Wondering if Backpack diaper bag will be better?

Right now I use my Skip Hop duo double thanks to the recommendation of MANY moms on this forum! It has been wonderful. Just wondering if when your twins turned into toddlers, is it easier to start using a backpack type of diaper bag? My girls use powdered formula right now, so a cooling pouch wasn't an issue; however when we switch to milk soon, it would be nice to have a cooler pouch as well! I just feel like I am needing my hands free more and more and wondered what the best diaper bag for a mom of toddlers would be. Thanks!

 

I've been using the skip hop spark bag, and just switched back to a backpack this week. Mostly because too much stuff into one small bag = a mess, and I HATE a messy bag! My oldest dd is potty training too so I have to take extra clothes for her now and it was just way too full.

I mostly prefer backpack's because they zip closed, easy to throw on your shoulder/back and usually lots of room/pockets for stuff. It's not as nice to hang on my stroller, but it works!

 

I never had an actual diaper bag backpack, but I did/do use a backpack to carry all the stuff I have to take when we go out.
The time I found it really began to be easier to have a backpack than a shoulder bag was when the kids started walking and I didn't have the stroller all the time. If you have a backpack you can carry it and still have both hands free to hold onto children or carry them if you need to. I found with a shoulder bag it would be slipping down all the time or if I held the straps in my hand then I couldn't hold their hand as securely. So, basically, yes I think it is better to have a backpack than a normal diaper bag when you have toddlers.

 

I used a "real" diaper bag w/ DS#1 and now have a backpack for the twins. The backpack wins HANDS DOWN for all of the reasons Zoe mentioned. Plus, I'm more apt to get help from DH, too, since it looks so much more...manly.

Eve

 

I've been using a backpack every since the twins were born and I LOVE it!!! It's not a diaperbag backpack...just a standard North Face.

 

I use a backpack now that my girls are a little older. It really comes in handy for times when I'm not using the stroller. That way I can have a girl on each hip and the diaper bag on my back.

 

I have been using this one since the boys were about 8wks old and I started taking them to my mom's and sis' by myself. It was soooo much easier to put it on my back and carry both carriers...now 2 babies! I LOVE IT!! It looked tiny when I first got it in the mail but now I joke with the daycare that it is like Mary Poppin's bag...I can fit a TON of stuff in there!!!!!!!

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3199292

ps...I can get DH to carry it most of the time too bc its "manly"

 

I have the Lands End diaper back pack and like it a lot. I definitely prefer a back pack to a traditional diaper bag (which always falls off my shoulder).

I was just searching for some other good diaper back packs and came across a Kelty backpack that also acts as a baby carrier! Who thinks of these inventions?? Though I have yet to find a picture of a baby in one, and the reviews of this backpack are sparse. Anybody else here try one of the Kelty backpack/carriers?

 

Well I am an impulse shopper...and when I found that Kelty TC 1.1 backpack / baby carrier at ebags.com for only $59.99 and free shipping, I went ahead and ordered one The only other places I could find it that cheap had them in weird colors like tangerine (I got the black one).

I just filed our taxes last night and I'm already spending our refund money, LOL. I'll let others know what I think about it when it arrives

 

We used a quicksilve 'daddy bag' which was a bookbag and it had 2 thermal pockets and 2 other large compartments plus a comparment for the changing pad. I really liked it, but then it got to be a pain as we have more stuff in it, because it ends up sticking out so much. Now my DH uses it and I got a messanger bag that can go over the stroller handles. I highly recommend that diaper bag if you're looking for a bookbag baby bag!! (I'll try to look one up online for you).

 

I have never used a normal diaper bag. Ever. I have always used my $20 Wal-Mart backpack and wouldn't have changed a thing! Like PP have said, it's great to be hands-free to carry kids. It's great not to worry about the bag dropping over your shoulder and bopping a kid on the head!

 

The Columbia backpack has snaps you can use to strap it to the stroller handle...I like it so far.

 

It's really nice when they're both walking around and holding your hand to use a backpack type bag. I use my (OMG is it almost 20 years old, got it in 1992?) old Jansport backpack.

 

Back pack worked better for us. It also hung off the stroller better