Stockpiling for new arrival 21 March 2015 at 9:24AM in MoneySaving mums 10 replies 2.9K views

krustylouise

Hi all,

Just wondered if any of you could jog my memory as it'll have been 8 years since my dd was born.

We're due our second beginning of June and so I'm looking to stockpile stuff in order to help financially and otherwise after munchkin makes an appearance.

We have enough nappies and wipes (in various sizes) stocked up also wipes, lots and lots of wipes!

I've also made a start on toilet roll, body wash etc and haven't yet but will buy extra cat food/rabbit food and washing powder.

Is there anything I'm missing??

MaryMurphy

Hi krustylouise,

I’m on a similar boat as you. I’m due at the end of August so I’m not actively stock-piling anything yet, but I do have a general of what I want to get closer to the time…

It’s my first so hopefully some experienced mums will come along and keep us right 

Baby things:
I intend to stock up on wipes (apparently you want water wipes for new-borns, so I’m considering getting a selection of both water and normal baby wipes).

Personally for us, no baby clothes, we’ll just get the essentials to start off with.

Also, no nappies, I read on here somewhere that you may have to try a few different brands before you find one that suits you and the baby? Not too sure how that works though, I think you can get samples sent to you if you sign up to various baby groups and it’ll save having to buy a full box of possibly unwanted nappies. I haven’t looked into this in any major detail though (yet) so I’m happy to be told I’m wrong!!

House stuff:
Stock up on non-perishables – household washing items, toilet rolls, etc and tinned food, coffee (essential stuff that will come in handy in the early days), as well as batch cooking and freezing some nutritious meals for when the little one arrives and you’re too tired to cook a decent meal.

Stuff for you:
Breast pads (is that what they’re called?)
Sanitary towels
Comfy clothes? I’m assuming I’ll be spending much of my early days as a new mum in clothes that are as comfortable as possible – so possibly making sure the kind of clothes you’re going to wear have been washed and ready to be used.

Anything else? Please do let me know if I’m way off!

MMx

SmlSave

Easy snacks/food for you. Fill the freezer with meals that can just be heated.

Apart from nappies and milk if you're bottle feeding then there's not much that needs stockpiling for baby. Although if your happy with second hand clothes I'd let everyone know It's amazing how much people give sometimes!

Easy food and comfy clothes would be the top of my list
Boots paper knickers are a very useful thing to have for after baby along with maternity pads, breast pads and lots of paracetamol!

SmlSave

Forgot to say, cloth wipes are great for baby's. You can buy pretty ones our just cut up an old towel. Put in wash like normal with nappy wash (antibacterial) and its easy as that. Even pooey ones have gone in my dark clothes wash with no ill effects

pollyanna24

I got an email yesterday that had £12 off Mr t if you spend £60. Stockpiling stuff will easily come to £60 and if you get £12 off, all the better!

gayleygoo

I have my third baby due in roughly 5 weeks and am not stockpiling anything in particular. Maybe just teabags, coffee, diluting juice and biscuits, and toilet roll! We are fortunate to have several shops in walking distance and a selection of supermarkets and pharmacies within short driving distance, so I don't anticipate any emergencies of running out of anything else. Even when you are tired and run down, after a week or two of being in the house you might want an excuse to nip out for a few things anyway!

Nappies - I've used cloth nappies and wipes for both my children so they will do this time round as well. If using disposables it is usually recommended you don't buy lots of the same size and brand, in case they don't fit baby well or baby outgrows the small sizes before you've got halfway through the stash! Nappies and wipes are almost always on special offer somewhere too.

If you are formula feeding, don't get too many tins either. Some babies can be fussy, and check the dates on the tins. If breastfeeding, a couple of packs of breastpads are handy to have (your OH will probably have very little idea of what those look like if he is sent out to buy them!) Again, stockpiling is not the best idea as I found some disposable brands to be uncomfortable. They can be very expensive too, can cost the same as nappies! I quickly changed to washable pads, much comfier and just got popped in whatever wash was going on at the time. Breastmilk bags (and pump) and lansinoh are almost essentials for breastfeeding too.

Rabbit food sounds like a good idea. We have bunnies too, but at least there's a pet shop round the corner. Not fun to run out of pellets on a Sunday when it's not open though!

I shudder at the thought of "paper pants" (although they are probably not as bad as they sound!), two multipacks of dark-coloured pants will do the job. If you have lots of old pants they may work well, they don't have to be "granny sized" as tighter fitting pants seem to hold pads better than big loose ones.

Lots of muslin cloths will come in handy, or those small, cheap ikea handtowels.

Washing powder - if you look on ebay you can get 20kg of washing powder (bio or non-bio) for around £18 delivered. I don't know about you, but this would last me at least a year!

Snacks for yourself and your first child would be good - cereal bars, dried fruit etc. Make lists of quick and easy meals that your family could eat if no-one is up to cooking a big meal. For us, this is stuff like scrambled egg and toast, or fish fingers and tomato soup and bread. I'm not normally keen on those packets of pasta-and-sauce, but they're pretty good when boiling pasta and microwaving a jar of sauce separately seems like way too much effort. I'll be getting in some of those! If your OH currently lacks cooking skills, now would be a good time for him to learn a few things

krustylouise

Thank you for your hints and tips. I forgot to mention I have already stocked up on sanitary products, also made a trip to primark and stocked up on large sized cheap big knickers though admit I've been wearing them now as they are so blooming comfy!

Cooking for the freezer is on my to do list but don't fancy them sat in my freezer for another 2 months so will do them probably in a month. Will also stock up on pasta sauces/supernoodles and snacks such as cereal bars (thank you for suggestion).

The nappies we've bought are in various sizes up to size 3 and lots of them. We've bought from aldi and asda as these have good reviews, but if they don't get used I don't have any issues donating them to friends. Wipes we've stocked up on different brands when on offer and we always use them for ourselves as well as the baby.

We are bottle feeding due to issues with previous problems breastfeeding. We've decided on cow and gate formula (all being well) but how much should we buy as those are quite expensive if baby has a reaction or just doesn't like it?

Thanks again I really appreciate it x

BAGGY

I would go to poundland and buy some small micro fibre flannels. I bought about £6 worth (5 in a pack) and 7 years later they are still going strong. I used the plain ones, dipped in water or chamomile tea, for bums and the dotty ones for faces and hands. You can take a dampened one out in a zip lock when you are at the ice cream at the beach stage. That and the cheapest t-towels from Ikea were my best buys. I used them as muslins.

Birdie85

Re: Formula, I'd only buy 1 tub just in case. I also wouldn't buy too many of 1 type of bottle. We got through 3 or 4 types until settling on Avent ones for my DS. For the first week or so (whilst we were still in the zombie stage!) we used the C&G Starter Pack, lots of little bottles ready to go, an absolute dream when stumbling around half asleep or out for a drink and he decided he was starving right now!

Instead of stockpiling anything for baby, put the money aside as you're better off buying stuff once they're here and you've settled on a brand than buying too many of the wrong thing eg. I still have a couple of packs of Boots newborn nappies lurking in the back of DS's wardrobe as they leaked terribly!

Mojisola

Birdie85 wrote: »

Instead of stockpiling anything for baby, put the money aside as you're better off buying stuff once they're here and you've settled on a brand than buying too many of the wrong thing

Got to agree with this - unless you're getting special offers, why would you stock pile stuff instead of just saving the money and using it as needed?

desperate2save

Exciting times and great thread. From experience (and over stock piling with the first to the point had no room) your best bet like others have said is get your essentials and put money aside. It's easy to forget that actually babies don't need huge amounts of stuff and all the fancy things really just are a waste of money! Milton sterilising tablets for cold water sterilising are one thing I always have more than 1 box of, not only for sterilising bottles but great in an empty spray bottle as a cleaning spray! £2 + for the milton anti bac spray or £1.25 for a box of 28 tablets.... The best tip from a mother and baby group!