Why I have an Emergency baby kit in my car

Before I had kids, there was an incident that has taught me to forever place a “just in case” kiddo emergency stash in my car. 

 

The first weekend of August there is 100 miles of garage sales along Highway 141 in Iowa.  My house is the prime site for this event and for the past six years a group of people haul stuff over and we sell.  A few years back, two friends came over and one had a five week baby boy.  We celebrated the end of the sales one night by going out to dinner.  All of us got in one car and headed the 20 miles to the restaurant; half way there the new momma noticed she didn’t have the diaper bag.  “It will be fine, no need to turn around now” would later be regretted.  We settled into Red Lobster, ordered our food, and finally was relaxing when we noticed the smell.    As the waitress came with the salads, two friends headed into the bathroom to find out what was going on with the baby. 

 

The one’s husband and I ate our salads before we saw them again, just as the meal came the driver came and retrieved her keys.  It was about fifteen minutes before we saw them come out of the bathroom, naked baby wrapped in a spare Iowa State t-shirt that thankfully was in the trunk.  We asked for our food to-go and paid the bill.

 

The poor thing had a major blow out, diaper-clothes-car seat.  Although I wasn’t in that bathroom, I laugh out loud of the thought of seeing the two nearly hosing down the infant with wet paper towels and making due with a t-shirt.  As parents, we have to make do sometimes!

 

For that reason, when I was packing all the bags in preparation for Grant, the car got one too.  In a small bag there is the following:

 

·         A onesie (a sizes too big so you don’t have to change it very often)

·         Three diapers (they were the bigger size in the beginning but now we carrying what we are in)

·         A sample size of wipes or small pack of Kleenex wipes

·         A pacifier, not the favorite but he would take it if the other option was to be without

·         Two instant formula sticks (individual pack that makes a 4oz bottle-upgraded now to the toddle kind)

·         An empty bottle or Sippy cup (my emergency car kit has a couple things of water)

·         A pair of footie pjs (a size to big)

·         Sample size lotion, diaper cream, and hand sanitizer

·         Bib (disposable works great for this)

·         Socks

·         Small blanket

·         Breast pads and sample nipple cream, if nursing

 

Add-ons for age:

·         A snack:    Mum-Mums and single pack Ella Kitchen’s Cookie

·         A toy/book

·         Cheap tennis shoes (for when they have on sandals and have an activity that needs closed toe)

·         Teething tablets

 

We have used this so much!  It sits in the back of the hatch right above the spare tire.  The hubby loves that it is there and doesn’t have to worry about if the diaper bag is reloaded if he wants to run an errand with Grant.  It has saved us in church when the just nursed baby was extra hungry and the diaper bag didn’t have a bottle nipple or when a major diaper incident ran your wipes container dry.   

 

The garage hook also has a ziplock with three diapers, Kleenex wipes, toddler juice box, and a prepackaged snack for anyone taking Grant out and about for short time (daddy’s car/work truck, a wagon ride, getting picked up by Nana from daycare, eating at the neighbors, etc…)

 

Hope this prevents at least one "Red Lobster" type incident out there! 

 

Here is a photo of my hubby napping with that five week old baby boy-way back when...