I know we are first-time parents and all, but the amount of stuff that we bring with us on outings with Lucy is sometimes ridiculous. The fact is, though, we use most of it. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the things we toted to a spontaneous visit at Andy & Jane’s the other night for just a couple hours:
* receiving blanket
* gorgeous green blanket, hand-knit by Aunt Lisa (good for “nursing modesty”)
* 5 disposable diapers (see below for “our formula”:#diaper-formula)
* box of baby wipes
* pacifier
* Pacifier Pod (thanks to Annie & Nate!)
* MayaWrap
* BabyBjörn
* 2 burp cloths
* “The Ball”:/news/2006/bouncing-baby-boyd (yes, it *was* needed — Jon used it and Lucy conked right out)
* camera
* 2 onesies
* 2 baby t-shirts
* long-sleeved shirt (for Mama)
And with all that, we even forgot to bring the cookies for dinner. Will we learn to lighten our load in the future? Time will tell.
bq.. *How we calculate how many diapers to take*
Here’s our formula for calculating how many diapers to bring along: take the number of diaper changes expected during the outing, add one, then multiply by 1.5 (rounding up, if necessary).
It’s conservative, but we’ve been caught short-diapered one too many times already.
LOL! It does get better.
Soon all you’ll have to pack is X+2 swimsuits (assuming X children and 2 adults), X+2 changes of clothes , (X+2)*1.5 towels, large beach blanket, suntan lotion, bug spray, X+2 granola bars, (X+2)*2 frozen water bottles, the books each of you started three months ago, X+2 windbreakers, X+2 sweatpants… :o)
We discovered it was helpful to fill our car’s glovebox with diapers, cream, and a small pack of wipes – and granola bars, small water bottles, and juice boxes (first for mom’s nursing fixes, later also for sibs and toddlers.) That way we can replenish the diaper bag on the go as needed, if we forget to re-pack it. When the babies were little we also stashed an EXTRA extra change of clothes for each of them in the car, just in case. Now we “just” rely on the extra change in the diaper bag, see how much lighter we’re packing?
…though now that I think about it, that “extra change of clothes” is a sweatshirt and long pants for both of them, yikes! I’d better re-repack!
Andy is wondering how much landfill space you need to rent?
I was just going to say….I carry less but our full sized van has a box which holds a hooded sweatshirt for everyone….have to add one for Naomi. Suncreen, mosquito stuff, water bottles, frisbees, baseball bats, hats, rain gear, bionoculars, a picnic cloth and baby powder ( the miracle secret for getting sand off the body!!). I do always pack extra clothes for Naomi in the diaper bag….if we are out in the evening I have packing pjs as well. Oh and I do pack our baby bjorn, sling, and lately we have added several favorite toys to the mix.
Perhaps it is not that I pack less….just get more effcient in the packing?
I love the picture of Jon and Lucy. Very classy.
Kelly and Nicole, I like your ideas about having stuff stashed in the car — very practical, and maybe we wouldn’t need 3 bags then. :)
Andy may be relieved to learn that we have been using Fuzzi Bunz cloth diapers at home — disposables are used only for outings and overnights. And we don’t use all (n+1)x1.5 diapers, they’re just our insurance policy. So, we don’t need *quite* as much landfill space. :)
I learned that baby powder trick from you, Nicole, must have been back around 1998! I use it all the time and tell people about it, and they think I’m a genius. :)
One idea on the big blue ball – when I was visiting someone with Benjamin and he needed bouncing, I would sit on the edge of a bed and bounce – worked very well for him, no ball required!
hey! nobody told me (until now) about the baby powder trick! that’s great!
If the size of ones carry around stuff is indicative of the quality of parenthood someone should call children’s services… we have been known to leave the house with… um… the baby. In 18 months that has only been a problem once that I remember. I was excited to find bug spray and sunscreen in our car when I cleaned it last week (for the 1st time in 12 months)…. I thought, “Whoa! Am I a prepared momma or what? Three cheers for me, ‘Supermom’!
What kind of super environmental soap do you use…and how do you avoid using loads of H2O for washing cloth diapers? I always got stumped on that. We have been looking for good wool soakers to use when we start potty training Gabe… anyone have any suggestions for a good brand? Long lasting and not $1million a piece?
I am so glad to hear the the ball gets so much good lovin’. hahaha
Let’s hear it for the car stash! Mine includes diapers, wipes, the baby bjorn, elmo harness for the 2 year old, toys, granola bars, sunscreen, Wiggles Cd’s, sometimes a spare outfit or two and lets not forget moldy sippy cups, and stale french fries. THe problem comes when I forget to restock, then I’m out and about without the needed items.
In our drought stricken high desert, it’s quite the toss up when choosing disposable vs reusable anything. I will be quite happy when both little ones are potty trained!
Yeah, the whole disposable vs cloth diaper thing is tough. We just use any kind of dye- and fragrence-free detergent, and yup, lots of water. But I think cloth are a bit cheaper for us in the long-run. And did I mention the Fuzzi Bunz cuteness factor? We are just using white ones right now, but we’ll get some colors soon and they are adorable!
This is actually KDC … why not bring along at least a few of your reusable diapers and a couple plastic bags to put them in til you get home? We’ve found that useful, and as long as you give the bag a few twists it doesn’t stink on shorter trips. Of course, we ALSO bring some disposables for the emergencies…
We use a service, so I’m not sure how much water it uses versus landfill space. At any rate by this point in her life most diapers are just wet. I suspect that the energy, wood, and petroleum used to produce disposables would at least make it a tie in terms of enviro-friendliness, if not in favor of cloth. My guess is that if disposable vs. cloth was raised in a presidential campaign, you’d see rhetoric on both sides way more vicious than anything we currently have :)
That’s a good idea to bring along a few reusable diapers — we’ve been hesitating on that mostly because we are still experiencing unpredictable leakage occasionally with the cloth ones, and that means more clothes to carry on outings. The cloth/disposable decision is definitely not a clear-cut one…