# baby wearing & a diaper bag..how to do both?



## penster

I am seeking a little advice. I will be a new mom in November and we are planning to wear our baby. We will have a sling and an Ergo. We live in NYC and when we leave the house we need everything for that day. What is the best type of bag to use for a diaper bag with a sling and an Ergo?


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## allborntogrow

I have struggled with this for so long . . . then you throw a purse into the mix.

I suggest a comfy, medium size backpack.


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## SaneMarguerite

Ergo makes a backpack that goes over the Ergo itself. it's about $40, I think. but then you have weight of baby + weight of baby stuff all on your back. if it's balanced right and supported right, it might work really well. (if you have a spare $40.)

right now I carry Wolfie in front in a babyhawk, and use a backpack-type diaper bag. but he's rapidly approaching 20 lbs and getting a bit unwieldy in front, not to mention the fact that the babyhawk is a little short on him and when he falls asleep his head lolls all around. he doesn't care but it makes me nuts.

so pretty shortly I'm going to have to reconfigure our carrier+diaper bag arrangement too.

I had no luck using a sling+diaper bag. my shoulders are really slope-y and not good for carrying single-strapped or single-sided items at all.

have you thought of back carrier+messenger bag? maybe sling messenger bag (with long strap) across one shoulder first, then put on your carrier+baby. maybe that will work?


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## jocelyndale

For a long time, I had a messenger-style bag I would sling across my body, then put on the ring sling or Ergo. If the bag has clips on the strap, it's easy to remove without undoing the whole apparatus. If the bag was overstuffed, I had some issues with nerves in my neck, but an adjustment usually worked.

I have the Ergo backpack. Turns out I can't carry 50lbs on my back, which is what I did one day with kiddo on my back (20lbs) and the Ergo backpack overstuffed and attached behind (30lbs). I can once again carry DS (took six weeks + doctor visits to heal), but he's the limit, unless I want to reinjure myself.

Since you'll be using the Ergo in a front carry, you can use any backpack. I don't know how secure that would be in a crowded city, but it's an option.

Resist the urge to carry too much. If you have a huge leather wallet, scale down. Figure out how to carry as little as possible. With a newborn, you'll need dipes, wipes, wetbag, changing pad/receiving blanket, and a change of clothes. It's good to carry a water bottle for yourself, of course.


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## Ruthie's momma

I have always managed to put the LO in the sling (Hotslings pouch or Maya Wrap) and simply throw the diaper bag on my shoulder. I usually put what I need in her diaper bag (therefore eliminating the need for a handbag most days). As the LO has gotton older (she is now 14 mo), it has gotton easier. She now sits on my hip and the diaper bag is on my other shoulder. I use a Skip Hop Duo diaper bag. It is rather slim, has a really long strap and a lot of great pockets...so, it all works out great!


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## rmayherbs

i pulled out my backpack from college. it serves as my diaper bag for two kids and my purse. not exactly diaper bagish, but it works well. it works with the moby wrap and with the otsbh.

i was never able to use a purse or diaper bag with any type of carrier. kept slipping off shoulders.

don't overload yourself!


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## SaneMarguerite

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Ruthie's momma* 
I have always managed to put the LO in the sling (Hotslings pouch or Maya Wrap) and simply throw the diaper bag on my shoulder. I usually put what I need in her diaper bag (therefore eliminating the need for a handbag most days). As the LO has gotton older (she is now 14 mo), it has gotton easier. She now sits on my hip and the diaper bag is on my other shoulder. I use a Skip Hop Duo diaper bag. It is rather slim, has a really long strap and a lot of great pockets...so, it all works out great!

I envy your shoulders! mine are no help at all!


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## PassionateWriter

Quote:


Originally Posted by *penster* 
I am seeking a little advice. I will be a new mom in November and we are planning to wear our baby. We will have a sling and an Ergo. We live in NYC and when we leave the house we need everything for that day. What is the best type of bag to use for a diaper bag with a sling and an Ergo?

when i only had ds to worry about, i loved the Overland bags. it provided me w/ a small bag that held at least a few diapers and some wipes, as well as the front area for my stuff. i usually wore it around my neck (as in the subway) and never put my cash or cc's in teh bag itself (or anything else valuable for that matter).

here is the one i had..you can find them very inexpensive in several places online.

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/p/7241288.html

check out the different views. the patterns inside are pretty funky and fun.
it LOOKS like a small bag but i got TONS of stuff in there (including an extra set of clothes for ds).

here is the official site w/ all the different colors: http://www.overlandequipment.com/category/diaper


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## Devaskyla

If you have the money, this one might be good
http://childrensneeds.com/hip_pack_diaper_bag.html


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## Augusta

So far I've used a stretchy wrap and pouch sling with my gr8x backpack/diaper bag and it's worked out great. I used the mini backpack part at my purse/baby essentials bag on my back and keep the big part in the van with extras.


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## Augusta

It's the backpack duo seen here, scroll down

http://www.gr8x.net/interiorpages/signature_range.shtml


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## Drummer's Wife

I bought a small sling backpack that works well with a variety of carriers. I can loosen it to go over baby if he's on my back, use it just over my shoulder or under the carrier, even in front if desired. I'll try to find a link to the one I have, I really like it.

Here's what I have, bought it at target... the strap length is easily to adjust AND un-clips so you don't have to remove baby/carrier if it's under/intertwined. if that makes sense


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## ~ani~

A backpack. It's not very attractive but that's all I can use comfortably (with wrap or ergo).


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## Leisha

My diaper bag is huge, which is great if we're going somewhere with the pram, or when you go to someone's house or when you can leave the bag in the car and you're going to stay within reasonable distance... I love knowing that we have everything we could possibly need with us (like 2 extra sets of clothes for example), but no way could I log that thing around for more than a couple of minutes







especially if I was already wearing dd!

So when I go out with baby in the carrier, I don't take the big bag.

I just bought a fairly cheap, canvas, medium size handbag/messenger style bag (I can shorten the strap so it's just an "over the shoulder" bag, or lengthen it if I want to wear it across my torso) that holds "everything"; just my wallet, phone, keys, lipbalm, tissues, a snack, reusable shopping bag and then the bare necessities for baby: wipes, 3 diapers and a small tub of diaper cream. Oh and a cotton/muslin square cloth for spills, spit-up etc and for covering up if I felt like it while nursing.
I just bought a changing mat on ebay so I can put that in too. That's it, basically... there's some space left for an umbrella or a bottle of water then. But not both, lol.

I don't take extra clothes etc, but then again I'm never too far from home or, in an "emergency", shops where I could buy stuff if I suddenly needed more diapers or a change of clothes. And I think, if I wanted to, I could probably stuff in an extra playsuit-thingy, but I don't bother. And as dd grows, her clothes might become too big to stuff in anyway









ETA: you know, my dd is only 7 weeks so i don't have much experience yet, I'm sure there will be some incident that makes me curse myself for not taking more stuff with me...

Also, i cloth diaper normally, but in the small "diaper" bag, I keep disposable diapers, they're smaller and you don't have to carry the dirty ones around


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## Kiara.I

OnBag!

Well, okay, I'm assuming, since I still haven't made mine. But I WANTS one. It's designed by a babywearing mama in England (who does make them by the way...including custom orders: http://onbag.co.uk/shop/do/home.html ) to be the ultimate in babywearing diaper bags. The theory is that it's built like an Onbuhimo (which I think is like a mei tai but with no waist straps, instead you feed the shoulder straps through rings at the waist level to tie it around.) So it's basically a bag with two straps that you can tie together to sling over a shoulder (across from your hip pouch, for instance) or you can feed the straps through the rings and tie to make it a front- or back-pack (if you are wearing the Ergo, for instance), or you can generally change how it's worn to accomodate which carrier and what position you are using at that moment. It can even be worn backpack style over a toddler on the back, as it is quite soft.

This sounds just PERFECT for me, as I will shortly be wearing two, mostly likely newborn on the front and toddler on the back. Oh right, I should go buy fabric today....








The designer has posted a DIY page: http://blog.onbag.co.uk/2008/04/free...diy-onbag.html


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## newmommy27

this maybe one of my favorite topics...I have tried many different bags

here is my current solution

http://www.timbuk2.com/tb2/products/laptop/hacker

holds enough cloths for my 2 kids and cloth diapers...has a key holder, a small pocket for my wallet, backpack straps for when I am wearing my baby on my front, a shoulder strap for when I am wearing her on my back and it can hold my laptop as well

I really am in love


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## Leisha

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Kiara.I* 
OnBag!

Well, okay, I'm assuming, since I still haven't made mine. But I WANTS one. It's designed by a babywearing mama in England (who does make them by the way...including custom orders: http://onbag.co.uk/shop/do/home.html ) to be the ultimate in babywearing diaper bags. The theory is that it's built like an Onbuhimo (which I think is like a mei tai but with no waist straps, instead you feed the shoulder straps through rings at the waist level to tie it around.) So it's basically a bag with two straps that you can tie together to sling over a shoulder (across from your hip pouch, for instance) or you can feed the straps through the rings and tie to make it a front- or back-pack (if you are wearing the Ergo, for instance), or you can generally change how it's worn to accomodate which carrier and what position you are using at that moment. It can even be worn backpack style over a toddler on the back, as it is quite soft.

This sounds just PERFECT for me, as I will shortly be wearing two, mostly likely newborn on the front and toddler on the back. Oh right, I should go buy fabric today....








The designer has posted a DIY page: http://blog.onbag.co.uk/2008/04/free...diy-onbag.html

Ooh that's cool! Thanks for posting.

Saved the pattern on my computer... now let's see if I get around to making it


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## BabyBearsMummy

When I was baby wearing I had a Hop and wore a backpack with all of my DDs needs. It worked but boy was I long from baby bum threw to the end backpack.


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