PacaPod Designer Parent Bag Review and Giveaway

Alright, so I LOVE a good nappy bag. Especially because I use one pretty much every day, and I am always shoving things in them, digging around or trying to find something for the kids every five minutes when I'm out! I'm always lugging kids and stuff somewhere. So for me organisation and space is essential. But, I also know that most Mum's I hang out with, and me included, actually like to have a stylish bag, that doesn't make it look like you've given up on all sense of fashion and just lug kids stuff around! Right?

Well, I've found the bag that has both! The PACAPOD Portland is new to Australia, it has great organisation, heaps of space and looks really nice and is easy to carry! Pacapod actually has a great range of parent bags!!  PLUS, it has the added bonus of including some other daily essentials like an insulated bag for food and drinks, that can become a back pack for little ones!! And a separate changer pod for nappies, clothes and creams. It includes heaps of really thoughtful features that when I used it for the first time, I kept discovering new things and I was constantly thinking, Ohhh thats cool, ohhh good idea, ohhh nice.

With my last nappy bag Joel absolutely refused to look for anything in there because it was absolute chaos. He could never find anything and it would frustrate him so much! He actually really likes this one, and especially now that he knows where everything is, plus, he doesn't mind carrying it because it isn't super Girly!

All of the PacaPods have the 'POD SYSTEM' which is so clever, and its nice not to have to dig around your whole bag to find wipes or nappies or whatever they all have their own little home!

The Pod System is 3 great parts
1: The parent bag! That is stylish and lovely and even can fit an iPod or Laptop! Plus a zip pocket for your phone, keys, wallet and such!

2. Changer Pod: Which has 7 pockets, clothes pouch and comes with a padded change mat. The amount of stuff I can squeeze in the pod is awesome!

3. Feeder Pod: Which is insulated and has enough room for your kids food! And, it also detaches to be a neat little back pack, which Ez keeps telling me 'thats me's backpack' so obviously a hit with the kids!

This particular Portland bag retails for $279, but there are a great range of PacaPod bags that start at $159

If you want to check out the range of Pacapod Parent bags available in Australia click HERE
And you can also check out your local baby store to see if they are a stockist!

I'm really excited because I also have one the PacaPod Parent bags from their range to GIVEAWAY!

For your chance to win, just follow the Rafflecopter Prompts Below!! 

And GOOD LUCK!! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cloth Nappies: Good idea or crazy Mum...

So I am pretty sure, that I have decided that I am going to go down the cloth nappy route. Yes, I know.. this probably means that I am naive, and I don't really know what I am getting myself into. Maybe so, but at least I want to give it a try. I talk about this a lot with my Mum. She raised four children, all in cloth nappies, because back then disposables were pretty average quality and really expensive. They weren't the fan dangled cloth nappies that we see today, they were just cloth squares that needed to be folded and pinned, with those ginormous pins that are only used for punk rockers to hold their jeans together these days. In my head, I am thinking, with much encouragement from my Mum.. "if she can do it, surely I can do it too". Not only that but the options today make it soooo much easier than it ever was 20+ years ago. You can even buy these great hoses that connect to your toilet to rinse unwanted stuff down the loo easily. You can buy smell holding bags that store nappies when you are out and about. You don't have to soak them forever anymore either.
(here is a very old picture of one of my brothers wearing this daggy cloth nappy! I am sure he will hate that I put this up. Yes, that is me in the background in my awesome nightie)

So if most of our Mothers did it, and they managed just fine, why is it that so many people around my age with children give me the look like, "you wont last a week". Maybe I will fail miserably in this quest, maybe it will all be too much. Seeing I don't have a baby that I need to change multiple times a day, I am not really sure just yet. All I am saying is that personally I want to give this a shot, I want to try and save money and yes the environment from being loaded up with landfills of nappies that don't breakdown for hundreds of years. Maybe I am just naive and idealistic...but I will report back after August and let you know how I am going!

But of course I would love to hear from any Mum's out there who use them and love them!! I have had a lot of negativity about this choice, but know that they are so popular these days.


And.. look how cute these nappies from itti bitti are these days... oh boy!