Little Tripper dilemma

[egoldber]

So my new Little Tripper (latest version) came yesterday, and frankly, I'm not in love. Its kind of weird, but even though the bag itself is overall a bigger bag than my old (2001 version) LT, I couldn't get all the stuff from my old one in the one.

I do like the new parent pocket. And I like it because I can wear it messenger style. But the organization of the bag itself baffles me. Its kind if weird, but the way the outside cupholders work, they take away room from the inside when you put stuff in there.

Here's what I want to carry:

2 disposable diapers (size 6, so they're long)
Huggies wipes container
Playtex straw sippy
1/2 liter water bottle
ziplock baggy of crayons and a small (like 3" x 4") spiral notebook
small book (the paperback kind)
snacks for me (like a ziplock baggy of nuts)
Sarah snaks (like a Nutrigrain bar and a box of raisins)
small package of Kleenex
my wallet
my cellphone
my Palm Pilot
my car keys

It just seems like once I put the diapers, wipes and sippies in there that there's no room for anything else.

Any thoughts?

[Jeanne]

I have three diaper bags of assorted variety and can honestly say that I use them only when certain situations dictate. What I tend to use the most is a leather backpack. Not quite as large as a book bag but not as small as the purse style either. I found it at a leather store. I keep a separate pouch with all of my stuff in it and smaller pouches for the other assorted things I throw in there. I have an emergency bag in the car with a bottle, formula sticks, bottles water, sippy cup, and diapers. And although I do have root for stuff at the bottom, it doesn't bother me at all. I just don't think there is a perfect diaper bag out there that fits all my needs. Kind of like a stroller... But the leather is durable, zippers, and keeps my hands free.
I use the other two larger bags for weekend or day trips when the car is close by.

[Calmegja2]

Hmmmm....I carry a similiar amount or not more than you do, and I'm not having trouble....

I carry:

3 dipes
pliable wipes pack
roll of diaper duck disposable bags
small squirt bottle of wipes solution
a few cloth wipes
bag with travel bibs/travel placemats/travel spoons
bag with coloring pages
crayons
sunscreen
travel clip size of Purell
tiny baby cornstarch, tiny aquaphor
cell phone
PDA

In the outer pockets, I hold:
hotsling rolled up
one sippy cup (or if everyone's coming, a stack of the safety first disposable sippies)

In the parent section:
my wallet
antibacterial wipes
glasses wipes
lipstick and concealer
pen

I'm digging through, and that looks like it's everything. Depending on where we're going, Jake's epi pen is often in there, as well.

Don't get me wrong, this is not a huge bag, but it works well for hanging on the stroller, or a quick trip to the store or the club. I keep a refill bag in the car, for when I need to replenish, but it's been a really nice bag for us, but everyone's different....

I have not noticed that the outer cupholders subtract any room from the bag's interior when full. I'll have to check and see if I notice that, but I'm not seeing that in my usage.

I'm laughing, because I'm remembering that I shouldn't recommend coffee pots or peanut butter to you, and now we should add dipe bags to the list.... ;-)

But I know you have a T2 bag, and so do I, so there's some common ground there, right? *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*

[Momof3Labs]

Beth - try moving your wipes to a ziploc bag; I found that helped tremendously! I just bought the same LT for DH, and we had no problem fitting stuff in it (though it probably wasn't carrying as much as you listed).

[egoldber]

No, I love my Huggies wipes case. That's a requirement for me, LOL! And the stuff will technically fit, but some it gets lost down at the bottom. And DH gave me a REALLY hard time for buying a $19 bag after he just bought a freaking expensive espresso maker. Harumph. :(

[Momof3Labs]

Okay, I understand (I still carry my wipes case - DH is the one who gets the ziploc baggie!). How about an Ella bag from the next co-op? The Caroline size is a little bigger than the LT and has much better inside pockets. I could try packing mine for you with similar sized items...

[egoldber]

You're too kind, but I really don't like tote style bags. :)

I need to ponder my choices. I really want something about 1 inch bigger in all directions from the LT.

[caleymama]

I've recently rediscovered the Eddie Bauer diaper bag that was our original diaper bag purchase. We had used it for the sitter for about 5 months a year ago when I was working but then I moved on to other bags. I've been frustrated with what I was using and on a whim gave this a try - surprise, surprise it's been great. Item number: 2385342377 on eBay has a picture of one. We purchased ours at Target. It's perfect for our daily errands/quick trips - not big and bulky but surprisingly roomy and well organized. It has 2 zipper compartments, 2 add'l outside pockets, and a mesh bottle pocket on either end. The strap is adjustable.

The large zipper compartment opens wide with a double zipper - the whole top flap opens with a zipper on each side (I don't know if that makes sense). Inside this compartment are 2 elastic loops for bottles/cups. This pocket is about 5 1/2" deep and about 10" tall. Today, for example, I had 2 size 5 dipes, a Huggies wipes container, a board book, a mini magna doodle, a small rubbermaid container for snacks, my coupon organizer, mini pack of tissues, and there was room to spare (I had DD's Munchkin straw sippie in there at one point, still with room).

The smaller, front zipper compartment has 2 inside pockets: one vinyl one that comes 3/4 of the way up and a elastic-top mesh one that is the same height as the other. This pocket is about 1 3/4" deep. I used to put DD's Avent bottles in there when we took this bag to the sitter - currently it's my Mommy stuff pocket. I usually have my cell phone and wallet (large checkbook style), Palm, pen, and some misc. makeup in there.

The first outside pocket is a velcro pocket on the front (the blue below the tan suede). The other pocket is on the back of the bag and is also velcro. It's the whole width of the bag and it's 6 1/2" tall.

I regularly put a Playtex straw sippie in the outside bottle pocket with no problem. Her Munchkin straw sippie won't fit because of the rubber grips on the outside of the cup.

HTH!

[jerseygirl07067]

I've seen that bag too at my local Target and I think I have seen a few at BRU also. It's a cool bag, I was thinking of getting one that would be perfect for baseball and football games. It has a somewhat sporty look to it too! I think it sells for 17 bucks or so if you go that route instead of ebay.

Mary

[caleymama]

Yeah, it's not expensive - that was just the first picture I found of one online.