Author: Beth Knapp

We are in the middle of our Kelly Moore Bag giveaway, and it has me reflecting on the diaper bags I’ve used in the past and why I wished I had used a Kelly Moore Bag all along. Choosing the perfect diaper bag was no easy task.

Picking the right diaper bag is more complex than I once thought. It’s not quite so cut and dry like picking out a purse or wallet. Style must be considered, yes, but also function, there’s a lot of function – like, how do you hold your baby and diaper bag? Do you need something that has a shoulder strap, cross-body, or both? I learned that I needed a cross-body that comfortably sat on my left hip because I help my babies on my right hip, but you may be annoyed at a bag flopping around with every step you take. Do you want a flap so you can keep your bag unzipped without someone knowing, or are you no nonsense when it comes to getting something out of your bag and a flap only slows you down? How much are you really going to organize in all of those little interior zipper pockets? Maybe a lot, maybe a little. How do you handle multiple babies and a diaper bag? Let me make this one easy for you. Backpack.

I’ve tried various diaper bags through my years of carrying a diaper bag. I started off with a style that had a floral design and one tiny interior zipper pocket. The floral design was issue number one. I was working at the time so my husband and I traded out having our daughter on a regular basis. He really didn’t have an issue with carrying around a floral bag, but it just didn’t look like him. So then we tried the his and hers bags method, but that didn’t work for us either. We were always forgetting to switch over the one item things, and it just became too much of a hassle. Issue number two: I don’t need all the pockets in the world, but I need some. One tiny one was simply not enough.

So we moved on to a more utilitarian styled bag with 4 large interior pockets, 4 outside pockets, and a bland style. This thing looked like a diaper bag. I loved the function, but not the style. Function won out in this case. The bag was what we needed; it wasn’t too big or too small though I was really good at stuffing it with all of the “just in case” items. This drove my husband crazy. In sincere gratitude, I credit him with teaching me how to minimize and focus on the necessities. You’d think I’d have learned this from my mother who is a true master of simple packing but always having just what you need. I somehow bypassed that lesson from her, but the father of my children had a lot more to say about my, I mean “our” overstuffed bag, so I learned to minimize.**

After our second kid was born, I treated myself to a more feminine looking diaper bag since I stopped working then and got to be the primary carrier of children and said bag. Honestly, I don’t remember how this diaper bag functioned because I just don’t remember that first year. I don’t even remember what brand of diaper bag it was. Whatever it was, it was fine. It just didn’t make my baby sleep and that was the true magic that was missing.

And then I was gifted a Kelly Moore Bag by my sister-in-law, which I still use as my everyday purse. Kelly Moore Bags were designed by a photographer who wanted a more stylish camera bag, couldn’t find one, so she started designing them herself. But Kelly Moore is also a mom so whether she meant to or not, she designed these bags with all the bones needed for a good diaper bag. Most of the bags come with both short and long straps for you to choose. The compartments are adjustable and removable. Most all of the bags have a built-in card holder on the back. It’s a subtle feature, but so convenient; checking out at a store one-handed is a breeze. And, it’s easy to find a style that works for you, or you and your husband if the case may be, and it’s classic so you might not have to go through 4 different diaper bags over the course of 3 years like I did. And *cough cough* the Collins Bag is a great choice for any mom-to-be so pop over to the giveaway for a chance to win and find out for yourself how great this bag is.

My Tried and True Diaper Bag Packing List

Diapering Needs:

• 2 cloth diapers
• wet/dry bag
• 2 disposable diaper
• 3-4 cloth wipes (My prefold cloth diapers eliminated the need for an additional burp rag. There was rarely an occasion that things started spewing out of both ends.) 
• Squeeze pouch or Boon Spoon with 2 frozen cubes of baby food (I made most of my baby food so this is how I packed it on the go. It was just the right portion. I’d pack it in the morning and by lunch it was thawed. If it wasn’t, I could put the Boon Spoon in warm water.)
  
• Small container of Puffs 
• Water 
• Sophie the Giraffe (chew ring. no squeaks for me)/Finger Puppets
• Baby Einstein Take Along Tunes (by no means is this toy Insta worthy, but my kids loved it in the car. Loved it.)

• “Indestructibles” baby book or another lightweight book 
• Lovies 🙂