In the bag

As a teenager, I could leave the house with just my keys, $10 (remember how cheap gas was in the 90s?), drivers licence and some lip gloss (Lip Smackers watermelon flavor, if you're wondering) in my pocket.  However, my "mom" card came with a lot of added baggage - literally.  Here's what I'm carrying around so hopefully I'll never be found changing Scott on the hood of the car using a Culver's hamburger wrapper for a diaper and a plastic Target bag onesie.  

I bought a diaper bag right after we learned that there was the possibility that Scott might be born much earlier than we'd expected.  A combination of frantically trying to be prepared and stress-induced retail therapy led me to the diaper store where I bought this very cute but not really cost-effective Skip Hop diaper bag. 

Here's the contents.  I've got my nursing cover, an extra outfit for Scott, a burp cloth, pacifier wipes, baby wipes, some disposable diapers, A&D ointment, an umbrella (a holdover from when I lived in Florida and carried an umbrella in every bag), and a plastic bag to bring home dirty cloth diapers.

All of this is fairly evenly distributed within the pockets of the diaper bag.  I don't really have a system.  I just try to keep any dirty diapers in a separate pocket in case the plastic bag has any leaks.

When we were making our first outings, I used to bring both this diaper bag AND my big shoulder bag, which was way too much to carry so now I just stick my wallet, phone, keys, etc. in the front pockets.

OR, if I'm living dangerously (we're only going to be out for a single errand), I'll just bring my shoulder bag with a burp cloth and a pacifier.

A few other essentials I carry with me are a pacifier case strapped to the side for easy access

And hand sanitizer for easy hand washing after diaper changes.

The only thing I know I'm going to regret not having one day is an extra top for me.  However, I've been lucky so far and only been the victim of a single poop explosion while out and about.

So far my only complaint is that the bag is just a tiny bit too small, which I'd probably say about any bag smaller than a steamer trunk.  Stuff expands to fit the size of the container, and I really don't want to drag around waaaaayyy too much stuff.

What do you think, moms?  I know the contents will change as he gets older (read - emergency puffs stash), but is there anything I'm missing that you've come to appreciate having with you?  Or do you have any strategies for going out with out feeling like you're part of a camel caravan?