How to pack the diaper bag with cloth diapers

What exactly DO you pack in your diaper bag when you cloth diaper?

The Bag: For starters, I recommend getting a bigger bag! Cloth diapers take up a lot of room. I did use a small diaper bag when I knew I just had a quick in/out errand. But it only held 1-2 diapers. I love my big, giant kokopax diaper bag for cloth diapering!

How Many Diapers: I always carry at least 2-3 diapers in my bag. The number goes up depending on how long I’ll be gone. Murphy’s law says, the baby will ALWAYS have a bowel movement or heavy wetting while out and about! So throw in ONE more than you think you’ll need! If I’m going to be gone over naptime or all day, I make sure I have at least 6 diapers. And I always lay one “emergency” flat diaper + fleece cover with Snappi or safety pin attached in the very bottom of my bag. This never comes out… unless, of course, I have an emergency! It’s a great back up diaper system.

What Kind of Diapers: This depends. Will you be the only one changing your diaper? Will you be gone over naptime? Around bedtime? If I am putting my son in the nursery, I try to have a pocket or all-in-one for the workers to change him into. This just makes their life easier. If it’s just me, I’ll use inserts or flats.

Accessories:

• Always pack your wet bag! Because I never follow this rule, I roll up a few old grocery store plastic bags and tuck them in the side pocket. This has saved me MANY a time, when there’s been a huge messy diaper at a friend’s house or doctor’s office and I realize I forgot the wet bag (a case for having more than one wet bag right there. Which I do. I just forget!).
• Wipes. Cloth or disposable. If you’re using cloth, you’ll need some kind of bag to carry them in.
• Diaper-safe cream. Very important otherwise caregivers might use zinc oxide based cream. It’s also important to let caregivers know to only use that particular cream!
• Liners. Fleece or disposable. If you’ll be using cream, or just want help in case there’s a mess, fold up a few liners for your bag. You’ll be glad you did!
• Disposable inserts or diapers. I know. I know! But if I happen to have some Flip Disposable inserts or a stray disposable diaper, I keep it in the diaper bag. Emergencies happen. And sometimes not even with your own kids. With using cloth, I realized that it wasn’t exactly easy to help out a fellow mom when she ran out of diapers. So I TRY to keep something handy when I can.
• Change of clothes. As with any diaper, there’s a possibility for leaks. Be prepared. I used to always keep at least an extra onesie in the bag. Now that he’s too big for onesies, I have a t shirt and shorts. I’ll have to change for seasonal weather though.

What do you keep in your cloth diapering diaper bag?