The Short, Glorious Life of a Diaper Bag.

While I was pregnant with Adam, I started to do some thinking. A baby means diapers, wipes, a burp cloth, extra blanket and a change of outfits to haul around. Also, I usually have snacks, a water bottle, wipes and diaper for Ben (!!!!) with me anyway. All this plus my own junk meant either a diaper bag AND a purse, OR a really cute diaper bag that I could easily put everything into, and matching smaller bag to go inside of it for my stuff.

I spent lots of time (too much) surfing the Internet looking for That Perfect Bag. (It should go on the record here that I am a bag lady. Literally. I love bags and purses and totes. Always have. My mom proved this when she brought back from our family farm about 5 bags that I played with as a kid. I may not have shelves and shelves of shoes, but purses, yes. Fortunately for Aaron, I have cheap tastes and most of them cost under $20 - many under $10. )

I looked at designer diaper bags, like Petunia Pickle-Bottom (isn't that fun?!). But even on Ebay they were going for $70 plus, and my conscience just couldn't do it. I mean, a diaper bag is going to get shoved around and probably stepped on by the older two - I didn't want to go crazy protecting it.

Another consideration was the design. Not only did it have to be cute, but it couldn't be pink. I mean, with a baby boy, I couldn't be pulling his diapers out of something too girlie. I do consider a diaper bag to be a MOM's accessory, but still.

Finally I found THE one. The brand was Kalencom. I did some research, and similar bags from that company were available online from Target, running about $70. Which means that the "buy now" one on Ebay for $20 was a steal! And in boy-acceptable colors, but still mom-cute!

I got it. And lo, it was well loved. I used it every day after Adam was born. It fit everything required, plus sunscreen, bug spray, a hat & socks, and a nursing cover. Perfect.

THEN we went to Medora. And ate at the Pitchfork Fondue. The picnic tables there are too big for a kid like Ben to eat at without falling between the seat and table, which we've had enough of this summer, thankyouverymuch. So Aaron improvised, and had Ben sit on my lovely diaper bag and use the picnic bench as his table. Every was fine (oh, except for the fact that neither of the kids ate their hotdogs, and Ben didn't really eat anything...) until we went to van to change into jeans.

I opened the diaper bag. And smelled sunscreen. And felt something wet.

After pulling every out, including 3 or 4 ruined diapers and a couple handfuls of snacks, I found the culprit. Not my water bottle leaking, as I had initially thought. No, it was much more devastating than that. I found an EMPTY sunscreen bottle. You know, the new-fangled spray type? This was an almost-full, new bottle, which had emptied itself in my diaper bag when Ben sat on it, pressing the button down.

For the rest of my trip, I was so thankful that I'd brought along a separate purse which was on the large size. The diaper bag was taken to the drycleaners when we got home, in hopes that a miracle would be worked.

No such luck. I got it back yesterday, and it still looked like this (sorry about the necessary head tilt):

I would probably be tempted to keep using it, since the stain is on the back of the bag, but when I showed it to Aaron, he made a face and said it looked like poop. Which is obviously NOT a good impression to give the general public, that you are walking around carrying a bag covered in feces.

Now I need to figure out a new strategy. Use one of my other diaper bags, neither of which is nowhere nearly as cute as this one? Carry a very large purse? Do the two-bag system again? (This may be good, since Adam is getting to be the age where I can leave him in the nursery...)

If all else fails, I'll have to buy myself a new diaper bag. Darn.