I’m not a pocket person. There’s just something about putting what you need all together in a bag and grabbing it by the hand. Canvas totes. Leather clutches. Courier bags. They all have a place in my wardrobe. And with my pregnancy, the door opened to the mother bag of them all: the diaper bag.
Diaper bags have come a long way. They’re no longer hideously pink or blue with protruding pockets. (Though, you can still find those). They’re streamlined and ergonomic. Husband-friendly colors? You got it. Some don’t even look like diaper bags at all.
Forget stroller envy. I have diaper bag envy.
It’s no surprise that by the time my first son was born I had carefully selected a diaper bag. What was surprising was how little I enjoyed packing it.
Gone were the days of gathering a few things, throwing them into a bag, and heading out the door. Toss my keys into my diaper bag? No way. I could lose them.
At any given time my ergonomic-pocket, gender-neutral-colored diaper bag contained the basics: diapers, diaper cream, pacifiers and wipes. Soon I learned it should also have a bunch of other stuff, including onesies, antibacterial wipes, infant acetaminophen, petroleum jelly, alcohol swabs, bibs, burp cloths, that snot squeezie thing and a spare shirt (for myself, of course). It was heavy, but unless I wanted to use the drive-thu napkins as a burp cloth, I had to be prepared.
As if all that weren’t enough, I also carried around plenty of unnecessary things. Like teethers for a baby months away from actually cutting teeth. Oh, and toys. Newborns don’t get bored.
Eventually, I ditched the non-age-appropriate toys and carried two or three extra diapers instead of five or ten. Things were lightening up. Then my maternity leave ended.
On that day, if I could have stuffed myself in his diaper bag as I dropped him off, I would have. I had carried around my baby for months in the best-packed carrying case in the world. My uterus. And, in a way, my diaper bag and its contents had become the next best thing. No wonder it was hard to let go.
But I did.
And, eventually, I found that when you learn to let go once and awhile, it makes picking it all up again that much more enjoyable. Plus, my new diaper bag has stroller clips and insulated side pockets. Super handy.
