What's In My: Diaper Caddy

One of the things that has helped these early days of parenting is having a fully stocked diaper caddy. We used it with disposables the first few days and learned what's important for newborn diaper changes, and now have a system down for cloth diapers.

We do not have a changing table or changing pad, because I knew I would simply change Billy wherever I was in the house. I didn't want to need to move him and myself all the way to his bedroom or a specific area in our home simply to change a diaper.

Wherever I am sitting with Billy, the diaper caddy goes with me so I can quickly and easily change a diaper anywhere in our home or yard.

Hubs or I repack the caddy every night when Billy gets into his jammies so we are set for the nighttime diaper changes and the following day.

1. Diaper Caddy Basket: I bought this handy basket at Hobby Lobby for $3.99 and had a 40% off coupon so it was a few bucks and well worth it!! It holds everything we need, perfectly.
2. Hand Sanitizer: Because Billy is a lazy/slow nurser, I commonly swap his diaper in between breasts to help wake him up. The hand sanitizer is a must to avoid thrush! 
3. CJ's Butter: Not all diaper creams are created equal and a fellow CDing mommy sent me a care package with this tiny tub when she learned I was planning to CD. Billy has had a little irritated spot for a few weeks and NOTHING else has worked on it until I tried this cream. It is magic and the tiny little sample goes a LONG way!! 
4. Coconut Oil: When his bottom got irritated I tried Desitin, but it isn't CD safe so I had to change strategies. Coconut oil works well as a simple diaper cream and smells divine. 
5. Triple Antibiotic Ointment: I have a Rx nipple ointment now, but in the event where it is out of arms reach or the early days when I needed to treat Billy's cord for bleeding it was handy to keep a tube of this close.
6. 3 oz Spray Bottle: We use cloth wipes, so our wipe solution is in this little bottle - I fill it up with tap water and put 3-4 drops of lavender oil in it. It is simple, fast, smells great and I only need to refill it every other day, when I wash diapers. 
7. AIO Diaper: Our favorites are BumGenius XS and LilJoeys by Rumparooz and I like to keep one or two in the caddy during the day in case I need to do a fast diaper change or I am so sleep deprived I can't handle the fold of a prefold/cover for that diaper change. Billy has very thin thighs and no butt so learning which AIOs work best for us has been an adventure. LilJoeys have been the running favorite for me, BG for Hubs. 
8. Wash cloths: We use these as wipes. We have a pack of OsoCozy cloth wipes also but wash cloths make the perfect wipe also! They pick up the newborn poop so well we only need to use one per diaper change. Just in case, I pack two more wash cloths than diapers in the caddy when I repack the caddy every evening. Having extras around is a good thing! 
9. Diaper Cover: I keep one or two covers in the caddy all the time. If he's wearing an AIO, I keep two in there. If he's wearing one cover, I keep an extra in the caddy in the event of a blowout (rare). It never hurts to be prepared. We go through 1-2 covers per day & my favorites are Thirsties & Real Nappies. 
10. Snappis: I keep one extra Snappi in the caddy all the time, because somehow during diaper changes the one he's wearing disappears all too easily. It's like they just run away and I find them days later when I tidy up. (don't judge me)
11. Prefold Diapers: These are my favorites, because Billy has such skinny little chicken legs. Even at night when I planned on using AIOs exclusively, I now choose to use prefolds because I know he can go longer in them without wetting through them simply because they fit him better in the legs (with the exception of LilJoeys - those are amazing). We use OsoCozy Unbleached & pack 10 in the caddy every day. 
12. Boppy Changing Pad Liners: These are made to put on a diaper changing pad/station but it's the perfect size to fold up and keep in the diaper caddy and I know the area I use to change him is "safe" from poopsplosions or wild pee moments. I can change him anywhere and not worry if there is an accident. They come in packs of three and doing diaper laundry every other day means I always have a clean one on hand. 

Obviously lots of these items are CD only, but like I mentioned previously, we did use this caddy the first few days when Billy was in disposables and it worked wonderfully! We just kept it packed with disposables, wipes and Desitin. 

The "Mommy" items I keep with me aren't listed as in the caddy, but I always have a water bottle, my Rx nipple ointment and my cell phone with me when I'm with Billy. Important things when you're a Mom!

Just for good measure, here are a few really cute photos of Billy...because I can't resist :) Stay tuned for his newborn photos by Jenelle Kappe Photography!

One of my favorite Billy faces. 

My little man & I <3 

"Mom. Enough with the camera already"