I’m back after a long hiatus because I recently had a baby! My daughter was born last year and I’m thoroughly enjoying the baby snuggles while settling in my new role as a new mom. If you know me, you’ll now that I’m a super Type A personality and love to research my purchases to death. I also love trying out new and innovative products that will help enhance all facets of my life. It was like this with my fashion items, skincare and beauty, and now of course I have to do it for my baby purchases too.
One of the baby items I did the most research on was the diaper bag. I wanted something that was lightweight and easy to use, but of course being a new mom, I was learning as I go with all of the baby gear. I ended up getting the Skip Hop Forma for myself as my daily diaper bag, which is very similar to the lululemon Parent Backpack.
For the first few months, I really enjoyed using my Forma backpack, but as my daughter was “waking up” to the world, I found myself bringing more and more things with me. My diaper bag needs went from simply holding diapers and a change of clothes, to now bringing all of that plus toys, my carrier, a blanket for her to crawl on, and more. As my needs changed, I also realized that the Forma backpack was no longer fulfilling those needs.
My main concern with the Forma is that it’s so hard to find things in the bag as it’s just one giant compartment. It does have some good front pockets to hold things I need to access quickly (hand sanitizer, burp cloths, diapers and wipes), but otherwise the main compartment has pretty much no organization. I had been on the lookout for a bag that provides more organization to the main compartment to help me stay organized while I am out and also allow me to keep things within arm’s reach.
The No Reception Club Getaway Bag
I was introduced to the No Reception Club Getaway Bag by the Travelling with Babies and Toddlers Facebook group. No joke, I seriously thought about this bag for weeks and weeks and couldn’t get it out of my mind, so I had to order it for myself.
This bag was designed to be a travel bag for when you’re travelling with kids, but it can also be used as a daily diaper bag. The one I purchased was the travel bundle with the Sidekick which also comes with a fanny pack that can be used on its own as a diaper bag, as well as a really large size changing pad. The backpack also comes with an insulated lunch bag that can be used for bottles or snacks.
I won’t go into too much detail about all of the different components because you can watch all of that in a very detailed video here.
Disclaimer that I haven’t gone on a trip yet with my baby but I have been using this daily as my diaper bag so I will share my thoughts about it as a daily driver first. I do have several trips planned over the next few months before my maternity leave ends, so I’ll also be using it as a travel bag soon. I do love that this bag can be used as a daily bag because it’s hard to justify spending so much money on something that can only be used for one purpose!
What I love
The Getaway Bag fits a TON of stuff. Like easily 30-40% more than my Forma backpack without much effort. I really love the customizable organizational aspect of this bag. The dividers in the main compartment make this so easy to use when I am out and about. For daily use, I keep a change of clothes and her muslin blanket in one compartment, toys in another, and my carrier and a blanket for floor play in the top shelf. I love that you can customize the size of each slot, for example since the toys don’t take up as much room right now, I gave more space to my carrier so that it fits better. Once my daughter is snacking more, there will also be room to store snacks in the backpack. With my Forma backpack, even getting a carrier to fit inside the bag was a challenge, let alone the other things I would want to bring with me.
The bag is also super well thought out with all of the different outside pockets. There is a pocket made of waterproof material at the bottom of the bag for dirty clothes (and used diapers or other garbage, if you can’t find a garbage can). The water bottle pockets are also elasticated so your water bottles don’t fall out when you bend over (this happened to me so much it’s embarrassing). There are secret pockets for important documents, and also a secure laptop pocket that seamlessly blends in.
I didn’t think I would, but I also really love the Sidekick bag that fits perfectly in one of the side pockets. The Sidekick bag makes changing diapers so easy because you can do everything one-handed while you leave your backpack in the stroller basket. While I didn’t mind changing diapers using my Forma backback, I had to hang it up or put it on the ground otherwise it was hard to reach the stuff that was inside. I never have this problem with the Sidekick bag, everything is within arm’s-reach without any hassle. The best part about it is the wipe dispenser which is magnetized. I store my Sidekick backwards in the side pocket so that the wipe dispenser faces out when you unzip the side pocket, and then you can just remove wipes from the bag without needing to take the wipe bag out. When I am out for walks in the neighbourhood or for very quick errands, instead of bringing my entire diaper bag, I can also just bring along the Sidekick for emergency diaper changes.
Lastly, I really love the whimsical print that was used for the inner lining. It’s a cream coloured background which makes it very easy to find things, and the print makes it so that it hides any marks or discolouration.
What I think can be improved
I think this won’t be as much of an issue once my daughter is a bit older, but I wish there were more exterior pockets that weren’t flat. The main front pocket is not designed to use with anything other than flat things such as documents. I tried putting a bottle of hand sanitizer in there and it just didn’t fit. I also like to keep burp cloths in the front pocket and it didn’t work for that purpose as it was too bulky. There’s the parent pocket at the top that I ended up using for the hand sanitizer, masks, burp clothes, teethers, and other quick access things, which means I’d have to carry a separate handbag with me for my own things, or really pare down what I bring with me.
As my daughter grows up, she won’t need teethers and burp cloths as much but for now they are crucial parts of our diaper bag. If we didn’t use the Sidekick then there’d be a separate soft pocket on the side that would fit more chunky things without needing to go into the main compartment, but we do use the Sidekick and have it stored in the Getaway Bag so that option isn’t available to us.
Overall
I am thrilled with my Getaway Bag purchase and I can’t wait to take it with us on our travels, especially as our daughter grows up. The large size of this bag means that I will be able to bring lots of snacks and toys with us on the plane to keep her entertained. Despite it being so roomy, its actually quite compact on the outside so it only counts as a personal item on the plane which is a huge bonus.
As my daughter grows out of her diaper phase, the organizational aspect of the Getaway Bag also means we can use this as a travel bag for her and for ourselves. I can imagine us bringing our Nintendo Switch with us and keeping it with its games in one of the compartments. While it’s definitely on the pricier side for a diaper bag, it can grow with your family and continued to be used well beyond the diaper stage of life.
Discount code
If you are interested in purchasing one of the No Reception Club bags, you can use the code MADDYLOVES20 to save $20. The code is valid on either the Getaway Bag or the Hideaway Duffle.
No Reception Club also has the Hideaway Duffle (which I also purchased for myself) that is fantastic to use as a carry-on as it has internal storage cubbies! Once I get a chance to use that on one of our upcoming trips, I’ll also do a review of it.
The bag is being modelled by my mom in these photos. I purchased the No Reception Club Getaway Bag with my own money but received a small discount on my purchase. As always, all opinions are unbiased and my own.
*Maddy Loves 