Changing bags??

[justhayley]

Hiya until about 2 minutes ago I thought a chaining bag was just a big bag to put what ever you wanted in and didn't really understand why anyone would spend sooo much on one. However looking at the mamas and papas website it looks like a changing baby turns into a changing mat or something - or am I totally not getting it?

The one I like is £85 which seems a lot if it's just a normal bag!

I'm confused. Do you need a proper baby changing bag, or is it something else unnecessary shops try and sell us unsuspecting mums to be?!?

Thanks Hayley xx

I have never used or needed a changing bag.

But plenty of people do use them, so they must be useful to some people I suppose.

I just shove a spare nappy, a vest and some wipes in my handbag.

You don't need one, but they can handily have pockets for separate bits, and built in bottle coolers etc.

But if you have a bag you like, just use that!

The folding changing may that usually comes with it, you can buy separately.

Often your travel system comes with a matching changing bag, or you can add a matching on for £X.

Or you can get a free one from the boots parenting club?

You don't need one. I just chose a nice, large bag (£18.99) and bought a travel changing mat from tescos for about £4. You need one big enough to chuck in nappies, wipes, nappy sacks, change of clothes etc but nothing special.

Mine ends up weighing a tonne as I also normally have snacks, drinks, cars, spare pants etc for DS in there too.

No way do you need to spend £85.

I got one from Asda for 16 pounds. I think if you look online at Babies R Us or Kiddicare you will see similar prices for a plain black one. The differences between a changing bag and a normal large bag is that the one I have has a mat and it has an insulated section which I presume is for putting bottles in.

They used to do one in boots, free with a packet of nappies. Not sure if they still do, but I had that until I found a 'proper' one I liked...

However, I have been through so many since, I think they are all over-priced & poorly made. The only items I rate are Babymel change station & bottle carrier. I use the first with a cheap primark bag (don't use the 2nd much as was bf & DD now 22mo, just take whole milk with us for overnight stays in it, that type of thing). The change station has pockets for nappies, wipes & bags etc. making it handy to just nip into the change room with. The babymel items aren't cheap but have lasted twice as long as anything else I bought, so well worth it!!

Boots have the free bag on offer if you join their junk mail parenting club. It looks ok for a basic bag.

Thanks everyone you just saved me £85! Think I'll go with a normal big bag and £4 tesco travel mat.

I had no intention of buying one but picked one up today while browsing in Mothercare - it was one of their own brand ones reduced from £45 down to £4.50....I couldn't say no to a bargain like that, I wouldn't have been able to buy a normal bag for that lol

I've got a proper changing bag for 2 reasons:
-it was pretty and I liked the pattern
-I couldn't find a normal bag with enough pockets!
I'm awful for taking out all sorts wherever I go (most of it comes in useful!) and couldn't cope with having to dig round in the bottom of a bag looking for things. I've got a section for nappy changes, a section for food & snacks, and an easy access dummy bit!! The main part of the bag has toys, my purse, spare sleepsuit in case of poo-nami situation etc.

I just placed an order with Verbaudet for some clothes for dd and they're sending me a free one! It's a nice looking one, it's got animals on it so not something I can pass off as a handbag though

Just enter 6800 at the checkout

Or to look at it another way: it's an excuse to buy another handbag

As badgerina says, it is a great excuse for a new handbag because you don't actully use a handbag when you have the change bag - or at least, I don't! The change bag goes over the pram and has everything in it: nappies, bottles, phone, make-up... So I reckoned that if I would spend x amount on a handbag I knew I'd use every day (say at work) then I'd spend a similar amount on a change bag. Bought a lovely Cath Kidston one, love it.

I've never used one. Instead I just bought HUGE handbags and dumped it all in.

If you're breastfeeding, you just need a little bag for the nappies. I bought a nice teeny tiny one in Jojo Maman Bebe that just had space for a couple of nappies and had its own changing mat. If you are bottle feeding, you need more stuff so probably need a big old changing bag. I love this one [http://www.anorakonline.co.uk/uncategorised-c1/anorak-kissing-rabbits-baby-changing-bag-p861 Anorak].

Oops, trying link again:

Anorak

I have to confess I've got a £100 worth of a radley changebag as am a Radley addict, it came with a change mat and a insulated bag for bottles and I love it.

If you sign up to Boots mother and baby club you get a free bag from them not sure of it's much cop though.

I couldn't live without my changing bag. I love how I can be really organised with it - I had the free one from Boots, but couldn't get in everything I wanted and it was always messy, because things just got chucked in.

When DS was a baby, it had spare clothes, nappies (plus bags and wipes and cream and handgel), bottles and formula, muslins, change mat, teethes/rattles as well as my phone/purse/keys. Then when he was a little older he needed toys, drinks, snacks etc too. Now he's 2 1/2 I do just take a mini change bag in a normal big handbag or rucksack, but I do like to be prepared and not have my 'normal' bags babified (so I can pretend I'm more than just a mum!).

I'm not a handbag addict and I did struggle with spending what felt like a lot of money on it (even though I bought it on Ebay at about a third of the new price), but in retrospect I have used a lot for about 2 years (and am going back to it with DC2). It probably depends a lot on your personality type as to whether you find them useful or not.