scout: the perfect pool bag & giveaway

Summer arrives and I suddenly become the pool sherpa. I have to able to pick the perfect pool for right time of day and bring along all the appropriate gear/toys and food. My first two summers to the pool I literally looked like a lost bag lady. I came in carrying at least three bags full of toys, diapers, swim diapers, clothes, snacks, water bottles, baby bottles, towels and anything else that may be considered essential to water play....even if only for 10 minutes.

Last summer, I walked past the most awesome bag at a local festival and finally decided it was time for a decent pool bag to tote all the junk to the pool. The bag was worth every cent and should be required gear for any Baby Bunching mom who is at the pool regularly.

The bag is called a Scout bag and Pine & Ivy (who I bought three of these bags from) is donating one for our giveaway. I love this bag because it's huge (19 x 10 x 15 inches), waterproof, stain poof and fun to carry. It's made out of poly-woven tarp material and has reinforced handles so I can get literally EVERYTHING for the pool into one bag.

To enter the giveaway, tell me why you need this bag and give us your best Baby Bunching pool story. We'll randomly select a winner on June 25.

Congrats to our winner Ariel. She was selected by Random.org.

Comments

[Krystyn]

I have been in search of a pool bag. We bring a million bags, too, and still there isn't a spot for the towels. This one sounds great.

If you don't have luck with them, I bet you could find something similar on etsy!

[Kate Coveny Hood]

I love these! Such great colors and patterns.

[MommyNamedApril]

I need this bag because it's FANTASTIC!!!

My story isn't so much related to baby bunching as it is ridiculous 2 year old antics...

Last weekend we went in the pool for the first time this season. My kids had a great time playing AROUND it, but threw absolute screaming hysterical tantrums if I so much as suggested they get IN...

Flash forward to last night when we had friends come over with their 7 year old twin girls who wanted to go swimming. All the sudden, my girlfriend who is chatting with me on the patio, stops what she was saying and asks 'APRIL - DOES HE SWIM???' and points to my 2 year old who is nonchalantly walking into the pool as if he'd done it every freaking day of his life!!! The child ended up playing in the pool for an hour and a half, well after the twins had quite to go lounge and watch t.v., and I had to beg him not to go past the steps because I really didn't want to get in with him.... *sigh*

[Melanie]

I would love to take only one bag to the pool, instead of the following: one bag for toys that are still wet when we leave the pool, one bag for things that need to stay dry, like swim diapers, regular diapers, clothes and towels, cellphones, etc., another bag for snacks - we must have snacks, and only special pool snacks will do, apparently. And a little soft cooler with drinks, cheese and crackers, applesause, yogurt, etc. Hopefully in this small soft cooler I can also fit whatever alcohic beverage which will enable me to get the the pool in one piece. Don't forget I have to carry 2 preposterous noodles, foam water blasters, which apparently every kid MUST have one, and kickboards. While I am juggling my armloads of bags, I am herding my two boys away from the water, as the younger one (age 2) has already jumped in the deep end without a flotation of any kind and had to be rescued by me!! My older boy won't take his swimvest off until he is comfortable, which is taking several days. Both of them love the pool and are in different phases in their swim education level. A bag though, yes, a new bag.....this could really help my situation.
If I had just the one bag I would have the other hand free for holding that drink I referenced earlier!

PUH-llllllleeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaasssssssee!

[JessPond]

I need the bag because we're WATER people! We go to Hilton Head every year and take at least one or two additional beach vacations per summer. And we live in OHIO, land of NO BEACH. HOWEVER, my grandma, who lives about 2 miles away, has a pool, so we're forever carting crap!

I don't have a great baby bunching pool story because, well, my kids are still little (1.5 and 2 years). But they already love the water, luckily for them! Cause if they didn't love it, they'd have to LEARN to love it!

[Sierra]

So my crew consists of 3 in 37 months - number 4 is due this fall when my youngest will be 3.5. Wahoo - we've learned how to space a little better ;-)
We've joined our local pool for the last 3 years and are still perfecting the art of pool with children.
We made a major mistake in year one of the pool that we are still dealing with. I insisted that "if you want it, you carry it." I didn't have a large bag and refused to go out and buy one, or do the sherpa impression. I was in charge of towels and snacks in my own little bag - thank goodness for thin towels.
My three year old and 17 month old each had one of those tiny backpacks that they crammed with toys. Now b/c those backpacks were so tiny, guess what, so were the toys!! Tiny little dolls, mini match box cars - itty bitty toys that take FOREVER to find at the end of the day.
I tried to correct this HUGE mistake but, apparently, this was the only time they actually enjoyed being in charge of their own possesions - though I am still the one who chases the mini -everthing around the pool when it's time to go home.
Fast forward - I now have three kids with their tiny stuff and still no big bag.
I am in need of a big bag so that they can each choose ONE big toy (no small parts allowed) and if they want - hey, they can take turns carrying the thing!!

[Shell]

I was just saying this week how much I need a bag for the pool! Took my four year old and three year old swimming- dropped the one year old off in the childcare room at the pool. Baby perched on hip, two bags hanging on other shoulder- bursting with towels, clothes, and diapers- bags falling off shoulder and threatening to conk 3 year old in the head, since I was also using that hand to clutch his hand, lest he make a made dash across the parking lot. 4 year-old carrying a third bag and whining about it non-stop.

Oh, how I need this bag!!!!!

[Carol Amie]

Do I *need* this bag? Only if it comes with a Mother's Helper tucked inside that roomy storage space. :) Would I *love* to have this bag? Absolutely. We are currently taking 3 different bags (a small diaper bag for my 1-next-week babe, a mesh beach bag for pool toys and passes for my 2.5 and recently 4 year olds and a giant reusable shopping bag to throw everything into when one of the kids melts down and/or poops requiring us to leave in a flash.

Because of our nap trap a quick jaunt to the pool (as quick as any activity can be when it requires moving 3 kids only 38 months apart Anywhere) is about the only chance we have for social outings right now and a new handy-dandy perfect for the pool bag just might help alleviate my biggest stresses...like when I finally convince my 4 year old that he Can in fact go into the "giwlz" room with me, manage to get my 2.5 year old to not Lick any surfaces in the public restroom and get the baby pried out of her wet bathing suit only to realize that her dry diapers are awol and must have fallen out under the pool chair when we were digging for sun screen...

Leaving me no option but to drag naked baby, germy girl and hysterical boy as well as out bag-lady collection of loot back out to the pool deck once more and extending out stay another 15 minutes with the efforts to ramp up for our departure and get the kids back out of the pool all over again.

Could this bag cure that? Because if it could, then I do *need* it.

[Leticia- Tech Savvy Mama]

I'd love to have this bag because it sounds absolutely perfect for all of our trips to the pool. We live at the pool in the summer! Thanks for a great giveaway!

[Tricia]

Hallelujah! One bag to carry everything? I mean seriously...with three kids in tow, it is just too much to ask me to carry multiple bags (you should see my strained efforts to try to squish everything into one mesh) and who doesn't want a cute new bag anyway? Love it! Love it! It's just too bad that if I were to win, Linda wouldn't be able to see how cute it looks slung over my shoulder since she moved out of my neighborhood :) jk - miss seeing you around here!

[Kendra Kuhlman]

I absolutely love your blog- and these bags! With my 2 year old and 1 year old in tow- we go to the pool often and this bag will keep me completely organized, right? Does it come with a babysitter too?

[Julie]

I'm not quite the baby buncher (kids are ages 5.5, 3.5 and one due in August) but this bag would be ideal. Who wants to haul around several small, tough-to-get-into bags this summer whilst hauling a belly larger than the beachball my 3 year old keeps dropping and trying to catch up with my speedy 5 year old? Count me in on the giveaway!

[Marla Ferguson]

what a great bag...i guess i need it because i am new to the baby bunching thing and too scared and overwhelmed to go to the pool. my 21 month old would love to go swimming and i would love to take her, because it guarantees a nice long nap!

[beth]

Well last week I had dressed my almost 3 year old and my 4 year old. I was at the time dressing my 1 year old. I had told the other two that we were leaving and so stay near me. We had been at the pool for 3 hours and I was toast by the time I was dressing them to go. I look up as I'm struggling to get my 1 year old dressed to see my almost 3 year old floating on her belly in the baby pool, fully dressed. Her brother was standing next to her playing with some water toys. I almost started crying I was so frustrated. It's still a juggling act and I'm sure it won't let up any time soon. Pool membership...what was I thinking???

[Corinne]

Not a baby buncher (my two are three years apart) (although I was baby-bunched ;)), but I desperately need a good pool bag! I am tired of shoving things into my stroller, diaper bag, and arms to get everything to the pool... These look so great, and I love the colors.

[bonggamom]

I need this bag because I have 5-year old boy twins who think that a visit to the pool requires that they pack half their toychest, aside from the bulky towels, goggles, lotion, shampoo, and sunscreen. I also have an 8-year-old daughter who thankfully has her own pool bag, but thinks that mom should be carrying all the drinks and snacks in her bag. This bag looks fantastic, thanks for the giveaway!

[Amy]

I just want this bag because it's pretty!!!! I baby bunched my first two (boys) and now have my Sweet Baby Girl. I am happy with the pool bag I have, but it's still not big enough...plus, a girl can never have two many bags!!!! :)

[Emma]

I "need" the bag b/c I have so many different bags & none of them meet our needs (sound familiar?). The "need" comes in that DH has threatened serious repercussions if I buy any more bags (or flip flops) if I buy any more. Perhaps if I win this bag I'll perform the ultimate sacrifice - I'll ditch 2 bags for the "price" of winning this one :) (I'm still buying another pair of flip flops this week, though ;-)
Emma

[Javamom]

This bag is so cute! And I would LOVE to believe I could put our pool stuff into one bag!

My favorite pool story is more about my daughter specifically than babybunching. My son learned to swim using the Saf T Seal vest, but my daughter is so slim that the vest didn't keep her afloat the same way that did. I tried every floatation device possible to keep her happy last summer -- which also meant HAULING everything down to the pool -- we had different kiddie inner tube/rafts, bathing suits with floats stuffed into them, a bathing suit with an inflatable ring, the vest, water wings -- I am positive I bought ever single device made trying to get her comfortable with floating on her own (just a couple of feet away from mommy I mean) rather than trying to tear the top of my bathing suit off of me in public. Nothing seemed to provide the right amount of balance/flotation for our girl. Finally, in the last 20 minutes of pool time on our last day of our Hilton Head vacation, I hit upon the right combination -- water wings with the Saf T Seal vest. Suddenly she was Miss Independent, paddling all over the pool so fast that I had to chase her. This summer, she's down to just the water wings and often is quite insulted that JavaDad or I feel the need to be within arm's reach of her.

Although we don't have to carry an entire store's worth of floatation devices with us anymore, we still have to carry towels, toys, changes of clothes, etc., etc. etc. so I'd love to be entered into your giveaway!

Thanks,
Javamom

[Ariel]

Enter me, please! We tend to go as a family, and with towels for a 4-year old, 2 1-year olds, plus DH and me, plus toys, snacks, changes of clothes, diapers, goggles, sunscreen, hats, sunglasses... we end up with 2 or 3 of those non-disposable grocery sacks, which makes us look even less classy than we already do with our huge entourage and our less-than-well-groomed selves.

Last year, we had a lot of fun at the local pool with the huge fountains once we discovered that the noise put the babies to sleep! So if you have a baby in tow, find a pool with some white noise and you're golden.

[MeganP]

Love the bag. I need it because I have a 3 year old, a 2 year old and an 8 month old, nuf said:) I wish that I had a great pool story to tell, but I haven't yet worked up the courage to go to the pool with all 3 kids, this bag would give me the perfect reason to give it a go!

[Joy]

My son is super spoiled with lots of toys. Thus he gets bored after a few minutes with any one toy or book and I need to tote around tons to amuse him. Would love this bag!

[Dolly Roach]

why I need this bag!?! Because I have 4 kids and am babysitting another. The thing to keep cool during summer is playing in any type of water!! I think my favorite babybunching pool story is padding my two year old with enough flotation devices that he looked like the michelin tire man- just so he could bob around while I took care of my newborn!

[Sally English]

I need this bag because i have a 2 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old.We go to the pool almost everyday.My Daughter is the 1 1/2 years old and she can't walk yet her Physical Therapist suggested that i take her to the pool and do exercises with her on the days we can't make it to Physical Therapy.And Physical Therapy is 37 miles one way.And when you don't have alot of money you can't afford the gas to go everyday.So we go to the pool and i work with her she just learned to crawl so the pool is helping.Well i guess what i am trying to say is that when you have 2 kids and one being her size having to carry all the toys,floats,snacks,cups,swimming diapers,diapers,sunscreen and towels in grocery bags as you try to hold one childs hand and carry the other child it is really hard.If we win this my children and i would greatly appreciate this bag.

[Erica Cosgrove]

I need this bag because we go to the pool a lot and I always look like a sherpa toting someone's gear for ascending Mt. Everest. My current pool bag (bought for $4.99 at Walgreen's) is hideous: orange and black. Although I thought it was big when I bought it, it's not nearly big enough for all the things we need for the two kids (ages 5 and 2). So I now take 3 bags to the pool whenever we go. My little one is a red-head so I bring all kinds of extra sun-protection gear for her -- not to mention the Spiderman pool toys! -- and somehow it all doesn't fit. Thanks for posting about this great bag.

[Jessica Stewart]

We just moved down south (from cold Chicago) and are so excited to have a pool just three houses away. But with 3 kids under 3, we're still trying to figure out the most efficient way to get there as much as possible! Its usually me with an old beach bag, diaper bag, two kids in a wagon (which is full of whatever doesn't fit in my two bags) and one kid walking with me. Its a bit crazy!

[Kristy Snyder]

Please pick me??

We live in the land of 10,000 lakes and a splash pool within walking distance of every home. We regularly "walk" (ah-hem, carry two kids...when will I learn to just ignore them and take the stroller?) to the park by our house for our swimming adventure.

Every single time on our return trip, I end up balancing the kiddos while I pick up the gear that we dropped on the way there. Leaning down, losing my balance, sitting down with the two kiddos...then trying to fit the boat, ball, sunscreen or whatever in my arm pit...and attempt to make it to my feet with EVERYTHING.

Catch a mama a break and let me try out this AWESOME bag??

[Julie]

Oh wow, the bag I've been looking for! I'm not a buncher, but am thinking about it for #3. Right now, lugging a 3.5 yo and an 8 month old to the pool is quite the challenge. Between the snacks and toys and baby shade stuff and sunscreen and whatnot, I'm afraid I'm going to forget the kids!

[erin]

i need the bag to make me look thinner--my good friend always says an oversized bag can do more for you than a week of dieting.

my best babybunching pool story actually involves leaving the pool. with twin 18 month olds and a newborn, someone is always bound to get left behind in the elevator. thank goodness it wasn't the newborn!

i was a nanny at the time--the missing twin was successfully recovered moments later after a fun ride to the next floor!

[Jena]

I would love to have only 1 bag for the pool. I have 3 kids (4 1/2, 2 1/2, and 1). IT seems like no matter where we go i'm the bag lady! Thanks for the chance to win one of these!!

[Kristi]

How can 2 itty bitty boys have so much stuff!!?? I love bags and this one looks like a winner!!! My boys are still little (almost 3 months and 21 months) but I can see getting lots of use out of this bag!!

[Dave]

I love this blog!
I am a papa that drags my kiddos to the pool. I inevitably forget something, as I pretend that I do not actually need a bag.

Yes, I will pause while you giggle.

If my wife found out that I won this bag (I don't tell her I also read this blog), she would get a huge belly laugh. She is always telling me that I should just bring a bag...as I retell stories of forgetting sunscreen, splash balls, swim diapers (yes, I know), etc.

Please make me look like a hero?

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We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. (Franklin Roosevelt , American president