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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?

Bonita

Tuesday 19th of March 2013

I have a small one for now, but do need to get a bigger one before too long. My son is 5 weeks old and I carry 3 bottles, 5 prefolds with an extra cover, 4 changes of clothes (one sleeper, one romper, and two outfits (top and bottom)), his changing pad, a hat, his shoes, formula container, wipes container, camera, notepad & pen, and my wallet, keys, and cell phone.

I'll need more room for his toys and books later!

Bonita

Tuesday 19th of March 2013

I have a small one for now, but do need to get a bigger one before too long. My son is 5 weeks old and I carry 3 bottles, 5 prefolds with an extra cover, 4 changes of clothes (one sleeper, one romper, and two outfits (top and bottom)), his changing pad, a hat, his shoes, formula container, wipes container, camera, notepad & pen, and my wallet, keys, and cell phone.

I'll need more room for his toys and books later!

C Hulsey

Saturday 17th of September 2011

I am diapering a 12 month old and an almost 3 year old. Obviously, packing enough cloth diapers for two children takes up LOTS of space. I do not want to carry a suitcase, so I end up either packing 2 or 3 smaller diaper bags OR packing disposables...which sometimes still makes me end up with 2 bags depending on how long we will be out of the house. My cloth diaper bags usually consist of 2 wet bags, 3 or 4 covers, several prefolds and/or flip inserts, cloth wipes and a bottle of water for wetting them. Add to that a change of clothes for each child, hand sanitizer, 2 sippy cups, an ice pack for keeping milk cold, snacks/food for baby, and a toy or two and I've got quite a load!

C Hulsey

Saturday 17th of September 2011

I am diapering a 12 month old and an almost 3 year old. Obviously, packing enough cloth diapers for two children takes up LOTS of space. I do not want to carry a suitcase, so I end up either packing 2 or 3 smaller diaper bags OR packing disposables...which sometimes still makes me end up with 2 bags depending on how long we will be out of the house. My cloth diaper bags usually consist of 2 wet bags, 3 or 4 covers, several prefolds and/or flip inserts, cloth wipes and a bottle of water for wetting them. Add to that a change of clothes for each child, hand sanitizer, 2 sippy cups, an ice pack for keeping milk cold, snacks/food for baby, and a toy or two and I've got quite a load!

Crunchy Beach Mama

Friday 16th of September 2011

Gosh you're just a good mama and pack a lot of things in there! I'm lucky if I have more than 1 diaper and always forget the wet bag too! Do you know what else I never have in there? A change of clothes. How dumb is that?

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