My diaper bag

***2018 UPDATE***

My original diaper bag that I posted about below lasted for just my daughter. It started to fall apart and so I decided to get a new one when I had my second baby. I bought another cheap one from walmart that was good but not great so I quickly replaced that with an Eddie Bauer backpack style bag that we are are still using today.

The cheap one I bought from walmart was by iPack. I liked it because it had a lot of compartments and fun chevron print. The only issue with this bag is that the shape of it made it really had to find anything when you needed it. Additionally with two kids, I needed both my hands free and it was hard to carry it with just one shoulder strap that would keep slipping down. The quality of the bag was actually pretty good thought considering it was under $20.

I knew I needed a backpack style back instead of a tote or messenger bag, so I decided to try an Eddie Bauer backpack. It is so much easier being able to carry it on my back and everything stays organized because of all the separate compartments.

***ORIGINAL POST***

I guess it should come as no surprise that I put a lot of thought into which diaper bag to buy. I always over think every baby related purchase, because I really want to feel like it was money well spent. I didn't know much about diaper bags at first, I didn't even know they were called diaper bags until I started looking for them online. So needless to say,  I was kind of in the dark about what really mattered when choosing a good diaper bag.  I read a lot of reviews and quickly figured out that everyone seemed to have different needs from their diaper bags depending on their lifestyle and so I had to make my own decision based on what mattered to me.  I realized that until the baby arrived I wouldn't know for sure what type bag I really wanted but I would start out with something simple that had  several inner compartments so I could easily organize everything.  

I knew for a fact that I wanted to avoid the old school baby prints and patterns, that I'd seen on diaper bags growing up.  While those prints can be cute and sweet, they just weren't for me.  I wanted something a bit more neutral and simple that could pass for a regular handbag. I started out with a short lived crush on few high end diaper bags by designers like Kate Spade, Coach, and Petunia pickle bottom.

Kate Spade

Petunia Pickle Bottom

Coach signature stripe

I quickly got over those crushes when I realized how expensive they were. My jaw dropped when I realized some of them cost as much as $400!!  Maybe if I was a superstar celebrity with nothing better to do with my money I might have considered it, but since I'm just a regular Jane with an eight to five job I didn't feel that splurging on a diaper bag would be the wisest decision. Besides diaper bags can get so messy!  No matter how neat you try to be, babies are experts are creating a mess and diaper bags are at the front line of it all.  I decided I wouldn't spend a dime over $50 for a diaper bag.

I checked a lot of stores and wasn't really in love with anything, I heard good things about Skip Hop bags so my mind was pretty much made up to get one of those but thankfully I changed my mind at the last minute. I am so relieved I didn't buy a Skip Hop bag since I later found out how appalling their customer service is. (Read about it here.)

Anyway I ended up choosing the jacquard tote bag by Baby Boom. It cost $24.99 at walmart. It's definitely not Kate Spade, but it was everything I was looking for, a simply neutral bag with multiple compartments.



Like most other diaper bags, this bag comes with a changing pad  as shown in the photos above.  I decided not to use the changing pad that came with the bag because it's really narrow and flimsy. I purchased the skip hop changing pad instead because it looked so great, it was much wider and had pockets for storing diaper essentials. This Skip Hop changing pad costs even more than my diaper bag! And I regretted buying it immediately after I started using it.  Like I mentioned earlier I will be blogging about that in a separate post. Suffice it to say, that you shouldn't waste a dime on anything made by Skip Hop. Their products are sub standard and their customer service is, without a doubt, the absolute worst in the industry. I promise you will believe me once you read my upcoming blog post.

Skip Hop Pronto diaper changing pad. DO NOT BUY THIS!!!

There are much better, safer and cheaper alternatives out there such as The First Years changing pad or the Munchkin travel kit.

The First years



Aside from the changing pad which is an absolute must have, the main things I carry in my diaper bag are

-Diapers

-Baby Wipes

-Diaper cream/ointment

-Boogie wipes & saline spray

-First Aid kit

-Change of clothing, including socks and sweater

-Munchkin Pacifier wipes

-Bibs

-Burp cloths

-Aden & Anais blanket

-Single serve packets of formula

-Planet wise wet bag

-Nursing cover

I don't carry any bottles or prepared food in her diaper bag, instead I have separate coolers for that  because I don't want to mix food with her diaper changing gear.

Overall I am happy with my diaper bag, I use it every single day and its still holding up great after nearly 9 months of use. Now that I have more experience I realize that a bag with a longer messenger shoulder strap would be much more convenient. Some times my arms are full with carrying my baby and several other bags so it would be so much easier if my bag had a longer strap so I could wear it across my chest like a messenger bag and have my hands free. My next diaper bag will definitely have a messenger style shoulder strap as an option!