Diaper Bag Checklist

A unique and very practical alternative to a baby shower gift basket is the baby shower diaper bag gift! Choose a really great diaper bag and then fill it with everything an on the go mom could need packed in her bag for any trip. You can fill it up with all of those great little travel size wipes and skin products, not to mention the myriad of other essential baby items needed to take baby out of the house with you.

Need some inspiration as to what else you might need to include in your diaper bag gift? Consult our diaper bag checklist:
print a copy of the diaper bag checklist

• * Diapers - The most obvious and moost important item on the diaper bag checklist! You could just buy a small pack and use it to help fill out the diaper bag, OR you could go all out and buy a box of diapers to accompany your gift.

• * Wipes - Travel wipes are best. You can buy little plastic travel containers filled with wipes in the "travel sized section" at stores like Target and Walmart. If you want to go all "Lah-de-dah" and fancy you can buy a cute travel wipes case in fancy fabrics and colors from Etsy.com or Artfire.com. Or even make your own

• * Diaper cream - You can find small little travel sized tubes of diaper balm to add to the diaper bag, or even super small travel jars of vaseline. I swear by the diaper balm brand Balmex. It always clears the rash up, if not in hours, then overnight.

• * Baby bottles - Well, baby's gotta eat, right? If mamma decides to bottle feed she will certainly need them. I breast fed both of my kids, but I almost always carried a bottle with either pumped breast milk or formula as well. Just for in case of the off chance that the baby had to eat and I could not simply wip it out right then and there. Lol! Mom will love you even more if you make sure and buy BPA free bottles, or better yet, eco friendly glass or stainless steel bottles.

• * Travel baby food container - I find these little contraptions to be invaluable! They have a spout on top for pouring, and three separate compartments within to keep three single servings of baby cereal or formula. You can rotate the cover to bring the spout over whichever serving you would like to use. Just pop of the top of the spout and pour into a bowl or bottle. Perfect!

• * Bibs - Even if baby is not eating solid foods yet there is always a good reason to use a bib. Dribbles, droop, and spit up still happen, and for some babies, often. I always keep at least ONE bib in my diaper bag.

• * Burp cloths - It's inevitable that you should need to feed your baby while you are out of the house, and well, after feeding comes burping!

• * Changing pad - Many diaper bags come with a changing pad. But in the chance that the diaper bag you choose to buy does not have one, it is a must have item for out of the house, anywhere diaper changes.

• * Receiving blanket - I always keep one on hand. They are great to have for simply draping or swaddling baby if it happens to be a bit more chilly out than you anticipated. But it is amazing how many other uses you will find for them. They have become impromptu burp cloths, used to keep the sun out of baby's eyes in her stroller or even a carrier. I use it to hide that I'm breast feeding when I had abbay in a sling. I know there is so much more uses I could tell you about but I would take up too much space. :-)

• * Change of clothes - No mother can escape the inevitable leak or sometimes full on explosions. And when the inevitable happens she will be SO GLAD that she remembered to pack that extra set of clothes. To keep things easy I like to keep it down to an extra onesie and a sleeper. This reducdes the need to keep so many articles of clothing in your bag. But since it is a GIFT you are giving, and our diaper bag checklist is simply a loose gift idea guide, feel free to place an entire outfit in that baby gift bag of yours!

• * Baby sunblock - This one is iffy as some Mom's do not like to use any sort of lotions or products on infant skin. It's a lesson in figuring out which is the bigger evil. UVB rays? Or chemicals that might be present in baby sunblock? Add this as part of your diaper bag checklist at your own risk. :-)

• * Pacefiers - I recommend buying a pack of 2 or more. There is also little totes that are just big enough for a binky to fit inot which can attach to the strap of a diaper bag. And don't forget the pacifier wipes for when baby drops the binky on the dirty store floor or the ground. An optional but highly useful item for the diaper bag checklist.

• * Wet bag - Or trash bags. If Mom is cloth diapering she will most certainly need a wet bag. But Mom's using disposable diapers could use a simple trash bag. My solution to the trash bag situation? I like to keep little doggie poop bags in my diaper bag. Yes, you read that right. They sell these little dispensers that fit in the palm of your hand and are generally attached to a keychain (perfect for fitting to a strap on your diaper bag). Inside of these little dispensers is an entire roll of little scented trash bags, the perfect size for a dirty diaper. There is a little opening on the side so that you can pull one bag at a time out. They even sell refills! Check the pet section of most any departmet store to find them. A little known must have to add to your diaper bag checklist.

• * A Mommy wallet - Every diaper bag needs a special wallet or purse for Mom to stash all of her stuff. You can even choose to fill this little wallet with gifts just for Mom. Stuff like a cute keychain, some lip balm, a gift certificate for nursing bras, etc...

Print your own diaper bag tags

To use this template to create diaper bag tags, simply open the PDF file (you will need Adobe Reader installed on your computer to use it - get your copy for free from Adobe.com), highlight the text you wish to customize and type. You can change the fonts, font sizes, and colors by pressing and holding down the "Control" button and "E" at the same time. This will bring up a control palette.

I recommend printing these onto heavy cardstock and even having them laminated after all of the info has been filled in. They can be laminated ahead of time but you'll need permanent marker to write onto them.