
7. Organic Breast Pads
Because I breastfeed, I keep an extra set on me just in case. We don't want any leakage now do we.
8. Toy
Just to keep Oliver occupied while I'm doing not-so-fun things like getting groceries. For most of Oliver's toys I have chosen stimulating, wooden toys. There are so many great companies out there who are making sustainable, plastic free toys. One great company is PlanToys. I've also even gotten a few toys from Etsy that were handmade.
9. Cloth Diapers
Of course, you'll need extra diapers! I recommend scouring Ebay or joining local cloth diaper swap and shops to get your hands on some secondhand diapers. You'll save a lot more money and I feel that the used diapers work better since they've already been broken in. Also, don't limit yourself to just one brand - try several. Every diaper fits every baby differently.
10. Extra Outfit
So I realized I didn't have the extra outfit pictured because we had to use our spare today and I haven't replaced it yet - major blowout. Need I justify this item any more?
I hope this helps in decluttering your diaper bags. Of course I may have more than you need. ;)