15 Diaper Caddy Essentials to Make Diaper Changing Effortless

A diaper caddy is a mom’s favorite organizer. Why? Because it makes it so much easier to change your baby’s diaper when you have all the necessary items right there in one organizer.

I will outline here 15 of my favorite diaper caddy essentials to simplify your diaper changing experience. Make sure you’ve got them all in your diaper caddy so you can breeze through the never-ending diaper changes.

Best diaper caddy organizers

KeaBabies Original 2.0 Diaper Caddy

This diaper caddy is made of soft felt and can be hand washed.

It has tons of pockets, so if you’re one of those that love to have things super organized, like me, then this has your name written all over it!

Guess what? This is the one that I have and I love it! It’s also really convenient for traveling since it’s foldable.

Fephas Rope Diaper Caddy

This diaper caddy is made of rope and has a chic look to it. There are 3 large pockets which are perfect for storing big items.

It’s portable and since it’s made of cotton, it can be placed in the washing machine. Now that’s a nice bonus!

Diaper Caddy Organizer

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This diaper caddy is almost like the first one, from KeaBabies. The only difference is that this diaper organizer also has a zipper pocket.

Zipper pockets are great for storing those sharp items like nail clippers. It’s also useful for little items to prevent them from falling out of one of the open pockets.

Now that you’ve gotten a few of my best recommendations for diaper caddies, let’s discuss what you’re really here for – the best diaper caddy essentials.

Diaper caddy essentials

The items I’m about to list here are exactly what I have or had in my diaper caddy at some point throughout this past first year of Haylee’s wonderful life.

1. Diapers

Okay, this one is a given. What’s a diaper caddy without diapers? But it’s not just any diapers that I recommend. I like to use natural and cruelty free options whenever possible.

Therefore, the diapers which I have in my diaper caddy are from The Honest Company. If you want to know why I chose this brand over other popular brands, you can read more about it in my post What is a Cruelty Free Diaper?.

If you’re using cloth diapers, you’ll need to fill your diaper caddy with a bunch of extra cloth diapers.

2. Baby wipes

This one is a pretty obvious diaper caddy essential too, but I’m listing it anyway in case it may have slipped your mind.

We’re all a bit brain foggy due to long-term lack of sleep, which I think only moms can understand. Before I gave birth, I kept hearing about the no sleep aspect of parenting but it’s hard to really know what it will feel like until you become a mom.

Now I know what this perpetual state of tiredness feels like. So, I totally get it if you forget one of these items, which is why I’m here to organize it in a list for you.

If you want this as a printable checklist, subscribe here and I’ll send it to your inbox for FREE.

Print it out or download it to your phone and never forget one of these crucial diaper caddy essentials again!

3. Diaper ointment

Preemptive is always the best choice. This is especially true when it comes to diaper rashes. We all hate them – me, you, and your little one. So why not apply diaper ointment from day one?

Do you want something organic and free of unnatural ingredients?

The best options for you would be Earth Mama’s Organic Diaper Balm or Made Of’s Organic Diaper Rash Cream.

I love Earth Mama since they have vegan options and their nipple cream really saved me during those first few days of breastfeeding, so they’re one of my favorite brands.

4. Diaper ointment silicone brush

How do you apply the diaper ointment? You use your finger? But then you need to make sure your hands are clean before, and then you need to clean them again after.

That’s a lot of hand washing every day. Twice each diaper changing x around 8 diaper changes a day = 16 times washing your hands!

Your hands will be pretty dry by the time your baby is out of diapers.

A simple and convenient solution is a diaper ointment brush. This is one of my top diaper caddy essentials. It really makes diaper changing so much easier.

Simply squeeze a small amount of ointment onto the silicone brush and apply it to your little one’s butt. My favorite is Dr. Talbot’s Soft Silicone Brush and I’ve been using it on Haylee for over a year now.

5. Toys

While you’re changing your baby’s diaper, especially once she learns to roll over, it will be quite a challenge! Only once Haylee learned to roll over did I appreciate how easy diaper changing was during those first few months.

After that, it’s a real nightmare. They literally cannot lie on their backs for more than a second! The best way to deal with this is to distract them with a really interesting toy.

I suggest you keep a few toys in your diaper caddy that she can only play with during diaper changes. This way, it becomes special and not an ordinary toy that she plays with all day.

Hopefully, this will help keep her distracted long enough for you to change her diaper.

6. Changing pad

At first, I would change Haylee on her changing table. Once she learned to roll over, it became really scary since she almost rolled off.

So, I needed to find an alternative. I simply changed her on my bed, but not directly on my bed.

Waterproof changing pads are perfect to place underneath your baby while changing him. This prevents your bed, couch, or wherever you’re changing him from becoming dirty if he accidentally pees or poops.

Now, I made a mistake with the kind of changing pads I bought. I bought ones that got good ratings and they were actually great. The problem is that they were too small for Haylee after a few months.

She grew longer but the changing pads didn’t, unfortunately. I needed something which would sit under her head to catch spit-ups, as well as under her butt to catch any pee.

Eventually, I had to buy new changing pads which were bigger. I could’ve saved myself some money and bought big ones, to begin with. So, I’m here to give you a little tip – only buy the big ones.

It took me a while to find these Bamboo Rayon Extra Absorbent Changing Pads since I had to go through each changing pad and check their dimensions. Then, I needed to compare it to what I bought originally to make sure it’s actually bigger.

This is another really important item to stuff in your diaper caddy.

7. Bedtime book

Since I use my diaper caddy all day, it’s also necessary for after bath time, which is also before bedtime.

As part of my bedtime routine with Haylee, I read her a story. I like to have this in my diaper caddy for when I’m done getting her in pajamas.

My favorite bedtime book, or more like Haylee’s favorite, is If Animals Kissed Good Night. Yes, I know this book by heart since I’ve read it more times than I can count.

Whichever bedtime story is your little one’s favorite, add it to your diaper caddy for easy access.

8. Painkillers

It’s always good to have some kind of painkillers for your little one in your diaper caddy. This isn’t one of the most critical diaper caddy essentials, especially if you are against using it for your baby, but it’s a handy addition.

If you do use it, whether it’s Tylenol or Ibuprofen, it’s convenient to have nearby.

There were a few times when Haylee woke up in the middle of the night in a lot of pain from teething and it was great not to have to leave my bed to get her some Ibuprofen.

9. Comb/brush

After the bath, it’s good practice to comb or brush your little one’s hair. Healthline says that brushing your baby’s hair can help prevent cradle cap and stimulate hair growth. So that’s great!

Having a brush or comb handy after the bath is useful. I started out using a soft-bristled brush when Haylee barely had any hair.

Once her hair started growing more, I switched to a comb since I can do a better job with that.

The American Red Cross Comb and Brush set is what I use and it does what it needs to do. It’s good and not overpriced like many others that I’ve seen.

10. Nail clippers

Again, this is one of those diaper caddy essentials which is used after the bath so it’s helpful to have nearby.

Just make sure it’s out of your baby’s reach since it’s sharp and you don’t want him playing with that.

11. Nasal aspirator

We all need this when our little ones have a big piece of snot stuck in their nose and they keep rubbing it in frustration. Yet, they cry and scream when you try to remove it.

We’ve all been there. It’s tough being a mom.

What nasal aspirator should I get?

I think the NoseFrida snotsucker kind of sucks (pun intended).

I bought it because all my mom groups highly recommended it. When I tried to use it though, it didn’t do anything! I tried several times, nothing came out. And believe me, there was snot there!

I bought it because the one I originally had was making Haylee cry so much so I thought that maybe the NoseFrida would be better. I was wrong.

I used my original nasal bulb and let’s just say, it did the job that the NoseFrida couldn’t do.

I’ve been using the Innovo Hospital Grade Silicone Twister Bulb for over a year now and overall, I really do love it. It’s just that not every baby likes these bulbs stuck up their nose.

Who can blame them?

The best part about this nasal bulb is that it comes apart so you can actually clean the inside! So many of these nasal bulbs just grow mold inside since there’s no real way to clean them.

Just a little tip – the best time to use the nasal bulb is right after the bath, before doing anything, even before putting a diaper on.

You’re asking why? I’ll tell you!

Firstly, the snot is softer when it’s after the bath so it’s easier to remove it.

Secondly, your little one is still happy from the bath, that is if they enjoy bath time, so she’s not squirming away yet.

12. Thermometer

This goes along with #8, the painkillers. You should have a thermometer handy for checking your baby’s temperature.

Some people like the forehead thermometer, while other moms prefer the standard rectal/armpit one.

I have both and I found that the rectal/armpit one is more accurate. The forehead thermometer still came in handy.

It has an option to take the room temperature. I used this in the winter every night to see what temperature my room was to know how many layers to dress Haylee in.

I use the other thermometer for taking her body temperature. It takes a while until it shows a reading so that’s annoying, but hopefully, we won’t need it much.

13. Hand sanitizer

I love Bath and Body Works hand sanitizers. I always buy a bunch of them when I go since they smell so good!

Hand sanitizer is perfect for those poops in the middle of the night when you’re too lazy to get out of bed to wash your hands.

I mostly used it in the beginning when Haylee was first born since I was extra careful with sanitizing after every diaper change.

14. Earphones

This one is not necessarily considered to be part of my diaper caddy essentials list but I have it in my diaper caddy and I think it’s really helpful.

I use it when I’m in bed for the night and I want to watch something on my phone without disturbing Haylee.

It was also useful for those beginning days when Haylee would breastfeed for so long, each time. I would watch my shows with the earphones while she fell asleep on me.

15. Tissues

A small pack of tissues or a roll of toilet paper is always useful to have in your diaper caddy organizer.

I keep a roll of toilet paper there and I use it to clean my silicone brush, from #4, after each use. I wash it with soap and water every once in a while, but between uses, I just use toilet paper.

After all, she’s already clean by the time I’m applying the diaper ointment.

Tissues/toilet paper is also useful when sucking snot out of your baby’s nose and you need a place to put that big chunk.

Trust me, you’ll always find a use for tissues. It’s just one of those things which you need to have on you all the time.

To wrap up

Wow, that was a long list! You can get a FREE checklist of all these 15 diaper caddy essentials in a printable format by simply filling out your details below.

Keep this checklist handy to ensure you’ve got all the necessary items in your diaper organizer!

Now that your diaper caddy is all packed up, check out this guide on newborn diaper changing basics!

What are your diaper caddy essentials? Do you have these items in your diaper caddy?

I love having everything organized in one place so I would love to get new ideas for things to add to my diaper caddy. So, let me know in the comments below!

Featured photo: Baby photo created by gpointstudio – www.freepik.com