Wednesday 9 April 2014

What's in my changing bag? with Kiddicare

What's in my changing bag?

(with Kiddicare)

I'm sure this is of interest to any parents out there with small kids who still require nappy changes - just what is an 'essential kit' for daily goings on with a little one? 

My son Bert is now just over 7 months old, he's getting more and more active every day: he's mastered army crawling, pulling himself up to standing while holding furniture, and is starting to walk while holding on to the sofa…he eats two big solid meals a day (breakfast and dinner) and has finger foods/snacks every lunch time, he has cut down to around 4 feeds of 200ml a day of milk, and sleeps through the night. 

Here is a cheeky picture of my wee man this morning playing in his car walker … (I love an excuse to share a picture with my lovely blog readers!)

Hi from Bert! 

I'm sure every parent has a different essential changing bag kit list - and it may well change for every parent over time, but here's the current contents of my changing bag for little Bert…


-Nappies (always Pampers for us)
-Wipes
-Nappy sacks
-A change of clothes
-A bottle of 'ready to feed' milk
-A sterilised bottle
-A selection of dummies
-Tiddley Pom organic nappy cream
-A spare pair of socks
- 2 x bibs
-A dribble bib
- A muslin cloth
-Tissues
-Baby suncream
- Some Dentinox Wipes
-A bag of organic snacks such as Organix Sweetcorn Rings
- Bert's red health record book
- Bert's notebook (where we list what he eats/milk and what nappy changes he has - plus the times, this helps me immeasurably as I am super-forgetful and it helps me keep track - also fun to look back, and handy to know what his 'patterns' are, if any!)

My pretty "tree tops" change bag which matches my Cosatto Giggle pram

In the changing bag I also pack a few essential items for me - sometimes I take a separate hand bag as well as the changing bag, but generally it is easier for me to pop my keys, purse and sunglasses into the baby bag along with Bert's essentials. Do you pack a separate bag for yourself? Or are you the same as me?

my keys, purse and sunglasses - daily necessities. 

The 'Extra' Bag

I also have an 'extra' bag - which is a little see through zip up bag containing lots of lotions and potions that I only need occasionally. I usually have it to hand at home, and throw it in the changing bag if we're going away for a weekend...

The 'extra' bag


Contents of the extra bag includes:

-Nasosal - for blocked baby noses
-Johnson's Nappy Rash Cream
-Vapour rub
-Olbas drops
-Infacol for colic/wind
-Milton Antibacterial hand gel
-Dentinox teething gel
-Nail clippers
-Surgical scissors (for opening cartons of milk mostly)
-Syringe for medicine
-Extra Dentinox wipes
-Spare hilarious moustache dummy!

TOYS

I also regularly take a selection of toys out with us to amuse Bert while we are out and about - they're usually specifically selected for each trip and are thrown into the top of the changing bag, or in the pram with Bert - his top toys for travel at the moment are:

A teething ring toy/ Sophie The Giraffe / ELC teething ring / Burnie the Bear (Woburnie - from Woburn!) / Lamaze's Torin the TRex & Freddie The Firefly

The Lamaze toys hoop onto the pram which is really handy, and the other toys are all quite small and easy for Bert to enjoy while we're out. Sophie The Giraffe and Burnie the Bear are definitely his top two! 

Do your little ones have a must-have toy?

The Weekend Bag

We regularly go away for the weekend to stay with friends and family, and of course, we have to pack many more items for overnight stays away from home - our main essential weekend kit includes:

-Travel cot
-Sleeping bag
-Extra milk (Bert is having Aptamil 1 Ready to Feed bottles) 
-5 or 6 bottles
-Food pouches, bowls, spoons
-Travel high chair
-Microwave steriliser
-Extra nappies/wipes
- 5 or 6 spare outfits
-Extra toys
-4 or 5  muslin cloths
-Blanket
-Calpol
-Extra dummies
-Selection of baby suitable snacks
-Nightlight/Projector Twilight Turtle 
-Bouncy chair or bumbo
-The 'extra' bag full of lotions and potions in case Bert gets a little poorly while we're away (this has happened on a couple of occasions)

I think we are still at that early cautious stage where you pack much more than you actually realistically need, but I'd rather take too much than not enough - also, we have a car which we can pack full to the rafters if needed, so it's not too much of a hassle. If we didn't have the car I'd probably pack a much more modest weekend kit. 

What makes it in to your essential baby kits?

Are your children different ages and do they require different items? 

Check out other blogger's changing bag contents by searching the hashtag #whatsinmychangingbag on Twitter. 

To purchase a new changing bag why not check out the fab range at Kiddicare.

Disclaimer: This project is sponsored by Kiddicare, and we were kindly given a £50 Kiddicare voucher in exchange for sharing our #whatsinmychangingbag post.