My Quest for the Perfect Diaper Bag

Now that my due date is looming and I have come to the realization that I will have two children under 2 in about 12 days, both of whom will be in diapers, I am now on a quest for the perfect diaper bag. I still have 2 diaper bags from Peanut but these in no way will meet my needs with the new baby. I guess I was being optimistic when several months ago I believed that Peanut would be potty trained by the time the new baby got here. Now I realize that milestone is months away, as I don't really think I will be able to attempt to potty train her in the first few months of caring for a newborn.

With Peanut we purchased a gender neutral, smaller diaper bag that worked for what we needed at the time. My husband wanted to have a diaper bag that he felt comfortable carrying when he was out by himself so I agreed to get a hunter green bag. It is really ugly and does not have a lot of space. I quickly realized that everywhere I went, I had to carry a diaper bag and my purse, and that was a pain in the butt. We also got a free bag from the hospital we delivered at, this one a bit more spacious, but still with the name of the hospital printed on the outside. Not very fashionable.

For the past several months I have just been putting Peanut's stuff in a large purse I have and carrying that. While I feel more fashionable this way, it still presents a few problems. First, there are no compartments in this bag so everything settles to the bottom. There have been many times where I have been at the grocery store and had to pull out a stack of diapers, wipes, books, ect. just to get to my wallet. Secondly, if I am going out without Peanut this bag looks so sad flopping emptily with just my wallet, phone, and keys in it after I have taken all the baby stuff out. It's just not practical.

This now brings me to my quest for the perfect bag. The first thing I am looking for is space. It needs to have several compartments so that I can separate the new baby's stuff from Peanut's stuff. And if I am going out for a full day this includes diapers for both, lots of wipes, toys, changes of clothes, bottles, ect. I am also looking for space for my stuff as well so I can just slip my wallet, keys, phone, and coupons into a compartment when I go out with the kids, and then easily transfer them to a purse when I am not with the kids.

The next thing I am looking for is a fashionable bag. I am not the most stylish lady on the block and I certainly don't carry designer bags. I do however try to feel like a girl on most days. And with a fresh c-section scar and breast milk leaking from your nipples, I think that is the time to want to feel a little good about yourself. That is why I want my diaper bag to feel like a really stylish, over-sized purse. I don't really care for the messenger style of diaper bag because it makes me feel like I am in school again. I just want something that looks and feels nice to carry.

The third thing I am looking for is affordability. The problem I have been finding is that this bag exists, but it comes in the $100 plus price range. There is no WAY I can see justifying spending that much money on a bag. Even in my pre-baby days, I could not see spending that much money on a purse for myself. Now with two kids and trying to save up money to go back to school, there is even more incentive not to spend like a wild-woman on a bag, especially when I have two at home that I CAN use in a pinch.

Tell me, does this bag that I am looking for exist? Can I afford it? Does it have enough space with separate compartments? Is is fashionable? Can I carry it like a purse? Help!!!