If there is one thing all parents everywhere can appreciate, it’s a well-organized, diaper bag backpack. The day just seems to flow smoother when you’re not scrambling, thinking you’ve left something vital at home that your baby needs, right now!
In addition to losing things in the deep, black abyss, a disorganized diaper bag is also prone to spills and messes. With everything shoved in the bag willy-nilly, it’s almost inevitable!
There’s a reason backpack diaper bags come with so many different zippers, pockets, and compartments. The best baby backpack diaper bag is designed to be highly useful, make your life easier when utilized properly, and carry just about everything you need.
At JuJuBe, we’ve designed backpack diaper bags with all of your needs in mind. Once you find the right bag for you, it’s time to start packing! To get started, let’s cover what to pack where in your backpack.
How to Pack a Diaper Bag Backpack
Granted, packing a diaper bag isn’t rocket science, but it does take a bit of forethought in order to organize it efficiently.
Are you a parent that loves to travel light, who is comfortable bringing a minimal amount along for baby?Or are you a parent that feels compelled to pack everything including the kitchen sink, “just in case?” Whatever camp you fall into, being well-organized can help you keep track of everything you carry on your baby travel checklist.
Even if you only pack the bare minimum of what you think you’ll need for the day, there’s a certain satisfaction that comes from reaching for what you need and knowing exactly where to find it.
Designated Places
The first step in packing your backpack diaper bag efficiently is designating a purpose for every pocket and compartment. You should examine your diaper bag, assess all the available compartments, and decide ahead of time where you want each item to live. Make that compartment that item’s permanent home. This will not only help you find what you need every time, but it will also help your partner too when they’re on baby duty because everyone will be familiar with where items are. If you're limited on compartments, a diaper bag organizer is the perfect way to give everything its own place.
Front and Side Exterior Pockets
Depending on the design of the diaper bag, there may be just a few exterior pockets, or several. However many exterior pockets your bag boasts, always keep in mind that those areas are intended for quick access. That means logically, you’ll want to place items in those pockets that you need to reach easily.
For instance, side pockets might be ideal for:
- A ready-made bottle of formula
- Sippy cups of water or juice
- A container of snacks
- Tissues or a small baggie with wipes
- Baby utensils
- A bottle of baby lotion and/or sunscreen
- Baby powder and diaper cream
Front exterior pockets work well to carry:
- Personal things like hand sanitizer and lip gloss
- Car keys, phone, and wallet
- Body spray to mask the smell of spit-up
- Pacifiers (packed away in a pacifier case, of course) and a teether
Interior Main Compartment
This pocket is basically where everything else you pack will go. Some parents like to go DIY when creating an organization system and use zip lock bags and plastic containers to divvy items up and make their bag easy to clean when the time comes.
Other parents prefer to use an organizer with ready-made compartments to sort their items within interior pockets. You could even use small, brightly-colored pouches as a great way to help keep things in the main compartment organized.
Whichever method you choose, your main compartment will house all items essential on a new baby checklist like:
- Diapers and wipes
- Food and formula
- A thermal container if you need to keep water warm
- An insulated pack for keeping things cold
- Extra snacks for you and your little one
- A burp cloth and baby bib
- A blanket in case the day turns chilly
- A changing pad
- Small toys like rattles or baby books
- Spare clothing, also for you and your little one (accidents happen)
If your backpack diaper bag also has a back zipper, that can be an excellent area to store a couple extra receiving blankets and burp cloths for potential messes, or even make that a designated spot for all your diaper changing essentials, like a changing mat and a couple of spare diapers, along with a travel pack of wipes. With this, you won’t have to search the main compartment when you’re ready to do a diaper change - you can just grab those changing essentials and head to the restroom.
There really is no right or wrong way to organize a baby bag. Our line of stylish JuJuBe backpack diaper bags offers a variety of options for every style and lifestyle preference. The important takeaway is to create a system that works for you and your child, and then stick to that system. As long as you remain consistent, everything will have its place, and everything will stay in its place.
