Stocking Up on 30 Things Before Baby Arrives

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Amazon has to have made postpartum life much easier than it used to be. No more running to the store because you’re out of toilet paper or forgot to pick up dog food last week. Majority of what you need can be sent to you quickly. However, we have seen some lag times from Amazon lately, especially in remote areas. These delivery times have people questioning whether or not it’s even worth it to have a prime account. Thankfully, we live remotely but close enough to still get same day service if absolutely necessary. Plus, there are now grocery delivery services too, which can also be a big help. For us, I’d rather be more prepared though. We want to spend as much time with our little one as possible once he/she arrives and that’s why we’re stocking up on 30 things before the baby arrives.

Why Stock Up?

If all these wonderful services exist, why even stock up? Well, it all depends on your approach. Now, granted, I’m a first time mom so this is my first time going through this experience. I just know that we don’t want to get into a situation where all the sudden we are out of something and it becomes an emergency. My husband will only have a week or so to spend with us before he will have to go back to work. (Don’t get me started…) I want to be able to spend all of those moments together bonding with the baby and getting acquainted to life as a family. I won’t want to leave to go to the store but I also want to respect his limited time and not make him do it either.
It’s really the same reason that we are making 30 freezer meals too. I just want us to be able to spend as much time together as possible. Going through pregnancy loss and infertility has really made me strong in my beliefs about this. We’ve waited a long time to get here and I just don’t want to waste one minute of the precious time that we’ll get together. We only get to have the first time with this baby once- one first week at home, one first month at home, etc. I’m determined to make that go as smoothly as possible. So, to do that, we’re stocking up on 30 things before the baby arrives! 

The other good part about this is that if you have to take unpaid leave you won’t have more expenses. Having a good base of meals and supplies on hand will make it so that your expenses are really only the standard bills that you have each month (mortgage, phone, insurance, etc). It’s much easier to budget for those things and make sure you have enough in savings to cover them than to add the variability of the cost of these other items.

Things To Stock Up On

1. Toilet Paper
2. Paper Towel
3. Paper Plates
4. Napkins
5. Laundry Soap (both for you and the baby if you are using a separate kind)
6. Dish Soap (and/or dishwasher soap)
7. Stain Remover
8. Trash Bags
9. Batteries
10. Ziplocs
11. Kleenex
12. Cotton Swabs
13. Cotton Balls
14. Hand Soap
15. Body Wash (or bar soap)
16. Shampoo & Conditioner
17. Face Wash
18. Lotion
19. Water Softener Salt
20.  Water Filters
21. Toothpaste
22. Mouthwash
23. Toothbrushes
24. Floss (or just buy a waterpik already)
25. Cold & Flu Medicine (for both you and the baby)
26. Supplements (vitamins, minerals, etc)
27. Prescription Medication (if possible and needed)
28. Animal Feed (dog food always slips my mind!)
29. Deodorant
30. Cleaners (multi-purpose, dusting spray, window cleaner, floor cleaner)

BONUS: Seasonal Items

1. Bug Spray
2. Sidewalk Salt
3. Sunscreen (for you and baby)
4. Allergy Relief

Shopping Method

Honestly, you could go create a grocery or amazon order today and be all stocked up on this stuff in one big delivery. It’s easy and you’re done! Or, the other way to do it is to get a little more with each shopping trip. That makes it a little more affordable and doesn’t blow up your budget. Again, this is a helpful thing to do when you have to take unpaid leave. 

In Summary: Stocking up on 30 Things Before the Baby Arrives

I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who don’t even think about stocking up. Heck, they probably don’t worry their entire pregnancy too! Unfortunately, I don’t fall into that category. I want to be prepared for anything that gets thrown my way. Plus, I know it’s not realistic, but I don’t want to screw this parenthood thing up right off the bat. I’m sure we’ll make mistakes but I have high hopes for at least a week of parenting before we get there!

Are there things you wish you had done before having your baby to be more prepared? What is the number one thing you would tell moms about stocking up before the baby arrives? Tell us in the comments!