Best Diaper Bag for Toddler and Newborn

There are so many styles of diaper bags out there. Some are practical, some look pretty, and some are just too big or small. I’m here to share with you some different styles I have tried and tested over the years and which is the best diaper bag for toddler and newborn.

Whether you are a tote style mom, a backpack style mom, or a traditional diaper bag mom there is something out there for you. I’m here to help you find the best diaper bag for toddler and newborn.

Even if you only have one kid, these can help you decide which is best for you!

I have been through all of these and let me tell you now, I have liked each one for different phases of my life with toddler and newborn and eventually a toddler and preschooler.

I will give a run down of each style and then share which is my favorite and why.

Lets jump right in.

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Traditional Diaper Bag Style

You know the ones, the bigger sort of chunkier style ones that everyone swears by. The one I had was a Petunia Picklebottom one I got gifted from my baby shower.

Now I didn’t register for this one because it is on the pricey side, but the parents from the class I was teaching at the time pitched in and got it as a gift.

This diaper bag was pretty. It was soft and durable. It even had a built in changing pad that folded up into the bag, but was also detachable to wash it.

It has a zipper pocket and it had bottle pouches. It even had a pocket on each side which I used to store my phone and some pacifiers.

It even came with a (rather small) diaper wipe container that matched the bag.

It was definitely a “fashionable” diaper bag. It had a long strap attachment so you could wear it as a cross-body and even had clips on the side that you could attach to a stroller.

It had everything. Except enough storage pockets to keep everything in place inside the bag.

I noticed that my stuff would get all tossed around or squished at the bottom because there were no dividers or anything to keep everything separated. So items would get lost in the pit of the bag.

I stopped using this because my toddler grew and I needed to be able to keep up with her, so I switched to a diaper bag backpack.

Backpack Diaper Bag Style

Now since my newborn grew up and out grew the traditional diaper bag, I got a backpack one to be able to throw on and still have both hands free to chase her around.

I got this Eddie Baurer one from Target. It was around $40-50. (linked one is slightly different than the one I have because they are sold out)

It worked great for what I needed it to do at the time. It had multiple zipper pockets and wipes pocket on the outside for easy access.

It had an insulated pocket on the outside for snacks or bottle.

It had pockets and even came with a changing pad (which was rather thin to be honest).

It had plenty of storage. Storage was definitely not the issue. It even worked wonders with traveling and being able to store tons of stuff in each of the pockets.

My issue with this one, which may seem crazy or petty to you, but it wasn’t “cute enough”. It was very practical and my husband loved carrying it because it wasn’t “girly”.

But as a mom who felt like I was losing a bit of myself, I wanted the “cute and girly” bag. I wanted a bag that was practical AND fashionable.

I used this bag for awhile until I decided my toddler at the time was getting old enough that she did not need a ton of stuff all the time and I could just keep the necessities in my trunk tote.

Then when I had my youngest daughter, I decided this time around I would get my fashionable and practical bag.

But I still didn’t want to spend a fortune because I knew eventually they would both not need me to carry their life supplies in my bag.

Tote Diaper Bag with Organizer Insert

Which leads me to this option. I decided I wanted a cute tote that I would be able to use even after my kids outgrew the need for a “diaper bag”.

A tote bag option allowed me to feel like myself and not like I was lugging around a chunky diaper bag full of my kids’ items.

So for my birthday, my mom got me this Michael Kors tote bag we found at Nordstrom Rack. This bag is normally a couple hundred dollars but because we found it at the Rack, it was only around $100.

So I got this bag which I love. But the only problem was because it wasn’t a traditional diaper bag, or even a diaper bag at all, it didn’t have any storage.

It has one small zipper pocket and two small open pockets on the inside.

This was discouraging until I found these diaper bag organizers from Totesavvy.

These inserts come in multiple sizes and aren’t just for baby stuff and diaper bags. They can work for any tote and for any occasion.

But I did decide on the diaper bag option which had ample enough storage, came with a thin small changing pad, multiple bottle pouches, small pockets, big pockets, etc. It had everything. I did a full review on this insert here on this blog post you can check out.

This tote with insert option allowed me to feel fashionable but yet still practical for my needs to have the best diaper bag for my toddler and newborn.

I was able to put everything and more into this organizer and when I walked around or carried it in public, no one would be able to even know that I had this cute trendy tote filled with baby items.

Let me know which you prefer: traditional diaper bag, backpack style, or tote with organizer?