We all know what it's like trying to leave the house with a baby. At times you're left wondering if it's even really worth it and if maybe a lifetime stuck in the house could really be that bad?
Once you have another child, leaving the house becomes even more of a mission and requires a lot of preparation and careful packing of your changing bag, to ensure everyone is kept clean, fed, watered, amused, happy, protected from the sun, rain, snow, bugs and from any likeliness of boredom setting in!
Once you have another child, leaving the house becomes even more of a mission and requires a lot of preparation and careful packing of your changing bag, to ensure everyone is kept clean, fed, watered, amused, happy, protected from the sun, rain, snow, bugs and from any likeliness of boredom setting in!
There are some essentials for baby and toddler though and I thought I would list these in one place as a point of reference to speed up the process of the daily evacuation! The only thing other than the bag packing that requires several hours a day is the hunting for the kids shoes. Where do they go? Where do they hide? Why do they hate us!? But that is a whole different story.
The Baby Essentials
Nappies
Fold up change mat
Fold up change mat
Nappy bags
Wipes
Bib
Sippy Cup
Nappy Cream
Muslin Cloth
Spoon
Toy to keep them happy
Snacks
Sun hat
Cardigan
Cardigan
Rain cover
Change of outfit
Change of vest
The Toddler Essentials
Spare pants (if trained)
Nappies (if not)
Wipes
Wipes
Spare trousers
Spare top
Warm top/jacket
Snacks
Spare socks
Sun cream
Sunglasses
Sun hat
Anti-bac gel
Anti-bac gel
Drinking bottle
Toy to keep them amused
Change for an ice cream!
That little lot can be packed away quite nicely into an average sized changing bag, I am an old school pro at Tetris so I am pretty good at packing now too! I have learnt the hard way with drinks wetting clean clothes and finding undersized clothes left in the bag in an emergency too, so I have a few general tips ...
Useful Packing tips
- Roll clothes so they take up less room and can be easily slotted in and out.
- Take emptier packs of wipes for shorter trips so they take up less room.
- Sort out you nappy bag regularly so that it is up to date!
- Make sure spray sun creams/drinks have their lids firmly on or are kept in a plastic bag.
- Think ahead to where you are going - only take what you really need.
- Think of small toys to take to take up less room. Toy cars are great and you can always draw a road on some paper or on a napkin!
- Have a separate small backpack for each child/baby. It's so much easier to find things this way instead of searching through one big bag!
- Pop in a few carrier bags in case of wet, smelly or soiled clothes.
- Keep sweets, Calpol or any other kids medicines in your own bag so it can't be easily accessed by the little people.
That's all my essentials and tips for packing for a day out. What are yours?
Thanks for reading,
Wafflemama
