Creating and Organizing the Perfect Diaper Cart!

A quick search on Pinterest will show you that a rolling cart stocked with baby stuff is a must-have item for many parents anxiously waiting for their little bundle of joy to arrive. I was no different and I absolutely L O V E my cart and use it daily. Let me take you through how I set it up and how I use it, step by step!

MY CART

I chose the RASKOG cart from IKEA. It cost me about $30 and was pretty easy to assemble. There are similar carts sold at Target and Michael’s for similar cost, I just happened to go to IKEA first, and they were currently carrying a pretty blue color that went with my nursery color scheme pretty well.

TOP TRAY

Inners – this is the absorbent part of our diapers. It gets changes every 2-3 hours or immediately if Cal poops. They get thrown in the wet bag and washed every couple of days.
Outers – this is the waterproofing part of our diapers. It gets changed only if it gets wet or dirty from an exceptionally full inner. When they get dirty they go in the wet bag too to be washed.
Overnighters – these are the liners that we use in Cal’s diapers for overnight sleep (what a clever name, huh?). They are several layers of cotton, covered in a stay-dry fleece and they work great.
Gathre Mat – I adore these changing mats. They are soft, so easy to clean, and so pretty. They fold up nice and small and they have a lot of uses. Highly recommend. We have two, one in the cart and one in the diaper bag.

In a little box, we keep all of these little things:

Cloth Wipes – these are small, soft washcloth-type squares that we use as wipes. They work really well and get washed with the diapers.
Baby Bum Brush – this is one of those baby items that I saw online and thought was SO DUMB. And then someone gave me one as a gift and I love this thing. I love that I don’t have to get whatever cream or ointment I’m putting on him all over my hands, it doesn’t get under my nails, and I can get a nice, thick, smooth layer on his bum every time.
Wipe Solution – we use 2-3 pumps of this foaming wash to wet our wipes before using them on Cal’s bum. I really like the foaming action and it keeps him clean.
Everyday Balm – this balm is formulated to be used every day if desired, but protects delicate baby skin from irritation and damage.
Rash Relief Cream – this cream is for when the everyday balm isn’t powerful enough to get rid of a serious rash or irritation. A thick layer for a couple of days protects the skin and gives it time to heal.

We will also add these to the cart:

Flushers – these will be added to the cart once Calvin starts eating solid foods. They line the diaper and allow pee through to the diaper, while keeping poop on the liner. When it’s time for a change you simply take the liner out with any solids it contains and flush it down the toilet.

MIDDLE TRAY

I have two variations for the middle tray. The first is when I was nursing and pumping. The second is the setup I currently use, because I was not able to maintain a sufficient supply and Calvin is fed exclusively with donated breastmilk and formula.

While Breastfeeding and Pumping:

When I was nursing and pumping, this tray was often empty because I was bringing my pump back and forth to work with me. However, having my pump set up and accessible wherever I needed it for evenings and weekends was very nice.

Breast Pump – I keep my SpeCtra S2 on the cart so I can use it in whatever room I please.
Pump Accesories – I find that if I keep my tubing, backflow protectors, flanges, duckbills, bottles, and caps all in the same place, I lose them less frequently. Imagine that.
Mug for Haakaa – I used the Haakaa every single time that I breastfed for the first several months of Calvin’s life. When I would go to take it off, I was always searching for a level, secure place to set it because whoever coined the phrase “Don’t cry over spilt milk” was obviously not a breastfeeding mother. Now I just set the Haakaa inside the mug on my cart and I know for certain that it isn’t going to tip over and spill all my hard-earned milk all over the floor.
Pumping Bra – I invested in this when I had to start power pumping a few times a week to boost my supply. Normally I will just hold my flanges in place rather than spend the extra few minutes to use the bra. When I am home, however, and going to be pumping for a while, it is nice to have my hands free to use my phone or the remote or to pick up and sooth my baby.
Nursing Pads – I use Lanisoh’s ultra absorbent disposable nursing pads at all times in my bra. I tried washable, reusable ones, but they just got soaked too quickly and didn’t help enough because I am a leaker. These work great though and I like having them near me and my pump.

While Exclusively Bottle Feeding:

Once my pump was put away, I used this empty space for storing:

Sollybaby wrap – I really enjoy my wrap and Calvin does too. I like keeping it here because I always know where it is and it’s easy to grab when we want to head out the door.
Hoodie – the theme of this tray became a bunch of items that I might need in order to head out the door. A hoodie in case it is chilly.
Sun Hat – it is often sunny outside and Calvin will not wear sunscreen until he is 6 months old, per the recommendation of his pediatrician.
Fleece Booties – Calvin keeps these on significantly better than socks, so I like to keep them accessible for chilly evenings.

I also keep one or two burp cloths hanging on the rails of the cart. I use Gerber prefold cloth diapers as burp cloths because they are white, absorbent, and soft. Plus I can add one to Calvin’s diaper if he is having an extra heavy wetter phase.

BOTTOM TRAY

This tray is kind of a baby care station. It is full of things that we don’t always need every day, but that we need often. I have an IKEA drawer divider to help it stay organized:

In the drawer divider, I keep:

Thermometer – I keep the thermometer here so I always know where it is and because the nail trimmer is also here because I move the batteries back and forth between the two devices.
Nail Trimmer – I wrote about this nail trimmer on my newborn to 3 months baby gear post and I highly recommend it.
NoseFrida – I keep one of these in the diaper bag and one here. We don’t have a medicine cabinet, so I like knowing where I put this and the diaper cart is a central baby location.
Vitamind D drops – Our pediatrician recommended these while Cal was EBF. He isn’t anymore and is getting more time in the sun, so these drops have actually been unused for a few weeks.
Basic Medication – I keep tylenol for me, baby tylenol, saline drops, baby chest rub, and gas drops. All of the baby products are Little Remedies brands because they were given to me as baby shower gifts.
Pacifier and Clip – Calvin loves his pacifiers, so I keep a clean BIBS pacifier and clip on the diaper cart so I always know where one is and we are never scrambling if he can’t find his or it drops on the floor or whatever.
Wet Ones – I will use these to wipe anything that may be nasty or that the dog’s mouth might have gotten to.
Wipe Up Concentrate – when we invested in our cloth diapers, we bought the company’s wipe up kit. Once this concentrate runs out, we will switch to a mixture of water and coconut oil that I will mix myself.

On the edges of the tray, outside of the organizer, I keep:

Swaddle Blanket – not only do these have so many more uses than as swaddle blankets, but sometimes swaddling is just the thing my baby needs to chill out. I usually swaddle him in a blanket during the day and with a sack at night.
GermX – hand sanitizer is kind of a must with babies. I have a lot of it and we use it often.
Lotion – Calvin has really dry knees and elbows, so I keep lotion on the cart to be able to lotion his little joints often.
A toy – I rotate Cal’s toys and always keep one here so it’s on hand.

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any suggestions for things you keep in your portable baby station, let me know in the comments!