by Tracy Deluca

Created on: March 13, 2009

When you give birth to your first child you tend to be terrified that you will be caught out of the house without necessities. You pack your diaper bag full to bursting with everything you could possibly ever need to take care of your baby. And then you spend precious minutes digging through it all to locate the one thing that you need. As you get more comfortable with your child and your abilities as a parent you start to realize that you do not need to carry the whole nursery around with you in a diaper bag. After giving birth to and raising three children, I usually just throw a diaper and some wipes in my purse as I am running out the door! Packing a diaper bag should be simple and easy. You should have what you need without having to stress out about it or struggle with an over packed bag. Here are the top items that every diaper bag should have to keep your baby happy as you run errands or go shopping.

Newborns go through more diapers than toddlers do. Pay attention to how often your baby needs to be changed. If you plan to be gone an hour, take the appropriate number of diapers with you, plus one just in case. If you will be gone all day, pack more diapers. Common sense. You do not want to carry around 27 diapers when you will only need one.

Do not carry the entire container of wipes in your diaper bag. Use a travel pack or place a dozen or so wipes in a zip lock bag.

As far as other toiletries go, you can pack a travel sized tube of diaper rash cream if your baby tends to get rashes. Otherwise, you should not need anything else for the amount of time you will be gone. If you are packing for a trip that will last days, that is a different story.

With newborns and young babies, you will have spit up, explosive diapers and pee-throughs to deal with. One extra change of clothes is appropriate for a short trip. Pack a
onesie and a spare pair of socks. If it is winter, pack a pair of long pants to go over the onesie. There is no need to keep several complete changes of clothing unless you plan on being gone all day and night.

Pack a single receiving blanket or a cloth diaper to use for wiping spit up or burping your baby. If your baby is throwing up enough that you will use more than this in a few hours, you probably should not be out of the house anyway.

With small infants, I used to always pack a spare t shirt for myself in the diaper bag. Just in case they spit up on me or caused another type of mess on my shirt.

If you will be gone only a short time, there is no need to carry an entire days supply of bottles or baby food with you. Pack a single bottle. For longer trips, pack the number of bottles necessary. Baby food should not be needed unless you will be eating out. Small snacks may be useful as your baby becomes a toddler.

Pack a single small toy or rattle. Maybe two if you will be gone for some time. This will give your child something to focus on and play with if they get fussy while you are shopping.

That's it! As your baby gets older, the amount you will need to pack in your diaper bag will become smaller and smaller. As you get more comfortable with your child, you will know what they will and will not need for each trip and will be able to streamline your packing. It is always better to be safe than sorry, but it does not pay to give yourself back pain for no reason. Find a comfortable medium between not carrying enough and carrying too much and stick to it. Enjoy your baby as you venture forth inot
the world, don't just juggle your baby with an overstuffed diaper bag!

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