9 Best Things To Stock Up On When Having A Baby

When you are having a baby you will think of thousands of things you want from a bouncer to jungle themed nursery and more but you might not think of things you really will value when it comes to the babies arrival.

We are huge planners and like to be as prepared as possible for anything we are doing so it was no surprise that we planned as much as possible when we started having IVF to have our first baby. We even learnt a few (or more) things along the way when having our first baby.

There are no right or wrongs in this and if you feel you don’t need certain products then simply don’t buy them. Also if you are planning on using reusable products such as reusable wipes, nappies and breast pads you should get a healthy supply of these ready too, it doesn’t just have to be for those using disposable items.

9 Best Things To Stock Up On When Having A Baby

After much advice from friends, family and even some helpful strangers you really start to get a good feel of what peoples experiences were like and if someone is to recommend something to me then I feel it is worth listening to.

I found that because we like to plan I was happy to take recommendations of things people suggested we stock up on, that along with “would we use that?” we found we had created this handy list of items that might help others.

1. Nappies In A Variety Of Sizes

Something you might find you get given as gifts is nappies and wipes, they are practical and useful items to have and can really save you from having to run out and buy some in those early days after the baby is born.

While most people might only get you the first size it can often be handy to keep larger sizes to hand when your baby starts to grow or they don’t fit in the first size for long.

We found stocking up on a variety of sizes of nappies for the first few months a savour for the days we needed to use a bigger size or even for those days where you need the bigger size and you can’t get them for whatever reason. We also found stocking up in advance of the sizes we would need first something that saved us a lot of stress, time and frantic panic buying.

You can stock up as many as you like or a smaller amount that you can afford or even give up space to hold. While this may not work for everyone as you might find you want to change nappy brands by trying out the first ones you can find you have a lot of nappies that are then going to waste.

So don’t go mad and just have a healthy backstock on hand for those frantic days.

2. Wipes

Wipes are another essential you will find yourself using a lot and needing for a number of things from nappy changes to dribbles to spilt milk or even messy food faces. You can buy boxes of wipes in supermarkets or places such as Costco that work out cheaper per pack than buying singles.

You can stock up on the normal disposable kinds found on the baby aisles at the supermarket or get some reusable wet wipes.

3. Muslins

One of the key bits of information we were given during our pregnancy was that a family friend used muslins for everything because they were cheap, soft and easy to wash. They came in handy for everything from sleeping, eating, cleaning, covering while breastfeeding and even playtime.

With that in mind we kind of stocked up on large muslins to use for changing on as an emergency changing mat, coverage for when I planned to breastfeed and even for cleaning up as they were so easy to throw into the wash.

We also had a friend who used them as mats for when her baby needed or wanted to be put down for a little bit of playtime and tummy time. We also found these were much easier to store in a changing bag and throw in with a quickly packed bag and they were able to be used on a number of different scenarios.

4. Food

Food may seem a very strange one and I am not talking about baby food – too early for that but actually food for you and your partner and whoever else lives in your home that needs feeding.

Whether this is you, your partner and the household pet or your other children you will want to think about stocking up on supplies so that you don’t have to do a mad dash to the supermarket when you have had 3 hours of sleep and you almost run out of the house in your slippers.

A friend of ours told us one of the best things she did was pre-cook meals for the freezer ready for the baby to arrive, that way they had food on hand that they could easily put in the oven and eat and still enjoy a decent meal.

You can do whatever works for you and your family but it is a great idea to have some food supplies ready and waiting for the newborn chaos to start. This can be anything from stocking up your freezer with quick meals, cupboards with easy staples, snacks and lunches (especially for children going to school) and even other items such as pet food.

5. Laundry Detergent

You may have already bought a special set of detergent for pre-washing baby clothes and think that you might just keep using that for the baby clothes alone. We actually decided to pick a brand that was baby friendly and just washed everything with it, that way no matter what I was washing it could go in one wash.

We found stocking up just an extra one of the detergent and washing powder was helpful as it is something you will use ALOT and it can often be one of the last things you think about when you are out shopping. I find that because I don’t buy it weekly I often forget to check if I need anymore before doing the shopping.

So having a second on hand is great for anyone who can be a little unorganised and forgetful like me. It also means that it gives you more time to remember to buy it as you see it going down each week.

6. Hygiene & Sanitary Products

We can get so micro-focused on the things we need for the baby we often forget about other things, things that we need for ourselves to survive and actually feel like a human.

One of the biggest things I would recommend stocking up on is toilet roll, now no one ever wants to be in the position of sitting down on the toilet and realising they are on the last sheet. Sure, you can get your partner to run out to the shop for more but why put yourselves under that stress.

You can buy toilet rolls cheap enough in bulk and you can easily store them in a cupboard or even under the bed if you struggle for space. That way if you and your partner have totally lost track of time and sleep deprivation has masked your reality of looking after yourselves then at least you have some spare toilet roll under the bed.

You can use the same concept on things such as sanity products for women, shampoos and soaps or even dishwashing soaps and tablets. Because lets face it, it is harder to just get these items delivered within the hour than it is food.

7. Baby Milk

This is optional, for many including myself I was very open to breastfeeding and wanted to give it my best shot but I was also very aware that me and the baby might not connect that way and have more trouble feeding. I also understand that bottle feeding isn’t for everyone and neither is breastfeeding.

So this is really just an add on for those who are definitely bottle feeding then I would suggest stocking up on baby milk, not too many as your baby may not like that brand so you may find yourself 10 cartons heavy when your baby doesn’t like it.

Maybe have a couple to hand and that way if your baby doesn’t like that brand you haven’t wasted too much money and you can simply gift them or sell them on.

8. Creams & Balms

Some great advice came from a friend who suggested having a changing station in the main rooms of the house, especially in the bedroom for bedtimes. With this, we found it handy to buy creams such as Sudocrem, Bepanthen and any other nappy rash type creams in bulk so we could have a healthy supply and one in each room.

You can also apply this to any creams and balms you might need as new parents from stretch mark cream, recovery balms or even just a nice moisturiser to make you feel more like a human in those very early days.

9. Clothing In A Range Of Sizes

Something we thought we originally had a lot of were baby clothes, we had them stashed away ready to be washed nearer the time. Once we got them out and washed and in the drawer ready we realised quickly we hadn’t got enough to last us 2 days never mind much longer.

While I am not saying you need tonnes of clothing, I also think it is wise to be practical and have a steady supply on hand because when you are tired, drained and hardly managing a full hour of sleep at a time the last thing you want to think about is shopping for clothes or washing.

We were luckily having a baby shower shortly after our realisation and was quickly sorted with what we feel was enough clothing to last us a long time without doing any washing.

We also started to prep early for the next size up, this was mostly vests that go under clothes and even other types of clothing such as socks and other more basic items. We worked out that our baby would be in summer clothes around 5-6 months age so we could get a few items for bigger ages.

We also found having newborn, 0-3 months and 3-6 months clothing ready we had some time to use up those and have a good supply of clothing no matter how big or small our baby was going to be.