Who knew two years and a bit ago that a nappy bag would become an essential part of my life - I remember those heady days of lusting over pretty handbags in shades of teal and mustard, stalking second hand Radley bags on eBay, or saving up for a brand new one. Nowadays, handbags don't get a look in but my nappy bag is my lifeline - even to the point where last weekend I automatically picked it up and took it to a chiropractors appointment, leaving M and Harry - who naturally took the opportunity to promptly do a massive poo (Harry, not M) - without!
Last time I did this kind of post I was using a Babymel bag, which sadly met an early demise due to a forgotten peach and some subsequent mould. This has been replaced by a Skip hop Dash signature bag which I adore. It's bigger than the Babymel, but what I really love are the pockets. Clearly pockets are a thing that make me happy - in a skirt or dress they're the first thing I'll tell you about it. The pockets help me to separate out all those necessary bits and pieces without smashing a banana into the pages of Harry's red book. True story. Also the Skip hop has grey chevrons - what's not to love?
Still kept in the bag are our Aldi Mamia wipes - any of the more expensive ones seem to make Harry sore, but these ones are perfect. And a complete bargain, especially if you pick them up during a Baby and Toddler event at Aldi - around 50p a pack.
On the subject of changing nappies - we've switched to the Weleda Calendula nappy cream which has done wonders - Harry definitely seems to take after me on the sensitive skin front.
I'm trying to drink more water at the moment, and trying to encourage my milk obsessed toddler to drink more too. Always having a bottle on hand means I don't get dehydrated and modelling that for Harry should hopefully help him too. I'm using one of the bottles from Ikea that we got during the LAGOM project, and it really does mean I don't buy a drink whilst out and about so not just saving money but also not adding any more plastic to the recycling pile.
Our Lulujo muslins are still a massive feature in the nappy bag - I only bought three, but always have one with me. These days it's much less likely to be used for mopping up sick but as a makeshift picnic blanket, comforter for when Harry's sleepy, or additional sunshade when then hood on our pushchair breaks for the 97th time that day (Our Britax Affinity has provided great service but is clearly reaching the end of it's useful life. Which is a shame as I liked it).
The last thing in our bag is a new addition - the Belvita breakfast biscuits - I've was recently sent the crunchy apricot. As a disclaimer I should say that I don't have these for breakfast, but if I'm on the go all day - Baby music to the choo-choo park to shopping, then they stand up to the rigours of the nappy bag better than fruit, and are easy to eat on the go and keep me going until such time as I collapse in search of coffee.
I think they only things that are different to last time are the lack of teethers - toys that now feature are quite often Bing Bunny and our hand knitted Flop, a That's not my... book and a couple of cars or trains.
Still a vital part of my packing is my Medpac that contains my epi-pen - with that comes a reminder that they only last a year, so make sure yours is still in date.
What's indispensable in your nappy bag?
