An emergency kit like this one lives in the trunk of your car and contains all sorts of things you might need in a pinch when you are out and about with your baby. It can help you avoid disasters and deal with the messes that come with kiddos.
I keep my emergency kit either in the trunk of my car or on the floor of the backseat. It just kind of depends what area of my car I need more space in. I also keep a case of bottle water and our travel stroller (read all about it and why I love it here) in our car almost all the time. My jogging stroller doesn’t really travel well and an emergency stroller can be really nice to have. I once used it in place of a high chair at a restaurant because all of their’s were being used at the time. You should also always have some emergency water with you.
GENERAL SUPPLIES
Somewhere to keep your stuff – I use a Fjallraven Kanken backpack to store all of my emergency supplies. I thrifted it, so I have no idea what size it is or if it is even authentic, but it works so well for this purpose. (I would guess it’s a 15″ bag, but not a laptop one). I love that it can be almost completely unzipped so I can see all of the contents at once and don’t have to pull everything out to access something on the bottom of the bag. It’s also cute.
Garbage bags – I use an empty disinfectant wipes container that I washed out to hold a bunch of old plastic grocery sacks. These can be used for dog poop, dirty clothes, car trash, vomit, or just something to sit on in the dirt while stranding on the side of the highway. Plastic bags are just something helpful to have around and this is a great opportunity to repurpose some.
First Aid Kit – I put this first aid kit together myself in a clear zippered packing cube I found, but you can easily buy a compact car first aid kit online. Mine has ibuprofen, gloves, gauze, 3M Coban, sterile saline, antibacterial ointment, gallon ziplocs, bandaids, anti-itch cream, and Benadryl. I plan to add a couple of silver space blankets to this kit as well, but haven’t gotten around to it.
BABY SPECIFIC SUPPLIES
Packed diaper clutch – I received this diaper clutch at a baby shower and I really like it. I typically keep it in the car emergency kit because it keeps some disposable diapers, wipes, and a changing pad all together. It’s easy to pull out and do a quick diaper change literally anywhere. You do have to remember to keep diapers in you baby’s current size packed, but I usually pull this out and bring it with us on road trips, so it gives me a good opportunity to update it.
Wet Ones and spoons – these are kept in the outside pocket of the backpack. I like Wet Ones for disinfecting quickly and I like to have a few spoons for when we are eating out and the fast food place forgets to give us plasticware for Calvin’s mac and cheese.
Formula, 5 oz bottle, and muslin swaddle blanket – even though Calvin is now one and is weaned from formula, I am still keeping these items in the backpack. If we were stranded on the side of the road or up on a mountain with no service, having some formula that I could give him to keep him hydrated and less hungry would be extremely helpful. I have to remember to keep bottled water in the car, both for emergency use and for emergency formula. The muslin blanket is good for wrapping him up, protecting him from sun, laying out to sit on, or cleaning up messes. It can also be used as a dressing or sling in a first aid emergency.
Diaper Bag extras – I also keep a medium sized clutch filled with all sorts of “diaper bag” supplies that I might need, but also might not keep in my diaper bag all the time. This includes:
- spare onesie (I tend to size up so it doesn’t have to be switched out as often)
- travel size baby body wash
- wash cloth
- burp cloth
- hand sanitizer
- thermometer
- booger sucker
- sunscreen stick
- chapstick
The reason I bring this little clutch along is because of a story my mom once told me. They were out to eat at Applebee’s one evening. They had with them a four-year-old, a two-year-old, and a six-month-old. During the meal, the six-month-old had a massive blowout. All over her, her outfit, and all down the restaurant high chair. My mom scooped her up, grabbed the diaper bag, and ran into the bathroom. Once there, she realized she was completely out of wipes and didn’t have any spare clothes. She had to strip her down, rinse her off in the sink, dry her off with paper towels, wipe down the bathroom sink, and bring her back in nothing but a diaper. With my little emergency kit, I know I’ll never be without wipes, a onesie, or soap if needed.
I hope this list was helpful to you and I’ll make future posts as I update this kit for each stage and season of our life. Thanks for being here!
BARREL OF MERRELL'S 
Leave a comment