I have a confession: Sometimes I dread going to church. As a mom, surviving Sundays is the only thing on my mind from Saturday night until the final “Amen” on Sunday afternoon. I dread the thought of not being able to keep my little fireball entertained through the three-hour long service and of being an out-of-control parent. I laugh at myself as I admit this because part of my job as a labor doula is to help birthing women maintain a sense of control. In my role as a mom, I sometimes need someone or something supporting me! Like many doulas that carry the mysterious birthing bag, I too have a magical bag for surviving Sundays at church. Having a well-prepared diaper bag that matures and changes for the needs of my child is how I’ve managed to survive church so far. I like to imagine that if the fictitious child-whisperer, Mary Poppins, were to meet me that she would be thrilled by the well-thought contents in my bag!
I’ll never forget the first time I packed a diaper bag to leave the house for church. I was immediately overwhelmed and stressed! “Will I need to bring more than this? Am I packing too much?” Even though I had searched Pinterest a thousand times with the hopes of finding information to help me pack the perfect diaper bag, I was still unsure of myself. In fact, besides the stroller, car seat, pump, and baby; my poor husband ended up toting two over-packed diaper bags out the door that early morning.
Since I’ve been packing a Sunday diaper bag for over a year now, I thought I would write a series highlighting age-appropriate tips for surviving Sundays, from birth through young children. In honor of the friends in my life who are expecting, this first post is for you!
Surviving Sundays, Age 0-3 Months:
Good news! At 0-3 month babies are pretty easy and need little in the way of entertaining. Newborns will eat, sleep, and poop, making packing a bag pretty simple! The bad news: Gas and colic are typical for babies in the first three months of life. If this is true for your newborn, consider adding gas drops/gripe water to your bag. While you won’t be packing as much as far as toys go, you will be making up for it with other items.
- Diapers: Newborn babies tend to poop, a lot! If my child was going to poop, it was going to be at church (or on the way to church). From my experience, a newborn will use anywhere from 10-14 diapers a day. Consider packing at least five diapers in the diaper bag, and then keep extra stashed in the car.
- Extra Clothes: Babies between the ages of 0-3 months poop a lot (did I mention newborn babies poop a lot?)! That is also the time when infants tend to have some pretty messy diapers. If my baby was ever going to have a blowout diaper, it was going to be at church (or on the way to church). I also keep an extra outfit in the bag just in case, as well as a simple onesie as a backup for the backup clothes.
- Disposable Bags: Little baggies are fabulous for keeping a poopie diaper from smelling bad, but also for keeping your diaper bag clean when baby’s clothes get nasty. They don’t take up a lot of space, so I keep them on hand all the time.
- Diaper Changing Accessories: I don’t think I have to say much more on the amount of baby poop. So wipes, rash cream, and a changing pad are pretty significant.
- Burp Rags/Cloth Diapers: My daughter went through a spitting up phase, as most newborn babies do. I recommend packing at least one burp rag to wipe up the abundance of baby spit-up.
- Bottles/Feeding Accessories: Baby’s will eat every 2 hours or more at this age, so pack enough milk! If you breastfeed (More tips for breastfeeding at church), consider throwing extra nursing pads in the bag, as well as nipple cream and a nursing cover.
- Pacifiers and Clips: I am unashamedly a pacifier mom! I’d much rather my baby have a pacifier in her mouth than potentially someone else’ finger. Yikes!
- Comfort Item: As a new parent, I liked the idea of helping my infant create an attachment with something that would be familiar from home and travel-friendly. We started using the same blanket immediately after birth for sleeping, nursing, riding in the car, and church. It didn’t take long for her to find the blanket comforting and now my daughter carries her blankie everywhere. When I need my daughter to snuggle quietly at church; blankie comes out of the magical diaper bag.
- Baby Carrier: Baby wearing is particularly useful when your little one is a newborn. Besides being very soothing for the baby, and it also gives you the ability to keep people from invading your newborn’s personal space (ugh, germs and immature immune system).
- Toys and Teethers: Your infant probably won’t be interested in a toy yet, but it’s good to have one on hand. At the age of 0-3 months, your little one may not show it much attention. My baby started teething at two-months-old (2 teeth by 3 months which isn’t fun), so I found it helpful to have at least one.
Unfortunately, there isn’t a perfect formula for packing a diaper bag, and sometimes you won’t know except through trial and error. I do hope this helps those moms who are packing their first diaper bag for church, and if you need to bring two over-packed bags to feel confident (like I did), that is ok! You’ve got this mom!
Hey, moms! What did you pack for your newborn’s first church experience? Do you have and tips for helping moms with surviving Sundays?
*If you’re on Instagram, show us how you are surviving Sundays with #SurvivingSundays and #MAMC.
