Changing bag essentials. You don’t need half that stuff!

What’s in your changing bag?

Do you even have a specific ‘changing bag’ or are you a throw a nappy in your handbag kinda gal?

Here’s what’s in mine most days…  Lets be honest – Sometimes I am that ‘just throw a nappy in’ and hope for the best kinda gal.

• Nappies (Obviously)  but there’s no need to be carrying round a whole bail!  Be realistic how many times are you really gonna change their bums unless there’s a smelly one in there?

• Wipes.  None of this cotton wool and water business.  How are you gonna fill a basin of water, hold on to the baby on the changing table and maybe have to stop a toddler making a get away?  ‘Water wipes’ will be your saviour!  Now my little bottoms aren’t quite so new I’ve moved on to ‘Pampers Sensitive’.  They are kinder on the purse and OMG do you know how good baby wipes are at cleaning marks off walls and other surfaces you wish there wasn’t a mark on?!

• Nappy sacks.  These are priceless!  Especially if you have to take your son’s stinker home from your friends house because you just couldn’t inflict that on her kitchen bin.  They’re also great for keeping drool covered bibs from soaking everything else in your bag.  Just don’t forget to take them out when you get home. No one wants to deal with the remnants of a week old Ella’s pouch mixed with the slobber of a teething baby.

I hear you’re also meant to carry around a change of clothes…  I’m pretty sure I did this as a ‘brand new Mum’ and the new-born baby grow I’d lovingly folded in there on our first outing was still there when the boy was six months old.  I think I got lucky! ‘Poonamis’ where few and far between.  I expect if I’d been faced with regular ‘Poo Explosions’ I’d have carried round a wardrobe!

• A Changing Mat.  This is pretty self explanatory.  Some of the surfaces in baby changing areas I don’t want to touch let alone lay my most treasured possession on.

• Anti-bacterial wipes.  This kinda follows on from my last point.  Highchairs…  How many kids have wiped their drool and snot covered paws all over the surface before your little munchkin sits in there to eat his dinner?

• A big Muslin is always handy.  Apart from the obvious moping up baby puke, It’ll double as a blanket in the    summer months.  If you’re not feeling up to ‘whooping a boob out’ in public its plenty big to cover you and Baba.  And you could nearly guarantee when you’re feeding one baby the toddler, or yourself will knock something over and there’ll never be enough tissues on the table.

• Snacks, snacks and more snacks!  My changing bag has a few secret pockets of snacks for when the snack pocket runs out!  It’s simple – I used bread sticks and raisins as bribes.   Who doesn’t?!

Paracetamol and Bonjela are only deal breakers if we’re heading off over night.  Just in-case the tooth fairies evil twin comes to visit.  My youngest likes nothing better than tipping the contents of the changing bag all over the floor so don’t think I’d win Mum of the Year award if I let him play with this stuff…

The rest of the contents are mine.

• My purse.  Who needs toys?  What could be more fun than hoking through Mummy’s cards?

• A Lipstick.  Sometimes when the day has been really sh*t there’s only one thing to do… Paint your face and pretend everything is A-O-K!  And when someone says “Don’t you look good today!”  You might actually believe it.

• The most important thing… MY PHONE!  It’s the link to the outside world.  It doesn’t bark orders at me or call me Mama.  Plus when the snacks lose they’re appeal what else am I gonna bribe the kids with?

• Whoops forgot… there’s normally a water cup or two in there as well.

So Mummies here’s my advise.  Keep that changing bag as light as possible!  You’ve enough to carry without bringing the kitchen sink along for a coffee.  Be realistic.  If you haven’t got it with you and you really, really need it – there’s probably a shop two doors down where you can buy it.