Diaper Bag Question

[dprtodd]

I am kind of struggling with something and I figured one of ya'll had probably struggled with it too. Normally I keep my supplies in a nondescript backpack but I don't always need six diapers with me. I prefer Bambino, Secure, Abena, etc so these aren't something your gonna stuff into a little fanny pack. I don't mind carrying my backpack - but sometimes it is just too much, too big. Also I don't want to feel like I'm carrying a purse. Plus I want Cake and to eat it too. seriously though - has anyone come up with a 'I'm just stepping out for a bit and I might want to change later and don't want to lug this huge back pack around' solution? Case in point, I was going to the movies tonight (Scott Pilgrim FTW) and I knew I would need to change when it was over, but lugging my backpack around seemed excessive. Since my Movie theater is at the mall, I kind wished I had a gap or old navy plastic bag. Come on wisdom of the internet

-Todd

[Dougie]

I have a small travel bag that is designed for a shaving kit. It can hold up to 3 diapers and and wipes. It doesn't look anything like a diaper bag. It's much smaller than a backpack. So far nobody has made any comments about it.

[amp501]

you could try DadGear If you want something that's non-descript and somewhat small. They carry satchels. Tad expensive though, at 90$ a pop. Decent styles.

"It's not a man-purse it's a Satchel. Indiana Jones had one."

[Bettypooh]

I am kind of struggling with something and I figured one of ya'll had probably struggled with it too. Normally I keep my supplies in a nondescript backpack but I don't always need six diapers with me. I prefer Bambino, Secure, Abena, etc so these aren't something your gonna stuff into a little fanny pack. I don't mind carrying my backpack - but sometimes it is just too much, too big. Also I don't want to feel like I'm carrying a purse. Plus I want Cake and to eat it too. seriously though - has anyone come up with a 'I'm just stepping out for a bit and I might want to change later and don't want to lug this huge back pack around' solution? Case in point, I was going to the movies tonight (Scott Pilgrim FTW) and I knew I would need to change when it was over, but lugging my backpack around seemed excessive. Since my Movie theater is at the mall, I kind wished I had a gap or old navy plastic bag. Come on wisdom of the internet

-Todd

A paper shopping bag with handles and a good stores name doesn't stand out too much and will hold a single diaper and a disposal bag easily. My car is usually close enough for the trunk to serve as my diaper bag A good diaper will usually last 3+ hours if you start out dry and that will get you through most situations. That may mean tossing out a half-used diaper before you change to go out, but sometimes that's just the price of needing diapers Another option is to start out with a stuffer and dispose of it when it gets wet, leaving your diaper to finish the time. If you need (or just use) diapers then you're going to need changes and at some point you are going to just have to get used to always having your 'diaper bag' along whether you like that or not. Nobody said a diapered life was going to be convenient!

Bettypooh

[willnotwill]

I have a canvas tote bag that the top zippers that I got from some tradeshow for when I'm begin discrete.

I've just got a regular large diaper bag when I'm not.

[babyghost]

I hide them in the large pockets of my cargo pants, along with a few other odds and ends(yo yo, pan flute, keys, wallet, poker and/or tarot cards) to make the shape less distinguishable.

[timmyc]

Go to gap or old navy, make a purchase, or just ask if you can have a bag keep it for future mall excursions. Keep it right in your regular backpack and transfer the necessary supplies as needed.

[tcc]

I'm not sure this should be a problem. You use whatever you must. If you drive, you leave your diaper bag in the car. If you can't make it through a movie with one diaper and soakers(and you should be using soakers or doubler anyway - disposables, in the crotch especially, are notorious for leaking), you need a better brand of diaper! Unless you only bicycle, and you can leave a small diaper bag attached, like a saddle-bag, to your bike - why would you carry supplies WITH you INTO anyplace? My diaper bag goes with me everywhere and that's where I would change, in my car. I have taken supplies with me into the YMCA, gotten OUT of a wet diaper before going into the pool - how ironic, eh? LOL - and then gone back into the handicapper stall to get diapered to go home (wife says if I GO to the Y diapered, I'd better come HOME diapered! LOL), but it's not my fave thing to do. The size of the bag you need depends upon the number of supplies you need. It's not THAT tough to figure out...Um, you must be young. In MY day, we didn't HAVE backpacks to go to school with. Yeah, I'm old... LOL

[WetDad]

I have used a fanny pack at times, although it won't hold more than one diaper and a few wipes.

[tris]

I use a fairly small Dakine backpack as my diaperbag. It's hip and stylish, and the only time I get questions about it is from people I know (or just met) and they see me entering the bathroom with a backpack. "Dude, what's with the backpack all the time?" Other than that, it's not on their minds.

As far as GA goes, I can understand why you'd want to pack less. But I say revel in it; pack as much as you'd like and let those damn southerners know what's up!

[dprtodd]

Love the dad gear stuff, great suggestion thanks a mill! Also Timmies idea about keeping a shopping bag in my normal diaper bag is awesome.

It's funny I'm not very self conscious about my diapers - but carrying a bag feels very awkward. Kinda strange the stuff we get hangups about.

TCC - part of the point is to change after the movies I'm got a tiny bit o exhibitionist in me and I like changing when out and about - nothing in your face or anything, just in a stall doing my own thing. So I try and change a couple of hours before I leave for the movies so that times it bout right. You say you change in your car? Hows that work - you do it in the back seat? Or do you have a 70's van or something? I don't think I could swing that personally logistically speaking.

Tris your a bit younger than me and I think folks your age feel less awkward carrying a backpack or something around with you. You see folks with backpacks and such all the time - just not to many of em pushing 40 *CRY* Maybe it's just me - I just feel so odd taking something IN a store or business or restaurant. My weirdness I know and something I expect to diminish with practice.

[sarah_ab]

http://www.nextag.com/Nike-Brasilia-4-Gymsack-625745098/prices-html

this....

[AndB]

Why do you need more than one or two diapers?

I've got a CD wallet that's rectangular. I ripped out the plastic sleeves for the discs, and it holds a small package of wipes and one diaper. If I really need another change, I can go to the car for more.

[tris]

todd- I feel you on the bag weirdness. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten looks from people not because I'm carrying a backpack, or that I'm heading to the bathroom with it; but because I've got such a guilty, anxious look on my face that reads exactly what's going through my head while I'm doing it. I, too, have "some exhibitionist in me", I find that the bigger rush is in the unnerving experience before and after the diaper change in a public place.

And you do have a point about the age thing -- I'm 25 (and don't really look it) so I'm expected to have the kinds of accessories I have, which means that my diaperbag options can fit more into the category of 'diaperbags'. In fact, I own a couple of actual diaperbags, but one of them is Mommy's. If I were 40(and looked it), carrying the same items would seem less attractive. But I'm just taking advantage of it while I can. The sex issue is there as well -- A woman carrying either of these items would garner less attention from most, though I do take a second look at middle-aged women wearing a backpack into Albertson's. But usually only when they're an actual backpack, and not a fashion item.

I think the bottom line, like any other semi-permanent accessory, is to find something that fits both your function and your form. I'm sure there's a great diaperbag out there that''ll hold all the things you need, and not look too out-of-place with you attached to it.

[willnotwill]

I have used a fanny pack at ballgames where I didn't want to carry a big bag. Holds two diapers and a few wipes.

[fieldmouse2011]

I usually pack three nappies in a carrier bag and fold it up tight. If going to the beach, it's important to keep any sand out. My talc I keep separate along with shampoo and shower gel [if I'm going to be using any showers] and my wipes I keep in a small cool bag, as this keeps them refreshingly cool on a hot day.

[Darkfinn]

I use my old college bookbag as a diaper bag. Generally if we are going out for the evening I will just toss it in the car. I usually don't need to change in public, that's what thick diapers are for. An X-plus or Moli Super Plus will last me a good 6 hours, even if I am eating/drinking. How much fluid do you plan to consume if you need to change after a movie?

[packrat]

I had a friend that carried a 'man-purse' for years, (not a DL or AB) when he was asked about it he would simply reply that he had a terrific bee sting allergy and had to keep his "eppy" pen and other antihistamines with him at all times. Usually that was the last time anyone ever asked. He used it as a satchel or purse, in reality. I liked the bee sting allergy thing as a bullet proof reason for the bag.

Rat

[dprtodd]

Packrat great excuse that was.

Darkfinn - I prefer Abena, secure, bambino, etc. I actually like the change after the movie. I could time it to where I never needed to change when I was out - but where is the fun in that? It's not having the diapers or the changing that I don't like, it's the dragging a backpack around part that I don't care for.

I feel very self conscious with a backpack and even more so with something like a man bag or laptop bag (which isn't appropriate for being out shopping) Having only one diaper would suit me fine - but things that are small and hold only diaper (like a shaving kit perhaps) are even stranger things to just lug around with you. I'm sure mall/store security loves it when middle aged men walk through Macy's with a shaving kit for no particular reason. So my probably impossible criteria are to find something that I don't feel out of place carrying that is not overkill like a backpack, not too purse like, and yet is contextually appropriate to being out in public.

[dprtodd]

http://www.nextag.com/Nike-Brasilia-4-Gymsack-625745098/prices-html

I might look into something like that - thanks!

[dideeluver]

I used to use a zippered leather book cover in college. I could throw it in my backpack with my textbooks and then grab it on my way to the restroom.

http://amzn.com/0310810345

Because you can't actually use the name of the company without it going nuts