Diaper Bag Essentials: 6-12 Months

Here’s a great list of diaper bag essentials for babies 6-12 months old! Some great tips in here you may not have thought of!

Last month I shared tips for what to keep in your diaper bag for the first six months of baby’s life. And yes, there are a lot of things! The next stage is just the same, with lots of things that you need to keep handy when you are on the go. As your baby grows and changes, so should what is in your diaper bag!

So just like last month, this post is focused on what you should always have in your diaper bag with a baby, but now a baby who is between 6-12 months. Little A will be six-months-old on Wednesday, so I better make sure I have all of this in my diaper bag ASAP!

And if you read the first post in this diaper bag essentials series, you will notice that some of these are repeats, but they’re important to have in your diaper bag at this age, too!

Diaper Bag Essentials for 6-12 Months

Diapers

I feel like I don’t need to explain this one. You never know when you are going to need to change your baby. And make sure you always have at least two or three diapers with you.

Wipes

Obviously you need baby wipes to go along with diapers. You can’t change a diaper without wipes!

Changing pad

If you have changed a baby in public you know that sometimes the changing tables in public restrooms are disgusting. Or sometimes you don’t even have access to a fold-down changing table and you need to change your baby on the floor or in the back of the car. It helps so much to have a changing pad!

I made my own changing pad and it has a place for diapers and wipes so you can just grab it all at once when you are on the go. It also helps you stay more organized inside the diaper bag!

Extra outfits

Yes, outfits, as in plural. I can’t even tell you how many times we were out in public with one of the kids and they had not one, but two “incidents” where I had to change their clothes, and I didn’t have anything to change them into. It’s not so fun to have to bring baby home in their car seat when they just have a diaper on.

Nursing cover or bottle & formula (depending on if you are breastfeeding or bottle-feeding)

My babies usually like to eat every 2 hours until they are older, so if we go anywhere longer than an hour-and-a-half, things get rough. I always bring my nursing cover with me when I am breastfeeding.

If you are bottle-feeding, make sure you always have a bottle and some formula in your bag. You never know if you are going to get stuck somewhere and need to feed your baby!

Burp rag

Regardless of whether your baby is a big spit-upper, you will want to keep a burp rag in your diaper bag. My kids have been good eaters with minimal (if any) spit-up, but every once in a while it happens, and you want to be prepared!

Pacifier

Pacifiers are the greatest when you are going out in public and your baby starts crying. Obviously, if your baby won’t take one, you probably don’t need to bring one in your bag, but pacifiers can be a lifesaver in quiet places!

Toy for baby

Now that your little one wants to grab everything and be entertained all the time, you will want to make sure you pack a toy or two. I love ones that make noise or are designed for teething. And bonus points if you can attach the toy onto baby’s car seat so she can’t accidentally knock it out of the car seat while you are out!

Book for baby

Again, when your little one wants to be entertained, a book is a great idea. Sometimes you will be somewhere where you can’t get baby out (or don’t want to) to play, and a book is a great way to keep them busy. And those little board books are the perfect size for your diaper bag, too!

Healthy snack for Mom

Since I have Little J’s toddler stuff in my diaper bag, I often snack on his snacks, but I love having something healthy in there for me, too. I guess technically this isn’t an essential, but I promise you will love having it in there!

Snack for baby

Now that your little one is big enough to be eating solid foods, you will want to make sure you keep a snack in there for her! You can have something like those little puff snacks that are easy to grab and dissolve, or if your baby is closer to her birthday, you might want to put something like graham crackers. And squeeze pouches are always a plus when you go out to dinner and baby wants to eat, too!

Anything else you need

This might include hand sanitizer, chapstick, lady time essentials, or your wallet. Anything that you’d put in your purse for yourself, put in your diaper bag.

Sanitizing wipes

Yes, you already have regular baby wipes in there, but you don’t want to go anywhere with your baby without sanitizing wipes. I always wipe carts off at the store so it’s nice to have these. Another thing I’ve noticed is that people are ALWAYS touching babies’ hands. So when someone comes up and says “oh your baby is so cute!” and then proceeds to touch their little hand, you can make sure you wipe it off before they put their little hand in their mouth.

So those are my diaper bag essentials for the babies 6-12-months-old. I hope they are super helpful for you!

Check back next month to see my diaper bag essentials for toddlers! And let me know in the comments if you think there are any essential item that I forgot!