Giveaway: Lily Jade Diaper Bag
When I had my first baby, I thought I would have a baby forever. I decorated a nursery, got all the requisite baby gear, bought a plethora of chewable toys, all with only a newborn in mind. In the beginning stages of motherhood, time passes slowly. Clothes for a nine month old seem like a lifetime away. We actually put them in storage; nine months with our brand new baby being more time than we could possibly comprehend.
With my second kid, I felt differently. I understood the passage of time. I knew how quickly it all went and debated even pulling out the playtime activity mat when I knew Harlow would be mobile before I could blink.
It’s with your second kid that a lot of the toys and gear start to seem a bit silly. We spent so much money on Mazzy’s bassinet (used for exactly three months) and then we didn’t even use it for Harlow. We took it apart, put it in storage and then couldn’t find a leg when we took it back out.
Money down the drain.
Over the years, we have gone through countless diaper bags, mainly because people keep sending them to me, and I have a pretty good handle on what will go used and unused.
The bags with the most longevity?
They aren’t the ones with the most pockets or the cleverest bottle holder— they are the ones that double as a bag I can use for work.
You know, incognito diaper bags.
Lily Jade makes diaper bags that don’t look like diaper bags. They don’t come in crazy quilted patterns that no person outside of a mom with a tiny human pooping machine would ever deem acceptable to carry. They come in solid colors and high quality leathers and fabrics. All of the pockets and elastic compartments are on the inside instead of the outside, so it never looks like you are carrying around a portable changing table when you are child-free on your way to work. It also doesn’t look like you are carrying around a diaper bag when your kids are clearly way beyond diapers.
(Not that Harlow is beyond diapers. Yet.)
In fact, in all of the Lily Jade bags, the diaper bag pockets exist in a separate washable canvas insert that you can easily remove. They call it the “Baby Bag Organizer“.
This is handy for three reasons:
1) You can put everything you need to service your babies in the organizer insert (bottles, snack trappers, crayons, diapers, pacifiers, etc.) and then remove it, put it in your coat closet fully stocked, use the outer bag for work like a normal human being and then stick the insert back in the next time you are on-the-go with your kids.
2) How many times have you transferred everything to a different bag only to leave the house and realize, “Oh crap! I left the pacifier in the outside side pocket!” With the Lily Jade Baby Bag, you can put the insert inside any tote, gym bag, travel bag you please without worrying you left something behind. This is especially useful when Grandma is watching your kiddos for the day.
3) Once your kids have grown and you no longer need all the crazy compartments that are necessary for baby stuff, you can remove the Baby Bag and never put it back. Then you have a regular bag that you can use until you are old and gray.
My favorite Lily Jade bag is the Caroline. It’s large enough to fit my laptop when the “Baby Bag” isn’t inside. It’s a great quality leather, has a few zippered pockets built right into the bag for easy access and it comes in a striking red that looks great with my mostly all-black attire.
Now that my kids are both out of their spit-up phase, I no longer worry about wearing black.
I’ve had the Lily Jade Caroline for over a year now and I’ve seen how my use of it has changed. In the beginning, I used the “Baby Bag” daily and now I find that even when I travel with Harlow, I just use the regular bag. I don’t need to take as much stuff around with me as I did when she was little.
Oh my god, did I just say Harlow isn’t little???
She’s still little. She just doesn’t need the paci compartment anymore.
Sniff.
Today I’m giving away one Lily Jade bag of your choice. Just visit the Lily Jade site, tell me which bag is your favorite and what’s the funniest kid-related item you have ever found in your bag when you weren’t with your kids.
For instance, Harlow once stole a friend’s TV remote by slipping it in my bag when I wasn’t looking. She also stole a plastic hot dog but that’s a whole other story.
As a special promotion for Mommy Shorts readers, when you buy one diaper bag on sale, you can purchase an EXTRA Baby Bag (every diaper bag already comes with a Baby Bag included) for just $20 (it’s a great gift for a friend or as an extra organizer for your car) using code MOMSHORTS20. Discount ends January 5th, 2015. Also, their popular Elizabeth bags in Camel Outlet are on sale right now reduced from $295 to $255.
GIVEAWAY: One Lily Jade Bag of winner’s Choice (up to $250 value)
1) Check out the bags on Lily Jade and leave a comment answering the following question:
Which Lily Jade bag is your favorite and what’s the funniest kid-related item you have ever found in your bag when you weren’t with your kids?
2) For a second entry, follow @lilyjade on twitter and tweet the following:
I just entered to win a @LilyJadeCo diaper bag via @mommyshorts!
Winner will be announced on December 19th.
You can find the full rules here.
Good luck!
WINNER UPDATE: Congratulations to Teresa! She was randomly selected to win the Lily Jade bag of her choice. Teresa, who once lost and found her fave necklace at the bottom of her bag after it was missing for over a year, thinks the Elizabeth Red Bag in Canvas “is EVERYTHING”. Please contact abby@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize!
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This post was sponsored by Lily Jade, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
All photos were taken by Karilyn Sanders.
I LOVE the Caroline in Brandy!!! I regularly come across undies in my bag 🙂 Love how it makes me think of my potty training girlie!
I love the Caroline in brandy…such a classic bag in a great neutral color that goes with everything.
My son is a collector…so I’ll always find rocks, small sticks, etc. in my bag.
I love the Elizabeth in camel. I usually just carry a small purse when my kids are not with me 🙂
Tweeted w/ username @neyozeka 🙂
I am sooo in love with the Sarah Grace Bag in Silver. The yellow inside and baby bag are gorgeous! A lot of photography bags have yellow insides because they’re supposed to be easier to find things.
Okay, not my diaper bag, but we consolidate our brown paper bags by stacking them inside one bag. We once lost a sippy cup (thankfully just water!) and spent a week looking! Turns out someone slipped it in with all the brown paper bags….my sneaky little squirrely girl haha
I love the Elizabeth in camel.
I once found a melted gummy bear
The Caroline in Brandy is awesome…beautiful bags I have been looking for something that would transition well after the need for a baby bag now that baby #2 is on the way. My 2 1/2 year old loves to just pick random things off the floor and put them in my bag. I’ve found rocks, pieces of paper, dirt, packaging, and trains are number one favorite thing to drop in!
I love the Caroline in the Black. Looks so chic! I found a phone charger in my bag 3 weeks ago..for a phone that neither my husband or I own! After some detective work, I figured out that my kid threw it in my bag while we were in India – 6 months ago!!! Just goes to show how often I clean out my bag! :/
Anna in Black.
I once found a poopy diaper in my purse!! Luckily it was in a Ziploc bag, but still…Yum!
I love the Elizabeth in Camel bag. I haven’t found any funny kids stuff in my bag yet. However, I found a pair of my underwear hanging on the Christmas tree this morning. Does that count? 🙂
Madeline in Black would be my choice–so beautiful and you can wear it as a backpack which is awesome. All the bags are beautiful, the sort of splurge that I always want to make but never do.
The oddest thing I ever found in my purse was a bright pink golfball–my son probably grabbed it at a playdate, but I don’t really know.
I love the Caroline bag in Brandy. So beautiful and classic.
I once found a week old box of chicken strips from Chick Fil A. Needless to say we never did eat the leftovers.
Sarah Grace or Anna- hard to choose!! The funniest thing was probably Hello Kitty underwear when we potty training my oldest!
Love the Caroline in Brandy!
Recently had a wet diaper in my bag! Dont even remember putting it in there…
I love the Madeline in black. The most random object I’ve found in my bag was the small battery-operated alarm clock from my nightstand. He loves clocks.
Love the Caroline! I found iron man in my bag when I was at dinner with friends and my kids weren’t with me.
I love the Caroline in Brandy or Black! My daughter (age 4) and son (14 months) are usually sneaking stuff out of my purse instead of putting things in. The other day at a baby wearing meeting I attended, my son started going through my bag and pulling everything out…lip balm, mascara, Altoids, maxi pad, tampon, and gas-x!! Let’s say I would have been a lot more embarrassed if he took it out in front of co-workers…luckily everyone there was a mom.
I love the idea of a red bag, and when your youngest and LAST thankyouverymuch child is Madeline, I guessyiud better get the bag named after her to make it official.
I love the Caroline in red!
I found a pair of my son’s socks, freshly washed and folded. I guess he must have taken it out of the basket of folded laundry and stuck it in!
I love the Caroline in Brandy. So versatile! I am constantly finding baby/kid socks in my purse, I have no idea why!
I absolutely love the Elizabeth in red canvas! And the funniest thing I’ve found in my bag would be a sacred pair of Olaf underwear. My 4 year old, Olivia is obsessed with Frozen, obviously! My 2yr old is potty training right now and asked for Olivia’s Frozen underwear. She became frantic about sharing and obviously hid them all? Found a pair during checkout at target. It was one of those true LOL moments where everyone looks at you kinda strange cause your by yourself! You get it, right?
The Caroline in Burgundy is gorgeous! That color is so rich and yummy (I never used that word to describe a handbag, I feel a bit gross). The strangest thing I’ve found in my handbag when I was nowhere near my kidlet? Has to be the time my son put a Lego man broken into pieces into my bag to make sure I had something to play with at work. What a great giveaway!
The Sarah Grace bag is gorgeous in gold. What a fantastic giveaway! My daughter enjoys taking items out of my husband’s briefcase and putting them in my diaper bag. I’ve found his wireless mouse, a bottle of zantac, and parking validation tickets shoved in there. Luckily I haven’t ended up with anything of real importance stowed away in my bag when he goes off to work. Toddlers are such stinkers!
I really like the Caroline in black but it’s above the limit so I guess the Anna in black
My baby isn’t big enough to grab anything so no stories yet!
I am soooooo ready to promote from the obviously carrying a diaper bag club. Caroline in red would be perfect!
The funniest thing I’ve found in my purse is my sisters wallet instead of my own. We were both carrying identical wallets at the time and my daughter has an obsession with taking everything out of my purse and then putting it all back in. Well during a visit with my sister she had two times the fun and needless to say the wallets were switched. I had the most awkwardly confused moment when I realized what had happened.
I love the Madeline in red canvas and I am in desperate need of a new bag. I once found that an entire box of crackers had been emptied into my bag…I guess I’m lucky it wasn’t the yogurt…
I would love love love the Sarah Grace in silver. My son Kyle put a teething ring in my bag while at rite aid. I was so embarrassed. An alarm kept ringing as I was trying to exit. I was so flabbergasted security reviewed my receipt checked the bag of things I just purchased then requested to check my bag I swung it open and there it was! I thought to myself I have a lot of explaining to do. I told the man pls check your cameras as my son possibly put it in there.. Never again
I like the Elizabeth in camel. The funniest thing I found was a toy cell phone & rattle in my work bag. Not sure when or how my daughter put in.
Caroline in camel is my favorite, and the funniest thing I’ve found are a bunch of blocks… I walked around all day and couldn’t figure out why my bag was so heavy.
I love the Elizabeth in camel. And all my bags seem to contain snacks. Unopened snacks, partially eaten snacks, empty snack containers…
I’m so in love with the Elizabeth in Camel…and it’s not funny, per se. But, I always keep a spare pair of undies in my bag [all of them, just in case]. Well, we went to a Hockey game for Date Night and my bag needed to be ‘searched’…the look I got from security when he peeked in and there was a PINK pair of Hello Kitty undies staring back at him, was rather hilarious.
My tweet from @kissiemonster https://twitter.com/kissiemonster/status/544347604843503616
I love the “Anna in gunmetal” bag. Also once we found an iPhone in the diaper bag. It was from my husbands gym. We didn’t even find it for like a month after it was reported missing. We felt horrible!
My favorite one is the Caroline in brandy. I love the insert to keep things organized and the red lining is super cute.
What don’t I find in my bag… A few weeks ago I pulled my laptop out of my bag as I walked into a meeting and a hotwheels car flew out across the table. There was also an old gummy bunny stuck to the side of my laptop. I obviously looked super pulled together… sigh.
I love the Madeline in Red.
I once found a Bart Simpson character in my diaper bag. We don’t own any Bart Simpson dolls.
The Elizabeth in red canvas or the camel colored one. SO pretty!
Do breast pads count? Like forever after I was nursing?
If not, well, I find acorns in my bag all the time. And that’s now. She’s seven. But it’s been years. Every fall. Acorns. Everywhere. Thanks, kid. Love ya.
My favorite bag is Anna in Black and I’m currently pregnant with my first but I have found chewed up toilet paper rolls in my purse from my Bulldog! I’m sure it will only get more interesting once my baby arrives!
I would love to win the Sarah Grace Gold for a friend! I don’t have my own children yet, but I work with them. I find security bands from work stuck to my shoes, in my bags, in my pockets and on articles of clothing on a daily basis!
Tough choice — I’ll go with Caroline. I once got stopped by security on my way into the courthouse for jury duty for some tool that my kid slipped into my bag.
I LOVE the Caroline in Black! When my daughter was younger she had a thing for hiding the keys of our houseguests. We once spent well over an hour trying to find someone’s keys so they could leave our house. Next time we’ll check the diaper bag first! 🙂
I am totally in a purple phase right now, love the Cailin one!
I like the Caroline in brandy. The worst baby-related item I ever found (I think this is a little too gross to be funny!) was a dirty diaper securely tied up in its plastic bag (we’d been out somewhere and I brought the diaper home to throw away and then FORGOT about it) which had been in there for DAYS! I was horrified.
I like both the Caroline and the Madeline in black.
The funniest item I’ve found in my bag so far is an Elmo ornament.
The weirdest thing I have found are the headless bodies of LEGO people in my purse…no idea how they got there since I usually keep my purse away from my son. Very strange having a headless Darth Vader greet me on my way to work.
I love the Elizabeth in Camel.
Caroline in red! I recently found a pine cone and leaf – no idea how long they were floating around in there! Also a small framed picture of her cousin. My 18 month old carries around my old purses constantly (usually two at a time), with various random things stuck inside – she loves to put things in bags. Most recently its the ornaments from the Christmas tree!
Caroline in Black
I found a half eaten banana. At least it was wrapped in the peel 🙂
Twitter link
https://twitter.com/megnmcc/status/544605184664797185
I like the Caroline in Red. I always find Thomas trains in my bag.
My favorite is the Madeline in brandy! I once found a very old, used diaper tucked in a side pocket (yuck!).
tweeted
I love the Caroline in black!
Funniest thing I have found in my bag recently was a couple of brand new sticks of fruit leather. My little girl (20 months) was helping me with the groceries and decided that was a great place to put her chosen items. I didn’t find them until I got home and realized we hadn’t paid for them. Whoops!
My daughter stole a coaster from my sisters house sbout s year ago and I have yet to return it. I think it was incredibly selfless of her to take something so practical! I LOVE the Elizabeth in Camel. I didn’t know diaper bags like this existed!
I love the Caroline in red like you have! Such an awesome bag! Just found out we are expecting our second child so this would be perfect! Also, I was once at a baby shower where we had to find things in our purses beginning with a certain letter, and I had the letter “t”. So of course I pulled out my teething ring. Ha! 🙂
I love the Caroline in both Brandy and Red. Nothing like searching for a pen during a work meeting and instead finding pacifiers and their ‘string’s, and a lot of dried up boogie wipes. Yikes!
I love the Caroline in black or red. So cute!!
The best item I’ve found in my purse was one of my daughter’s favorite toys. I was away from her for the whole weekend and seeing the toy made me smile.
Love the Madeline in Black!
The weirdest thing I ever found in my bag was when I was out at a party, with a special clutch that I had never used before, and my child had stuck a teething cracker in it somehow, someway, I am still not sure how he did it.
I love the red bag you have in your pictures the best! I always find that snot sucker bulb in my bag when I’m without my baby! 🙂
… also tweeted the giveaway!
I love the Cailin in royal purple. I once found a dirty diaper in my bag at work. I don’t know if that’s funny, or just gross.
I really like Caroline in red. Would have to be a spare pair of Minnie Mouse undies!
I love the Caroline in Brandy! I have found (clean, thankfully) toddler undies in my bag several times.
I love the Sarah Grace in silver.
The funniest, or grossest, thing I ever found in my bag was a sippy cup with 2-day-old milk still in it. Mmmm, chunky milk…
My favorite bag is definitely this one – http://www.lily-jade.com/designer-diaper-bags-p/sg1-silver.htm
I am officially obsessed with silver and yellow color combo!
I’m not sure what the funniest kid item I’ve had in my bag is but I did have my son’s emergency undies fall out of my bag once and I had to explain why I had little boy undies in my bag. I’m young so most people would never think I’m a mom. There were awkward stares exchanged and I felt the need to inform people that they were my son’s and not a strange kid I lured in with candy.
Also just tweeted! 🙂
https://twitter.com/JennaAllen/status/544977266204110848
Madeline in brandy is my favorite. I found fudge we hadn’t finished at the fair a month later. It was more sad than funny. I really wanted that fudge.
Love the Caroline bag in black! Finding a missing diaper is never fun or an old snack that I forgot was in there!
I love the Caroline in Red.
And the child related item in my bag was my nephews sippy cup, he must have decided to switch with Auntie. Gave me and the lady at the register a giggle. I have also found goldfish crackers and applesauce in there too.
Caroline in black – love that pop of red! I found a bag of rocks collected on a “nature hike” with her grandma around the block… explains why the already heavy bag was heavier!
I love the Caroline in Red. I still find pacis in my purse and we have stopped using pacis. I find random socks and once I found 1 lone shoe…not sure how I only had 1.
THe Elizabeth.
Gotta be the half eaten granola bar with pennies stuck to it!
I love the Anna in Gunmetal~AND i LOVE the insert! I switch between my work bag and the diaper bag and there is way too much intermingling!!
I always have a sock, a diaper, a random piece of snack leaving crumbs. Last week I found the baggie of ham I had been feeding my 10 month old and 3 year old bites of in between errands had actually not sealed shut and had leaked ham juice. all over my little cloth organizational bags, the diaper, the sock and the random snack pieces. My bag is not the same since!
I love the Caroline bag in red! My baby is only 3 months so I haven’t yet left the house with baby stuff by mistake…or left the house much at all 🙁
madeline in red — gorgeous! I’ve always wanted to take picture of what my kids take with them because it’s so eclectic and often winds up in my purse. I found an entire ziplock filled with rocks. i wish I could say that’s why my bag was so heavy.
MADELINE RED CANVAS is my favorite. I found a set of plastic peas during a meeting…complete with sand from the playground.
I love the Caroline in brandy. my purse is full of hair clips that my daughter always pulls out of her hair ten minutes after I put them in.
The “Sara grace gold” is so classy.
The funniest (most horrifying thing for a mother) that has happened in my experience happened during an extremely important meeting with everyone on my team (I am a professional photographer for various important companies, not to mention that all of the important people were in the meeting as well) and I was in the middle of a rebuttal against the lighting of a photograph trailer when I realized everyone was wide eyed surprised staring at not the screen, but at me. I looked around the room and then looked down at myself. My diaper bag/purse beside me was top to bottom covered in Vaseline, diaper rash creme, breast milk, Cheerios, and neon pink permanent marker. I looked on my side to find my side covered as well as my shoes. Not to mention I forgot to wear a bra that day. Let’s just say sleep deprivation and twin 3 year olds don’t mix very well.
Caroline in brown is amazing, black is nice too, but I love the brown. My favorite diaper bag find had to be this beautiful glittered Steve Madden heel that my older son was admiring at Nordstrom Rack. He loved wearing heels, especially sparkly ones, and apparently my youngest wanted to “give” it to him. It wasn’t until a week later when I found one “stolen” shoe in my bag… I didn’t know what was worse, that we stole a shoe, or that it took me a week to notice in my messy diaper bag!
I like the style of the Elizabeth bag. With my daughter, I don’t often find random items in my purse, but several times she’s taken out my wallet and rearranged every single card inside it.
Tweeted and following!
https://mobile.twitter.com/Agape_Loves/status/545627218664116225
I’m obsessed with the Madeline in brandy. The most random thing found in my bag? Denture glue. Thanks, grandma!
Ok it’s the 19th and know it’s the 19th BC tomorrow is my Birthday the 20th, but there is no winner announcement. :(…..are you waiting to announce it on my Birthday for me? 😉
thanks for your baby suggestions. i am often searching for new advice concerning my infant.
Caroline in brandy. I always find goldfish at the bottom of my bag. I found a half eaten lollipop once… Yuck!
[…] of my posts, especially if I need to be in them— like with Harlow’s birthday party and my post about Lily Jade diaper bags with Harlow and I walking around the […]
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