Inside the Diaper Bag

 My recent post about diaper bags got me thinking about what we put in our diaper bags and our purses.  It reminded me of that scene in The Breakfast Club when Ally Sheedydumps out her purse.  “Because you never know when you have to jam.”  I love the "always be prepared" Girl Scout motto and how can a girl be prepared without a bag?  I remember meeting a guy, years ago, who always had tampons in his backpack just in case someone needed them.  I would never think to ask a guy for tampons but he was always prepared for anything.  It is amazing to think of all the things we think we need to take with us when we leave the house.  So what do I usually have in my purse or diaper bag?

The obvious things like my wallet, prescription sunglasses which have a gigantic case, a pack of tissues, cell phone (because I often do not have pockets), 3 reusable shopping bags, and a camera.  

In case of a hunger emergency, I have a protein bar which has been knocking around in the bottom of my bag for months, not very appetizing.  Desperate times do require desperate measures and thankfully we have yet to reach that point.   

I keep ginger mints on hand to freshen breath and fight nausea and tums for heartburn.  

I keep a few disposable nipple pads in my purse but I really do not need them any more as I am beyond the leaky boob days even though I am still nursing.  

Sunblock is a necessity when you are as white as I am so I have a tube of baby sunblock and a sunblock stick in my purse.  If it works for my baby we can all use it but what works for us usually isn't good for babies so it is easier to keep baby friendly sunblock in my bag instead of a few different kinds.  

My big fat coupon folder has coupons of course but also a little notebook and a pen.  I only have this in my bag if I plan to go shopping because it takes up too much real estate.  

The most important thing in my purse is my chapstick.  I must have chapstick within reach at all times.  I got tired of searching for that small tube in my big purse.  My solution was a small pouch in which I keep a Burt’s bee’s chapstick, one of their lip shimmers, and a lip gloss.  

Taking up the most space is my cloth diaper bag which always has hand sanitizer, a changing pad, a bag of biodegradable rose scented plastic bags, a GroVia all in one, a cloth wipe, disposable wipes, and then I add a few diapers or snap in inserts.

The second massive real estate suck is a plastic ziplock bag which holds pacifier wipes (Orion has never used a pacifier but it comes in handy for dropped toys), a bib, burp cloth, nursing cover, a clean shirt and pants for baby.  These items do not get much use these days (but I could have used them yesterday when I was getting the baby out of the car to go into the supermarket and he spit up water all over his car seat).   These items will soon be living in the car.  After all, my car is really just a gigantic purse on wheels.  I already keep emergency diapers in the car and will add this emergency pack to that bag.  I have been keeping the diapers (with the changing pad from my JJ Cole diaper bag) in a Nordstrom plastic bag but maybe it is time to put it all in a real bag.

Often, I do not feel like carrying anything when I leave the house.  For a quick trip I just can’t be bothered to bring along reinforcements.    I usually regret it because I do not have my chapstick and usually forget my cell phone.  Chapstick does NOT keep well in the car.  Too often I have reached for my car chapstick only to apply a hot melty mess to my lips.  Yuck!  But still, I leave the house with nothing but my husband and my baby.  Amazingly, my baby, my lips, and I all survive.  I rely on my husband to have his wallet and the car keys.  Luckily he has never let me down.  So what's in your purse/diaper bag?