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?
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!
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!
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!
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!
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?
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?
We have the big diaper bag with change of clothes, wipes, diapers, etc. Then we have little satellite bags that attach to it with just a diaper or in our case now training pants, her portable potty seat, and some wipes. If it is so bad we need a change of clothes, we get the big one. Our little satellite bag is actually a wet bag so we can put our wet diapers/training pants right into it.
We have the big diaper bag with change of clothes, wipes, diapers, etc. Then we have little satellite bags that attach to it with just a diaper or in our case now training pants, her portable potty seat, and some wipes. If it is so bad we need a change of clothes, we get the big one. Our little satellite bag is actually a wet bag so we can put our wet diapers/training pants right into it.