the mom bag: a guide to the perfect purse for motherhood
When you have been using a diaper bag for the referable past, the glimmer of hope that presents itself when you realize you don’t need to carry around quuiite so much is a glorious thing.
Graduating from the diaper bag is wonderful. You regain a sense of self when you realize you can tap back into some of those favorite bags you rocked pre-baby- or, even better, treat yourself to a new one. Maybe you’ve potty trained and you can ditch those bulky diapers. Perhaps your kids are eating and drinking big people food now so you don’t need containers of formula. Or, you have newly realized those burp cloths/nursing covers/mittens/booties/onesies are no longer in service and and have no place in your bag. What are you going to do with all that extra space! Its all for you right?
Think again!
When you move on from the baby must-haves, countless toddler can’t-leave-home-without’s magically appear. Potty accident back-up outfits. Emergency snacks and water bottles. Preschool art masterpieces. Literally anything they left the house with that is now your responsibility to carry. Hopefully, though, it is still less. You are now in need of a sophisticated sailboat, not an ocean liner.
So what does your new and improved fashionable mom bag look like?
Read on for a guide to purse style with little ones in tow.
The Mom Bag Considerations
Shoulder Bags for the win: As croonworthy as a top handle satchel is, shoulder straps are still a no-brainer with toddlers. As a mom, you want (need) your hands free. You just never know what pseudo-crisis you’re going to have to solve on the fly that will require both hands being ready and able- but you can bet on one coming up.
Size Matters: You want a bag big enough that you have the flexibility to add the unexpected. Coats, shoes, ipads, its all fair game and it all comes in unfortunate shapes and sizes for a bag that you presumably already have loaded. Ample size is a must, and relaxed structure in a plus.
Weight Matters Too!: You want to be mindful that the bag isn’t overly heavy. If you’re becoming less reliant on strollers with your kids, that means that you are carrying the bag. You will have little to no control over how much gets added to your mom bag throughout the day, but you can pick a bag that isn’t a gym weight even when its empty as a starting place.
Consider Care: If its not easy to clean, it has no place in mom life. Now that it’s easier to rotate purses, have fun with prints and colors if it suits your style! But when considering material- remember sticky fingers are omnipresent in motherhood, and to be able to quick clean that adored purse with a simple wet wipe is a blessing.
Pockets: You’re coming off a bag that had 500 pockets. You will miss them when they’re gone. Finding a diaper bag level pocket assortment in a non-baby bag is unlikely, but don’t torture yourself by going down to one slim square of fabric for a (credit card? Business card? What is that pocket for?) either. If you are in love with a pocket poor purse, see below for some accessories that can help stop your purse from becoming a black hole.
Helpful Accessories
Changing Case: If you are still in the diaper phase but are passing on a true diaper bag, a diaper changing case is clutch. We all know that when your baby needs a change, urgency is of the utmost importance. Having everything in one place and easy to find can be the make or break when trying to save that stark white overpriced baby outfit.
Wet pouches: Accidents happen. Bathroom accidents, spilling accidents, splashing accidents- lots of accidents. Whether its pee or mud (its mud- we’re sticking with mud) sodden clothes that you don’t want all over your bag, have something to contain the wet and the mess. If you don’t have a wet pouch with you, plastic bags and dog poop bags all work too!
Stroller Hooks: That bag weighing on your shoulder is getting old quickly. If you have the option to pass the weight off to a stroller or a cart, take it. If you can find a hook on the lighter side all the better, some feel like adding a dumbbell your bag!
Small Mesh Bags: My husband told me years ago that it drove him crazy how I rifled through my bag, taking forever to find what I was looking for. Little did he know what lay ahead. I use little mesh bags for the kids snacks, activities for restaurants, back-up clothes- whatever. Transparency of the mesh makes my life easy, they’re reusable a million times over, and they don’t add bulk to my already full bag.
Bag Organizer: If you just can’t give up the organized convenience of the billion pockets a diaper, look into bag organizers. Just slip into your tote and arrange your abundance of stuff to your heart’s content. Consider that organizers can be space restricting, so if you are looking for flexibility over order, they might not be for you!