I am a massive fan of Douglas Adams. You probably guessed that from the title of the post, but I assure you, it has relevance to the topic in discussion. Whenever we take our daughter out, I carry what I still refer to as “a nappy sack”, although it has rather evolved from the days of milk bottles and muslins. It can feel like I’m carrying around a small elephant, and the car often insists I have a passenger when I dump the bag on a seat. However, I have yet to find anything that can be removed. With that in mind, I present to you a list of things that I feel are singularly essential to carry with you on day trips when taking your fae out.
- Spare nappies / underwear: depending on the stage of toileting you will at some point need this. We can go weeks without needing any but then she will be too busy playing and suddenly we are back to needing changes of everything.
- Wet wipes and nappy bags; these are so useful for clean ups and bagging wet clothing etc. I use wet wipes that only have water in them so I can safely wipe faces and hands down when eating.
- Spare clothing: even if your child is perfectly toilet trained (lucky you) they will still find a puddle/mud pile or paint. Lightweight clothing is easily sourced and vital – and don’t forget the socks.
- A towel. Grab a survival towel from an outdoors shop: they are small, light and a life saver; you can use it to cover dirty floors if you have to do clothing/nappy changes in disabled toilets as not everywhere has changing places. They double as blankets, dresses, head scarfs and you can dry things and people with them!
- Soap leaves/hand sanitizer ; I prefer soap leaves and water as hand sanitizer does not displace dirt it just sterilizes it, but it doesn’t require water and will do in a pinch.
- Travel size sudocrem / antiseptic cream; this is not only nappy cream but primary first aid for grazes, bites and stings etc until you can get somewhere to sort it properly.
- First aid kit. I don’t need to justify this right?
- Water/snacks. I swear most of our problems when out and about can be solved by the judicious application of one or the other.
- Sun cream. Yes it’s winter, yes it’s single digits of temp, no you won’t remember to add it in come summer.
- Radar key – if your fae still requires assistance or is in nappies beyond the safe size to use baby changers in public restrooms, you need a radar key. These open disabled toilets, if you have justification to use them get a key. Talk to a pharmacist.
- Sterilising wipes/fluid: I have a 10ml pump bottle of Milton fluid in ours – it means I can make sure that any surface my fae eats off will be clean with a quick spray and a wet wipe. Of course she will then eat off the floor as well but at least I can comfort myself with the thought that I tried.
- At least 2 packs of tissues. In different pockets – when you need them you don’t want to have to scrabble for them.
- Reusable straw: you can get metal ones that collapse down into little cylinders, they’re brilliant. It means that you can always get a drink whilst out with your fae that they can cope with.
- Sunflower lanyard with your contact details: if your fae is a runner (like mine) and non-verbal get a hidden disabilities lanyard. They’re easily googled or found here: https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com and you can tailor the card attached. We have ones for myself, my husband and our childminder. They explain she doesn’t speak, gives our names and phone numbers. Think of them as socially acceptable dog collars for kids.
- Emergency sweets (yes bribery) for when you need to move them: sometimes it’s inevitable you will need your child to walk past the scary dandelion or back to the car.
- Personalized meds: that for us is asthma inhalers but it could be epipens, antihistamines and the medical warning cards etc.
I have to admit that we don’t use everything every time. Sometimes we use none of it. There are other trips where I come back with everything needing replacing or washing. Every time I leave it behind, we need it. So this is what I feel you need to make sure you can handle fae related emergencies in general. I also have things for me that include my notebook/sketchbook and many painkillers.
Raising the Modern Fae 