The Emergency Bag and the ER

My friend Lisa came up with this idea initially, but I have stolen it and used it as well! For 1 year old birthday gifts, she creates an emergency bag for the mom: a large tote bag into which is unceremoniously dumped an assortment of odds and ends the mother might need for a toddler emergency (don't get too organized with this because the bag won't stay that way). The idea is to leave this bag in the car. When you are stranded in traffic and need an extra snack...emergency bag. When Jr. has a "blowout" in the car on the way to the beach...emergency bag. When you suddenly decide to eat out and don't have a bib...emergency bag. When you decide to stop at the park without advance warning and it's 100 degrees outside...emergency bag. You get the picture.

A sampling of items to include:

Extra wipes
Extra diapers
Extra onesie or t-shirt
Extra plastic bag or two
Old handtowel or something similar
Travel size sunscreen
Travel size bandaids
Travel size neosporin
Travel size hand sanitizer
Snacks (packs of crackers, pretzels, etc.)
Small juice boxes
Bibs
Bottle of water (to use in clean up)
Index cards and pen (in case you have to call the doctor and need to write something down)

The tot's mom should replace everything they use as soon as she gets home. We've come to depend on ours and use it all the time--even when it's not an "emergency."

That being said, I had to help my friend (visiting from out of town) take her 5-year-old to the ER on Friday night. I grabbed the equivalent of an emergency bag for us: caffeinated drinks and a big bag of animal crackers. Since we left at 1:20 a.m., we certainly needed the caffeine and the little girl appreciated the animal crackers while we sat and waited in the ER (she clearly wasn't in life or death straits since we were thinking of vittles on our way out the door). It's worth taking a minute or two to think of these things if you can!

Happy Emergency Bag Packing!