Double Duty Diaper Bag

Sure, as the name implies, the best diaper bags need to contain all the necessary paraphernalia for changing the dirty diapers you are bound to discover within mere minutes after leaving home.  What you may not realize, is that the strategically-stocked diaper bag can also be your secret weapon in preparedness for any and every tricky away-from-home challenge you may encounter while out with your twosome.  Stoke it up with an array of diversionary tools, and your babies will appear to all onlookers as peaceful and content as a couple of cloud-sitting angels.  You’ll be able to accomplish so much more, and for such a greater duration of time by just investing a bit of mind-power into your bag of tricks.

How tempting it is for me to itemize each and every component held within our nappie-sack, and promise that if you stowed the same you’d be equipped for any and every out of house challenge.  Sadly, such a “guarantee” would resemble a campaign promise; well-intentioned, but unlikely kept. 

Each set of twins is made up of two very individual children. Each mommy is different, too. You will likely elect to store your mommy maintenance tools in the diaper bag, rather than carry a purse.  Select a baby bag with an easy access zipper-pocket, and stow away your cell phone, wallet, lipstick, keys...whatever you consider your “mommy must-haves."

Twin maintenance “must-have”objects needed for out-of-house adventures are fairly universal.

Here is a good foundational diaper bag twinventory:

*4-5 Diapers (for outings lasting 4-5 hours—you may not use any diapers, you may use all)

*Travel Box of Baby Wipes (keep that well-supplied and check it before every outing.    One diaper dirtied can require the use of 4-5 wipes.  Stock generously.)

*Changing pad

*Diaper Rash Cream &/or Petroleum Jelly (in a tube)

*3-4 Spit-Up Cloths (cloth diapers are ideal)

*Small plastic dirty diaper (and wipes) disposal bags

*Infant Tylenol (or generic)

*Infant Gas Drops

*Pacifiers (and a set of spares) if your twosome use them

*Bottles for small infants/Finger food snacks for older babies

*Cellular phone and your pediatrician’s office phone number (programmed in your contacts)

*Spare set of clothes that either twin can wear (for when diapers leak inconveniently)

*A Large Zip-Close Freezer Bag (or you can use your diaper disposal bags, just don’t confuse them) for storing diaper explosion sullied clothes  

*Infant Nail Clippers (you would be amazed how often a snagged fingernail appears…usually manifested by a bloody facial scratch while shopping)

*Travel pack of tissues

*Trial-size/Travel bottle of anti-bacterial, no-water-needed soap for your hands following the emergency diaper changes that occur miles away from a sink-outfitted bathroom.

However, the real and more frequently retrieved treasures in your diaper bag trove will be the strategically stashed objects that compel your babies to scrutinize and explore for a lengthy periods of time. 

Suggestions?

*Small hand-held toys/rattles (quiet ones!) for the very young

*Chunky board books

*Tiny, inexpensive plush toys

*Teethers

*4-8 Thin single story paperback books for older twins

You can also be creative with objects you allow your twins to handle and explore based on their age, and the location of your outing. For example, the strip cards with paint color samples have proven endlessly fascinating to our twins.  Plastic spoons (young twins) or paper-wrapped straws (slightly older twins) from food courts?  Equally enjoyable.  Tongue depressors or cotton balls (not if your twins still put everything in their mouths) at the doctor’s office? You can’t top ‘em.  Almost every locale you visit will have some free or very inexpensive novelty item that will keep your twins curious and entertained while you attend to the tasks at hand.

Best of all, when one twin’s attention span with a particular object has expired, voila.  You can trade objects betwixt the babes, and literally double your distraction time. Thus doubling your contented/well-behaved time while getting groceries, meeting a friend for coffee, having your hair cut (styled/highlighted might be pushing things), and the like.  If you do your preparation well and store (or acquire on the fly) numerous pairings of entertaining items, you’ll be amazed at the duration of stroller-happy time you can facilitate.

Warning: don’t get over-confident once you have packed your bag efficiently and have had a flawless day of good behavior with two terrific tots.  Maintaining an ever-changing cache of diversions and entertainments in your double duty diaper bag will require military-style observation, constant vigilance, and regular rotation.  Your twins will do their half of the job if you do yours.

 

Diaper bags: They’re not just for diapers anymore.  For sensible moms, I doubt they ever were.

**This post is a modified excerpt from Twinspiration: Real-Life Advice from Pregnancy through the First Year and Beyond, and is in partnership with Nakturnal.**

What are some of YOUR favorite diaper bag "must-haves?" Share in the comments!