Diaper Bags

Diaper backpacks, totes and the bag that hangs off the stroller:

the backpack has become the default because it leaves both hands free with a baby on one hip, and the better ones open wide from the top or the back so you are not digging for a pacifier at the bottom. Many fold out into a changing mat, and some open into a small padded bed, which is handy on a beach day and bulky everywhere else. A tote or shoulder bag in synthetic leather looks less like baby gear and goes to the office afterwards, but it pulls on one shoulder and tends to sag open. Smaller bags with stroller straps or clips ride on the handle of one of the strollers, and a slim changing pouch with a mat, a few diapers and wipes is often all a second child needs. Bottles, bibs and portable changing mats bought on their own sit with baby care.

Pockets, lining and a compartment for wet things:

where the pockets are matters more than how many there are. An insulated pocket on the outside keeps a bottle apart from the clothes, a wipes pocket you can open one-handed saves a lot of juggling, and a separate zipped compartment for a wet swimsuit or a soiled outfit is what keeps the rest of the bag clean after a morning at Jacó or Cahuita. Inside, a light, wipeable lining shows a leaking bottle or a lost biscuit straight away; a dark fabric lining hides them until they smell. Padded straps and a chest clip matter if you will carry it for a whole day out.

Polyester backpacks against synthetic leather totes:

a plain polyester diaper backpack runs around ₡13,000 to ₡23,000 new, while a structured synthetic leather bag with its own matching changing mat sits nearer ₡40,000 to ₡45,000. Second-hand the order often turns round. Polyester and nylon shrug off sand and sunscreen and go through a wash, so a clean backpack keeps a fair part of its price. Synthetic leather peels and cracks at the corners, the handles and the base, and once it starts flaking the dearer bag is worth less than the cheap one. Price a used bag by its surface and its lining, not by what it cost.

Peeling corners, tired zips and the insulated pocket on a used diaper bag:

start with the places that rub: the corners of the base, the edges of the handles and the seams where the straps are anchored. On synthetic leather, small flakes there mean the surface is already going, and it does not stop. Run every zip its full length, above all the main one, which gets forced shut over a stuffed bag every day and is the usual failure; a zip packed with beach sand catches and splits. Open the insulated pocket and unfold the changing mat: the silvery lining cracks from folding, the mat can split along its creases, and a sour smell means milk got in and stayed. Pull on the stroller straps and clips, and check that magnetic or snap closures still hold.

A diaper backpack ready for its second baby:

empty every pocket, shake the sand out of the seams, wash or wipe the lining and leave the bag open to air for a day before you photograph it. Show the outside, the base corners close up, the inside opened flat and the changing mat unfolded, and list what comes with it: mat, stroller straps, a matching pouch. Say whether the outside is polyester or synthetic leather, because buyers price the two very differently, and mention any peeling honestly. Whoever drives over from Moravia or Curridabat to collect it will unzip the insulated pocket and sniff it before anything else, so make sure it smells of nothing at all.