I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods, but ’round here Mother Nature always seems to get flustered when she’s trying to transition between seasons. In the last three days, we’ve gone from 15C, to 25C to -15C and back up to 0C. We’ve had grey skies, clear skies, rain AND snow. Because of this, it’s far from easy to know how to dress the kiddo in the morning. Soooooo, I thought I’d let you guys take a peek in our daycare bag.

We’ve all heard the expression “less is more” right? Well, when you have to prepare a daycare bag for the in-between seasons, more is more ;).
The basics: these are things that are in the bag all year-round
- An epinephrin injector and a bottle of banadryl for Little Dude’s dairy and flaxseed allergy.
- A changing pad, some coconut oil, about 10 bamboo inserts (and the same amount of flushable liners), 3 envelope covers, a box of wipes and some plastic bags to put the dirty/wet diapers in.
- A pay-by-the-minute cell phone and its charger : ok, I think this needs a bit more explaining. You see, neither my partner or I need a cell phones as we are both easily reachable at our jobs (and we have a landline at home). We decided to buy a cell phone about a month before Charles was born in case there was an emergency while we were with him. Seeing as the bag follows the baby, the cell follows us as well.
- His vaccination booklet, medicare card and hospital card
To protect him from the elements (we “mix and match” the winter and spring gear to adapt to the weather)
- A winter coat and winter pants. A winter hat, neckwarmer and a pair of mittens. (We used to have his winter boots in there too, but now they are too small so we have to settle for his spring footwear).
- A fall/spring 3-in-1 coat (waterproof/windbreaker outer shell, fleece jacket, put the two together to make a warm coat), splash pants, a pair of thin wool gloves, rain boots with an optional fleece liner for cooler days.
- Some shea butter to protect his face from the cold and the sun (because, let’s face it, he does not keep the neckwarmer over his mouth and cheeks).
Other stuff
- A change of clothes: two pairs of socks, a pair of pants, a pair of shorts, a T-shirt and a long sleeved shirt.
- Once a week, I also include a 20oz jug of coconut milk for him to drink and for his daycare provider to cook with when needed.
What’s in your daycare/diaper bag?
Fun post! So what diapers do you use? I’ve always used disposable, but I think I’d like to switch this time.
We use applecheeks. One of the reasons I picked them is because they are made here in Canada. We really love them. However, if I were to start over, I’d go with a one-size-fits-all diaper like the bumgenius (applecheeks has two sizes, size 1 for up to 20lbs and size 2 for up to 40lbs). Why are you thinking of switching to washables?
Thinking about switching for less exposure to the bleaching agents/synthetic polymers used. I have read the non disposables have gotten pretty reliable. Your experience? I think Valerie at Atlanta Mom of Three did a post on the disposables awhile back.
I’ve had no problems with washables. No blowouts and great absorption. From my experience and what I’ve read, the bamboo inserts are the ones that have the best absorption. I’ve yet to have a leak. The ones I have are easy care too.
As long as the baby is exclusively breastfed, you don’t even need to rinse the diapers before putting them in the wash. After solids are introduced, I bought flushable liners to catch the poop because I just couldn’t stand the smell when I had to rinse them lol.
I remember Valerie doing a post on washables a while back, not sure about disposables.
Oops…can’t read my last response…sorry if I got disposables and washables interchanged! Thanks for the info!
Great post. I’ll take some tips for when V starts school, 🙂
Glad you found the post useful. Cheers 😉