Nappy Caddy

What is a nappy caddy?

A nappy caddy is a basket filled with all that you nee for yourself and your baby in the newborn days. It is a convenient way to keep all your baby products, as well as your own products for postpartum all together in one basket.

 

Why should I use a nappy caddy?

A nappy caddy is for convenience. After having a baby, you’ll spend a whole lot of your time feeding baby, comforting baby, and changing nappies. Having a nappy caddy means you’ll have all the baby items you need all together in one spot, and you can carry it all around the house with you. If you are feeding baby on the couch, you can have your spare breast pads, a snack, and water bottle ready for you. You can have your baby’s nappies, wipes, and a change of clothes all ready for baby when you need it, wherever you are in the house. You can keep your nappy caddy in your bedroom with you, meaning you never have to get out of bed to change baby’s nappy overnight. If you’re in a double story house, take your nappy caddy downstairs with you so you don’t need to keep going up and down the stairs to a change table to get everything you need.

A nappy caddy is a convenient way you can get yourself organised before your baby’s birth, and something convenient to carry with you throughout your house and have everything you need.

 

What to put in your nappy caddy:

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As a seasoned mum of two, I have used a nappy caddy with both of my children, and found them very convenient. Here is a list of everything that I put in my nappy caddies for my newborns. Of course, everyone is a little different and you may have different needs for yourself or your baby. You also may find that you need different things in your nappy caddy for your baby as they get older.

Here is my list of what to put in your nappy caddy for baby:

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• Nappies: obviously one of the main things you will need throughout the day is nappies. Add in about 10 newborn nappies. That will get you through at least one day, and you can refill it as you need to at the end of the day

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• Wipes: Add a pack or two of wipes to your nappy caddy. These are also great for cleaning up any spills or cleaning your hands

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• A change mat: A change mat is useful to keep your fabrics clean while changing baby

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• A change of clothes: Add in a jumpsuit, a spare singlet, socks and any other clothing items you need for your baby. Babies can go through a lot of clothing, especially as newborns

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• Nappy change cream: you’ll use a lot of this, especially in the early days of having a newborn. These creams also make great moisturising creams for other parts of baby’s body as well.

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• Muslin wrap or swaddle: If you are swaddling your baby, put a couple of spare muslin wraps or swaddles in your nappy caddy. These will be useful for when putting your baby to sleep throughout the day or to help comfort them.

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• Burp cloths: Take a few wash cloths, or some designated burp cloths. Many babies spit up a lot, so these will be extra handy. Put them over your shoulder when you burp the baby, or use them to wipe up any spills of milk or spit up

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• Spare dummies: If you are using dummies with your baby, put in some extra dummies. Dummies are something that constantly go missing, or fall on the floor and get dirty. Having some spares is always handy!

 

As well as having everything you need for baby in your nappy caddy, you also need to think about what you need as well. In your postpartum period, especially in the early days, there will be a few things that you will need that will help make life easier. I recommend putting these into your nappy caddy so you can have them handy whenever you need them throughout the day. If you are breastfeeding, you’ll need plenty of nursing pads and some breastfeeding supplies. If you aren’t breastfeeding, you can remove these from your list.

 

Here is my full list of what to put in your nappy caddy for mum:

• Water bottle: You’ll get very thirsty in the postpartum period, especially if you’re breastfeeding. Keep a water bottle in your nappy caddy and keep it full throughout the day

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• A snack: as well as being thirsty, you’ll also likely be very hungry. Keep some easy snacks in your nappy caddy and refill them at the end of the day or as necessary. I recommend lactation biscuits, as these are delicious and nutritious.

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• Lip balm: Keep some lip balm in your nappy caddy. Even if you don’t usually experience dry of chapped lips, it’s very common to experience these in the postpartum period

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• Moisturiser: Put your favourite moisturiser or lotion in your nappy caddy so you can use it as necessary throughout the day.

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• Hand sanitiser: When you’re changing baby’s nappy all day, getting milk and spit up all over yourself, including your hands, hand sanitiser is a necessity to keep yourself clean and healthy

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• Spare nursing pads: If you’re breastfeeding, you’ll likely need a lot of these to keep your clothing clean and dry. You need to change them regularly, so keep a stash in your nappy bag. I recommend using reusable ones, and you can just throw these in with your washing at the end of the day.

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• Silicone breast pump and milk saver: If you’re new to breastfeeding, I can’t recommend one of these enough! It’s a little silicone pump that you place onto your breast while the baby feeds on the other side, and it catches all the let down that would otherwise end up on your nursing pads. It’s a really easy way to collect milk so you can start to build a freezer stash of milk

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• Nursing balm: In the early days of breastfeeding, your nipples can become tender or sore, and sometimes even cracked. A nursing balm is great to put om between feeds and help soothe and heal sore, dry or cracked nipples.

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• Phone charger: if you’ve got a spare phone charger, it’s a great idea to put it into your nappy caddy to avoid your phone going flat at an inconvenient time.

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• Spare maternity pads: While you are probably not going to be changing these anywhere but the bathroom, it can be handy to have some in your nappy caddy for emergencies, and so you know you have some close by for when you need to run to the bathroom to change them in a hurry.

 

As your baby grows, you may find that you don’t need all of these things in your nappy caddy for a long time. Or you may find that there are additional items that you find really useful that you want to add. One of the great things about the nappy caddy is that you can just throw everything in as you need, and take out any items that aren’t being used. Pack the things that are important and convenient for you and your own individual baby, and get rid of what you don’t need.

You and your baby are both individuals, and you may need something completely different to someone else!

Isn’t a nappy caddy something just for nappies and wipes?

For some people yes, a nappy caddy can be something just to carry around basics for baby like nappies and wipes. I think one of the things that makes the nappy caddy so useful and so convenient, as that you can put whatever you will need throughout the day and night in your nappy caddy. This will of course include nappies and wipes, but I also think it’s a great idea to add things you need, such as a water bottle, fresh nursing pads, a snack, a phone charger, lip balm, and anything else you might need!

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Need more convenient items? Check out our hospital bag for mum page, our hospital bag for baby page, or our nappy bag essentials page.