What’s in My Minimal Diaper Bag: Toddler and Baby

I remember when I was a new mom and packed everything but the kitchen sink in my diaper bag. Now that I’m a little more seasoned and don’t have tons of space to spare with two little ones, I have a much more minimal essentials list when it comes to my diaper bag.

The first thing I want to mention is that we now have two kiddos in diapers (one in part-time cloth and one in disposables) and we no longer use any cloth diapers when we leave the house. Packing enough diapers for two kids, the wet bags, and the other things that I like to have on hand would require me to carry a 50L framed backpack that would probably weigh more than both of my children combined. So we use disposable diapers on both kids when we are away from home.

Now that I’ve got that out of the way, let’s dive into what I carry around with me and how I keep it organized and easy to access. At the end, I’ll also mention some things that I could carry (or that I used to carry), but that I don’t regularly keep in my everyday diaper bag with two kids two and under.

MY DIAPER BAG

The bag that I use just about every time I leave the house with the kids is my Azaria La Mère Petite in Black with Gunmetal. It measures 9.75″ wide, 11″ high, and 5.25″ deep and has about a 10 liter storage capacity. It has six interior pockets, five exterior pockets, and the interior is completely wipeable. It can also be worn as a backpack or as a crossbody bag and fits everything that I need. I even used it to pack everything for Della when I went to the hospital to give birth. The bag comes in an Original and a Grand size, but I prefer the Petite because it helps me to keep this minimal and easier to carry. (Colter gave me this exact same bag in the color Taupe for Christmas, and I love them both. I use one for my everyday diaper bag and one for Sundays. If you’re wondering what I keep in my church bag, read this post).

Inside the bag, I also use my Azaria Doux Clutch in Black to hold all of my actual diaper changing essentials. It measures 10.5″ wide, 7.5″ high, and 2″ deep and has a 7″ wrist strap attached to the zipper. It works so well for holding my change kit and keeping it all easy to grab from my bag. It’s so nice to be able to bring the diaper clutch and the dirty diapered child with me and leave the diaper bag and other kid with Colter. I can also use it on its own as a clutch if and when Colter and I ever have a nice night out again.

DIAPER CHANGE KIT

Alright, let’s get into the contents of my bag. I’ll start with the diaper contents of my diaper bag. Inside of my Azaria Doux Clutch (see above), I keep:

My kids have never been very prone to diaper rash, but I like to keep a teeny, tiny emergency stash of rash ointment, just in case. I also keep a wet bag in this kit so if I need to strip any wet or soiled clothes off of my kid, I have a safe container to put the clothes in immediately.

I love having everything I need for a diaper change ready to grab and take into the bathroom with me. As I mentioned above, I can leave the bulk of the diaper bag with Colter and the other kid. Or if I am by myself, I can leave the big bag on my back and only have to worry about my small bag and the kid in need of changing.

FOR CALVIN (2 YEARS OLD)

I only carry a couple of things for Calvin besides diapers now that he’s two. And I usually only carry like two or three diapers for him nowadays because he’s on a fairly reliable changing schedule. Otherwise, the items I keep on hand for him are:

As long as Calvin has a snack available, he’s a pretty well-mannered and content little kid. I got very lucky with a kid that will often go with the flow. I try to rotate what snack I keep in the bag, but I always stick to his favorites. Depending on how long we’re gone for, I might add an additional snack or two to make sure that I keep him happy and fed. And I always bring a fruit bar to the chiropractor’s office for him, because that’s our little routine. I get adjusted and he gets a fruit bar.

FOR DELLA (5 MONTHS OLD)

When Calvin was a baby, I packed the diaper bag with every single item I could think of that I might possibly need. I carried cloth diapers, disposable diapers, cloth wipes, baby wipes, rash cream, three spare outfits, a shirt for me, a blanket, a velcro swaddle, two pacifiers, boogy wipes, scented bags for dirty diapers, a few burp cloths, a thermometer, nail clippers, antibacterial wipes, a jersey car seat cover, a portable sound machine, and about one million other things. And, come to think of it, we almost never left the house when Calvin was a baby because the pandemic hit so soon after he was born. But if we had had anywhere to go, I would have been prepared for almost anything.

I do not carry near as much stuff for Della. All I keep with me, in addition to the diapers mentioned above, is:

As you can see, this list is much shorter than what I carried around for teeny, tiny Calvin. I’ll occasionally throw in a toy for her, or just give her the teething bracelet on my keys if I don’t. If I find myself needing to use formula to feed Della in the future, I’ll add a bottle and pre-measured powder formula to the diaper bag, but otherwise this is all I will typically need when going out with her.

FOR MOMMA

Let’s not forget about you momma. You have items that you need and items that make leaving the house easier for you too. And taking care of yourself is the best way to guarantee you give the best care possible to your children. For myself, I like to carry:

The first few items on this list are typical purse contents. I am nursing Della so having a couple of emergency nursing pads, a snack, and the Joey clip make breastfeeding on the go (if I happen to feel like wearing a cover, which I rarely do) much easier. I also carry my 32 ounce HydroFlask or my 30 ounce Stanley Iceflow Flip Straw Tumbler with me literally everywhere I go, but I don’t keep it in my diaper bag most of the time, simply due to space restraints.

My period hasn’t returned (and I don’t expect it to return for a while yet) but I would hate to be caught out running errands and have that first postpartum period show up and have no way to deal with it. I try not to carry too many “just in case” items, but my menstrual cup is an absolute must.

Now, I know that bringing my Kindle with me when I leave the house with two kids two and under is extremely optimistic, but I find that if I don’t take tiny snippets of reading time anywhere I can get them, I don’t ever get to read. I’ll pull my Kindle out usually while waiting for something: during a car wash, waiting for my curbside pickup, in the drive thru line at Wendy’s, waiting to pick someone up, the waiting room at the chiropractor, etc. Mostly places I can put my car in park for a few minutes while I wait. I never, ever use it or my phone while in active traffic, even if that traffic is stopped at a red light or in congestion.

A COUPLE OF SCENERIOS

Obviously there are times when I have to add things to my diaper bag that we’ll need in specific situations. Here are a couple of common ones:

If we’re going to be gone until close to or after bedtime, I will usually throw a couple of extra diapers and pajamas into the bag for both kids. This makes laying them down for the night when we get home 10x easier than trying to wrestle pajamas and a clean diaper onto kids that have already been disturbed by being removed from their car seats.

If we are going to be spending 30 minutes or more outside, I throw a small bottle of sunscreen into the bag. Even during the cold months, I apply some to both mine and Calvin’s faces to protect our skin (especially if we’re going to be out in the middle of the day in the snow).

I usually carry the kids’ sunglasses with us, but if we’re going to be outside I will either add beanies for both or a bonnet for Della and baseball cap for Calvin.

In the winter, I grab both of the kids’ Minky Couture blankets on the way out the door because they are the perfect car seat blankets. This isn’t a diaper bag thing, but it is a leaving-the-house thing, so I figured I would mention it.

ITEMS I DON’T CARRY IN MY BAG AND WHY

  • Baby Carrier – I am in love with babywearing, but I don’t like to keep a carrier in my diaper bag all the time, because I have several different styles that I like for different reasons. If I expect to want a carrier, I pick it out before we leave and add it to the diaper bag last. If I don’t expect to need one, don’t bring one, and then end up wishing I had a carrier, I keep a Happy Baby Original carrier in the car almost all of the time.
  • Noise Machine – even though both of my babies sleep with white noise at home, I don’t find it necessary to carry one with me for naps on-the-go. This is different if they will be laying down for a nap, in a playpen, at someone else’s house.
  • Antibacterial wipes – I do carry hand sanitizer, but I don’t carry antibacterial wipes with me any more. I never remembered to use them and I believe that reasonable exposure to microbes is beneficial to the immune system. I do have them in my car kit though.
  • Multiple bibs, burp cloths, and changes of clothes – I can make do without all of the extra fabric in my bag. I do have one change of baby clothes and one burp cloth, but anything more than that just feels excessive. In the warmer months, I’ll switch out the spare sleeper for a spare onesie or romper.
  • Baby Socks or Mittens – my babies both have winter birthdays, so they live in zippered footed sleepers with fold-over mittens until they are three to six months old. This really negates the need for socks and mittens (and hallelujah because those things don’t stay on and are always lost).
  • Change of clothes for me – at this point, if I get puke or poop or pee or whatever on me, I’m just going to wipe it off or rinse it out best I can and move on. I’ve got two little kids, so I think I get a free pass to be a little messy sometimes.
  • Pads or Tampons – I use a menstrual cup to handle my periods, so I carry that with me and don’t have to worry about carrying any other feminine products

There you go! Everything I carry in my minimal diaper bag for myself, my baby, and my toddler. To be honest, sometimes even this much stuff feels excessive (as long as I have a diaper for each and wipes, the basics are covered), but having a well-stocked diaper bag makes getting out of the house less stressful, faster, and just a smidge easier.

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