One of the best presents I received at Christmas was actually from Hector; he’d thoughtfully taken it upon himself to treat me to a ‘life-saving’ massage after hearing me complain on an hourly basis just how much my back was hurting from lugging him around as well as all his baby bag essentials.

Have you ever noticed just how much ‘stuff’ us parents of littles have to carry around with us on a daily basis? Clearly my body had! Only a couple of days after Christmas I put my back out and Ste said enough was enough. We sat down and really evaluated what was necessary, what Hector really didn’t need any more and swopped all the essentials over into a rucksack rather than the nappy bag and I only wish that we’d done it sooner.

It’s so much handier, mobility wise, and all the little pockets on the outside and inside make it a million times easier to get to anything. Plus Ste is more than happy to carry it as well as Hector which saves my poor back from seizing up again.

Considering we’re a nosy bunch we wondered what you folks keep in your baby bags? Do you have any handy tips? We’ll show you ours if you show us yours….

Lolly

Since I’m currently in that transition stage between no longer needing as much of your typical baby bag paraphernalia and not quite being able to relinquish the bag completely as mentioned above, our baby bag essentials list has changed somewhat in the last month or so.

Alongside the staple spare couple of nappies and wipes and extra dummy, we cart along a spare hat for this cold weather and mittens too. Hector inevitably will pull them off at some point so this means that we have back-ups in case something goes walkabout. Hector does need to be kept entertained otherwise he creates havoc in his wake so we keep a couple of lightweight toys and books in the bag which we swop around on a weekly basis to keep things fresh. He’s currently loving this Thomas the Tank Engine train my mum bought him for Christmas and the book Hairy Maclary which makes him laugh and therefore us in turn.

For refreshment we pack in his beaker, some chopped up fruit – usually grapes and mango – and some cereal bars from the kids range at M&S. Daddy sometimes has a bite too 😉

Lottie

With a 4 year old and a 2 year old I stopped lugging a nappy bag around a long time ago. Instead we have a little rucksack for the girls but inevitably this gets left behind/forgotten on short trips out or dashes to the supermarket. As a result I always have a couple of handy items stashed away in the bottom of my bag. It’s not always the best when rummaging through my Mulberry during a meeting and I accidentally pull out a pair of peppa pig knickers but that has become the norm. Not for me I hasten to add but for the recently potty trained Alice. Just in case.

I will always have a pack of tissues or travel sized wet wipes as for some reason my children always have runny noses, sticky fingers, felt tip hands or all of the above. I can also normally muster up a few snacks from the depths and try to opt for long shelf life items as there is nothing worse than a mushy banana. Nairns Oat cake biscuits are my favourite. For me as well in case I just need an energy pick me up.

There is also an assortment of hair slides and necklaces that seem to make their way in in case Molly feels the need to accessorise her outfit.

Lorna

I’m am so lucky with the boys being older that I can literally get them to pop their own shoes and coats on and tell them to be by the door in 5 mins and they’re there with no help. (It’s probably more like 10 minutes after they’ve finished arguing about god only knows what!) I also thought I’d got away with not having to carry around the kitchen sink any more until our gorgeous little lady arrived. Now it’s back to nappies, wipes, juice, snacks and usually her Baby Annabell.

Since I’ve had a bag again, the boys have begun to sneak in their items too; instead of them carrying their own rucksack I end up with their tablet, phone, handheld games consoles and possibly an action figure or too amongst all of Anabelle’s baby essentials. My secret weapon in my bag that comes in handy for all three children though is a trusty tube of Savlon cream. Perfect for all the scrapes at football or the park and perfect for me too if my hands need a little TLC and I’ve forgotten my hand cream (which is usually the case being a Mum, you remember all the kids essentials and forget to sort out your own bits).

Fern

I still carry Elle’s nappy bag with me most of the time to be honest, but currently I always have several dribble bibs on hand as there is a constant stream of saliva coming out of her mouth (delightful). Honestly she must soak through about 7 a day!!! Also her water beaker is a definite essential as losing all of that fluid makes her really thirsty. Ahhhh teething!!

Becky

It is vital that at all times we have at least one car and one dinosaur. He’s never happier than when he is playing with either of these. We also carry with us a drink (you know how they get unbelievably thirsty at any given point), a small plastic container with grapes and clementines and then also a packet of something, wether that’s rice cakes or something else, kiddie biscuits perhaps.

The most important thing at the moment for us to have in the bag are baby wipes and a change of pants, trousers and socks as we are, on rare occasion, still having some accidents and there is nothing worse than being caught out and not being able to get him changed and dry. Also if we are out for a long walk or somewhere where there may not be direct access to a toilet, we also make sure we always have the travel potty (this has saved my bacon on many a long car journey too). There is a tiny space left for my purse and lip balm.