What Should I Look For in a Diaper Bag?

Style: Trying to find a bag that won’t scream to the rest of the world that you’re a mom can be a challenge. We may be moms, but that doesn’t mean we automatically have to embrace looking frumpy or unstylish. I wanted a bag that reflected my own personal style because as a new mom you begin to lose your identity a bit. It was important to me to remind myself of the person I was before I became a mom.

Cost: Some diaper bags are outrageously expensive. But keep in mind -- more expensive doesn’t always mean better. And, at the end of the day, it’s just a diaper bag. It’s not worth the price of making a car payment. But on the other hand, I wouldn’t buy the cheapest bag you can find, unless you’re totally in love with it, because it might not last as long as you need it to. You should consider buying a middle-of-the-road bag that has both quality and affordability.

Material: Do you want something soft, or a diaper bag that’s a bit more durable than that? Are you looking for something that will be easy to clean? If you are, you may want to stay away from certain types of material that will be harder to clean when something inevitably gets spilled on it. Because, believe me, at some point, something is going to leak into or onto your bag.

Compartments: A variety of compartments, both big and small, is one of the single most important features in a diaper bag. You need small compartments for things like pacifiers and teething rings that will get lost in the bag’s big compartments. And you want more than one compartment to keep things like clean bottles away from dirty clothes and soiled cloth diapers. Compartments help you stay organised.

Color: That bright pink diaper bag with the crazy pattern might be eye-catching, but you need to think about your wardrobe before you make any rash color choices. If the diaper bag clashes with most of your outfits, you shouldn’t get it. You might want to look for one that has more of a neutral color that will go better with most of your clothes.

How it closes: Do you want a zipper top or a snap top, or a diaper bag with drawstrings? If you go with a zipper top, you can have difficulty getting it to zip up when you’ve got everything in there. But a zipper top also means you won’t have things falling out of your diaper bag. I can’t count the number of times my diaper bag tipped over in my car while I was driving and spilled everything onto the floor because I didn’t go with a zipper top.

If you want a waterproof lining: I wholeheartedly believe a waterproof lining is a staple in a diaper bag. Your baby is going to wet through clothes that need to be stored in your bag until you get home. Plus, bottles often leak, and if you don’t have waterproof linings, they’ll leak all over everything else in that bag.