Choosing a Useful Diaper Bag

The diaper bagis about to become your purse and the baby’s luggage all in one. As you look at each bag, these are some of the factors to consider:

1. Storage. This is not just how much you can stuff in the bag but how easy it will be to reach all the stuff that you put into it. Look for large opening compartments, easy access sections and a separate section for your own personal items.

2. Safe closures. You are going to need to open and close them with one hand several times during each outing. Zippers should look more like the kind in jeans than in dresses – heavy, metal and with big zipper heads. Snaps should be large and deep but easy to open with one finger. Test each closure in the store.

3. Light weight. The weight of the bag is important. No matter how tiny it might be, you’ll be lugging around your infant, in a carrier of some sort, a diaper bag and possibly other items depending on where you are going. So you may need a light one.

4. Comfortable handles and straps. Moms may need to carry the bag on one shoulder or tote it while carrying the baby at the same time. The straps should be wide and padded in the area that goes over your shoulder. And the handles should be comfortable too.

5. Fabrication or materials. The material has to be durable because you are going to be tossing it into cars, dropping it on floors, shoving it in strollers and hauling it on your hip. Vinyl, microfiber, canvas and cotton are some of the top choices for everyday diaper bags.