**UPDATED: The winner of the Thirty-One diaper bag is comment #198 – Susie! Congratulations, Susie! Contact me at katie@marriageconfessions.com to claim your prize. Thanks for playing everyone! **
Getting around with two babies has been surprisingly easy. Usually, I carry Gracie in her sling (because she’s like a bird and thinks it’s nighttime whenever she’s in that thing…) and then put Bean in the stroller. Sometimes though, if Bean has been particularly well-behaved and seems to miraculously have his ears switched to the “ON” position, I let him walk and I snap Gracie’s carrier into the stroller instead. And then just this past week Bean and I met a play date (Hi, Tara!) at Downtown Disney and I wasn’t sure if it was a day where Bean would be in or out of the stroller, so I put Gracie in her sling like normal and Bean in the stroller. Halfway through the morning, Bean was being pretty good and wanted to walk, so I let him walk and then just laid the stroller seat all the way back and laid Gracie in there. She stretched out like she was in her crib and snoozed the rest of the morning while bean strolled along like a big guy.
I’m learning that have several options for getting around makes it much easier to be out and about. If I have the ability to shift the kids around based on who needs what at any given time, then the trip is much more successful.
My diaper bag seems to have the same needs. When I’m packing for two, the more options I have for whatever their needs might be makes our trip much easier. But while I definitely carry more items with me now than I did when it was just Bean, I’ve actually streamlined what’s in my diaper bag, too. When it was just Bean, I’d take multiples of everything – two blankets, three burp cloths, five binkies, and a million hand toys. I’ve learned over time that we rarely use all of that stuff and that I really don’t need to bring several different types of anything. That little lesson learned allows me to pack more individual items, which I’ve found is a necessity when you’ve got two kids.
So, what’s in my diaper bag? Let’s take a look…
Another way I’ve streamlined the out-and-about process for us is to eliminate my purse. I used to try to carry my purse and a diaper bag, but it’s way to hard to wrangle that now. Instead, I throw my necessities into the diaper bag’s inside pocket. I always have my day planner, wallet, and cell phone in there.
As a newborn, Gracie has a few more specific needs than Bean does. I keep an extra onesie, two thin burp cloths, and a bib in the diaper bag for her.
For Gracie, I also always have a bottle with pre-filled formula powder in it and a room temperature water bottle. Even if I don’t think we’ll be gone long or if she won’t need to eat for a while, I still always have this in my diaper bag. You never know what will happen while you’re out that might keep you longer than you intended. Better safe than sorry!
Gracie also has an extra binky in my bag, too. Woe is me if I leave the house without an extra one!
At this point, Gracie is a little too young for toys, but I still keep one small noisy something in my bag for her in case I need to distract her while we’re out for some reason. She can’t really play with it, but it does a good job of keeping her attention when I need to. When Bean was little, I used to bring every toy he owned with us, but I’ve learned that at this age, one interesting toy does the trick nicely.
The last thing in the diaper bag that is solely for Gracie is her sling. I keep this right on top of everything because it’s what I use the most while we’re out. I love these as opposed to baby carriers because they are so compact and so they travel really well.
Because of his age, Bean has different needs than Gracie and, thankfully, he requires a lot less stuff now. The most important thing I bring for him is a sippy cup of water and a snack of some kind that he can handle himself. I used to bring juice sometimes, but it’s hard to add to juice if he runs out when we’re away from the house. With water, I can refill it anywhere! Plus, in the Florida heat, water is really important.
For Bean, I also always have a Ziplock with his eating utensils. When we’re out somewhere, we can stop and eat and he’s got everything he needs with him. There’s a bib, a fork, and a spoon in there. I used to keep these things loose in the diaper bag, but after he used them at a meal, they were dirty and I didn’t want to put them back into the bag like that. Finally, I got smart and started keeping everything in a Ziplock. Now, when he’s done, everything goes back in the baggie and my diaper bag stays clean.
That’s really all that Bean requires for just himself. Everything else in my diaper bag can be used by both kids. I always have a little first aid kit in the bottom of my bag. It’s really small, but it holds different sized band aids, some gauze, and alcohol swabs. I also usually have a small tube of Neosporin in there, but that seems to have walked off recently… If the injury requires anything more than those things, then it’s time to head home.
Out of everything that’s changed, I think my diapering routine while out has changed the most with two kids. When Bean was a baby, I used to try and carry this giant changing pad in my diaper bag everywhere we went. But it’s huge and takes up the entire diaper bag! And, to be honest, we were never really out in long enough stretches to require diaper changes in public. So, I’d lug this big thing around and hardly ever needed it.
Don’t get me wrong though. Those changing pads are awesome and I do think they are a necessity to have on hand. Mine is one of my must-haves in a baby registry. But it doesn’t need to be in the diaper bag on every trip for my kids.
Now, I keep the diaper changing pad in my car. If I need a diaper change on the go, I run out to the car and grab it. I’ve also been known to change diapers on the changing pad on the floor of my car. In my diaper bag, I keep a much smaller pouch with a few diapers for each child and a small pack of wipes. Then, if I have a true diaper emergency and don’t have time to get to my car, I’ve at least got diaper with me. I figure I can wing the changing pad part in an emergency if I need. This little pouch is much smaller and easier to maneuver on a daily basis than that big changing pad.
In addition to the wipes that are in both the changing pad and the diaper pouch, I keep an extra pack of wipes floating loose in my diaper bag for easy access. I use diaper wipes all the time to wipe down noses or hands or faces. They’re good for cleaning small spills and wiping down public access things like table tops and grocery carts, too (though they don’t actually disinfect anything). You can never have too many wipes, if you ask me, and the more places you keep them, the easier your life will be.
That’s everything on the inside of my diaper bag. In the two small outside pockets, I keep things that are nice to have within arms reach. Hand sanitizer, sun block, a pen, and chapstick for me (which has also apparently walked off…).
So, that’s what’s in my diaper bag. It seems like a lot of things when you pull them out one by one, but in a wide open, deep diaper bag, it all fits really nicely. Your diaper bag is key! And because I love mine so much, I’M GIVING ONE AWAY TODAY!
This diaper bag was a gift from my sister, who in addition to selling Mary Kay, also sells Thirty-One Gift products. I love this bag! It is the Organizing Utility Tote and what I love most about it is that it is so wide open. I used to have a diaper bag with lots of pockets and compartments, but it was always hard to find things in it. With this bag, there’s just one big area in the center but because of the shape of the bag (long and lean), it’s so easy to find things in there. I also love the fabric. It has a protective coating over it that makes the whole thing wipeable inside and out. Really easy to clean. These bags retail at $22 (incredible!) with an additional $6 charge for monogramming. If you’re interested in purchasing one, just shoot Ginny an email at ginnyg8r@gmail.com.
OR you could just leave a comment below telling me what you’d carry in the bag if you won. Maybe you’d use it as a diaper bag to tote diapers or maybe you’d use it as a work bag to carry files home or maybe you’d take it out to bars and carry your own six pack. What would you do with this bag? Leave a comment telling me to be entered to win. You can enter a second time if you post the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook (just leave the link in your second comment). The winner will work with my sister to choose their own print and personalizing.
The giveaway will be close on Wednesday, May 12, at 8:00 PM EST and a winner will be announced on Thursday.
Good luck!
Bean was a lucky little dude at Christmas this year. His grandparents on both sides of the family went all out and he now has all new toys to entertain him. One of Bean’s favorite toys was this Little Tikes red wagon:
Bean loves to push and pull things around right now and he loves to sort things into piles, so this wagon lets him do both of those things. He fills it with things and then pushes or pulls it all over the house.
He also loves to chase the dogs with it. The dogs, however, hate this game. Doesn’t bother Bean though. He just pushes and pulls all over the house.
I like it because when he’s not using it, it looks really cute sitting in his bedroom.
He also got a few smaller things that are now part of our everyday routines. First, he got this adorable little airplane hook that hangs on his wall in this bedroom. I hung it really low so that he could use it and he does! Every afternoon he comes home and puts his school bag on his little hook.
Another fast favorite was this book that my parents got Bean to help him adjust to his new big boy bed. It’s called How Will I Ever Sleep in This Bed? and it is the cutest little book. It’s about this little boy who just got a big boy bed and every night he fills it with stuffed animals so he doesn’t have to sleep alone. But then he tries to get into bed and there’s no room for him because of all his animals, so he takes them out of his bed and climbs in all by himself and sleeps like a big boy. We read it every night and Bean loves it. He points out the big boy bed and we talk about what a big boy Bean is.
Bean also got a pretty good assortment of puzzles this year. To be honest, I thought he was a little young for them but that he could play with them for a while until he grew into using them for their real purpose. But he surprised us by working the puzzles right now. Chris’ mom also got him some puzzles, but I haven’t taken pictures of those yet. Bean loves them all!
This next gift is just the coolest. It’s practical and fun and inexpensive and, most importantly, Bean LOVES it! It’s called a Yookidoo Fill and Flow spout.
The Yookidoo takes water from the bathtub and cycles it through the pump, creating a little fountain right there on the side of the bathtub. It runs on simple batteries and it is so easy to operate – you turn the pump on and off by pushing the face on the pump. Bean turns it on and off throughout his whole bath.
Bean also loves the little cups that came with the pump. He takes them in and out of the fountain, fills them with water, stacks them, unstacks them, dumps the water out… The cups are good toys in and of themselves.
Bath time is Bean’s favorite time of day anyway, but with the Yookidoo he loves it even more!
Today, I’m giving away one Yookidoo to a blog reader just because I know your kids will love it, too! To be entered to win the giveaway, leave a comment telling me what yours or your child’s favorite Christmas gift was this year. The giveaway will close at 8:00pm EST on Thursday and a winner will be announced on Friday.
Good luck!
Thanks to everyone who entered to win the Baby Einstein Discovery Pack giveaway! Our lucky winner was number 62:
Congratulations, Colleen! Contact me at katie@marriageconfessions.com to claim your prize!
Special thanks to Baby Einstein for giving away such a fun prize!
We are a Baby Einstein family and I ain’t too proud to say it. We love all things Baby E around our house. Bean’s favorite books right now are two oversized toddler books about colors and nursery rhymes (Pretty Poems and Wonderful Words and Who Lives in the Pond). Our first diaper bag (which was stolen) (jerks) was a Baby Einstein bag. We listen to Baby Einstein CD‘s in the car. We watch Baby Einstein DVD‘s at home.
Baby Einstein should set up their headquarters in my house. It’d save me a lot of time and money.
A couple weeks ago I saw a commercial on TV for a new Baby E product and so, naturally, I Google’d and Twittered and Facebook’d until I got more information on it. The new products are called Discovery Kits and when I finally got my grubby paws on one (a great Christmas present idea, by the way…), there were a LOT of choices to make! There are nine different kits available now and more to come!
The one we ended up getting was the World of Colors kit.
It came with a DVD, a CD, and a book that all teach about colors through puppets, shapes, and even real, famous artwork.
Bean loves the DVD. He likes the puppets and his favorite is the blue scene. He says, “Booo! Booo!” We got the DVD at such a good time, too, because Bean’s learning colors at school right now so they support what he’s learning in real life.
Bean’s favorite part of the Discovery Kit though is the little book that came with it. It is the perfect size for him and he carries it everywhere.
He “reads” it out loud and occasionally I can hear him naming a color – which makes the teacher in me so proud!
HE CAN BE TAUGHT!
(name that movie)
The kind folks at Baby Einstein were going to sponsor a lovely giveaway the week that my new website launched a couple months ago, but I never got my act together and we didn’t get it together in time. So, I asked if they’d be interested in doing a Baby Einstein Discovery Kit giveaway instead since it has become my gift du jour this Christmas for anyone with small children. And – yay! – they agreed!
So, here’s the deal: To enter to win a Baby Einstein Discovery Kit, leave a comment telling me what kind of educational toys are popular in your house. If you post a link to this blog post from your Facebook account, enter to win again! If you Twitter about the giveaway with a link to the post (be sure to @ me so I see your tweet), enter to win again! The giveaway will close on Sunday, Dec. 5, and a winner will be announced on Monday, Dec. 6.
Whether or not you win, be sure to check out the Discovery Kits in stores everywhere. They’ll make you feel good about what your kids are reading and watching and this time of year they make great gifts or stocking stuffers for the wee ones in your life.
This is not a paid advertisement, yo.
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