“It Was Made for Me”: How One Travel Bag Changed Everything
Before the travel bag, Rodjalynn didn’t pump outside the house. With three babies under the age of two and a full schedule as a mom of five, it simply didn’t feel worth the trouble.
“It wasn’t convenient,” she explained. “Just that fear of maybe something leaking out or getting lost inside of a bag... It’s just an open space in the bag versus having compartments within. I would not pump on the go at all.”
All of that changed when she received a Suckle Center travel bag through a community gift initiative.
“I really didn’t know too much about it prior to it being gifted to me,” she said. “But I just know that it’s a very compact bag. I’m able to store everything in there that I need—especially for all three of the babies.”
She was stunned by how different it felt from other diaper bags she’d used before.
“Most diaper bags I have, I’m only really able to store enough just for the younger ones,” she said. “And I definitely can’t store a whole motor for the breast pump.”
But this one? “I’m able to store everything—from breast pump supplies to a change of clothes for everyone, diapers, wipes. Multiple bottles can fit in the outside pockets versus just one bottle. Even the duck bills for the breast pumps—I can store those in the upper compartments and I know they’ll be safe.”
The deeper she explored the bag, the more thoughtful details she found—each one confirming this wasn’t a generic product. It was a product designed with lived experience.
“There are two zippers, and that’s perfect,” she said. “Sometimes you pack so much that it’s hard to close. If you only have one zipper, you’ve got to force it over the hump. With two, you can leave it cracked at the top and that’s okay.”
Then she discovered the changing pad.
“When I first opened it up, I was like, oh my goodness, this is the best diaper changing pad I’ve seen,” she said. “It’s extra thick—especially the padding for the baby’s head. They move around a lot, and having somewhere comfortable and safe to place their head really matters.”
Even the feel of wearing it stood out.
“I remember walking around with some of the other backpacks, and my back would start to sweat a lot,” she said. “And I’m just like—when I take it off, don’t hug me, I’m sweating. But with this backpack? My back doesn’t sweat. And it has more stuff in it than the other ones.”
Then came the game-changer: a built-in charger port.
“I was talking to Jaz at a community baby shower recently, and she told me I could take a rechargeable battery, charge that up, and plug it into the backpack,” Rodjalynn recalled. “Now I can wear the backpack and charge the battery for the pump while I’m moving. I was like, oh, I’ve been doing this wrong. That’s how she has you in mind.”
The impact on her daily routine was immediate.
“I’m much more comfortable pumping on the go now,” she said. “I don’t have to carry a second bag just for the pump motor. And since I’m able to pump, I can hand a baby or two over to my mom or a family member and give them a bottle. That way I can get a little bit of a rest. Even just an hour or two—those breaks matter.”
Looking back, she’s still amazed that she almost overlooked the bag.
“If it wasn’t gifted, I wouldn’t even have looked at it,” she said. “I would’ve thought, it has everything I need, but it’s too expensive. But now having it—I’d tell any mom, this is the one. It keeps everything organized, it’s comfortable, and you can tell a mom really made it.”
