How to Pack Your Diaper Bag

Ahhh, remember the time when all you had to worry about was bringing your phone, keys, and wallet? That’s it! Before leaving the house you’d just say “phone, keys, wallet…Got em!” then continue with your day.

Now you have a baby and everything changes! You’ll need to bring a lot more than just your phone, keys, and wallet.

The first time I went out with my newborn baby, it was disastrous! I forgot the wipes. Whoops! My baby had a blowout and I had no wipes! Yea, I had a lot to learn. Luckily I was close to home so we were able to clean her up in a flash.

After having 3 babies, I learned a lot about packing my diaper bag so it could be ready in a flash. It took a while to finally get it right, but here is what I did that worked perfectly:

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Invest in a Good Diaper Bag

So my first diaper bag was a shoulder bag and it sucked! It kept falling off my shoulder and it was hard to put back into place when you’re carrying a baby. There were also no compartments in it so it was impossible to organize and find what I needed quickly.

It was really frustrating trying to find anything in the abyss of my bag!

My next bag was my regular backpack. Switching to the backpack was a complete game-changer for me. It was so much easier to carry and was better for my posture.

The problem with this bag was that it wasn’t made to carry baby stuff. It was small and compact. So, all I would pack is 2 diapers, a sandwich bag with a few wipes, and a small onesie as a change of clothes. Then, my 3-year-old had an accident and I didn’t bring her a change of clothes as it wouldn’t fit. Whoops!

Onto baby number 3. I got this diaper bag which was perfect! It had a lot of compartments so I could easily organize everything. It was awesome!

I then made sure everything was always in my diaper bag so I never had to worry about forgetting a thing if I needed it in a hurry. I could just grab my bag and go!

Here was what was in my bag at all times:

Diapers & Wipes

I know… this is super obvious, but I know many moms forget this sometimes. It happens! Sleep deprivation will make you forget the basics. It sucks!

If the diapers are already in your bag, you won’t need to worry about forgetting this.

I would always pack a minimum of 3 diapers and replenished when needed. I then bought this travel wipe pack that you can refill. It was perfect for on the go.

Diaper Cream

I didn’t carry around any cream for my first and second babies as they didn’t really need it. I definitely needed it for my third baby.

To make life a little easier, I purchased 2, one for travel and one for home. That way your diaper bag is always ready to go and you won’t have to remember anything extra. I love this diaper cream as it always works in an instant.

Spare Change of Clothes and Bibs

This is a must! Blowouts happen and you’ll need to have some spare clothes with you so you can clean them up when needed. Your baby could also spit up everywhere and may need a new set of clothes for them.

Make sure the clothes are weather appropriate as you wouldn’t want to change them into a short sleeve onesie when it’s freezing!

Diaper Trash Bags

So, I got these diaper trash bags as a gift for my third baby and they were so useful. My baby had a blowout and we were in a parking lot with no trash cans. I grabbed 2 trash bags, one for the dirty diaper and one for his clothes that had poop all over them!

The smell completely disappeared once I tied a knot in the bag. I then wasn’t so grossed out about putting a dirty diaper in my bag.

Once you are home, throw away the dirty diaper and soak the dirty clothes in the sink. Perfect!

Changing Pad

So, before I got this diaper bag, I used this travel changing pad and it worked great.

Otherwise, most diaper bags already come with a changing pad.

Trust me, you will need a changing pad! When you go anywhere, the changing stations are typically hard and cold. Besides, who knows when it was last cleaned? Bringing a small foldable changing pad will save you here! Just lay it on the changing station and pack it away when you’re done.

You can also use the changing pad in your car as you may need to change diapers in the car. It happens!

Feeding Supplies

So, I wasn’t able to breastfeed my daughter so I always had to bring feeding supplies with me. I always carried around these ready-made formula bottles which were perfect. They last a long time and you can just leave them in your diaper bag so you don’t have to worry about bringing bottles and formula.

Some bottles are small so if you’re going for longer periods and your baby eats more, bring a bottle or 2 with the formula inside. When you’re ready to feed, just add water from a fresh unopened water bottle.

If you mix the formula beforehand, it only lasts for an hour which isn’t long. So I recommend waiting until your baby is ready to eat before mixing the water and formula.

If you’re breastfeeding, you’ll probably want a nursing cover. You can either purchase a separate breastfeeding cover or you can use a 2 in 1 car seat cover that works as a feeding cover as well.

Once your baby is eating baby food, carry some containers of ready-made baby food, along with a feeding spoon (I store mine in a sandwich bag so it stays clean.).

You’ll never know when your baby may get hungry (even if they are on a schedule), so be sure to pack their feeding supplies just in case.

Burp Rags

You’ll want to carry some burp rags with you to protect your clothes from your baby’s lovely spit up! It happens! They eat and sometimes spit up all over you. Carrying a burp rag was always helpful.

Lotion

This is totally optional depending on your baby. My third baby had really dry skin so this was a must for us. I bought a travel version of the lotion we use at home and it worked perfectly. Anytime I noticed a dry patch, I would be able to put lotion on him right away.

Mama’s Essentials

Ok, I’ve done this before…I made sure everything was ready for my baby, but totally forgot about myself! Whoops! Forgot my wallet. Yea, I had everything you could think of for my baby and I forgot my wallet. Noooo!

Don’t forget about your essentials in your diaper bag mama!

There you have it, mama! Hopefully, now, all you’ll have to say is “phone, keys, wallet, diaper bag!” (as your diaper bag will always be ready to grab and go!).

The best lesson I learned was to keep everything I needed in my diaper bag at all times. It made my life so much easier! Just remember to change out and replenish when needed!

Hope this helped!