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Dana
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| Posted: July 06 2010 at 4:44pm | IP Logged
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I have a just turned three year old, nineteen month old and a baby due July 28th. This means that at least for a period of time I will be carrying diapers, change of clothes, snacks/cups for three(though not for #3 for at least six months). My only problem is I'm running out of room in our current diaper bag with just two. My three year old daughter varies in consistency with potty training, and I doubt she will be fully potty trained in +/- three weeks. I've brainstormed the possibility that the 3 yr. old's own backpack would be better, but I can't see this not turning into yet another thing for me to carry.
For a day out I typically stock the diaper bag with 4 diapers for each, a pack of baby wipes (88ct+ soft plastic pack), two changes of clothes for each, two juice cups, snacks (cereal bars, cherrios, yogurt nibbles, etc.), travel pack of wet ones, diaper ointment, wet bag and at the moment Boogie Wipes, cough syrup and antibiotic (we're battling a cold/sinus infection). Add in just the diapers and clothes for the nb, not to mention eventual toys, pacifiers, disposable bf pads, etc. and I'm out of space! Cold/sickness care could put it over the edge. At least, I'll not be able to find anything without unloading the entire bag (I might be able to....my dh will disorganize the most organized bag in diaper changing frustration  ...God bless him, but nothing brings on a rant quicker than unindividually popping wipes coming out in bunches and buttoning up an outfit only to have unmatched buttons).
FYI: I've tried leaving the 3 year old's supplies in the car, but that just ends up turning into..."Honey, can you please go out to the car and get..."
Ideas and thoughts are welcomed. Thanks!
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: July 06 2010 at 6:09pm | IP Logged
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have a second diaper bag in the car.. with extra diapers for each and a change of clothes for each. then in the bag you carry you only need 1-2 diapers each, one change of clothes each etc. instead of carrying everything.. but you don't have all the supplies for one child left in the car. But rather.. you can refill into your carrying bag as needed from the car.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
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Kathryn
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| Posted: July 06 2010 at 6:18pm | IP Logged
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My first thought is WOW...that's a load of stuff you carry around! Is there for all day trips out or overnight? I realized (with my older 2) that I carried waaaaaaaaaaay more stuff than I ever possibly needed when they were only 17 mos apart so I go bare-basics w/ the almost 3 yr old and have since she was born.
I'm rarely gone from home longer than 2-3 hours tho so I just leave a diaper bag/med kit in the car and usu. just carried a diaper and small set of wipes in my purse. Sometimes a bag of snacks and a drink. Fortunately my 3 yr old is potty trained but I do have to keep the change of clothes although just 1 outfit now. Toys rarely if ever go in the store and it's usu. may be one small soft doll she can carry but that's a very rare occasion b/c risk of loss is too great. She rarely plays w/ the toys I take anyway.
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Kathryn in TX
(dd 16, ds 15, dd 8, dd 5)
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: July 06 2010 at 7:05pm | IP Logged
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Kathryn wrote:
| My first thought is WOW...that's a load of stuff you carry around! |
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I had three under 2.5 years, and I solved the problem by never being gone for more than 2-3 hours!  It was just WAY too much work packing all that stuff and planning for longer outings!
But, probably not the answer you were looking for.  I'm really not that much help! 
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: July 06 2010 at 7:08pm | IP Logged
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And, i just remembered something....I'd keep stashes of things in the car....diapers, wipes, extra clothes, etc.....and I was never very far from the car with 3 little ones. I'd just replenish from the car instead of hauling everything from home to car all the time. And, just keep my diaper bag for a couple diapers, burp rag, wipes, etc. I still do this....and probably only carry a diaper bag from newborn-8 months or so.
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Suzanne in ID
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Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: July 07 2010 at 12:10am | IP Logged
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I know I posted earlier but I was rather short on time.
My purse is one with a large pocket that I don't have filled with other stuff.. I can tuck a small pack of wipes (a qt size ziplock can hold wipes flat, is easy to reach into and can take less space than a full pack of wipes) a couple diapers each and a change of clothes for one or two into it if I pack it full.. (put the clothes under the diapers and wipes and put them edge up.. and mark disposable diapers with a marker on that edge if they're close in size (I would use no line for the smallest, one line on the next up and 2 on the next up.. and I would run the line on them when I opened the bag and could just run a sharpie over the edge and mark them all in 1 or 2 batches.)
Then you can grab the wipes and proper size diaper for the child easily.. other things are under the diapers because they're usually a less time sensitive grab.
Then I use a small backpack in the car.. another container of wipes.. about 4 diapers for each child and changes of clothes for all of them. Even when I was no more than 5 minutes from home.. when I had lots of only littles.. it was so much nicer.. say at the park.. when I had littles get wet or muddy that I could change them on the way into their car seats and not have to add a stop at home if I still had errands to run.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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*Lindsey*
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| Posted: July 07 2010 at 7:24am | IP Logged
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This is the diaper bag that I have and love! I've had it for 3 years now and take it everywhere, and it still looks brand new. It's a real workhorse.
I also keep an extra bag stocked in the van, b/c you just never know.
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Lindsey
Mama to DS (11), DD(9), twin dds(7), DD (5), DS (4), DS (3), and 5 angels in heaven.
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: July 07 2010 at 8:00am | IP Logged
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What a cute bag Lindsey! I didn't think I needed a new one for this baby, but now I'm really tempted!
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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Mackfam
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| Posted: July 07 2010 at 8:16pm | IP Logged
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SuzanneG wrote:
| And, i just remembered something....I'd keep stashes of things in the car....diapers, wipes, extra clothes, etc.....and I was never very far from the car with 3 little ones. I'd just replenish from the car instead of hauling everything from home to car all the time. And, just keep my diaper bag for a couple diapers, burp rag, wipes, etc. I still do this....and probably only carry a diaper bag from newborn-8 months or so. |
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Ditto this!
Keep your car super organized and only carry in what is absolutely needed! I found a pretty Vera Wang diaper bag at a consignment store and really loved it for a while. Right now, I'm loving my Sherpani cotton backpack. We just spent two days in the mountains and I hiked with only this bag...containing:
** sunscreen
** water bottle
** mints
** camera
** kleenex
** extra change of clothes and undies for 2 yo (just in case)
** 2 gallon size ziploc bags - a mommy should never pack a bag without ziplocs!!!!!!!
** wipes
** sunglasses
** all normal purse-y type stuff - id, cards, notepad, pens, lipstick (a girl's gotta be glam even if she's hiking through a cave!)
I rotated necessary items out of my backpack based on the need of the moment and kept backup supplies in the van. I always seem to gravitate towards backpack type purses because I pack the baby/toddler in the Ergo and then the backpack fits as well and both my hands are still free.
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Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
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herdingkittens
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| Posted: July 07 2010 at 10:23pm | IP Logged
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I am a big slacker, so maybe not the best to answer this (I once went out and did not bring any diapers and I had 1 year old twins!! ha ha!), but when I DID bring along a bag, packing for 2 babes, I just used an open tote bag, or whatever they are called. You know the ones that sit flat on the ground and don't have a zipper. I could get to everything easily and it was fairly compact. But I only brought an emergency pack of crackers, a small spray bottle of bottom cleaner (water and a bit of baby soap - which consequently also doubled as a face cleaner, boo-boo antiseptic and dash board cleaner - among other things! ), wipes, diaps and a waterproof diaper sack. Oh and I always carried around a few small figures - dinosaurs or bugs or whatever.
Can you keep some things in the car that you won't need, and the rest in your bag? For example, we keep in a seat back pocket of our van a bottle of hand sanitizer, sunscreen, 2 sippy cups of water, a sleeve of saltines and a couple little books. You could keep the clothes in the car, too, that way you are not hauling them everywhere. Then toss them in your bag if you are going in somewhere for a while?
Although you could leave your bag at home and become very creative! From my lack of preparation I have learned how to turn a small hooded sweatshirt into pants, turn a scarf into a sling, and one time I remember diapering a child with something very strange, but I cannot remember what it was..... 
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 6:22am | IP Logged
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herdingkittens wrote:
- and one time I remember diapering a child with something very strange, but I cannot remember what it was.....
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Well, in my case it was big brothers undershirt! Big brother wasn't thrilled but I promised I would buy him a new one.
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
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Becky Parker
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 6:28am | IP Logged
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I just wanted to say that I carry just the basics in my bag (diapers, wipes and a change of clothes for babies) but we keep our van stocked too. I usually have a bag with extra clothes for all the littles, sunscreen in the summer, snacks and water bottles, and as Jen says, zip lock bags. In the winter months, I also carry a bag with extra hats and gloves and one large blanket. One time this really came in handy. We were actually in the parking lot at a store and a man was carrying a poor little baby with no coat or anything! It was bitter cold and I was sick to my stomach to see this. I ran over with the blanket and told him to please take it and wrap his baby in it. He was very thankful.
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Becky
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MelissaClaire
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 8:07am | IP Logged
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For years I've just carried a bag and thrown a couple of diapers and wipes in it. I keep extras in the car. For just running errands that seems to work well, for longer day trips we could always go back to the car and get what was needed.
For baby #5 I bought this Skip Hop one because it hangs on a stroller well and I really like it. I don't always bring it though. Often I go out with all 5 with just my credit card and driver's license in my pocket and leave the diaper bag in the car.
I think you're trying to pack a tremendous amount of stuff in a bag. Ask yourself, "Do I really need this?" How often have all the kids gone through 2 changes of clothes in a few hours time? How long are you going for that a 3 year old will go through 4 diapers? You might find it very freeing to not be hauling all that stuff around.
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Melissa
Mom to a dd ('02), ds ('03), ds ('05), dd ('07) and baby due 9/01/09
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Dana
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| Posted: July 08 2010 at 9:28am | IP Logged
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Great advice ladies.
So the perk to all of this is I now get to look for a smaller diaper bag to carry the essentials and use the EB one for the van.
YAH!
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Dana
wife to Andre and mother to dd (06/07), ds (12/08), dd (7/10), and ds (6/12)
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4Real Forums : Mothering and Family Life
Topic: Diaper Bag for Three
