Let’s face it: if you parent a child with SPD, you already know your kid has a lot of baggage and that’s just talking about the stuff you need to get through the day! A little over a week ago, we asked you what item you HAD TO HAVE when going out with your sensational kiddo, and you responded with everything from gum and iPods to headphones and “loveys.”

But tell me; seriously, what happens to all that stuff once it goes in your purse or daypack? The big stuff does well enough, but all those little must-haves drift straight to the bottom. And we all know what the bottom (read “Bermuda triangle”) of an average mom’s purse looks like! – And that’s what my purse DID look like – until I stumbled across Karen of PillowSewCute, an Etsy shop owner and designer of the original Ouch Pouch.

Karen says she came up with the idea for Ouch Pouches after years of parenting experience and one 3AM stroke of genius. She tells of that dream in her shop profile, saying “When my children were small, I was always frantic and in need of quick first aid to clean up their scrapes and cuts while out and about. I wish I’d thought of this back then!”
Ouch Pouches became a huge hit for Karen, who designs and hand-makes each of the bags with care (over 18,000 of them and counting!). And over time, Karen has added different sized pouches – including the Medi Pouch XL size and a special size designed just for epi-pens.

Now, imagine if – instead of the state of disaster your purse is in – things looked more like this:

That’s the sturdy sample Medi Pouch Karen sent for review with Little Miss’s iPod, travel PECS set, chewy tube, wipes (we can’t have messy hands, now!), reinforcements/bribes (also known as M&Ms) and even my pack of gum. The handy-sized 7’x9” pouch features three metal snaps (to keep everything safely in place) and the best part – a durable, see-through window on the front that allows me to immediately check if I have what I need before I hit the road with Little Miss.

But Ouch Pouch organization doesn’t have to stop with your purse. Karen also sent along a large 6”x8” sample pouch for review, filled with everything I need in case of a scrape – and let’s face it, with Little Miss’s vestibular and proprioceptive sensory issues, we have a LOT of scrapes.

This Ouch Pouch, even with everything you need for scrapes tucked inside, is still the perfect fit for a glove box, car console, or even a day pack.

If you weren’t totally sure yet on how useful these pouches are, I have one final, convincing bit of evidence for you. These brown owl Ouch Pouches are the ones I ordered from Karen more than two years ago. These two pouches are in my purse All. The. Time. They’ve been through therapists’ offices, the grocery store, mall bathrooms, airport security, camp, daycare, and more – and they’re still in awesome shape. Anything that can hold up to that kind of abuse and still look good? That’s golden.

So, are you ready for the details? Great!

You can buy Ouch Pouches online at Karen’s Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PillowSewCute) in five different sizes (4×5, 5×7, 6×8, 7×9, or epi-pen), with prices ranging from $5.95 up to $15.95 (plus shipping). Karen stocks a fantastic variety of fabrics and there’s sure to be something that will catch your eye.

And, for SPDBN readers, Karen is willing of offer 20% off when you use the coupon code, SPDBN20. Please note, this coupon code is only valid through the end of August, 2012 – so make sure to get in on the deal before then!

Or, if you want to try your luck, you can enter to win an Ouch Pouch two-pack from Karen. She’s offering one Medi Pouch (7’x9”) and one large pouch (6”x8”) to a lucky SPDBN reader… the winner even gets to pick which fabric is used.

To enter, complete the form at the end of this post any time between now and midnight EST on 8/16/2012. Please keep in mind that you must be a U.S. resident and follower of the SPDBN via Facebook and Twitter (2SPDBN) in order to be eligible for this giveaway.

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