As some here may know, due to a short mention in a topic on the Campfire forum, my wife Victoria and I recently became the new parents of a baby girl, Madeleine. Since I'm currently in the process of stocking my EDC diaper bag, I was wondering if anyone would like to share suggestions for a Baby Bug Out Bag to prepare for possible evacuation from home for 1 week in the event of natural disaster or the like.

-Michael

Hi,
Baby's BOB will be much bulkier than yours because of the diaper component. Baby's needs will change as she gets older and you would have to modify as you go along.

Food/Water -
assuming baby is bottle fed
2 bottles
sterilising tablets
Plastic container to sterilise the bottles in
Milk formulae
If baby is breast fed, so much the better. You would save carrying whole lot of stuff.
For older kids, you might need to pack baby food / juices etc. Small packs of snacks

Extra clothes -seasonal
Wet wipes
Diapers
Baby Powder
Small towel
Blanket
Change mat

Pacifier
Small toy / game / book

Meds - paracetamol for kids, saline eye/ nose drops, antihistamine syrup, wind/colic drops, diaper rash cream

Lots of plastic bags for dirty clothes, diapers, puke etc.

Actually, a lot of it is EDC in the diaper bag, just multiplied many times because of the longer duration.

Baby Meds and thermometer. Be sure you have what you need to reduce a fever (trust me on this one for sure) plus diaper rash cream and any special needs meds.

Atleast one bottle but two is better.

Formula and pre-boiled/sterilized water (even if your wife breast feeds). You never know when you and the baby could be separated from your wife or you wife may be unable to feed due to injury or some other circmstance. You want to know that you can feed the baby on your own if needed.

Pacifiers... atleast one if not two.

One or two complete changes of clothes.

A blanket.

A couple small toys. May seem silly but if there is a special type of toy like a teddy bear that will soothe a red-faced teary-eyed screaming baby then you'll want it with you more than anything else when the need arises.

Last but certainly not least, as many diapers and wipes as you can possibly carry. Figure out how many you can carry and then find a way to stuff a few extras in there as well. <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

One more idea (that not everyone will agree with)... when my son was younger (we are just now starting to potty train him @ 23 months so I dont carry them anymore) I carried a couple reusable cloth diapers in addition to a ton of disposables. I'm glad I never had to use them but I'm also glad I had them just incase since all you need is soap and water (or boiling water) and they can be sanitized for many reuses if needed. Not to mention that they are handy for a lot of things other than their intended purpose since they are very soft and absorbent.

A little baby sunscreen proabably isnt a bad idea either.

BTW: Congratulations.....!!!! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I agree on the formula aspect. So far, I've gathered two packages of 2oz. plastic bottles of Similac and some nipples and rings to fit. That makes a total of 16 2oz. bottles, or 32oz in total. The big problem with these is the expiration dates. The two packages I have are dated Jan 2006 and Mar 2006. Those were the latest I could find. Some of the larger sizes are dated later (I've seen May 2006 on the 4oz glass bottles). Those should suffice for emergencies. We are breast-feeding, but you never know what might happen. For longer periods, I'll include some powder.

Before you pack formula that you may really have to depend on, be sure the baby can tolerate it. Not a baby expert, but a friend said this was so.

Sue

From babysitting my sister's kid, I know from experience that 97 million billion diapers is not enough. <img src="/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

-- Craig

Here's another suggestion Enfamil LIPIL makes pre-packaged powder in a small tube shaped package, that makes 4 ounces. The bottles we use are the disposable drop in style. We throw a few packages of the pre-packaged formula into the baby bag and add as many drop ins as you want and with 1 or 2 bottles you are set and it is very compact. It's all plastic so no worries about breakage and the drop ins don't have any air in the bottle so less gas problems and they are dispoable so if you are on the go you don't need to sanitize a whole bottle, just the nipple. It's a great system.

Also if you have the room I'd say for a week 3 complete sets of cloths is needed. Baby's can get messy from all kind's of things. When our baby's were smaller we allways carried extra cloth's and we still have an extra change in the car when we travel. Did any one mention bibbs, they can go a long way to save the cloth's from what ever.

Good luck and congratulations!

Adam

Susan, we know that Madeleine apparently likes Similac better than Enfamil, because we had to resort to formula for the first few days until my wife's milk came in properly, but you make a good point. I suppose we should periodically test the formula out, since her digestion may change. What we have now is the regular Similac Advance with Iron dairy-based formula.

I would also suggest some kind of harness to carry the baby on your back or on your chest (you might hava pack on your back).
Around here they use maxi cosi's to carry their baby's around but they become a pain if you have to walk more than a mile with them.

Rick, you mean the Maxi Cosi car seat, yes? They're not sold in the US (though I understand there are some shops in the Nederlanden that are willing to ship them here (for an appropriate fee, of course). If we have to move her that far, we'll rely on the Bugaboo...or the car. We also have some nice slings to carry her (which of course means that I get to carry most of the gear!).

But I agree, carrying a baby in a car seat is a pain for more than a minute or two. It throws you well off balance.