The death of the diaper bag

When I was pregnant with Lil J I went to pick out a diaper bag (among plenty of other baby items) & I immediately knew which one I wanted.  It needed to be a neutral color of course (since we chose to not learn the sex before the baby was born), but most were too small in my opinion.  I knew I wanted plenty of room to stash stuff that I would need on the go for the baby.  It seemed there was only ONE large diaper bag available & it was green & yellow & had ducks on it.  It was really cute & totally perfect in my opinion. 

And in those early days my extra large diaper bag was filled to maximum capacity quite often.  I remember seeing other moms with much smaller diaper bags & wondering how on earth they managed.  But I have always been the type who likes to be prepared for anything that might come my way, so I probably tend to pack more than most moms I figured. 

I know I always considered the fact that you never know when the car might break down (or when we might be evacuated from our home & not able to get in to get baby supplies).  And we did have one or two occasions where the car did break down unexpectedly.  It was after those occasions that my hubby really appreciated that I was prepared for just such a situation.  I mean, who wants to be stuck somewhere waiting on a tow truck with a hungry baby screaming & crying & not understanding why there's no more milk, diapers, fill in the blank etc. 

But after Lil J turned a year old I found the diaper bag to be much less empty.  I just didn't need as much stuff anymore.  Diaper changes & feedings were less frequent & he was no longer on formula (goat milk & goat kefir at that time, which I kept in a small insulated cooler rather than the diaper bag).  I didn't have to change his clothes as often also. 

When I delivered Lil J the hospital had sent us home with a free diaper bag full of goodies.  It was green & had frogs on it, but it was much smaller than the diaper bag I had purchased.  I stashed it away, thinking later on I might have use for it.  And so I did.  After he turned a year old I switched over to this diaper bag.

And lately I keep finding even this diaper bag quite empty.  Lil J is now on rice milk, which I keep in that small insulated cooler.  And he's potty training, so I only need to carry a couple of extra pull ups & a pack of baby wipes.  I do usually have a snack on hand, but it's still a small amount of stuff compared to how it has been in the past.

Prior to having a baby I ALWAYS carried a purse.  I always had very small purses, but I did always carry a purse.  After having a baby I quickly grew tired of juggling a purse AND a diaper bag AND a baby.  And so I had condensed the contents of my purse down to a very small zipper bag (like a pencil bag, but smaller) & I just kept it inside the diaper bag.  When shopping I just put my money in my pocket & was purse-free, only carrying a baby.  It made life much simpler for me.

I've been debating for a little while now if I should just retire the diaper bag completely.  And so I've finally done it.  Yesterday we were at JC Penny shopping for under shirts for hubby & I stopped to look at the purses & found one I like.  I still have my pre-baby purse, BUT it's really really small.  This time I bought a large purse, so that it can also hold pull ups, wipes, snacks, etc. 

It's the end of an era, just one more nail sealed on the coffin of having a baby so to speak.  I really can't say I have a baby anymore, just a little boy now.  How quickly it happens.