Baby packing guide

I wanted to do a post on what I keep in my diaper bag/how I pack for a trip with a baby. I am not an absolute expert on packing for a baby, but I have picked up a few tips and tricks over the past few months that I found really helpful when packing for trips! We have gone on one long airplane trip (to Hawaii) and countless number of weekend getaways since having Luke. For me at least, when baby gets older it gets easier and you have less "stuff" you have to pack -- this was great for me because it can get super overwhelming at first!

Diaper Bag - I like to keep the diaper bag somewhere up front in the car so I can easily access it; I keep the rest of the stuff in the trunk to try to keep the clutter at a minimum (honestly though, its hard haha!)

A couple of gallon bags are always folded up and placed in the back pocket of the diaper bag just in case we aren't around a garbage and he has a dirty diaper or for wet/dirty clothes.

Wipes and Diapers (I usually just put a pack of wipes or if you have a small diaper bag do a ziplock with wipes to save room). I also ONLY try to put in 6 diapers or so in here to also save room. If we are going on a weekend getaway I will stuff a reusable grocery bag full of diapers and a pack of wipes and stick it in my trunk to take out when we get to our destination.

Hand sanitizer. Because, germs.

Itzyritzy Reusable Snack Bag: I actually use this as a medicine/toiletry bag and it works great!! I always keep the necessities in here because these things can be expensive and you don't use them a lot, so it is nice to bring them with! I keep dye-free tylenol in here and a syringe, teething tablets, nail clippers, saline spray for nose, nose frieda, wash cloth, hairbrush, travel-size container with baby wash, thermometer, toothbrush.

Beauty counter Baby Balm: this stuff is amazing and can be used for literally everything. Great thing to keep with! Can be used for rashes, dry skin, cuts, bumps, etc.

Sunscreen. I use Beautycounter (the lotion kind, not the spray) or Babyganics **I am a Beautycounter Consultant so email me if you are interested! I do make commission from it**

One pair of jammies and one extra outfit. I like to keep extra jammies because they are so easy to change into or if baby gets sick they are a lot more comfy for them! (rest of the clothes get packed in either my suitcase or my second diaper bag that I use just for clothes)

Bottle with two servings of formula. Just in case of emergency or if I decide to have a drink or something it is nice to have some extra stock!

Manual breast-pump; again, just in case!

Munchkin water bottle. My favorite "sippy cup" for Luke.

Swaddle blanket that could also be used as a nursing cover/blanket/changing pad/ etc.

Snacks/food; I usually just pack a couple of pouches, snacks and a spoon/bib. I will buy real food when we get to our destination.

Extras:

Baby carrier of some sort, High-chair (ours is so small we can take it apart and bring it anywhere!), whatever your baby will sleep in (pack and play, bassinet, etc.) A couple of toys. Luke honestly really isn't into toys that much, but bring a few small toys or books with! Usually babies are so amused with new environments that you don't need much!

For long road trips: Our baby does WAY better when there are no other people in the backseat with him. I try to time it right so he can nap almost the whole way, but if it is a super long road trip or your baby has a hard time falling asleep in the car they do make stands for phones or tablets that you can attach to the back of the seat. We got this one on Amazon and it worked great for our road trip to the Midwest.

https://rstyle.me/n/dp86nmchyb7
On the airplane:

The only thing I do different is I actually wear Luke in his carrier through security and I take 3 gallon bags and put inside each one: one diaper, wipes, extra outfit (I read this tip from someone else where they would put one diaper/wipes/change of clothes in each bag for each hour the plane-ride was...that way you can just grab one bag and go to the bathroom and change them if they need a diaper change/have a blow-out). I think that tip is great because if you have ever changed a diaper in an airplane bathroom, they are freakin' tiny!! So, less is definitely more.

Top 5 Favorite Non-Toxic Products

As some of you know, I am a consultant for Beautycounter, which is a safer beauty brand. I share lots of Beautycounter favorites on my Instagram, but I also have some favorite non-toxic products that are not Beautycounter brand and wanted to share those with you guys. I am all about trying to limit the amount of harmful chemicals and toxins in my life as much as I can, but still enjoy a good quality product. I am so happy that I have been easily able to swap some things out one-at-a-time in efforts to make my home a safer environment. I definitely believe in balance and not being extreme, but my motto is: every time you run out of a product, replace it with a cleaner, safer option! Here are my top 5 favorite non-toxic products of the moment:


1. Norwex Mop System

This thing is seriously AMAZING!! I have been using a cheap little mop with wet pads over the past few years and I love how well they work to clean my floor, but A) The pads are expensive and B) They are made with harmful chemicals and synthetic fragrances. I saw my IG friend from @paisleyprintsspokane post on her stories about this Non-Toxic Mopping system that looked like a more heavy-duty version of what I had been previously using. She said it was Norwex, which I had heard of before, but didn't know much about it besides the fact that it was non-toxic. She gave me the run-down on all of the details behind the product and how everything works. If you are interested in learning more about it you can research it or reach out to her on IG (the science/mechanics behind it all made perfect sense to me, but I want to make sure you get all of the bases covered, so make sure you ask someone who sells it!). It's basically a special cloth material made up of fibers that you just have to add water to and it effectively removes dirt and germs from your home/body/etc. She has been using it for years and said she had saved so much money on cleaning supplies because of the fact that you only have to use water and the quality is so amazing. I think it comes in a pretty rose gold color too! Seriously guys, this thing is amazing and makes me feel SO much better about my 1 year old crawling all over the floors and my dog eating scraps of food or chewing on toys that have touched the ground.

Lindsey's Norwex Link
http://www.lindseyjones3446.norwex.biz


2. Everyone Soap

This stuff is so great! It is really affordable and easily accessible, too. I see it at Target and the grocery store, which makes it nice because as much as I love to order stuff online, sometimes you just run out of something and need to run to the store ASAP to grab it! My favorite scent is the Coconut & Lemon scent. The soap is a 3-in-1 product so you can keep it anywhere that water is running! We use it in our shower as a body-wash and Chris uses it as a shampoo. We have it in our guest bathroom too and can also be used as a baby wash. Such a great product!



3. Doterra Lemongrass Essential Oil

My mom is a distributor for Doterra and she gave me this oil to put in my diffuser or add to a spray bottle for cleaning. I am not super brand-loyal on essential oils because I haven't really gotten super into them or anything, but I know I have a lot of friends that sell both Doterra or Young Living. I just really freakin LOVE this scent! It is sooo fresh and lemon-y. I put it in my Amazon bamboo color-changing diffuser and it just makes my house feel fresh and clean without spreading toxic fragrances into the air we are breathing!



4. Primally Pure Deodorant

I have only used the Charcoal Deodorant, but I know they have a bunch of other ones to pick from. I had messaged them before I purchased it and they said their best sellers are the Charcoal or the Blue Tansy, so I might try that one next. I just love this stuff and it actually works for me. I was super disappointed in a brand that I had tried prior after I found out they use Fragrance/Parfum in their products. I immediately found Primally Pure after this and have been obsessed. This is one of the first things you should change out in your beauty routine because conventional deodorants have so many toxic carcinogens in them. No one likes a stinky, sweaty armpit, and I think you guys will really like this brand!

https://primallypure.com/products/charcoal-deodorant

5. NKD SKN Self Tanner

I did a blog post a while back on this product (go to my beauty tab to read the whole post), but I have been using it for a lot longer now and have come to seriously LOVE this stuff! I don't know about you guys, but I feel 100% better with a nice tan on my fair-skin! I used to do the booth spray tans, which are nice because you don't have to apply anything yourself, but I know they use synthetic fragrances in the ones I was doing and some toxic preservatives too. Getting sprayed as often as I want to be tanned is also pretty expensive! The Dark Shade of the NKDSKN tanning mousse has been my favorite. It is so affordable and accessible, too. It runs about $20 and you can pick it up at Ulta! They have a bunch of other products too, but this has been my favorite. I actually just recently had to repurchase for the first time, so it lasted me a long time. Highly recommend!!

Amazon Fashion Favorites

Hey guys! I wanted to share with you guys some things from Amazon that are on my wishlist in case you have similar taste in style. I think these are all super good finds and almost all of them are affordable (I included the Frye boots, which are a little pricey, but such a good quality boot and you would really get a lot of wear for the price). I actually ordered the platform espadrilles, but they haven't come in the mail yet, so I will probably do a post on how to style them when I get them this week :) I am really wanting to get back into more consistently posting on here. I am sorry that I have been MIA, I think I can get easily caught up with wanting to be a perfectionist and thinking I need to have these perfect ideas or images to go with blogposts, when those aren't even the types of posts that I enjoy reading! I am actually thinking of starting up a YouTube Channel, but want to know if you guys would be interested. I actually used to have one a few years ago, but stopped posting because I was feeling a little uninspired. Anyways, I hope you guys like these items and think I will do Amazon or store-specific wish lists periodically.

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