Stocking up

michelle_shelle · March 2016

I know I am early in thinking of this, but I am a major planner and like having lists. For STM+, what are some of the things that you stocked up on. Not necessarily baby related, but everyday necessities that would be a pain to run out of during the first few weeks or months for.
On my list so far I have toilet paper, paper towel, Lysol wipes, Windex, dish soap, etc for cleaning products, as well as toiletries, soap, tooth paste, shampoo & conditioner. Anything else that I may be forgetting or you found helpful.
I will also have things for pp recovery, pads, tucks, witch hazel, nipple cream, etc. I hope to have a few frozen meals done or at least have my pantry stocked with dried and canned goods.
I thought this might be helpful for other moms, FTM or STM+ that will need to keep LOs occupied.

kriley602774 · March 2016

I definitely appreciated that I made myself a few freezer meals like lasagna, meatloaf and chicken pot pies. I plan to do this again, but I'm hoping to motivate myself to make a bunch more since I'll have a toddler on my hands this time around!

I hate the idea of boxed foods but you better believe I'll be stocked up on anything convenient!

Curls919 · March 2016

Freezer meals but also lunches that could be eaten one handed while nursing or holding the baby.

mouse1029 · March 2016

Whatever quantity of paper towel you were planning on, double it!

bearsandbeets7 · March 2016

We lived with my parents when we brought DD home from the hospital so I'm interested to see the responses to this!

SkiChic626 · March 2016

Mine are all baby related, but there really wasn't anything non-baby that I found I needed to go get that DH didn't get anyway when he did the weekly grocery run. Pumping supplies....freezer bags, extra bottles and caps, nipple balm, one or two nursing bras but you really won't know what size you need until your milk comes in but they are a must, different size flanges because the one you need could change depending on if you're engorged or not. Other things you don't know you need until you need them at 3am....gas drops and gripe water, etc. A million burp cloths, you seriously can't have too many. It's nice to have a few things you can nuke so you don't worry about cooking. Filling you queue with shows or movies - I need to start coming up with my list for this, I didn't do it last time and I wish I had.

bananers · March 2016

Aside from freezer meals (because I did not feel like cooking at all), I actually enjoyed trips to the store for the mundane stuff. I got a little cabin fever being at home so much, but long trips out just weren't feasible for a while. However, a 30 minute trip to the grocery store for TP? Perfect excuse to get out and perfect length of a trip. Unless you live way far away from civilization, I wouldn't worry too much about stocking up on everything. And if you do, get Amazon Prime. Actually get that regardless. It's a life saver.

PeachGal23 · March 2016

AMAZON PRIME! I agree with what other posters wrote and would add plenty of nursing pads! (I preferred the disposables.)

mmclark10 · March 2016

Amazon Prime was a lifesaver! But I agree with @bananers, I loved getting out for more than just a walk during the day. I hated disposable nursing pads, they made me feel like a Fembot. Another new mama turned me on to Bamboobies and I LOVE them. Super thin and oh so soft, and easy to wash with all of the other infant items you don't want to lose in the washer or dryer in a mesh bag. I stocked up on those and may even get a couple more this time around. Plus, if you get Prime, you can have them in two days.

tisunge602 · March 2016

Agree with PPs, especially freezer meals. One thing I'd add to your postpartum recovery list is Dermoplast. The hospital sent me home with a can but I went through it pretty fast (3rd degree tear) and we went out to get more at Walgreens. It's a life saver if you're....ahem...injured down there.

Ceventa · March 2016

Two other items on my postpartum recovery list, that numbing spray (Dermoplast) they give you at the hospital to spray down there, totally helped with the pain of recovery after a vaginal birth. Stool softener because the next scary thing after giving birth is your first poop.

lmtrmama · March 2016

Gas drops for baby and a few enemas, suppositories, anything in case you can't go! Also easy to make and eat foods for breakfast and lunch in case you don't have the time or
free hands!

ThisisNumber3 · March 2016

Put together a baby first aid kit.

Freezer meals are great, but lunches and snacks that you can eat one handed are even better. Look up lactation cookies. You can bake and freeze or even freeze the dough. Healthy muffins for breakfast would be great too.

SkiChic626 · March 2016

mmclark10 said:

I hated disposable nursing pads, they made me feel like a Fembot. A

I agree! The disposable nursing pads made me feel like I had diapers in my bra - no thanks. I got the washable fabric ones - just do NOT put them in the dyer, they lose their shape - and I think I also had some bamboobies, but they weren't as absorbent as the thicker plain round white ones.

Bookhousegirl · March 2016

Snacks are really important, especially one handed snacks and straws or a water bottle with a built in straw because once that baby is asleep the less movement the better.

I was also going to say that I loved running to the store in those first couple of weeks. It was my only time out of the house and it made me feel human. Not big food shopping, but quick trips to CVS kept me sane.

ethiwen4 · March 2016

If you're planning on nursing, grab some nipple shields. Because of the way I happened to be shaped I needed them for DD and there is nothing, NOTHING worse than not being able to find where you left it in the middle of the night. Have extras, you can always return them if you don't use them. Also, because I used the nipple shields, nipple butter was just too greasy, so we stocked up on silicone soothing pads. I'd just pop them in the freezer and put the icy cold goodness on my sore nipples. Lifesavers.

Buy yourself a couple large water containers so you can keep one in your living area and one bedside. Always keep 'em full if you're nursing. Buy some easy pour water gallons if you happen not to like your tap water, the kind with the spout on the bottom so you don't have to do any extra lifting.

PJpeppercorn · March 2016

Snacks! Especially if you are breastfeeding! I could not eat enough! No kidding, I ate twice as much food while I was nursing than I ever ate while pregnant. It was awesome!

bananers · March 2016

Ceventa said:

Two other items on my postpartum recovery list, that numbing spray (Dermoplast) they give you at the hospital to spray down there, totally helped with the pain of recovery after a vaginal birth. Stool softener because the next scary thing after giving birth is your first poop.

OMG, this. I think that first poop was scarier than labor.

karaszoo1 · March 2016

I am a complete and total type a planner organizer type perosn so I did with my last and have already started stocking up on everything and anything.for 2 reasons if I'm exhausted the last thing I wanna do is run out for something stupid and because I'm a control freak god forbid my husband or inlaws or parents get me the wrong crap I'll have a meltdown (I'm known to have terrible post partum anxiety etc) don't judge unless You've been there lol
And my second and probably most important reason is because my maternity leave (with the exception of 2 weeks ) will be unpaid so if I stock up slowly now throughout the pregnancy it'll be alot easier when my income isn't coming in
I'm stocking up on diapers of various sizes (disposable and cloth)
Wipes, bathing supplies ,formula (my milk jugs suck) gas drops gripe water infant motrin those type of things ,household papergoods, cleaning personal care postpartum mommy items,dog &cat food lol etc
Edited because spelling is hard amd my phone hates me today

smilormarie · March 2016

So I had been an amateur couponer right around the time hubby and I got married and we still had a huge stockpile of quite a few essentials. Now that stockpile has dwindled to what can fit under my bathroom sink. :-( If you have the space, by all means stock up on pasta, sauce, canned veggies, TP, hand soap, paper towels, napkins, and wipes. But really, getting out after baby isn't that hard. The first few weeks are rough but that's what take out and delivery are for. I also did a short subscription through Amazon for some food and non food items those first few months. Getting out just makes you feel like you've accomplished something so don't stock up too much unless you are an avid couponer and spring an awesome deal. :-)

charmedlifex3 · March 2016

Remind me to go through this with a spreadsheet open later... It's a two hour trip to get to a target, babies r' us or basically... civilization. (I live in a town with 650 people. This baby will be 651. I'm not joking.)

mmclark10 · March 2016

@Allisun85 You should definitely think about Amazon Prime! I've saved the $99 in shipping in the first few months of having our first. Plus, you get free streaming video and music and picture storage included.

haboobjob · March 2016

I went out and bought a Costco-sized box of Oxiclean to take on destroyed onesies. Also, tons of wipes. I also had a ton of easy macs and mini personal pizzas for quick meals. We buy most of our toiletries at Costco so we were pretty well stocked before baby arrived.

@ethiwen4 I totally agree with the nipple shields! I had to use them because DD didn't like my shape. I wasn't able to wean her off them later on so I used them for 13 months. I had 4 or 5 and having multiple was a lifesaver.

ethiwen4 · March 2016

@justaudrey the sheer panic of "where did I set it after I nursed her last?!" as the baby was crying was enough for me to run out the next day and grab like 6 more...just in case.

haboobjob · March 2016

@ethiwen4 totally! Plus it doesn't help that it's clear. I misplaced it so many times because I literally couldn't find it. Lots of late night trips to BRU!

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