Products Post- The Letter G is for Travel

HIYAAAA!!!

With all of our recent traveling for our move and exploring our area, there have been a few items on which we heavily relied to make our trips go smoothly, and as usual, I'm going to share them!

1. The Grapple

We were lucky to run across this cool toy during our trip to Arizona at a neat shop called Zoolikins, which sold cloth diapers, safe, eco-friendly toys, and clothing. It sticks to table tops and windows, and it flips inside out to reveal three silicone, BPA-free tethers that can wrap and hook onto other toys or spoons. This toy can be manipulated easily for play in almost any location and then tucked neatly back in your bag or hooked onto your stroller/car seat for the next adventure! Baby A. has been gumming, throwing, and playing with his Grapple for months now and because it is so versatile, it probably seems like a new toy to him each time when we hook different accessories to it or put it in a new environment.

2. gDiapers

We are obviously a cloth diapering family, but when we travel, we go HYBRID!! 

gDiapers are this awesome combination of cloth and disposable that allows us to use disposable inserts that are still very safe for Baby A.'s skin, but also easy to throw away or flush away. And of course, you really can't beat the cuteness.

We started his brand new little tush in gDiapers and they are amazing. There are three parts to a gDiaper: the cute other cloth shell, the pouch/liner that snaps into the cloth shell, and the inserts that actually catch the waste. There are cloth and disposable inserts available for gDiapers, and when you're done with one insert, you just pull it out and pop in a new one of either variety. The disposable inserts are biodegradable and therefore can be flushed down a toilet or composted. When we are out and about, we generally just throw them in a trash can like a regular diaper, or if we are literally on the road when Baby A. needs a change, we toss them in little doggy doody bags! When some poo gets smushed onto the pouch, you can very easily just snap a new one in and keep moving. 

There have been a few moments in our cloth diapering journey when I figured regular disposables would work just fine and be less hassle, but every time we have ever tried it, even with expensive brands like the Honest Company, Baby A. gets a terrible rash, pees through the diaper, or manages to pull it off himself. Now we just know better and stick to our cloth, and our g's are clutch when we travel!!

Doing the Daddy rock in his gDiaper

3. Go Bag!!

Okay. So this one is a stretch on the themed g-name, haha. But it's so key, especially when we travel, near or far. My current bag has been serving me so well, both in looks and function. I started with a traditional style diaper bag from Skip Hop, with some nautical lines, and I realized I most enjoyed carrying it like a cross body bag; however, it wasn't meant for that and was very uncomfortable. I also don't generally care for the bottle holding pockets on most diaper bags; we don't use them often and they become wasted space. This Timi & Leslie Metro Messenger bag has been perfect. It is very cute to the point where I don't think it looks like a diaper bag, and I have carried it with non-diaper essentials; it is also light weight but can fit a lot. I love the cross carry ability, and of course, it comes with all the usual necessities: lots of compartments, a changing pad, a wipe-able inside fabric, and easy access. I probably overload mine still and I am working on packing a little lighter when we are only leaving the house for a few hours (why do I always need 6+ diapers?!) Finally, I was able to snag this bag at Target for $99, and I had a gift card so I really only paid $45 that day!!! 

I typically carry diapers, wipes, chapstick, wallet, keys, phone, an extra onesie/outfit, and a snack in my bag these days, but all sorts of stuff ends up in there by the end of the day, and having that top flap open quickly with one hand so I can shove in whatever Baby A. has thrown on the ground is so clutch. It was really the perfect bag in the city, too, because it had the stroller attachments on each side, but it also slid around to my back so easily, as well as tucked under seats at restaurants unobtrusively. 

While I love this bag, my back has suffered a little from the one-sided carry (if you can switch sides, you'd be fine), so I am crushing on some backpacks that double as diaper bags, like these Monroe-on-the-Go backpacks by Vilah Bloom:

I mean, check out these graphics:

Alas, for now it will have to remain a dream I work to budget. As Baby A. is getting a little more active, I am looking for something a bit more versatile for say, a pool day, or an outing where I can't bring my stroller. 

Hope these products give you some good ideas for your next trip with a little!!

-Big A.