Monday, August 19, 2013

JJ Cole Collections Diaper Caddy

As I mentioned previously, our old townhouse was three stories.  Since A's changing table and such were in her bedroom on the top floor, we were not near it for about 90% of the waking day.  Hence, we needed a mobile diapering system that could easily be transported between floors.

A friend of mine really highly recommended the JJ Cole Collections Diaper Caddy (LINK).  Here's a photo:




We got that exact one, in brown.  It currently runs about $29.99 (although, when we got ours, I could only find it at Babies R Us for about $40).  The side facing you has a drawer underneath (the part with the metal ring), and then on top is a little cubby deep enough for a standard baby wipes container.  The other side is as deep as the whole side of the caddy, so you can either fit approximately 60 (exaggeration) newborn diapers in there, or about 15 or so diapers for a bigger kid.  The little drawer on the front is great for diaper rash cream, or extra binkies, etc.  

There is an enclosed diaper lay-down thingie for the floor, too, so you can protect your carpet/table/carseat from poop stains.  Which, all in all, isn't a bad idea.

I'm not sure how to mince words about it, so...  We freaking love this thing.  My buddy Amanda was right.  It's the perfect size, super easily portable.  Even now, we still use it - here's a photo of ours (in the lower right of this photo).  I have thoughtfully edited out all identifying information:




As you can see, this thing is jammed with big girl panties, baby wipes (NEVER giving those up), pajamas, and so on.  I carry this thing up every night when we go to bed, and it comes down every morning.  

If we have another child, I actually plan on getting a second one of these, as well as maybe a replacement one for this.  After A accidentally bodyslammed this one, the handle became just the slightest bit bent.  It's still usable, so I won't replace it if it doesn't get worse, but that's Plan B.  

The only surprise I had when I got this really was just that I expected it to maybe be plastic or something inside, but it's just pretty reinforced cardboard.  So, it can bend if you or someone you love lands on it.  If that's a big potential problem in your household, you may want to look at, say, a fire safe or something to carry around.

Value:  $29.99.  To be honest, I balked at the price of this a bit, especially since it was even higher when we purchased it.  It seems a bit high just for the convenience of carrying around baby butt covers.  We have used the heck out of it, though, so I think we've gotten our money back out of it.
Child entertainment level:  Not applicable
Practicality:  This is very practical for households where you might be changing your baby in any number of locations.  If you live in a studio apartment or something where that isn't a concern, I'd probably skip it.

9 comments:

  1. I loved this thing, unfortunately K wrecked it, and I didn't really feel like dropping another $30 when G was born, so we have a cheapie one that is just not as awesome. I may spend the money and buy another.

    PS You killing me with censoring the dog's booty! Love it!

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    1. Did you get a lot of new stuff when G was born, or were you pretty well able to reuse stuff? This thing really was awesome - I've seen some at Target, and I'm curious if they work as well.

      LOL - I didn't want to stare into that thing, nobody else should have to!

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    2. We were able to reuse most everything, but K seriously just destroyed the diaper caddy. He decided he needed to sit in it, and it was kind of all over from there. I bought a cheapie Playtex (I think?) one from Target and it's just flimsy and I kind of hate it.

      I'm kind of stalking your blog tonight, I hope that's not creepy! ;o)

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    3. I totally think it was the Playtex one I was looking at. Our current one seems to have survived A landing on it, knock on wood, but I"m not sure how much longer that will go. I will NOT get the Playtex one, thank you thank you!

      I like talking to you, so I'm definitely NOT creeped out. :)

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    4. Yay, I'm not creepy!

      Yeah, the Playtex one is no good. You know how the JJ Cole is structured, like with cardboard inserts or whatever? The Playtex one doesn't have that, it's pretty much just canvas, so it doesn't stand well on it's own and I feel like it just looks sloppy. Plus, no drawer. It has lots of pockets, but due to the lack of structure, it falls over on itself when there is stuff in the pockets! I really liked the drawer, I always knew were my diaper creams were. I'm forever losing them now!

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    5. OH, yeah, you definitely need the structure. So much of baby stuff (wipes and cream) is heavy, so that's totally going to go lopsided and tilt. That's a terrible idea?!? And you're right, compartments are totally necessary, otherwise you've basically just got the worst diaper bag ever.

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  2. Right? It's almost like an inside out diaper bag!

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    1. That is dumb. A freaking Wal-Mart bag might be a better solution. :-/

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