what's in your diaper bag?

it's 5am and i'm already in the office. how pathetic is that? =P.

i've never liked any of the diaper bags that i've ever used over the course of the past year. probably the design really didn't suit me. or i guess it lacks some of the features that i look for in a diaper bag. until now i have yet to find a diaper bag that can fit everything that i want it to hold. but then i'll probably have a hard time locating stuff in the bag. hahahahaha. the bigger the bag, the more stuff to stuff in! so first lemme talk about all the bags that i've ever used as a diaper bag.

the first diaper bag i bought was Avent's Urban Diaper Bag. i bought this at Babyjaya during their sales way before Dayana was born. i didn't do much research on diaper bags last time. so me and Significant Other hentam based on how cute the bag looked. lol.



this messenger bag is a stylish changing bag that allows gives you two looks - the zip-on flap is interchangeable,which gives you the the option of two looks in one. it comes in either pink or blue. you can also knock yourself out with whatever color that suits your current wardrobe. lol. some of the other features of this bag include:
- wide adjustable shoulder strap for optimum carrying comfort
- spacious, easy access interior and easy-close magnetic fastening
- 3M Thinsulate pockets keeps two bottles of pre-boiled hot water warm or cold ready-mixed formula / breastmilk cool for several hours
- detachable pocket for personal items
- includes a mini laundry bag
- spacious baby bag is large enough to carry all your baby care items

as you can see from the photo the bag has many compartments, which definitely makes it easy for you to store items systematically and for easy retrieval. i loved the bag! it came with it's own changing mat (which is normal for most diaper bags). i also love the mini laundry bag that came with the diaper bag, which was really useful in my opinion. i'd put my baby's soiled clothing in there as to not mix with the other items in the bag. i liked the idea of a built-in insulated pocket to store two bottles during travel, it helped a lot when i was transporting EBM around. but i didn't like that the insulated pocket would take up 1/4 of space in the bag once bottles were put into it.

but as much as i tried to like the bag, i wasn't too fond of the flap's design. i found that the kononnye 'easy-close magnetic fastening' wasn't so easy after all, especially if you sumbat alot of stuff into the bag to its full capacity. the magnet isn't strong enough so the flap will be hanging awkwardly over the bag opening. another thing is the bag has the potential to accidentally overturn once everything has been crammed inside, and since the magnetic fastening isn't strong enough so if the bag topples over, everything will come spilling out T_T. sungguh tidak selesa mau galas this bag since the flap isn't properly secured. and i just love to bring rubbish in my diaper bag (coz you never know when you might need them, right?). my mom always complain that my diaper bag berat macam batu. whatever =P.

recently the zipper for the flap (the zip stopper, to be precise) sudah frayed off so unfortunately i'm stuck with a flapless messenger bag T_T (or until i get the bag to a place that can help to fix it, sigh). i found the magnet in the flap to have rusted, i dipped the flap to give it a quick wash one day and when it dried faint stains of rust (i think) seemed to have appeared where the magnet is positioned on the flap. terus tidak cantik diaper bag ku itu.

next i decided to get a diaper bag in backpack style. so i got the Rucksack Change Bag from Mothercare.


i first saw this bag at Mothercare in Plaza Indonesia, Jakarta. i thought i didn't want it, but after much thought i asked my friend if she could help me buy it during her Jakarta work trip. there was a big price difference, i'd save rm70+ if i bought it in Jakarta than if i bought it here (in Malaysia everything imported is mahal).

the bag is black in color, with the inner layer an orange color (nice!). it has many zippered compartments, the main compartment is way bigger than my Avent bag. it also has a handy, easy-access wipes pocket which i don't really use because i'm afraid the wipes will dry out after a while. but i store the wipes sealed in that compartment for easier retrieval. the changing mat that comes with it has two zippered messy bags attached to it to store soiled items or whatever that fancies you, but i've never utilized it. the bag also has an insulated compartment to store bottles, although i think the Avent insulated pocket functions much better than this one. it even has a side pocket which you really won't notice unless you look closely, where i keep small personal items in (Hema if you're reading this you'll remember the time we went nuts looking for my car key, i thought i'd lost it but it was actually in that pocket hahahahha... i even had my friends strip search the bag but none of them noticed the side pocket. goes to show how you can actually overlook it, which i wonder if it's a good thing or not, lol).

i like this bag. easy to carry around, backpack style. i just wished it came in a more interesting color =P. the zippers has this tapered end ( i dunno how to describe it, you can see it in the photo) to make handling the zippers easier. but one day when my mil brought the bag out during one of her outings with my baby, the tapered end for the zipper of the insulated pocket went missing. i found that hard to believe that it just went POOF like that because the zipper base didn't look like it was tampered, and the tapered end was tightly glued together, so it was impossible for it to unravel and pop off. but it did. so now the bag sudah cacat =(. my mom attached one of those paper rings to the zip to replace the missing end. but... ntah. you know la me. sampai bila bila tak puas hati. hehehehe.

this bag was really useful when i had to lug around a bunch of stuff for Dayana. when babies are still young, it doesn't hurt to bring everything along wherever you go, just to be on the safe side. haha. some might disagree, but this is how i think, heh. so... when Dayana turned One (and when she decided to wean herself off me on her own), i realized i didn't need to bring around as much stuff as i did before. hence i didn't really need to lug around such a big bag as this one.

i actually prefer messenger style bags than to backpacks, especially since i usually go around on my own and i need to carry my baby and also the diaper bag, not to forget my handbag too =P (thank God for babywearing!). sometimes i simply campak my personal stuff into the diaper bag to minimize the number of bags i lug around, but i found it tedious to transfer my stuff here and there (not to mention i win first prize for being Miss Forgetful).

which is why i'm just curious, what the heck do you lug around in your diaper bag for your baby? nowadays i just campak her stuff into my Baggu reuseable bag which i got free during the parenthood fair in MV last August. to make diaper-changing easier, i sumbat all the necessities into a small cow minky bag for easy access. items include:
- 2-3 piece of diapers
- EMAB
- wet wipes
- 2 cloth towels to wipe up messes
- packet of tissues

other things i sumbat into the Baggu bag include:
- changing mat (i use the one from my MC bag)
- the minky bag with all the above mentioned items inside
- a change of clothing for Dayana just in case
- baby's sweater + shoes + snugg hat
- 2-3 milk bottles
- milk powder storage container
- snacks
- pacifier
- a couple of toys to occupy her just in case she gets bored
- mini Chewy (i can't give her her big one, she'll end up dragging it on the floor)

i also bring around a ring sling carrier which obviously tak muat this Baggu =D.

(photos later)

are there any other useful things i should add to my diaper bag list? or is that already considered too much? =P. my friend Dee bought Allerhand diaper bag for her upcoming December baby. Allerhand is pricey, but i kinda like their look. probably i'd get one for myself if i ever were to get #2? lol. maybe i should get a diaper bag that i can use as my own bag once my kids have all grown up and i don't need to carry that many junk around town. lol.

anyway, here's two that i kinda like. hohohohoho.

travel backpack. i can use this as my own bag too, lol

weekender carry-all. an alternative to replace my lingkup Avent bag =P