The diaper bag you wished had worked out...

[my3fallkiddos]

Is there a diaper bag you owned that you wished and had wanted to be able to use but for some reason(s), couldn't?

For me it was the Lands End Do It All diaper bag. I LOVE Lands End children's clothes. It really is all I buy for my kids since they are super comfy, hold up really well and I don't have to go to the mall to buy them!

So I thought for sure the DIA would be a near perfect fit. Not the most stylish but hey, it didn't have Winnie the Pooh or teddy bears on it so right there it had bonus points! I even owned the first "round" of DIA's back in 1998 and loved that diaper bag dearly. We still have it, and use it for when we travel.

But sadly, the new DIA didn't work out. I really tried to give it a shot but with it being so big, no outside bottle holders, the wide opening made zipping it closed tricky and the two seperate shoulder straps it wasn't meant to be and so it went back!

I will admit that everytime I get the LE catalog now, it crosses my mind to order it again, that it wasn't that bad but I always stop myself (so far ;)).

So what is the bag you so wanted to use but it wasn't compatible with your needs/lifestyle?

[audball]

Argh...I even feel sad about posting, since even if you resell a bag, you still never recoup what you paid (sigh)...The funny thing is that I'm a really cautious buyer when it comes to other things (clothing, shoes, appliances), but bags must be my addiction because I can feel the love, but it passes pretty quickly!

1. Timi and Leslie backpack. I still have this one because from the outset it seems like the perfect bag for rainy weather. Vinyl-coated, beautiful, rich fabric underneath, padded straps that are super-comfy. But every time I wear it, I look like I'm hiking Everest. It's really bulky on my short frame and when I turn around, I feel like Flick on A Bug's Life when he's wearing that contraption to harvest grain. The bag stretches out like 2 feet behind me!

2. Loom Marsupial. It's a great bag, but for two in dipes or one with lots of food issues and med needs (DS has food allergies), the space is just too tight.

I have had minor issues with other bags, but it's mainly because they are totes and I finally figured out that I'm not a tote girl - so it's not the bag's fault ;)!

[priscilla73]

I'll have to think about this question having bought and sold 50 bags in the past year...

but I just had to say, Audrey, that your Flik visual had me cracking up because that's exactly how I felt w/ the T&L backpack!

[mommato2boys]

My diaper dude. I love this bag, love the zippers, the style,of course the camo!, and love the overall bag, BUT it just isn't big enough right now....I think I will use it as a toddler bag. Wish they would make different sizes!

[saschalicks]

I have to say for me it was the following:
1. Timi & Leslie Large Bebe: I loved it but always felt like I couldn't close it b/c it was over stuffed. I tried so many times to use it, but I kept telling myself at the end of the day that it just wasn't working.
2. Fleurville Sling Tote: I never liked carrying it. It seemed to be in between for me. In other words on quick trips it was too much bag and long trips it wasn't enough bag. With another on the way I knew I had to get rid of it. I loved the concept though.
3. Pursonality Tote: I still think this was the closest I got to perfection but when fully packed it was too heavy. Although the bag itself was lightweight I felt like I couldn't put too much in there b/c it became too heavy. Does this make any sense? I just think that there are so many bags that distribute the weight of all of the stuff better (i.e. Fleurville ST). This ones organization was great.
4. Mandalay Bay Brocade bag: the straps hurt me.
5. Skip*Hop Duo: I hated the digging b/c of the shape and I hated that with a newborn it didn't seem to hold enough.

I guess I'm still on the quest for the bag. I got the PPB Shoulder Bag for 2 under 2 we'll see how that works in a couple of months.

[tmrbwilson1998]

~Sigh~

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my A7 but am trying to sell it...alas, after having bought ST and then the A7, I find that the Fleurville bags are just too heavy before bulking it up with my stash o' baby stuff. I have gotten compliments on it the few times I have used it, and I love the organization. I love how I could be blindfolded and still easily find anything I had in that great bag. Between the weight of the bag alone and the strap being very uncomfortable and not padded enough, despite the love I have for it, this has to be my very saddest parting yet!

I also had and sold the T&L Large Bebe in Lina and although I love the sheer elegance of this great bag, the unpadded shoulder strap was enough to make me sell it after one or two outings with it!

If nothing else, I have decided that I am a comfort gal and am falling in love with my plain-jane LE diaper backpack for bigger outings with my 2 and my new small bebe in La Femme for short trips. But oh, that A7... :)

~Tina

[my3fallkiddos]

Tina,

What pattern A7 do you have and how much are you selling it for?

Thanks!

[bubbaray]

I just wanted to butt in here about the LE DIA. The latest version does have outside bottle pockets. They are on either side of the outside parent pocket. Lots of people miss them, but they are there. Not sure if that would change your mind or not. I like the DIA as a car or vacation bag. Very organized, but too heavy and big for my everyday use.

As for bags I wished had worked out, while I never bought one, I wish the Diaper Dude could be worn on the other shoulder. I would definitely have bought a camo one if I could wear it "fakey".

:)


Melissa


Maya Papaya!
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040411/3/4/1/-8/.png[/img][/url]

[tmrbwilson1998]

Hi, Carrie! If you would like to email me offline, I can email you info on the bag (sorry - not sure what the rules are here regarding selling bags, so want to be on the safe side)!

Thanks!
Tina

tmrbwilson 1998 @ yahoo . com
(no spaces)

[mommato2boys]

I just wanted to say that I have the diaper dude....in camo which is a print I am crazy about, and you can wear it over the shoulder verses the messenger style. I haven't used this bag in a while since it wasn't big enough for me at the time, BUT I used to wear it over the shoulder for quick in and quick outs, worked fine, I am not sure about long term wear....just something to think about....I just wish they would make it bigger, I could use a bigger version!

[neocorgi]

i have to say my Sling Tote. it's a very well thought of bag but somehow its shape when packed bugs me. i might list it on babybags group. such a bummer...

[bubbaray]

Yeah, you can wear it over the shouder or messenger, but when I tried it on IRL, you can only wear it messenger one way (ie., the top of the strap is on your left shoulder). I only wear my bags over my right shoulder and the diaper dude didn't hang right that way. Bummer.


Melissa


Maya Papaya!
http://lilypie.com/baby2/040411/3/4/1/-8/.png[/img][/url]

[Karen426]

>2. Loom Marsupial. It's a great bag, but for two in dipes or
>one with lots of food issues and med needs (DS has food
>allergies), the space is just too tight.

My daughter has food allergies, too. With the epi/benadryl/all her special food, I have to have a decent sized bag even for shorter outings. What bag do you use most often? I'm sort of worried how I'm going to handle 2 in March, since I can fill up the mothership now.

-Karen

[my3fallkiddos]

Actually that does make somewhat of a difference. DH and I were talking about diaper bags last night because he wants me to just make a decision already on one! :) I had returned our DIA and he told me that he wished I hadn't, and he doesn't understand why we couldn't just get an additional bottle holder/cooler. I did see some at BRU that were compact and given the room of the DIA, probably would fit inside. And I'm breastfeeding and pumping so we'd only need an insulated bottle holder for one bottle when we're out. Plus I'm considering cloth diapering and would probably need more room for that (I'm assuming?)?

One of my gripes about the DIA was that it wasn't as stylish as Oi Oi or my Kate Spade but DH pointed out I haven't found a diaper bag yet that is both stylish and functional for my needs.... true...and that function right now with packing for our two boys is more important that looks, right? (Well, not always, lol).

I reorganized my Skip Hop a few days ago and it's been just fine, if not quickly becoming one of my favorites. But if we're going to be out longer than a couple hours and would need something bigger.

But that does make a difference that there are exterior sippy/bottle holders! Thanks!

[audball]

I'm a medium to light packer for two, so I have been managing with a Fleurville A7, Chester backpack, and for longer outings the Skip Hop Dash. I think the key for me was I needed a bag that was capable of expanding a little. I loved the structure of the Loom bag, but it's not going to work for me with two...

It really depends on the age (difference) of your first one too. My DD is potty-trained/training, so we don't carry as much. And she is less finicky about snacking on the go too, so I don't need to carry as much food for her....

[Rach3975]

For me it's one that I pretended for a while was working out fine, even though in retrospect, I hated it. It was the old style (no blue lining) LE diaper backpack. I'd read some great things about it while I was pregnant, and I loved LE, so I thought I'd love it. Unfortunately, it had a cavernous black interior with no interior pockets. I hated searching for things in it, it had a bottom compartment that I never could find a good use for, and it was way too big for everyday use. I usually left it in the car and carried a few supplies for DS in a large purse. I should never have kept the bag, but at the time I knew almost nothing about diaper bags. This one looked like my pre-baby bags, so I'd gotten my heart set on it without really knowing what else was out there or how much better they could be. The experience turned me off diaper bags for a while, and I bought only non-diaper bags until DS was a year old. Then I discovered this website and all the well-organized messenger bags out there, and I haven't looked back.

[Karen426]

They will be 23 mos. apart. The diapers are the least of my worries, I guess. She's on mostly pureed food b/c I can mix her supplements and oil and all that stuff in more easily, and she's got some texture aversion issues so she's not too into "bits" of food. I can only imagine it's going to get worse when she has to have real food that doesn't fit in a little ziploc bowl. Right now we've lost dairy/egg/wheat/corn, so getting anything while out is darn near impossible. I feel like a walking health food store, hehe!

If you can get by with the A7, maybe the mothership will work for me. God help me if the next one has FAs. Then I'm going to need 2 motherships ;)

-Karen

[DeborahM]

I have two: the Timi & Leslie Baby Lulu bag and the SkipHop Duo. I just returned the T&L back to the store today, after two weeks of agonizing. I really LOVE this bag and it seemed perfect -- except the outside bottle pockets are too small to hold sippy cups, of which I have to carry four. So...back to the store.

And, I really tried to like the Duo, but hated that you couldn't really use the inside/bottom area if you used the top pockets. I've since gotten a Dash and Expo, which I like. These days I'm loving my new kelly green Dash.

Deborah
Mom to Thomas and Rachel

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif[/img] ([img)
14 months and counting

[clc053103]

PPB boxy backpack- so pretty- but in reality....the fabric pulls all over- the velcro on the flap pulls it! Un-velcroing the bag is so loud it wakes up DS (the child who sleeps through hammering). Next to no organization. It gets floppy quickly. The zip open, roll out changing pad is small and not very useful if you don't h ave a surface large enough to put your bag on. no elastic in the outside bottle pockets so things fall out....

But i just keep on carrying it- I'm not ready to give up the fight!

[julieakc]

I'm butting in too about the DIA. Like Melissa said, the current DIA does have 2 exterior bottle pockets on the outside. The look like just slits, but actually are pretty roomy. Also, the double straps have a snap to hold them together which I think is pretty convenient. I love my DIA for traveling, but it is too big for a daily bag.

[jray]

I had a Petunia Picklebottom Boxy Backpack. I loved it because I would get stopped and complimented on it ALL THE TIME. However, I was too cautious with it and was always paranoid I'd ruin it somehow.

So then I bought the Fleurville Sling Tote. It's just too small for what I need, but I loved how it strapped onto my stroller. I'll miss it. It's currently for sale on ebay. :(

Bummer...now what?

[VenusElon]

What store did you find your T&L bag? I've only seen them online.

Venus