What's In My (Nappy) Bag

This month on instagram I am playing along with Fat Mum Slim's Photo A Day.  It has been pretty fun so far but I am saving those photos to share with you at the end of the month.  Today's prompt, however, was in your bag and that inspired me to do this post.  I have been wanting to do one for a while and thought it might be fun to see what is in my nappy bag.

Bag - Colette by Colette Hayman - I love this bag.  It's giant and fits everything we need in it plus it has loads of pockets so I can easily access the important stuff like my phone and car keys.

Bottle Bag & Bottles - because my bag isn't actually a baby bag I bought this little bottle bag to hold Imogen's bottles.  I usually take 2 with me everywhere I go even if we are just ducking out for 5 minutes.

Spare Clothes & Bib - I always carry at least 1 spare outfit for Imogen just in case.  If we are going out for the entire day I take 2 to be safe.

Change Mat - this change mat was like $6 from Big W and comes in super handy when we are out somewhere that doesn't have a parents room.  It is shiny on the inside so I can just wipe it down after using it.  It also has a pocket in it so if I am ducking out for 5 minutes I can pop a nappy and some wipes in it and chuck it in my smaller handbag.

Wipes - how cute is this wipes case! It was a gift from a friend.  It is just a huggies travel mat case that has been decorated with fabric and trim. I love it!

Nappies - of course there is always a stash of nappies.  I use Aldi brand nappies.  They are so good!  I have had no issues with them at all and they work out heaps cheaper than the other brands.

Wraps - I always take two wraps with us, one light and one heavy.  We use the light one mostly because it is quite warm here now but the heavier one comes in handy for when we are in air con.

Make Up Bag - my makeup bag always has my powder, mascara, lip gloss, concealer, eye liner and 2 favourite lipsticks.  All my other makeup (foundation, blush etc) stays at home unless we are going somewhere overnight.

Necessities - phone, camera, car keys, pen and sunglasses.  Can't live without them!  All these go in the little pockets throughout my bag so I can find them nice and easy.

Notebook, Diary, Health Record - I have to carry my notebook for when ideas hit.  My diary is so I can remember all the appointments that I have booked in.  I am a shocker at remembering things at the moment so a diary is essential.  The health record is given to every baby born in Queensland and the doctors and midwives record all their visits in there.  It also keeps track of their immunisations.

So that is what I carry in my nappy bag.  There are some things that go in and out of there as well like curash cream, loose change, receipts, rubbish!  It can get pretty out of control sometimes.

So to the mums out there what do you carry in your nappy bag?  Is there anything you think I should add as Imogen gets older?

Baby Shower Invitations

Aren't these the cutest baby shower invitations ever!!!  They have just been sent out for my baby shower that my mum is hosting and I just had to share.

The best thing about them is you can download them for free. Yep, free!  They come from the On To Baby website.  They have heaps of free printables and you can customise the colours and print them from home.  So quick and so easy and so super duper adorable!!!  Oh and excuse the blurry bits but I wanted to block out surnames, addresses and phone numbers.

Squishy's First Blanket

I have been wanting to make some things for Squishy but am finding it hard since we don't know Squishy's gender yet.  I thought to stay safe for the next 3 weeks while we wait to find out that I would stick to making toys and homewares type stuff that I could make unisex.

First up I decided to crochet a quick blanket for the stroller.  The stroller we bought is red so being anal about colour coordination I had to have something that would match.  I chose red, teal and blue because I thought it could be unisex.  Also, it goes perfectly with the red stroller.

I decided on a simple granny square blanket.  I used a 5mm (H) hook and 8 ply yarn.  I made a bunch of squares then lined them up inside the stroller and decided that 5 squares by 4 squares would be the perfect size.  I love granny squares because once you have made them a couple of times they are so quick and you can make them while watching tv.  I have so much more that I want to make for Squishy and am having loads of fun crossing things off the list.  I just can't wait until we find out the gender so I can knit up some cute jumpers and sew some cute clothes.

Midnight Baby Blanket

In my post about my stash I mentioned I was working on a project that would use up some of my stash. Well this is that project. I knitted it as a present for Corey's sister who is due to have a baby in September.

Pattern: Sunny Baby Blanket by Lucy Sinkler

Yarn: Holiday 8 ply in Navy Blue

Needles: 5mm circulars (for the length)

Date Started: 2nd July 2011

Date Ended: 18th July 2011

This project was super easy to knit. I knit a bit each night while watching tv and it took just over 2 weeks. It would be a great project for a beginner because it is just knit and purl stitches but the alternating keeps it interesting.

I used up 3 x 100g balls of this yarn from my stash. I still have 4 more balls of this yarn but I do have one more project that I want to make with this yarn. Although it will probably not even use a ball. I have also started one more knitting project last night which should be a super fast knit and will also use up a couple of balls of yarn. I want to try and knit at least a quarter of my stash before I buy any new yarn. But who knows if that will happen. Fingers crossed!!!

Roko The Monkey

Last night I finally finished this monkey I have been working on for our new nephew who is due in about 5 weeks. I named him Roko because that is one of the name's being tossed around by the parent's to be for the little bubba. Roko is the name of one of the uncles of bubba to be.

Pattern: Tucker the Monkey by Tracy Chapman

Needles: 3.25mm straight

Yarn: Moda Vera Marvel Plain 8ply

Time Taken: 2.5 weeks

Actual Knitting Time: approx 12 hours.

Raveled here

I always expect small toys like this to be quick to knit up but I forget they have to be knitted in tiny pieces that then all have to be joined together and all the ends sewn in. Although however long they seem to take me I always get a lot of joy out of knitting toys. They are just so cute and you can change their personality simply in the way you embroider their facial features. We also have another nephew due in September and I have a new baby cousin due in October who I am also going to knit something up for. I knitted a bunny rabbit which you can see here for the last baby born in our family so this is kind of become a tradition for me.

I was also thinking of doing up some tutorials and posts about learning to knit. I really love knitting and I always get comments from people saying they want to learn how to knit. I thought I could do some basic posts about different yarns and needles to begin with then some videos on casting on, knit, purl, casting off and the maybe branch out into increasing and decreasing and maybe some more difficult stitches. Let me know if that is something you would be interested in cause I think it would be fun!