Change bag essentials?

Hi all,

So I've got one more week until I'm into the home stretch (yay!!! lol) and DH and I have decided it's time to get a bit more organised!

We've got pretty much all of the big stuff sorted and now we're looking at organising change bags and stuff like that!

I'm completely lost on this topic though! I have no idea what I need. I only want what I absolutely need and I don't want to haul around a heap of uncessary stuff, but we will be going out a lot and also travelling (from VIC to QLD and then onto the UK) so I also don't want to find myself without something I need.

So... what is on your list of change bag essentials? :)

I think you kind of work out what suits your situation fairly quickly, but thinking back, we used to have a few spare nappies, a couple of plastic bags for soiled nappies, some wipes (when they're newborns I just used cotton wool, then progressed to the flannel wipes later when their skin wasn't so tender), a few changes of clothes and a little bottle of hand sanitiser. If you're bottle feeding you might want to consider how you'll sterilise that and what you'll need; if you're breastfeeding, throw in a couple of extra breast pads. Oh, and a spare square cloth nappy or two for unexpected vomit cleanups! You can use them to pop under bottoms for a quick change (our first nappy bag didn't have a change mat).

I agree with Sasha, you quickly work out what you and your LO need. I was surprised at how different nappy bags can be!

My essentials now are quite different to what I had when our DD was a newborn so I'll try to remember what we packed....

- 4 nappies - newborns poo a lot! I packed more if we were out for the whole day
- change mat
- nappy sacks
- Sudocream
- wipes
- change of clothes or two for DD. I was amazed how often they wet through or have a poosplosion!
- spew rag and or bib or two (I always had both)
- 2 dummies (if you're using dummies)
- spare set of breast pads
- Lanolin nipple cream
- maternity pad or two for the first month
- baby sunscreen and a hat in the warm months
- Infacol or Infants Friend (to help with wind)
- all my odds and ends as I no longer had a handbag

I forgot my favorite thing - a little bottle of sanitising gel! That's a must!!