Our diaper bag has to work for somebody who didn't pack it. Charles is with his grandmother on weekdays, so the bag leaves the flat in the morning and is opened by a person who has a different mental model of where things go and no interest in mine.
That constraint improved the bag enormously. A bag that only works for the person who packed it is a filing system.
The core list
This is the everyday version, for a few hours out. Everything on it earns its place.
- Diapers: one for every two hours out, plus two. The plus-two is the rule.
- Wipes, in a resealable pack, and a small one in your own handbag as well.
- A change of clothes, and for a baby under six months, two. Vests are the thing that runs out.
- A changing mat, or a folded muslin if you'd rather. Most public tables are fine and you'll still want a layer.
- Two or three wet bags or resealable bags for anything soiled. In a flat with the bin down the corridor this is a habit that transfers.
- Barrier cream, in a small pot and never the full tube.
- Hand sanitiser for you, and a spare cloth.
- Muslins, at least two, which will be used for something other than their intended purpose within the hour.
- Water for you, and for her if she's over six months.
| Item | Why | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| An extra muslin | Shade outside, then a layer against mall air-con | The best item in the bag |
| A second change of clothes | Sweat and humidity mean two changes, not one | For anything over three hours |
| A light long-sleeve layer | Malls and cinemas run at 20-22°C | Outside is 32°C; the swing is the problem |
| A hand fan or small towel | For queues and outdoor waits | More good than it sounds |
| Sunscreen, from six months | Only where clothing can't cover | Not for babies under six months |
| A sealable wet bag | Wet clothes in a humid bag turn quickly | Not a plastic bag left to fester |
What the heat adds
Everything on this list is specific to going out here and none of it appears on a bag list written elsewhere.
- A second and third change of clothes, because between sweat and the food she'll get through more than you plan for.
- A proper clip-on pram shade that lets air through. Never a muslin draped over the pram, which traps heat and makes the inside far hotter than the air outside.
- A hand fan or a clip-on fan, which sounds excessive until you're on a platform at two o'clock.
- Extra water, and more than you think.
- A thin long-sleeved layer, for the air-conditioning indoors and not the sun outside. Malls here run cold and the temperature swing is the thing that catches babies out.
- Sunscreen for over-sixes, and shade and a brimmed hat for everybody.
Packing for other things
What never gets used
I carried all of this for a year and used none of it. A full changing kit in a rigid case, which weighs more than the contents. Bottle warmers, since a flask of hot water and a cup does the job. Three toys, of which she wants one and it's never one of the three. A first-aid kit beyond a couple of plasters. The second pack of wipes, which lives in the car instead. The bag you carry every day is the one that's light enough to carry every day. Mine got smaller every three months for two years.
The habit that keeps it stocked
Repack at night. This is the whole system and it isn't complicated.
The bag gets emptied of anything soiled and restocked to the list the moment you get home, so that it's ready at seven the next morning when you have nine minutes and no capacity for decisions. Anything used gets replaced immediately.
Then make it legible. Same things in the same pockets every time, nothing buried, the current diaper size on top. I put a small card in the front pocket for Charles's grandmother with the essentials on it, in Mandarin and English, his size, his cream, what he can eat. It has done more than anything else I've done to the bag. Somebody else will open it eventually, at a moment when you aren't there to be asked.
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Bamboo Swaddles (2 pc)S$49.00Shop nowA whole day, or a flight
A full day out means doubling the diapers and the clothes, adding food and a proper sun plan, and taking a carrier as well as a pram so you've both options.
A flight is a different calculation and has its own page. Everything goes in the cabin, nothing goes in the hold, and you take roughly double what the flight length suggests. Double is my figure. I'm not sure it's anybody else's.
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This guide is general information, written to help you understand a topic and ask better questions. It is not medical advice and does not replace your own doctor, midwife or paediatrician. Anything that worries you about your baby belongs with them.