Don't Leave Home Without It: Butt Paste...and Other Things

When Liliana was born, the first two days were a complete blur.  Then, the exciting first milestone hit: her first pediatrician appointment!  Evan, as a medical student or heck as a resident, did not/ will not get the beautiful luxury of paternity leave and I as you guys know, got 2 days of maternity leave (also known as the two days in the hospital).  As soon as we got home, I was studying full time and Evan was back to his family medicine rotation.  So 30 minutes before leaving for her first appointment, I panicked: I hadn't packed her diaper bag!  Then I started realizing I had NO IDEA what you needed in a diaper bag other than, well, diapers.  Thank goodness my Mom was there and we packed the essential items for a newborns diaper bag.  To help other mothers not panic, I've decided to list the items I have in our diaper bag right now.  Now mind you, Liliana is about 11 weeks old, so I realize that I'm missing items I would need later when she's eating solids or when she's more interactive.  I'll do an update post in a few months to help with that time period.

 Christmas morning opening gifts...excuse my ugly face. 

It's the no make-up Christmas morning look...you know what I'm talking about.

To start with, I should talk about my diaper bag.  I got it as a Christmas gift from one of my Mom's friends and I LOVE it. It's Vera Bradley and the color design is Carnaby.  In fact, it's on sale right now! Evan has a diaper bag as well.  I just asked him if he likes his diaper bag and he said "uh huh" which is about as positive a response as you can get from a guy, so I'm assuming it's actaully pretty fabulous.  Actually, his is really neat because it has a ton of pockets up front and looks like a messenger bag...would never guess it's a diaper bag, except for the fact that it says Diaper Dude on the side...awww.  Evan chose it himself which I thought was adorable.  He spent a lot of time before choosing, so for those ladies out there wanting to get their guy a diaper bag, this one is guy and Daddy approved!

  Both of ours came with the matching changing pad, and most diaper bags do, but obviously if your bag doesn't, it's an absolute necessity to have.  Trust me, when you go in to fast food establishments and pull down their changing stations, you'll think to yourself "there is no way in hell I'm putting my sweet baby on that disgusting thing that hasn't been cleaned in ages" (yeah McDonalds, I'm talking to you!).  Now for the items to put inside:

(1) Diapers and Diaper Wipes: I have at least 5 diapers in there.  This is good for the real messy poops because sometimes that requires 2 diapers while changing.  And if you pack at least 5, you won't have to replace your supply after every outing.  As for the wipes, I have a wipes case as opposed to those packs that come with 10 to save on money.

(2) Burp Cloth: I always keep a burp cloth and usually one of my most absorbent ones in my bag.  I keep one of my thickets in the bag because chances are that if I'm out and about I'm not in my pajamas (translation: I don't want my nice clothes to get stained).  That being said, when they happen to have a really wet burp, no burp cloth is about to cover that huge mess.

(3) Blanket: Liliana gets REALLY pissy when she's cold.  They say that for babies it's check the diaper and that they're fed, but Liliana would rather sleep in her own poop than be cold.  So even in the summer, keep a little receiving blanket in there because when you go to a restaurant or out to the stores, the temperature outside won't matter one bit.

(4) A change of clothes (including socks):  Sometimes, babies clothes get dirty and that doesn't bother me too much. But when you're changing a dirty diaper in a cramped space, the poop gets on their clothes and especially on their socks because they kick around those adorable feet until they land in their not so adorable poop.  I kept the most simple onesie and sock that I had because these are back-ups: a white onesie and some plain socks will do.

(5) Butt Paste: Have you noticed how much this post is about bowel movements?  Well the word diaper bag and poop pretty much go hand-in-hand.  Now so far we've been lucky because Liliana has stayed booty rash free!  However, every now and then you get some redness and we put on a tad of some cream to prevent a fussy booty and therefore baby.  At home I have the Aveeno one, but we had a coupon for the Butt Paste and Evan bought those for our diaper bags...it is AMAZING.  I prefer it GREATLY over the Aveeno and will buy it once the Aveeno runs out (sorry Aveeno).  It goes on really smoothly, and...oh wait...this is kinda gross isn't it?  Ok, the stuff slides on well on their hiney's ok?  It's nice.  Buy it.  Enough said.

(6) Baby Lotion: You won't believe how often I've needed this.  Whenever you're out and realize that they have some cradle cap or dryness on their face, you'll thank me for having read this.  Buy a little travel size.

(7) Hand Sanitizer:  This is ESSENTIAL for when you're changing gross diapers and you're not around a bathroom.  My Mom bought me a little travel size foam pump one...I have used it many many times.

(8)  Diaper Bag Dispenser:  These things are AWESOME when you're on the road.  A diaper with pee isn't too bad to have in your bag for an extended period of time, but when they poop?  Oh man.  Plus, you don't want to go putting smelly diapers in your friends trashcans when you're over for a visit.  These little clips are $4.00 and you can buy extra bags as well.  I don't know how they work so well, but they are amazing.  They keep the smell away for days.  This is probably my biggest surprise from all the gimmicky things that I bought.

Well there you go!  I hope this helps some Mommy fill their bag before their first visit. ; )