What’s In My Diaper Bag

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Years ago when I was still pregnant with The Heir, I spent a great deal of time looking into diaper bags and what goes in them. Obviously you’re going to put diapers in a diaper bag, but day to day what kind of stuff does a typical cloth diapering mom need to carry around for outings? I did find some incredibly useful posts about this topic way back then, so I thought it might be useful for me to write my own post about what I carry around for a typical outing with the kids. The diaper bag I’m using the the same one I used when The Heir was born simply because it holds a lot and works well for cloth diapering on the go. It’s the Skip Hop Studio bag (redone recently as the Skip Hop Studio Select). I really like Skip Hop diaper bags because they come with a ten year warranty. Yes I said TEN years. Their customer service is amazing and they truly stand behind their products, and I love that! Here we go! Let’s take a look in my diaper bag. 

I’ll start with my stuff. I pack the obvious things: wallet, keys, phone, lip balm, sunglasses, and hand lotion. I also pack gum, a snack (because nursing moms get HUNGRY), breast pads, pads, and liners. The pads, liners, breast pads, and gum go in the inner zip pocket of the diaper bag. Sunglasses get tucked into the inner side pocket. Lip balm and hand lotion goes in the upper front zip pocket, wallet goes in the lower front zip pocket, and my keys and snack go in one of the outer side pockets. There’s usually a hair elastic (or five) and a nail file floating around in my diaper bag too.

The most important things in my diaper bag are the diapers and diaper changing items. For an outing that will last up to 6 hours, I pack three cloth diapers, four cloth wipes, a wet bag, change pad, and diaper rash cream. If I know I might be out longer, I can easily fit a fourth diaper in the bag (and I’ve fit as many as 8 if I was going to be away from home from morning until night). I tuck the diapers, wipes, and bum cream into three of the inner pockets in the diaper bag. The wet bag goes in the bottom of the main compartment of the bag, and the change pad tucks into the back pocket.

I also carry a few items just for Petit Prince. I bring a sleeper and bib because you just never know when he’s going to barf all over his outfit (seriously, never leave home without  a spare outfit). Good old Murphy’s Law, if you don’t pack a change of clothes you’ll need one for sure. So far, I haven’t actually needed to put Petit Prince in his spare sleeper that lives in the bottom of the diaper bag, but I know that if it’s not in there I’ll need it! I also pack a receiving blanket for Petit Prince (but also me). You see, he is a bit of a spitty uppy baby. And when I say “a bit”, I mean “A LOT”. He pretty much barfs on me after every feed, and if he doesn’t, he barfs when I tighten the harness of his car seat. The receiving blanket has saved my outfit and his many times over. Since I’m a mega leaker (still at 5 months in), I also use the receiving blanket to tuck into my nursing bra and cover my shirt/leg so that when Petit Prince inevitably pops off the boob, I don’t spray myself with breast milk. That receiving blanket goes into one of the four inner pockets inside the diaper bag.  I toss a toy in the diaper bag for him too. He’s really hitting the age where toys are incredibly entertaining, so I never leave home without one. Since it’s winter, I also pack a toque (hat) for him.

I always have The Heir’s water bottle with me in a side pocket of the diaper bag, and I pack a few extra things for him sometimes. If we are going somewhere that has a water park or water table, or somewhere that he is likely to get wet or super dirty, I pack a change of clothes for him. There’s a pair of pants, a shirt, underwear, socks, and a wet bag. I just toss all the clothing items into the wet bag and tuck it down to the bottom of the diaper bag or just throw it on top. I usually toss in an extra snack or two for The Heir as well because nobody likes a hangry preschooler!

There you have it! That’s my diaper bag!

What do you carry around in your diaper bag day to day?