When I became a Mom, I said goodbye to my purse and hello to this beast. For my bag – the Mom bag, diaper bag, Mary Poppins endless bag – call it what you may, but this backpack has become a critical item for my daily adventures with my 11-month-old daughter, Rose. The photo of the items I took only skims the surface of what’s inside; however, I removed unique and necessary items for my daily excursions. In my picture, I have included:
- The Paperclip backpack
- Thinkbaby sunscreen,
- Airpods,
- Rocky Mountain hand sanitizer,
- Sunglasses (pink – Rose, black – mine)
- My wallet
- Keys
- Squoosh snack pouch
- Blue snack container
- A portable sound machine.
Other daily things in the backpack that are not included in the picture are my phone, diapers, bottles, wipes, an extra change of clothes along with many, many more items. First, if someone found my backpack and began looking through it, I’m sure they would be shocked at how much can fit in the bag and how incredibly heavy it is (airport security has commented on this multiple times). But secondly, I’m sure a person would know this is a bag for a baby and their parent. Every item in this bag has been needed somehow at some point in time over 11 months, and interestingly enough, the things (although replenished) have remained consistent.
Although they are not necessarily written words, I feel that sound may also fall into this category in terms of text technologies. I believe text technologies with the advancement of recent technology offer a broad spectrum of tools that can be used to hear, read or speak text. For example, I am automatically drawn to my AirPods and Rose’s sound machine. If Rose is asleep on long walks, I’ll put in my Airpods and listen to an audiobook. Although normally I’m an avid reader, this text connection allows me to listen to something I love while outside in nature and disconnect from my “Mom Brain” for a bit. For Rose’s sound machine, this particular device has a multitude of sounds or songs it can play for extended periods (or currently can be held & used as a chew toy), but while we’re walking, I often sing along to the sound machine for Rose. This music builds a connection between her and I as she claps her hands or babbles along with me.
Ironically enough, my Mom and I recently talked about how much the diaper bag has/hasn’t changed in the last 30 years. Although many of the items are similar, numerous things have evolved due to technology or the current climate we’re living in. For example, my Mom mentioned she would never have carried hand sanitizer or a sound machine in the late 1980s in her diaper bag. However, items such as diapers, wipes, and snacks would have been essential, although they may have looked different. Looking towards the future, if an archeologist found my diaper bag, I would assume that many technological items such as my phone, the Airpods, sound machine, and even snack pouches would be outdated and evolved. Yet, items such as diapers or wipes should most likely remain consistent but again redeveloped.
I’ve learned as a new Mom that your diaper bag is your survival backpack. It’s the cause of constant conversation between my husband and me (“Katherine, where is the _____?”) or between my daughter and myself (“Water? Snack? Bottle?”). It provides comfort and necessities – thankfully, it hasn’t let us down yet. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to explore the connections between the items in my bag and text technologies – I look forward to seeing where the coursework takes me!