BABY CHANGING BAG - do I need one?

[Holymoly321]

Hi all, this may sound incredibly naive - but as I've still got at least 4 weeks to go till baby arrives, I think I can be forgiven for not knowing anything! I know that I'll need a baby changing bag, but how big should it be? The thing is, I've seen an absolutely gorgeous red leather baby changing bag on reddirect.co.uk - it's £140, but comes with thermal bottle warmer and two changing mats - which is obviously a huge chunk of change, but it's my birthday very soon (hope I'm not in labour on my birthday!), so I'm thinking of getting my DH to buy it for me. Is this a foolish idea? Should I just get a black nylon baby changing backpack from mothercare? Advice appreciated!

i think you should have the one you want! i am a firm believer in having lovely things, and if you can afford it then go for it!

I have a balck nylon thing from MC, and to be honest, I use a normal largeish bag mst of the tim. If I had a nice changing bag though, I'd probably use it!!!!

I don't think you need one, a small rucksack really will do the job just as well. You can get leedle changing mats to carry around if you need one.

I think there is a lot that people try to sell us that we don't really need!

i use my changing bag ALL thet ime. it's the only thing i have big enough to fit clothes, cloth nappies, food etc etc
nice insulated bottle pocket etc etc... uit's fab

any old bag will do, as long as you can fit all your junk in it and it fits under pram/pushchair

I wouldn't waste your birthday present on a changing bag.

Mmmm... maybe I should just get a nice large leather bag and buy a seperate changing mat and bottle warmer - that way I can get any nice large leather bag and not just a 'baby changing' one. I've always been into large bags but never had a REALLY nice one! So maybe now's the time to treat myself! At least part of my outfit will look good (trackie bottoms with smart leather bags anyone?)

never bothered with a bottle warmer myself

Changing bags are overrated imho and if you do bottle feed there's no guarantee that the ones you choose will fit the waremr/carrier compartment. Why 2 changing mats fgs !! If you do get one make sure it will still do as a normal bag once you are done with it, but you may find you are sick of it by then anyway !

I used to use a small rucksack then changed to a mothercare changing bag which is ok most of the time.

Do what I did get DH/P to buy you lovely handbag for birthday and get a mothercare one.

Ditto on the bottle warmer - get them used to coolish/room temp milk (if you are using formula). If you decide to bf, no bottle warmer needed!

what i like about my changing bag is that it has a lovely long strap so that i can hang it over the handle of my pram which is quite wide.

i hate carrying my own bag now!

if it is one that doesn't have a long strap then make sure it fits in your shopping basket otherwise you;'ll have to carry it in one hand and push the pushchair with the other

it's got a bag light whassat when it's at home??
Get it if you want it, your changing bag will be your main accessory, at least until baby is out of nappies (mine is anyway).

If you like it definitely get it - I have tried normal bags and they just don't seem to do the trick imo but then I always like a good excuse to buy a new bag.

MT - surely leather would be wipe clean though ?!

I didn't use mine at all, I had an ordinary bag (and not all that big, either) with pockets in and I found that was all I needed. Using a rucksack was so much hassle when I needed to get things like money and keys out, and if I put it on/under the pushchair it took up far too much room.

Apart from anything else it's your birthday and it'll be the last chance you get for a while to do something just for you - it would be a shame to have a changing bag as a birthday present, in my opinion.

is this the one
\link{http://reddirect.co.uk/customer/product.php?productid=16968&cat=254&page=2}

its very nice but not sure if it would have been big enough for me... and as someone mentioned before would the handles fit over the pushchair handles, or would you have to carry it?

the handles don't look very practical do they ? Although a lovely bag ! Smiling - are you nr a john lewis because they have these in store so you could go and have a look.

Got bored of my change bag very quick, i'm the bad mummy that often does not have the necessary paraphanalia, but I figure that I am rarely far enough from civilisation for it to really matter. Second the tip about getting them to drink cold milk, bottle warmers just smell once they've had milk spilt in them and not easy to clean.

I get laughed at for taking such a big bag with me but dd is sick a lot. I have to take loads of bibs, muslins and several changes of clothes. Hopefully you'll be one of the lucky ones. All my friends have small bags and never seem to need much stuff.

Also, dd has never had warm milk. I keep the cooled boiled water at room temperature and then mix when required. This means you'll never have to worry about finding somewhere to warm it.

Any bag will do as a changing bag, don't waste money on a special one. I use a normal rucksack with a few side pockets. Never had a bottle warmer, just feed at room temperature.

with the dd's - backpacks - used the most and now with just dd2 - she has the black mothercare one - fits lots in - purse etc go in the front pockets and the strap is long enough that it fits around the pram handle....most importantly - does not stain - cna be washed clean. Mine came with all sorts of stuf fin it - was a hospital/changing bag...

£140!!! Wow!

Save your money, and buy something nice for yourself. You probably never will again when baby comes!