Six Sunny-Day Diaper Bag Items

Fun in the sun…

When I was little- I remember my stay-at-home-mom taking full advantage of the Florida Sun year round planning activities for my brothers and I.  We went to parks, the springs, lakes,  you name it!  We basically lived at the beach.  And for awhile- we even had SEASON PASSES TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!

I mean- holy cow. Can there be anything cooler when you’re a kid?  Methinks not.

{My brothers and I covered in fake snakes at Animal Kingdom- looking appropriately terrified.}

{This is when I was older and I actually had to save-up to go to EPCOT, but Disney never gets old. I'm the one on the right and my friend Skye is on the left- plus there's another TETO author Mandi in the middle.  We are so cool. She better not take this down.}

Now as a mother of my own- I work.  I lament not being able to attend playdates at the zoo, the splashpad, someone’s backyard.  When summertime finally rolls around I find myself sunken into my “me-shape” on the sofa and unwilling to get up for more than the occasional food/potty/toddler-screaming-and-needs-chocolate-milk-now break.  I’m sure a lot of this has to do with having a newborn. (That’s what I tell myself anyway) but either way I still feel pretty bad. 

My poor little toddler is corralled in our apartment watching the 1123^rd episode of Sesame Street streaming on Netflix for the 1123^rd time.  (At least he gets all the graham crackers he can eat…right?!)

Anyhow- we HAVE managed to get out of the house one or two times.  With two kids I’m finding it’s becoming even more important to really be prepared. 

When Graham was a newborn, I did the typical first-time-mom thing and went ALL-OUT with his diaper bag.  (I’m talking like five receiving blankets…kind of ridiculous.) By the time he was 18 months we were usually pretty good with an extra diaper and a thing of wipes shoved into my purse. 

During my pregnancy I found things started to be a little more difficult.  The first time I’d walked around the pregnancy block I didn’t have a toddler.  It is a totally different game.  The first time you’re tired because you’ve never done this before.  It’s all new.  Every ache, every discomfort, every flutter- it’s a big deal! And it’s exauhsting.  The second time around I worried less about whether or not my feet were swollen, and more about whether or not Graham was getting his basic food groups 4/7 nights a week. I worried less about my pregnancy-induced eczema and more about squeezing in those bedtime stories.  The second time around it’s not only about the baby in your belly- but it’s about the baby outside your belly too.  That leaves a lot less “about” for you.

But I’m getting off-track.  The point I’m trying to make, is that when I got pregnant we started to emphasize the preparedness factor again.  I needed more water- and Graham would see me drinking so of course he needed a drink too.  I walked a little slower so grocery-runs took a little longer and we needed some fruit-snack gummies to keep him occupied.  It took a little more time to get out the door, but once we were out, everyone was a LOT more happy.

Now that Xander is here, we’ve switched from an over-the-shoulder diaper bag to a backpack.  It’s nothing fancy (just the free one we got at the hospital) but can I tell you what a LIFESAVER it is having both arms free?!  This is especially true if Hubby isn’t around and I need to carry both boys. Amazing.

Now when we’re out and about, there are a few things this mama wouldn’t want to be without.

(…that kind of rhymes. I’ll pretend I did it on purpose.)

Six Sunny-Day Diaper Bag Items

1.)    A Clean Sippy.

Graham isn’t too thrilled with sippy-cups anymore,  but it sure makes my life a whole lot easier.  We should probably try giving him a straw-cup of some kind instead, but the sippies are still working for now.

Sometimes if we know we are going somewhere (like church or Grandma’s) we will just bring an empty cup.  But this post is about fun in the sun- so let me tell you I would fill that bad-boy up with some good old fashioned water.  Water is WAY better at quenching thirst, not staining clothes, and not going nasty in the diaper bag if you accidentally leave it in there after your sunshine-filled-fun is over.  (I won’t judge!)

And let me remind you, Moms and Dads get thirsty too so it’s always a great idea to bring a big water bottle of your own.  I have frequently had one that served the main purpose of re-filling Graham’s cup and ended up taking a few swigs myself.

2.)    More Diapers! (and wipes)

I doubt I need to tell any mamas out there that it’s a good idea to always bring one or two more diapers than you think you’ll need.  In reality- you won’t need them. You really won’t.  BUT if you don’t bring them- your child will magically become the fountain of youth in his or her pants and you will end up with a soaked carseat and a soaking-wet screaming child.  I  hear it happens.
Also, some of us aren’t too great at re-stocking our diaper bags and it’s always great to have a buffer of some extra diapers from the last time in case you totally forget to grab some this time.

3.)    Extra clothes

Something I actually learned as a teacher before I was a mom- is that it’s always good to have an extra shirt (and pants if possible) for YOU… just in case.  A lot of moms use common sense to stick an extra onesie in the diaper bag for their baby, but I go ahead and throw a t-shirt in there for me too.  Babies aren’t the only ones getting covered in spit-up or soaked when there’s a diaper explosion.  Being out and about is bound to be WAY less stressful if you’re comfortable, and I don’t know about you, but NOT being wet and stinky is always a plus for me.

And while I’m throwing clothes in the diaper bag, I stick an outfit in there for my toddler too.  I usually go with something simple and light that won’t take up too much space and will “work” in any location. (So probably not footie pajamas.  Think tshirt and shorts.)

4.)    Hand Sanitizer

Baby wipes are fantastic at giving you a quick hand-wash if you’re grabbing lunch, but sometimes it’s nice to have that extra “sanitization” factor- especially if you’re somewhere like a theme park and your child has been hanging off of every hand-rail he or she can reach; after every weirdo under the sun has wiped their snotty fingers all over it.  (I speak as the girl who set her hand in a pool of fresh mucus while waiting in line for Buzz Lightyear many years ago.)  There are tons of cute little mini versions available so this shouldn’t take up too much space or be too inconvenient.  You can even buy a big one to keep at home for refills when your to-go size starts running low. 

5.)    Snacks

Ah. My favorite.  Snacks snacks snacks.  They will save your child from apparent-starvation, and you from apparent loss-of-sanity.  We like to just have a few mini Tupperware containers of different snacks to help switch things up.  I like to have a variety of sweet and salty and we try to go for more filling options.  (Graham crackers broken into fourths, Nilla Wafers, Goldfish crackers, club crackers, dry cereal, fruity marshmallows, pretzels, etc…)  Graham loves fruit gummies but I hate having to deal with the wrappers after he’s eaten them.  (Remember what I said about valuable real-estate? Every nook in that bag is precious!)

6.)    Sunscreen

I really have failed on this one.  But I have the best of intentions and I vow to be better!  When I was little- my mom would always slather us in sunscreen before we went to the beach.  And I had to keep on my shirt.  That was lame.  I hated it.  But now as an adult who can clearly see the horrific effects of skin cancer,  I am SO GLAD I was forced to be lame. 

While I’m great at sun-screening it up for Graham at the beach (Xander hasn’t been yet), I’d really like to get better about making sure he has it on anytime we are going to be outside for more than a dash from the car.  I feel like actually having it IN the diaper bag would make it a lot easier for me to remember.

I used to keep some Aveeno baby eczema lotion in the bag when Graham’s skin was breaking out, but he seems to be growing-out of his eczema (fingers crossed!) so I haven’t recently. (That’s valuable real-estate! Be prepared- but don’t carry more than you have to mama!)

{There are two of my elementary school friends looking way cool in their swimsuits on the beach and my brothers and I in our t-shirts on over our swimsuits. I had enough sunburns in my teens to leave me cowering under a blanket and umbrella when we go now though. My boys are lucky- Graham has some of those cool new sunscreen shirts and I'm totes jealous that we didn't have those.}

 So those are the essentials.  With a newborn I also add a spit-up cloth and a receiving blanket in addition to the regular baby blanket I keep in the carseat for a swaddle/nursing cover. 

Honorable Mention Items:

-Hair-ties/clips for mom!

-Pacifier (my boys don’t usually take one but we have it just in case)

-Socks for the kids (addresses blisters and/or chilly feet if you get wet and they are riding home in the A/C)

-Cell phone charger (Maybe it’s just because I’m addicted to technology, but everything goes a lot smoother if mom knows she isn’t going to be stranded somewhere with a dead cell phone.)

-Gripe Water/Baby Tylenol/Band-Aids/Other meds  (Holy goodness. Yes. Yes. Yes. This should probably actually go on the regular list. Gassy babies, unexpected teething, allergic reactions- these are all major fun-killers.  Your day out will end quickly or be incredibly miserable if you don’t have the necessary remedies.)

-A favorite toy (for entertaining during car rides, lines, etc… Don’t go overboard on the toys or bring a REAL favorite because it is entirely possible it will get lost and be gone forever.)

Ok this post is getting ridiculously long and it’s close to midnight so I’m off!  Thanks for dropping by, please come back and read the rest of our Fun in the Sun posts this week!