Baby changing bags

by Bex

I suspect most of you who read Olive Dragonfly also read Florence Finds.  Obviously being about 17 weeks behind Rebecca in my pregnancy, she has already covered a lot of baby related things on Florence Finds and I sometimes feel like I might be boring people when I write about the same things (like my buggy thoughts and now changing bags - I swear I didn't copy her with the Cosatto Pixelate idea, I was just excited that one as colourful as that came as an option for twins!)  Obviously my thoughts are different and with twins the buggy options certainly were but I am thrilled that I can get ideas from reading Rebecca's finds as well as all the comments she's been receiving recommending various products!!  (Also, SO glad that I haven't been jealously avoiding her blog for these last few months as would have likely been the case if our IVF story had never worked out!)  Of course, I'm still going to write about these things anyway as this is my story and I'm excited about getting to choose these things too.  :)

So, changing bags.  Florence Finds was actually my jump start into thinking about this particular baby item and she received SO many comments recommending various brands or pointing out things to think about from people who actually had babies and really knew what was needed when making a changing bag choice!  As Rebecca also mentioned, our very own Roz was raving about the options available in TK Maxx and that happens to be where I ended up buying mine as well.  Thanks Rebecca and Roz!  :)  Roz and I went shopping right after my 20 week scan (she's clearly my lucky charm as the 2 previous TK Maxx stores I'd tried had been a total changing bag let down!) since Nik had had to rush back to his on call shift (thanks also to the person who took the bleep for a couple of hours so he could be at the scan!!)

Most of the ones I had narrowed it down to were different to those I saw featured on FF so here were my choices in case you fancy a nosey...

Anna K recommended her bag from babymoov which is particularly designed to be easily accessed with one hand - very handy when juggling one baby never mind two!  This was actually my favourite design - I love the colours and look of the bag, it seemed spacious and had all the bits you might want (buggy clips, changing mat, lots of sections to keep everything organised).  It has good reviews and Nik also liked this one the best of all the ones I pinned and we were planning on trying to find one to have a look at but never actually saw it in 'real life'.  £54.99 from Tesco

Seeing the Skip Hop grey & lime green design amongst Rebecca's choices, it definitely made the list and was a serious contender when we saw it in John Lewis while we looked at buggies.  I loved the bright green lining of course and again, it had all 'the bits' and was very spacious.  It was softer than a lot of the other options too - some of them are very stiff.  The only downside to this one was the lack of cross body strap option, also the buggy clips were only attached to the lining and I would be worried about this tearing when hanging the weight of all the baby paraphernalia required, especially for twins!  £65 from John Lewis.

Another brand mentioned in the comments was Sophia & Matt, £85-£129, this was one of the pricier options and although they are a British brand and very well thought out with what sounds like excellent customer service and very good quality products, none of the design options really appealed to me.  This purple spot one was my favourite but doesn't really go with my colour choice for the buggy (I am a bit weird about things matching sometimes).

So the one we ended up with from TK Maxx (although I do think I want to see the babymoov before deciding whether to ultimately keep this one, I now have 28 days to decide) was by Lassig, an award winning German brand and the only one I liked from the choice in store.  Similar to Roz, it wasn't a brand I'd heard of before finding it in TK Maxx.  $119.99 from Babies R Us (obviously the US site, I can't find it in the UK).  The picture below really doesn't do it justice as the colours look much nicer in real life!  I've included some pics of my own underneath.  It has cream and teal which will match our buggy as well as lots of other nice bright colours (including an ALMOST olive green!)  I got mine for £37.99 reduced from £83 in TK Maxx!  We do love a bargain!

It has LOADS of different sections with all the extras too.  A decent sized changing mat, an insulated bottle holder which clips in and out, a removable pouch, cross-body strap and buggy clips.  There's also a wet pocket and lots of little sections to keep all my bits organised and the outside feels like oilcloth so it should survive being out in the rain.  It has anti-microbial properties and is made with sustainable fabrics.  You can see it in much more detail in this Youtube review.

The 2 main pockets are really easy to get into with zips that go almost to the bottom, there are plenty of internal pockets too and pouches for mobile phone, sunglasses, etc.  It's a great size for everything I think we'll need for the twins as well as my own stuff!

There's a pocket for baby wipes which gives access to them without having to take the packet out, making it easier to get one out without having to use your other hand to hold the pack down.

Nik also loves it which is great as I don't want him to feel self conscious when he's out and about with it and the twins.