Hi! I’m finally back! Sorry for the long hiatus - I’ve been completely exhausted so every spare second I’ve had has mostly been zombie-like or napping. Anyway, a surge of energy has found me today and I feel excited to write lots of upcoming food reviews as well. I received this bag courtesy of CSN stores. I love that company and their versatility and they never asked me to say it! On to this diaper bag that I received a couple of weeks ago in the mail.
Holy cow. This Okkatots bag is one serious backpack/diaper bag! They do an excellent job on the website showing what can all fit into this hog - but you really have no idea how big it is until you’re holding it. It’s wayyy larger than my pregnant belly which gets bigger every day! This bag is really meant for travel, and I can definitely see why. I’d say it’s the size of my small carry-on suitcase with wheels. Now, I was planning on using this for an everyday diaperbackpack when I ordered it, but now I’m thinking this is for road-trips and day-trips to games or people’s houses which will be extremely convenient. It’s amazing! This is what I am going to bring to the hospital when I have the baby since I will be able to easily organize my things, the few things baby will need the first few days of her life, and even a few things for my son and husband. I’m not even joking, it’s that big! It’ll be fantastic for trips since when we drove O to Kansas City when he was a baby, I forgot the Dr. Brown’s bottle inserts so we had to go to Target to buy some more. Everything was stuffed in the diaper bag and subsequent bags so my organization was compromised! We all know the new moms that always leave something behind since we’ve all done it and also held onto plenty of other babies’ bottles and sippy cups left at our houses. That’s because we’re all overtired and just stuffing baby gear into over-sized bags and we can’t see what’s going on, nor can we focus half the time anyway! I’d definitely use this daily if I had multiples or two even closer in age. With the Okkatots backpack, I could also pack tons of things for my three year old, but my over-sized purse normally takes care of that. Maybe he’ll get spoiled with a few more toys on-the-go now…or snacks:) For a few features so you get a better idea on what I’m talking about: changing mat, laundry bag, insulated large pocket that can hold up to 6 bottles (great for holding some bottles and a sippy for the older one), removable paci pouch, key hook, wet wipes pouch, extra side pocket, cell phone pocket, diaper dispenser that can hold up to 16 diapers, mini dvd carrier and extra organizational pockets. You can hang it open in a closet, which for me would only come in handy on trips when there’s nothing in the closet - and you can also stand it on a counter top due to the nice flat base. Since this is so large and multi-functional, it is fairly heavy. I kinda wish Okkatots would make a replica of one of these slightly smaller for daily use and also a backpack for people without kids with tons of organizational features - who don’t need a diaper dispenser, changing mat, etc… To see the page where the picture came from and some additional information, click here. I will definitely be using this bag and I already know it’s my favorite with all the features and easy to see organization, but due to the size and weight, it won’t get used every day. Basically, it’s exactly what they advertise it to be - an awesome travel bag.
Want to hear about some of my previous diaper bag dilemmas? With my first, my husband and I decided to get the camo Skip Hop Duo Deluxe in camo so that we could both carry whenever and he wouldn’t have to carry around a girly bag. After reading fantastic reviews on it, I decided it was the best bag to get. But then, hardly anything we needed fit in the darn thing - though it was very easy to attach to the stroller. My husband likes it, so we kept it, but he used it once or twice - EVER, and I went on to bigger and a little bit better bags - but nothing quite right. I then tried a large canvas diaper bag I got from Babies R Us, it was probably around $35. I love canvas bags and thought it seemed like a great compromise. Instead, the thing was so heavy and there weren’t any organizing pockets inside. A few little ones on the outside, but everything got lost! I bought a few organizing inserts to go in (clean bag, dry bag, pacifier bag, etc…) but it was still hard to find things fishing around on the bottom and not really being able to see in the bag. Plus, this bag was so darn heavy my shoulders always hurt and got all red as though I’d been squatting at the gym, but without the benefit of a toned butt and legs. Then I bought the Storksak Emily Diaper Bag in black - a nice classic bag. It was expensive but I got a deal on it somehow (I’m good at that!). This was the best of the bags I’d tried but still not exactly what I want. It’s definitely the most incognito and stylish - but the side bottle zippers didn’t quite work with my tall bottles. Also, I still lost stuff in there and of course I still over-packed it. I like to be prepared! You should see my pantry and fridge/freezers:) For the time being though, it’s going to remain my daily go-to bag until I find the perfect daily bag.