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I am a minimalist. When I stay in the neighborhood with Charlie, I don't even take a diaper bag. Otherwise here's what's in my diaper bag:

For Charlie:
- diapers
- wipes
- snacks

For Olive:
- diapers
- wipes
- change of clothes
- disposable changing pad
- burp cloth

My LO is 20 months and I carry in my diaper bag:
diapers
wipes
changing pad
1 change of clothes
bib
hand sanitizer
plastic bag
a pen
disposable place mats
thin blanket
mini first aid kit
one of his favorite books
lots of snacks
bottled water

I guess I'm kind of a packrat. I hate being in a position where I think "darn! I should've packed that in the diaper bag".

I like to be way over prepared. I have a diaper bag that I always keep with me in the car and a smaller one with just a couple of things if I'm just running in somewhere and have access to the car if needed.

-diapers
-wipes
-bottles
-formula
-bib
-extra clothes (onesie, long sleeves, pants, jacket, socks)
-blanket
-burp cloth
-sun tan lotion
-sun glasses
-suction thingy
-changing pad
-camera
-phone
-wallet
-my meds
-hand sanitizer
-wet bag (cloth diapers) but I would have one anyway for soiled clothing
-rattle

Yes, I'm a crazy person.

Does your diaper bag just replace your purse?

@Nskillet: yep! I no longer carry a purse. I have a wristlet (i have driver's license, key, mini antibac, and 2 ccs and costco membership in it) that I put in my diaper bag along with everything else I need. When I go to the market, I'll leave my diaper bag in the car and just go in with the wristlet.

I plan to keep a purse separate from the diaper bag. I want the diaper bag to be exclusively baby stuff.

I keep my stuff separate from my son's stuff, only because I travel a lot on public transportation and if I ever have to leave my stroller, I don't want to have to pull out my wallet, phone and keys. I carry a small cross body bag that has all my stuff in it. That always stays on me. I keep a diaper changing pod in the bottom of the stroller, so I always have a few diapers, wipes and a changing pad.

In my diaper bag, when I even bring one for my son aged 1, I pack:
Change of clothes plus extra socks
spit rag/burp cloth
plastic bag for garbage
food bag, containing whatever he's eating in the next meal
huge bib, because my son is starting to feed himself
pacifier wipes, that I use as face wipes
toys, books, amusement items

@Mrsbells: Is there a reason you want to keep things seperate?

For me it makes more sense to have it together just because I'm pretty much always with the baby. If I worked I'd probably want to keep my own stuff in it's place. Also, I didn't carry a purse before. I just had a wrist wallet, so it's easy to throw in the diaper bag.

Changing pad, wipes, a few diapers, pacifier pod w/ pacis, a couple of toys, nursing cover, a change of clothes, blanket, scented bags to put truly horrendous diapers in, lanolin, and my wallet/keys/phone.

Do you guys feel like it's really necessary to have an actual diaper bag, or would any bigish bag with compartments work just as well?
They all seem stupidly expensive!

@MegWag: My diaper bag isn't a real diaper bag. It's from 31, the Organizing Utility Tote (L on this page of the catalogue). http://www.thirtyonegifts.com/catalog/page2_3

I love it. It's huge, so it fits a lot. And there are lots of pockets on the outside so you can easily find things in a hurry. Plus it's cute.

@MegWag: it depends on how much you plan to hold in it and how you organize your stuff. I like to be able to attach it to the stroller, so I like bags with stroller clips. I also don't carry diapers in my diaper bag (they're in a separate changing station) so I can get away with carrying a lot less.

The best thing I ever did was gather everything I wanted to carry and lay it out in the dimensions of the bags I was considering. It narrowed down my choices super quick!