For me, one of the most daunting factors of becoming a new mom was leaving the safety of my home. Everything I needed for my baby was right there in my home, but cabin fever is also a very real thing, and I knew I couldn't just become a recluse. My biggest fear was being ready at any moment to change a diaper while out and about on my own. The changing stations in public stalls grossed me out, and what if I was in the middle of something and heaven forbid baby girl had a blow out? The thought of a blow out in public literally felt life-ending to me.
Blow outs and diaper changes weren’t life-ending though, obviously. I’m here to write about it, but that doesn’t go without saying they weren’t a little traumatizing because I would consistently leave the house unprepared. I know, I know--it's like rule number one, but I struggled to remember. I now know what not to do, and therefore, should know more of what to do. So here are a few things I would frequently forget behind while leaving the house, but you definitely shouldn't!
Confidence
The number one thing is you have to have confidence in yourself. You’ve got this! You are a grown up woman! You are a problem solver! You aren’t scared of a little dirty diaper!
Changing Mat
Make sure you have a changing mat. For sure public changing stations can be super gross (especially to a germaphobe), but sometimes you just have to roll with it. I found myself many a time laying down layers of paper towels only for my baby to wiggle them all out from under her, or to my dismay, grab them and eat them--wads of yucky, contaminated paper towels in her mouth. Do I have an awesome changing mat? Totally. Did I always have it packed and put away? Def not. If I had made sure I always had it (which truly isn’t that hard to do), I wouldn’t have had any paper towel terrors.
Change of Clothes
Blow outs totally happen, and for some babies they happen a lot. Having a change of clothes is crucial. Imagine being out and about far away from home and then there is poop all over your baby and you have nothing to change them into. In the summer a diaper is as rockin' an outfit as ever, but if it is winter… oof. Make sure to have a little onesie or outfit always packed. It could even be the designated emergency outfit. Thankfully baby clothes are tiny so they don’t take up too much room.
Diaper Supplies
For the love, have your diaper bag packed with diapers and wipes! Don’t ask me why mine never seemed to be packed, but it was the absolute worst. I can’t tell you how many times I quickly had to buy a cheap 12-pack of diapers at the store and use wet paper towels as wipes. I even resorted to lining a wet diaper with dry paper towels (yeah, I did that) so they weren’t completely miserable until we got home. I think it was the spontaneous/anxious, “Okay, we are going now or never,” side of me that left without a packed diaper bag, but also you would think diapers and wipes would be at the front of your mind. Just have an unruly amount of diapers in your bag, car, trunk, and anywhere else. They will come in handy, I promise!
Reach Out
One of the times I most vividly remember forgetting my diaper bag was at Red Robin with my mom and brother. My baby pooped before we even finished ordering. She would scream and scream whenever she had a dirty diaper, and this time was no different. It was a miserable experience. It smelled, we were rushed, we felt bad for her, and they didn’t even bring me enough fry sauce. My mom had suggested I run and ask another mother for a diaper and wipes. There was another young mom across the way, but I was too embarrassed. She would think I was a terrible mom for being so unprepared. Now looking back I so wished I had asked her for a diaper and a wipe. She so would have understood. I hope now a new mama would ask me for a diaper and wipes. We are in this together.
Maybe I’m just not a super put-together mom, or maybe I was a little more oblivious as a new mom than most, but this would have been a nice reminder for me. What are some must haves for your diaper bag before you leave the house?
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