Sure, we all know what basics professional women are supposed to have in their closets, but if you’re buying one for the first time or replacing one you’ve worn into the ground, it can be a pain to find exactly the right incarnation in stores. In “The Hunt,” we search the stores for a basic item that every woman should have.
We haven’t gone on a hunt for diaper bags in far too long. (In fact, this may be our first!) What did you look for in a great diaper bag, ladies — and which were your favorites? For my $.02, the best diaper bag for working moms:
- isn’t too pricey — you don’t mind handing it to the nanny or babysitter
- isn’t too floral or feminine such that men in your life groan about carrying it (know your partner, though; maybe floral is fine!)
- is going to be comfortable to carry while possibly a) pushing a stroller, b) babywearing, and/or c) fighting with car seat straps
The final thing is the trickiest one. I always found a backpack or crossbody to be best for pushing a stroller or babywearing, and diaper bag totes were way too uncomfortable for me. (But then again, if we had owned a car at the time, a tote bag probably would have been fine!)
{related: my best tips on baby-wearing}
Of course, everyone tells you not to put the diaper bag on your stroller, in case it tips over — so be very careful with it! That said, one of my favorite diaper bags (the sadly discontinued Georgi from BabyCargo!) was designed to slide over the stroller handles very easily.
(Psst: Here’s everything I carried in my diaper bag…)
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The Best Diaper Bags for Working Moms…
To start the roundup, the important thing to realize is that you don’t need an actual “diaper bag” to carry your stuff in — many friends just used lightweight backpacks and added a changing pad. For babywearing purposes, in fact, I actually liked a crossbody nylon bag. I carried a LeSportsac Everyday bag I’d gotten at Century 21, but honestly this Amazon option (pictured) looks very similar, and it’s $15–$20 depending on color and size. Nice. (Baggalini also has a lot of similar options.)
SkipHop has been making great diaper bags for years! They can be a bit hard to find right now since they were acquired by Carter’s back in 2017 (only Amazon and Carter’s seem to have them!), but I’d still trust their products. The pictured backpack is $69–$75; the Carter’s website has a TON for $37–$50 on sale.
This Babymel backpack is one of Nordstrom’s bestselling, best-reviewed diaper bags. I like the slightly rugged look to it, all of the interior pockets, and the fact that it converts from a shoulder to crossbody and has integrated stroller snaps. (NICE!)
(This very similar-looking bag is slightly more affordable and is one of Amazon’s bestsellers.)
Herschel has a TON of well-reviewed diaper bags — I love the simple, minimal design. This pictured one was $129, but is now marked to $52 in the crazy Nordstrom sale. Zappos has a huge selection also.
If you’re committed to eco-friendly purchases, this diaper bag is getting rave reviews at Nordstrom. I like that it’s convertible, made from water bottles, and features a roll-out changing station. It’s $199.
I haven’t tried the Dagne Dover diaper bag, but readers have loved Dagne Dover work bags for years. This one can be clipped to a stroller, has an extra zipper opening for easy access wipes, and has a luggage sleeve and laptop carrier (!!!). It’s $195 and comes in 6 great colors.
Petunia Pickle Bottom is OG — it’s been around for years and years at this point. I love the quilted, matte fabric here, but they have a ton of sleek, minimal designs; Nordstrom, Zappos and Amazon all have a great selection. The pictured bag is $209.
Ladies, what do you think are the best diaper bags for working moms? What qualities did you like best about your favorite diaper bag, and which qualities did you HATE?
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Anne says
Umm is this relevant? Since COVID we no longer use a diaper bag. The longest we’re out is a couple of hours anyway so we can just throw a spare diaper in a tote just in case. It’s just really hard to imagine when people will be out and about with your baby again.
Anonymous says
Yeah, this is situation dependent. I used daycare, so a diaper bag was unnecessary. We used it for occasional weekend short trips around town. I hated mine, but it wasn’t worth it to me to get a new one since I used it so rarely. And I even used it for two kids!
The reason I hated mine: it had a top flap rather than a zipper plus it always fell over on its side.
Anon says
We still go out hiking, to visit grandma, etc and bring a diaper bag.
Pogo says
I bring mine to our favorite COVID outing, which is to watch the construction at our local middle school (literally, we sit in a field and he can spend hours narrating to me everything that the workers are doing). Besides using it for actual diaper changes, I use it to carry wipes, sanitizer, snacks, water, change of clothes. If I don’t inevitably LO will splash in a mud puddle, get soaked, have a poop, demand food, find a piece of random debris on the ground and bring it to me asking “what’s this?”, etc. Sometimes I bring it and don’t need it, but the times I don’t have it, I always wish I did!
What we haven’t touched in months are all the “entertainment” items for church and restaurants that I still carry in there – those could probably be taken out.
Anon says
I never used one even in non-COVID times! I just put a diaper and wipes in my purse.
Confront Friend About Parenting? says
My friend is doing some real psychological damage to her stepson who has ASD, and I don’t know whether I should confront her about it.
Her stepson is 12 and he is from her husband’s previous marriage. They share custody with stepson’s mom. The custody arrangement is that he moves between mom’s house and dad’s house every 48 hours. According to friend, mom is not taking the coronavirus precautions seriously and is taking stepson to playdates, visits with family, restaurants, etc without wearing a mask or social distancing. Friend and husband also have an infant so they are extra cautious about bringing the virus into the home. Therefore, when stepson is at friend’s house they treat him as though he has the virus. They keep him on the second floor of the house and he is not allowed to come downstairs while he is there. He has to communicate with friend and his dad, who are on the first floor, by yelling over a handrail on the landing of the second floor. They watch movies with him on the second floor, watching the TV on the first floor through the handrail. They also try to do outdoor activities together. Friend says that they will stop quarantining stepson when he comes over once he is able to stand up to his mom and refuse to go on outings with her, but I think that is unrealistic to ask from a 12-year old.
Friend also wants stepson to speak up for himself more, so she and husband don’t serve meals to him unless he specifically asks for it. When he does, then they leave his meals for him at the bottom of the stairs where he takes them up to his room to eat by himself.
I can see that the stepson has regressed over the past five months, and I can see that the lack of socialization has gotten to him. He had a meltdown on his birthday and asked to be able to come downstairs to spend time with the family, get hugs and play with his baby brother, which they granted. Friend had a difficult childhood, being raised by a single mom and having to grow up quickly and work odd jobs when she was a kid to get by, so she can’t understand why stepson isn’t more independent. Husband also had a difficult childhood so he can’t recognize that the way they are treating his son is abuse. It’s really hard to watch the stepson be treated this way. Should I talk to friend about it?
Anonymous says
Why doesn’t the dad just stop exercising his parenting time? He doesn’t want to see the kid anyway. Is he afraid the mom will file for an increase in support?
AnotherAnon says
Honestly, I would start by talking with friend, but I wouldn’t hesitate to call the child abuse hotline. Are they providing him with food?
Anonymous says
Agree with this, although so much hinges on how receptive your friend would be to advice. I’m assuming you must have some sort of reaction when she tells you this horrible stuff, how does that go? Is the other mom ok with this treatment? That poor kid.
Anon says
This sounds like the beginning of an episode of Law and Order. Your friend and her husband are being horrible to this poor kid. I understand them not wanting to infect the baby, but dad either needs to stop exercising his parental time or contact a lawyer to get ex wife to follow covid recs or maybe ask son to wear a mask around the baby? This is beyond horrible and disgusting behavior by your friend. Please do something to help this poor kid!
Anon says
Yeah, that seems awful and I would definitely say something. I’m not sure I would want to continue being friends with such a person. If they don’t want to interact with the kid let him stay with his mom!
Anonymous says
Does the mom know what’s going on?
Anon says
Yes. She should be told before CPS, especially if the 12 yo is unable to do so.
anon says
This is awful and my heart aches for that poor child. I am having a very hard time not judging your friend. Step one would be to talk to the bio mom and get on the same page about social distancing. But barring that, I still think it is very, very cruel to essentially banish this child from participating in family life. He’s 12; it’s not *his* job to stand up to his mom and refuse to go on outings with her. I mean, what the actual loving f*ck? Your friend has terrible judgment; I would honestly consider talking to someone from CPS in this case. Whether they’ll do anything remains to be seen, but this is Not Normal.
Anonymous says
I would be very hesitant to call CPS unless the child was in actual physical danger. That often creates more problems than it solves.
It seems like there is probably more to this story. How does OP know all these details? Why hasn’t the mom stepped in?
Anonymous says
How is denying a child food and keeping him locked away from the rest of the family not physical?
Anonymous says
If the child refuses to go out with his mom, she’s still going to go out and then expose him. Insisting that he refuse to go places doesn’t seem like it would really solve the stepmom and dad’s problem with exposure.
Anon says
OMG I wouldn’t confront your friend, I would call CPS. This is abusive. It would be abusive to a neurotypical kid and is even more abusive to a kid with ASD.
Anonymous says
Call child protective services. Dad should lose custody over this.
Allie says
This is unacceptable child abuse and yes you morally have to do something stat. Maybe call the mom and see if she wants to handle it by moving for full custody? If it doesn’t sound like she is going to be able to get her son out stat then I think you do need to call CPS though I understand that that can create more problems for all. No one, especially a child, should be isolated. How unbelievably terrible.
Anon says
Wow that is so disturbing and sad. How could you do that to any child? Denying food and physical touch is cruel.
Anonymous says
Skip Hop Diaper Clutch, shoved into a larger backpack or tossed in stroller or car by itself, was way more useful and flexible than the actual diaper bag we got.
Amy Smith says
Thank you for sharing this amazing Article about Diaper Bags. Great Job!