Friday, February 26, 2010

The Perfect Diaper Bag – My First Giveaway is a Huge One!

Over at Grandparents.com I moderate the New Grandparents group which is growing all the time. There actually are a lot of grandparents-to-be who come and join to share their joy and concerns and sometimes they ask about what are good gifts for them to give to their daughters and daughters-in-law. Although all of us first time grandmothers can’t wait to buy “cute” stuff we really have a responsibility to help “Keep it Real.” This means helping avoiding waste and poor purchases that have to be duplicated with something better latter. Recently I wrote about my frustration with car seats. But today I have a great product to recommend without reservation.
Another complicated purchase is a diaper bag – yes, grandparents – a diaper bag. I remember always digging in the bottom for something that I absolutely needed and periodically not having it and every so often taking everything out of the bag and starting over. I shopped with my daughter for her diaper bag and much like the car seat not much has changed in the last 30 years – except that now they have some ridiculously expensive “boutique” bags.
We’ll guess what – I have just recently learned about Mrs. Smith’s Diaper Bags and it is indeed a big improvement. This bag has some unique features including a drawer at the bottom of the bag – that’s right a drawer – and it is easily changed from being used as a messenger bag into a backpack. The bag is roomy, yet lightweight. But what I liked most is its organization and ability to find things that are most often lost in the bottom somewhere. There is, of course, the convenient changing pad, but there are also three insulated pockets for bottles, sippy cups or baby food. On the outside there are two pockets good for bottles, pacifiers, toys, etc and a big pocket to slide thin things into.
But the really big deal about this bag has got to be the drawer. At the bottom of the bag is a pull out drawer – that comes all the way out – and is a generous 3 1/2 inches deep. It has three compartments so it can easily be used for three different things.
The other reviewing bloggers and people leaving comments on Mrs. Smith’s website and Amazon.com all talk about the drawer. Mrs. Smith’s website has the story of how the drawer idea emerged. It is the story of Rachel Smith being in an airport with a delayed plane and a toddler and baby. In searching for her son’s toy train she spilled her baby’s bottle and wound up with a wet and messy diaper bag. The insulated pockets and drawer idea came to her later when she was settled in on the plane.
Everyone has their own idea of what the drawer is best used for. Although it looks like the perfect place for baby food and pacifiers to me, one commenter whose baby was in day care said it was the perfect place to put her baby’s clothes. I can see using one compartment for socks and others for tops and bottoms. You could just replenish each day what was used. I didn’t have to deal with bringing a baby to day care but many parents do today. Parents who bring their children to day care will love this bag because they can easily see what they have packed and will never forget something important. Diaper bags get used for longer than you think and I suspect that how the drawers are used will be different for a toddler than for a baby.

If you are a walking or hiking family – or one who takes little ones on airplanes – I think you’ll love the conversion to backpack feature of this bag. And it is super easy to do. Men love that one of the color design options is black. Actually, black is one of the best sellers and the color I chose for my sample.

For full disclosure, Mrs. Smith’s Diaper Bags did provide me with a sample bag for review which I am able to keep. Thank you Mrs. Smith very much. I have not received compensation for this review and I do not have a personal relationship with this company. Any product review I do on this blog is an honest evaluation of my personal opinion. I do not review products favorably for compensation.

You can purchase a Mrs. Smith’s diaper bag at K Mart or on Amazon.com. Just click below to purchase via Amazon.

L

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