Friday, October 19, 2012

Stylish Diaper Bags

I think every momma goes through what I call "the diaper bag dilemma" while pregnant, and it is a valid dilemma.  The problem is always incorporating her formal fabulous self into her upcoming new role as her momma self.  Let's face not only do you trade in your martini/wine glasses for bottles/diapers, but for months you also anticipate the craziness of adjustment to all the new things.  The new things are basic, to say the least.  Finding time to eat, sleep, and even shower kind of slap you in the face every second of every day, especially in the beginning.  So to even think of how to get dressed in a reasonably decent, much less fashionable, way can be overwhelming.  One thing I knew and believed was to arm my self with easy momma and baby friendly accessories. 
To be honest I have always had a shopping problem.  Mainly with shoes and bags.  I have way too many for one girl, way too many closets and boxes that yes, I rarely use, but really who cares.  If these are the things that are going to keep my identity as myself during the rough transition to find my momma self, I am sure going to keep on that path. 
A friend of mine had just gone through her journey with her beautiful little girl.  I was newly pregnant, but noticed her amazing diaper bag.  I remembered her telling me the brand, and decided that I wanted to continue to represent my bag obsession as a new momma.  Knowing that, and along with mine and my husband's defiance of any character themes, I was determined to get the same brand of diaper bag as my friend.  Once I find a bag that I love, I obsess over it.  I picture how I would use it, how I would carry it, what I would put in, and most importantly, what I would wear with it.  I know it's silly, but again if I can keep that sliver of myself post baby, you bet I am going to do it.  I was successful in my search to find the designer diaper bag I wanted for a steal of a price...Yay!

In line with the philosophy of Momma Love Baby Maternity the promise is that diaper bags will be fashionable, long lasting, and transitional.  So the opening line of diaper bags are OiOi diaper bags from our awesome friends down under.  I seriously considered this brand while searching for a diaper bag.  They are awesome!  Not only do they look great, they actually function wonderfully.  I had no problem spending a bit of cash on a different designer diaper bag, however I also admit that I try to justify spending a lot before purchasing a pricey item.  I have been doing some fun research to test out how much these bags really hold.  Here are some photos:



For those of us (myself included) who use cloth diapers here is the OiOi Ikat tapestry red slouch tote.  I was able to pack a very usual day of supplies in this bag.  6 cloth diapers, small wet bag, extra onesie, blanket, burp cloth, cloth wipes pouch with ~10 wipes in it.  Plus the included memory foam changing pad, and insulated bottle holder.  Can't go wrong with any of that.  This is enough for technically a 12 hour day, although I am never really gone that long. 



Here is a photo with the same things plus two jars of baby food.



For those of you that use disposable diapers here is the bag with about 10 diapers, baby food, snack container as well as the included wipes case. 


For all of the above scenarios, this particular bag can still close and not look like it is stuffed!


Also, technically, there was still room in the bag.  So if I wanted to fit one more extra onsie, a small toy/rattle, or even my wallet I'm sure I could do it easily.  There are pockets on the inside, and a small zippered pocket on the outside.  Any of these could fit keys, cell phone, and a few smaller accessories if needed. 




Here's my bonus photo...even the baby likes this bag!  Stylish bag, stylish baby, and of course stylish momma.  This particular bag retails for $160, but I will be following up with another post on how to transition these bags well beyond diaper years.  So before you die of sticker shock have no fear.  At every diaper bag's core, there is still just a great bag.  What do you guys put in your diaper bag?  Anything I missed?