Oh what fun it is to pack...

I am a chronic overpacker and sometimes a little bit of a worry-wart. Packing for a trip home for Christmas was stress-inducing to say the least. Not only was I worked up over the holiday and remembering the presents, I was trying to make sure had all the baby stuff that we'd need, but not too much stuff, so that we'd have room in the car to bring back the excessive amount of presents I knew my daughter would be receiving. The most problematic item was definitely the diapers.


We basically use 2 types of All-in-two diapering systems (waterproof covers that have snap-in absorbant inserts), so the trick is finding the right number of inserts and covers. The first time we went home, we ran out of covers-dang it when the poop doesn't stay in the absorbant stuff. It is really annoying to have a stack of clean, white cotton inserts just waiting to absorb your baby's excretions, but not have anything waterproof to wrap them up in to keep said excretion from leaking everywhere. Then, you have to scramble and do the laundry and you might do something silly, like forget the laundry detergent. I vowed not to let this happen again.


This is the diaper supply I finally settled on for our five day trip. I seemed to have stumbled on a winning combination.
15 absorbant inserts (10 of one kind; 5 of the other)
3 doublers (an extra layer of absorbant material for nighttime)
9 covers
2 Bum Genius organic AIO (these are all-in-one diapers)
12 cloth wipes
2 wet bags


This amount allowed us to stick with our normal washing routine of every other day. It was nice to have one thing on our normal schedule! Also, it sure is nice that my in-laws have the same exact washer and dryer, so we don't have to do any experimentation on how to get the diapers clean. This is not the case at my parents' house, so when we have to wash diapers there, I will have to change up the routine, because they didn't turn out quite right last time.


After three trips home, I feel like I am getting a handle on what I actually NEED to bring and what I probably won't use. It's nice to feel like you have some idea what you are doing:) Here is a list of some of the other baby items I brought for the trip.
1 swaddler
1 blanket (use as a nursing cover and a blanket)
breast pump
4 storage bottles
2 bottles
breastfeeding pillow
2 burp cloths
1 pacifier
diaper rash cream
Baby Hawk wrap


This seemed to be the right amount of right supplies. Now that the trip is over, I can safely say that I stressed too much and I hope next time won't be such a traumatic packing process. Now, if I could only not overpack myself:)