How do you manage when you can’t find the baby essentials you need in stores? Do you have any tips or alternatives

[mumoftwo0105]

I'm tired of trying to get baby products as a single parent of 2.
Struggling with relying on supermarkets as baby products run out quickly as both my kids feed a lot. I'm having to rely on subscriptions which is very difficult as it takes long to receive orders up to 3-4 working days. Some items are difficult to find in stores, especially if they are popular or in high demand. I have to shop around to find what I need.

So I end up ordering from uber eats or Deliveroo and still the baby foods I want can be sold out. So I order from amazon but they do not have everything I need.

Fed up of limited stock in supermarkets and always struggling to get baby essentials when there is not enough of it. Having to carry my two babies with me to shop is difficult especially as a single mum. So I can't just go from supermarket to supermarket...

Does anyone else have this struggle or am I the only one?

What sort of thing are you struggling to find? Surely all supermarkets stock nappies, formula etc…

What age are your children? Most ‘baby food’ is overpriced rubbish - can you rethink what you’re buying and cooking so that you and the children all eat the same food?

Never had a problem - what stuff are you struggling to get?

Are you leaving everything to the last minute? If so perhaps rethink that strategy?

Stocks of what?

The only absolute essentials I can think of are formula if you use it, and nappies. I’ve never not need able to find them in my very average Tesco!

Yeah we need to know what the products are and how old the kids are to give any tips!

Are you looking for very niche products or something? I’ve only ever experienced this once where the (cheap) nappies I wanted weren’t available in the size I needed so I had to buy pampers. Usually I do online shopping so in this case they’d just send the more expensive ones for the cheap price. I agree shopping with small children is a nightmare, can you shop online instead? As I generally then if something is unavailable they try to send something similar, which barring allergies would usually be ok.

I’m not understanding this - supermarkets stock plenty of baby essentials. What are you getting from Deliveroo or Über Eats?

Can’t you just feed them real food if weaned?

What is it you're struggling to get? The only thing I really had to keep on top of was formula - I always had one tub in use, and one in the cupboard, and then bought another when the first was getting low. That gave me a bit of breathing space to try again / another shop if they were sold out when I went shopping.

Nappies, I preferred lidl, but pampers and tesco were OK, so I had options if lidl sold out.

Wipes, again, any supermarket was fine, so I had options if preferred one was sold out. Worst case scenario cotton wool or strong kitchen roll with water.

Baby food for weaning - I'd just use normal food. I used a mix of bought and home made so just used what was available.

What are you struggling to find? We’ve never had an issue with a shortage of anything, or there not being enough of a certain thing to buy until the next weeks shopping.

I can’t say I’ve experienced this with 2 young kids, the only thing I’ve ever regularly experienced as out of stock is stage 1 kendamil.
In hindsight I would have chosen another brand if I knew.
Why are you varying 2 babies to the shop?
Why can’t you use a pram?
Why can’t you do an online delivery if you can pay through the nose for deliveroo?
What can you not make a swap for?

Real foods? Now's not the time for guessing what OP feeds her kids and then judging...

Well done for cooking everything from scratch and for raising children who devour everything you give them though!

I don't understand. What are you struggling to find?

Home deliveries of shopping stops you having to take both babies out.

Amazon delivers without difficulty, too.

Why does this come across like a weird advert?

Just shop online and include them in that.

The only issue we ever had was formula as my DS had a specific one due to reflux etc. I just had to be very organised and make sure we always had a spare one in. Nappies and wipes weren’t a problem, maybe occasionally just the brand.

This sounds like an advertisement.

Yep - but if it is, the OP has neglected to include a link!

I think they are looking at setting up a baby related deliveroo type service.

Never experienced this - what are you struggling for?

We can't comment unless you tell us what you're struggling to find, OP.

No issues here, we get weekly food shop deliveries including baby items and sometimes get from other places if we see things we use on offer.

If you are leaving it to the last minute because you struggle financially then deliveroo won’t be helping the budget.

I’ve definitely seen a post from this OP before about advertising a service to deliver baby products. Personally never found an issue but we use reusable nappies and wipes, and rarely buy “baby” foods.

Otherwise known as Amazon Prime, or a supermarket shop, or Getir....

There were well publicised shortages of formula a while ago. Was it covid related? I can't remember now. Otherwise I don't remember hearing about it being a general problem. Is it formula you are looking for?

I can't imagine running out of baby things if you are using a regular supermarket - even if you bought all the stock! And do online shopping to save having to take kids to the shop.
Also like PP have asked What exactly are you buying? The only thing I bought from the 'baby aisle' was nappies, cotton wool, and a couple snack items, a few jars for convenience if out and about at meal times. Never fed formula to one child and only for three months to another, but as that comes in big tubs can't imagine running out.