Social Distanced Exploring with our Pretty Pokets Diaper Bag

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, it’s no secret that we love to explore. Before COVID and becoming parents, Jake and I took every chance to check out new places near and far. Unfortunately, like most people in 2020, our travel adventures came to a screeching halt for months. Luckily we’re slowly getting the hang of parenting and found ways to safely explore nearby. Being a new mama, there are a lot of essentials you need when you’re on the go. Thanks to our Pretty Pokets Diaper bag, I’ve found a great solution to keeping up with Scarlett’s needs while being hands-free to explore. When I was pregnant, one tip that came up over and over from other mamas was having a backpack diaper bag. While I still do love my tote diaper bag, a backpack diaper bag is definitely easier when it comes to exploring. I’ve been exclusively using our bag for over a month and wanted to share an honest review. I chose gray because it goes with everything and I don’t have to worry about it not matching my outfit. I picked the small diaper bag bundle and it comes with a wristlet wallet, stroller hooks, long shoulder strap, insulated pouch, and a card holder. All of the color options are gorgeous. Use code COURTNEY10 for 10% off.

What I carry in it:

• Diapers (I found it’s best to put them in the front outside pocket)
• Burp cloth
• Wipes
• Chux pad (I use these to change her in the car. )
• My keys
• An extra outfit
• A ziplock: I use this for dirty outfits or as a trash bag
• Bags to throw diapers away in
• Water/snacks for me
• Hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes
• Nursing cover if it’s a long trip- I try to coordinate activities around nursing
• The large size extra pouch fits my camera

Pros about the bag:

• Great quality: although this bag is vegan leather, it’s very durable. I’ve been using it every day for over a month and there is no sign of wear. I’m known to be hard on bags too.
• Beautiful style: I love all of the gorgeous details, especially the hardware.
• Pockets:  This bag has tons of pockets inside and out. This makes organizing so much easier.
• Many different ways to carry it: It can be worn as a backpack or it has a longer strap to be a shoulder or cross body.
• The extra pieces like the wrist wallet and pouch have been so helpful for me. If I’m running in somewhere alone, I will bring the wrist wallet and can easily sanitize it. I also love that the pouch is large enough to fit my camera and an extra lens.
• Has spot for a regular sized water bottle
• The bag is comfortable and light weight

Cons:

• Small, but if you organize correctly, it had plenty of space. The first time I used it, I didn’t know if it was going to be functional. I quickly developed a system for organizing it, and since then the size has easily worked for us.
• The spot for a water bottle can only fit a standard size water bottle

Social Distance Activities We’ve Been Doing:

Thanks to our Pretty Pokets diaper bag, exploring has been much easier

• Pumpkin patch:We went in early October and had a blast. We went on a weekday to make sure there weren’t as many people around. We just made sure to be very aware of our surroundings, especially when taking pictures. You can read more about our trip to the pumpkin patch here.
• Apple Picking: So apple picking ended up being a bust for us because I didn’t research and the apple orchard was no longer letting people pick. They did still let us walk around the orchard.
• Ava Maria Grotto: This is located in Cullman, Alabama (just an hour from Bham). Since apple picking was a bust, we were so glad to see signs for the Ava Maria Grotto. Our neighbor and another friend highly recommended this spot before. Luckily we were reminded it was in Cullman after seeing signs by the apple orchard. It was the perfect social distanced activity because it’s outdoor and wasn’t crowded. It truly exceeded our expectations. I am planning on doing a blog post on this.
• Hiking: Jake and I are not huge outdoorsy people, but we decided there was no better time to hike than now. We went to Oak Mountain and, while it was beautiful, it wasn’t our ideal activity. We still had fun.  A lot of the better views were too hard for us to hike to while wearing Scarlett.
• Walks: Once COVID hit, we started doing a lot of walks since our gym was closed and we still are personally not comfortable going yet. We love neighborhood walks and try to take a different path each time.
• Social Distanced Play Dates: Being a mama is a hard job. Add being in a pandemic and it can be very isolating. We’ve started doing play dates that we social distanced. It’s nice to get out with masks/ a distance.
• Birmingham Botanical Gardens: Birmingham has a beautiful (free) botanical gardens. This is a great place to go in the afternoon for a social distanced walk. I don’t recommend going on weekends because the time we tried it looked too full.

Thank you so much for reading! I’ve been exclusively using my Pretty Pokets diaper bag pack for over a month and I’ve really enjoyed it. I love the versatility of the backpack or an extra strap to make it be able to be worn on the shoulder. It is also a good size for a quick adventure. This has been a great bag to explore our area. What kind of socially distanced activities have you been doing?

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