Having a baby, especially your first, is an exciting time usually filled with making a lot of purchases you had never previously put a lot of thought into. One of those purchases is your diaper bag, and it can be a difficult decision. There are SO MANY bag options, ranging from pretty cheap to really pricey. One of the first questions you’ll likely ask yourself when picking out a bag is: do I save or splurge?
5 Reasons to Splurge on a Diaper Bag
I’m giving you five reasons why you should splurge on a diaper bag . . . and not just any bag.
1. This Is a Gift for You, Not Baby
Okay, I know you wouldn’t go out and buy a diaper bag if you weren’t having a baby, but with some of the popular diaper bags, you might want to. Many styles are simply beautiful. And since you will carry this bag as your purse for longer than you think (more on that below), why shouldn’t it be something you’d want to carry even if you didn’t have a kid?
2. You Will Be Carrying It for a Long Time, and It Needs to Hold Up
I didn’t realize how long I would be carrying a diaper bag. I thought I’d return to carrying a “normal” purse after my first baby was walking. I was SO WRONG. And then you add baby number two, and you need to carry EVEN MORE STUFF. It has been four-and-a-half years since my first child was born, and I still have to carry a bag roomy enough and tough enough to handle my day-to-day shenanigans. If you’re going to be carrying a diaper bag for a year or more (you will), you want it to be a bag that holds up to mom life.
3. You Will Need Lots of Room for Lots of Crap
Babies require a lot of crap. A LOT. Even running to Target to get more diapers can be a huge undertaking when you have a baby (or two or three). Purchase a super roomy bag that can fit everything baby needs for trips as short as 15 minutes to several hours. You know, all the things you need to pack in your diaper bag, like diapers, wipes, snacks, bottles, extra formula, change of clothes (blowouts always happen at the worst time), nursing cover, changing pad (comes with the bag!), a bottle of wine—oh, wait. You get the idea. You will be carrying a lot of stuff all the time, which can get heavy. One of my favorite diaper bag features is carrying them on your shoulder or back like a backpack! This allows you to use both hands and distribute the weight of ALL THAT CRAP evenly across your shoulders. Brilliant!
4. Nice Bags Can Be Used Beyond Baby Years
One of the most surprising things I discovered about carrying a diaper bag is that I would need one beyond the baby years. Do you know how much stuff a toddler needs AT ALL TIMES? Seriously, my four-year-old daughter can’t leave the house without her water bottle, a snack cup full of goldfish, and (when she was potty training) an extra pair of clothes. I tried to switch to a large, “normal” bag after she was out of diapers, but I found that normal purses just don’t allow me to carry all that I need for my toddler and me. And don’t get me started about what I have to carry with a baby and a toddler.
5. Perfect for Working Moms
Working moms often need to carry all kinds of stuff to and from work. No mom wants to walk into the office with a bag that screams, “I HAVE A BABY, AND MY BOOBS ARE PROBABLY LEAKING ALREADY!” As much as you love your new bundle of joy, when you go back to work (or even if you work from home but need to go to a meeting), the last thing you want is a bag that screams “mom.” And on those rare days that you don’t need any “mom” stuff with you, a diaper bag will function brilliantly as a work bag. I want to fit my laptop easily, my day planner, camera, a bottle of water, and all my “purse things” like my wallet and keys.
Splurging on the perfect diaper bag shouldn’t be something to feel guilty about. You will be hauling an ungodly amount of baby/mom/work stuff simultaneously for a good deal of time, so you need to invest in a bag that will hold up to this crazy, wonderful, hectic time in your life.
So, go on, treat yourself to something nice, mama! You deserve it!
