Did / Will anyone else stockpile household stuff before birth

[JamieJay]

Random thought I realise but just been to the supermarket and starting thinking about the value of 'stockpiling' some of the day to day essential in advance of giving birth (due in 3 weeks).

Did anyone else do this or planning to?? Thinking of the likes of loo roll, shampoo, cat food etc.

Realise that the supermarket will still be open and DH will be able to go even if I'm recovering but thought it would be one less thing to think about (and we always seem to run out of stuff at 10:30 on a Sunday night!!)

Not thinking of buying enough to live through a zombie attack but maybe enough for a month.....

So - wise idea or daft beyond belief????

We did it last 2 times and we'll be doing it again this time. I know it might seem like an over-reaction, but for me it was more to do with when my husband went back to work I didn't want to HAVE to go out if I didn't really need to. As it happened I couldn't be doing with sitting round the house so was out most days anyway, even if it was just to pick up some milk or something, but it was good to not have to remember things!

Here's the kind of things we bought -
tin-foil
cling-film
sandwich bags
kitchen roll
loo roll
kitchen sponges
dishwasher tablets & washing up liquid
washing powder/liquid & fabric softener
bin bags

Not daft- excellent idea. People who come over and help after the birth will check your milk and bread situation, but they won't check the toothpaste!

Guess I've got another thing to add to DH's to do list for this week - hadn't thought about toothpaste and dishwasher tablets

This reminded me of when I was expecting DS and it might sound weird but every week from when I knew I was expecting I bought toiletries or household items!

I had bought so many marks and spencers air freshners that my son was 2 before I needed to buy again.......

My DH thought I had lost my mind.

Now I don't think you need to go that mad but yes it's a great idea as it'll avoid those late night trips to get toilet roll etc.

Great idea. I'm so glad I did it as DD was born in the snow and we actually couldn't leave the house for about a week. Another good thing I did was pre book online shops for a week with all the essentials in the baskets. Then I added bits nearer the time I needed.
Get plenty of snacks for you as well, especially if you are BF to keep you going.

Pre book for a month I mean!

I usually stock up on non-perishable stuff for about a month at a time anyway. I did a lot of home cooking and filled my freezer in the weeks before DS was born. I think we ate the last of 8 lasagnas when he was about 8 months old! I also got a milk man, and got in lots of part baked bread.

Online grocery shopping is the way to go! I am doing it now for all my heavy and bulky stuff - big packs of water, detergent, loo roll, cans, cat food, bottles etc

I am only 21 weeks so am not stockpiling, but just don't want to be lugging heavy things back from the supermarket when I am pregnant. It also stops you over-spending as I always buy things I don't really need when I am wandering up and down the aisles.

I buy in bulk anyway so it doesnt bother me. Have to admit though I wouldnt have bothered. Normal life resumed the day after I gave birth anyway except with my prem when I had been in hospital a month before anyway.
Online shopping with favourites only takes minutes anyway but if it makles you feel more comfortable then do it

No its not a daft idea. I did something similar with DC2.

Also agree with doing online shopping for a few weeks, it worked very well for me for the first few weeks.

I'm going to, I've already started cooking basics for the freezer.

Going to get:
loo roll
toothpaste
kitchen towel
anti bac wipes
Deoderant
Shower gel

I do grocery/household shopping online anyway, but this saves 'little' shops too often.

Online shopping comes into its own once you have a toddler who won't sit still for 2 mins!

I did have an online shopping basket saved from about 39 weeks, so after DD1 was born we could get it delivered the next day, turns out I ended up staying in for 5 days so by the time I came home and finalised it we were desperate

If you've got the space buy a couple of extra containers of milk and chuck them in the freezer. They take about 12 hrs to defrost ( 4 pinters) but are very handy as back up, Just give them a good shake before you use them to mix the cream back in.

Don't forget to stock up your freezer too

i'm 34 weeks, asked dp to get me some mineral water - i always have a small bottle about my person as im so thirsty, dp bought 7 cases of 12 bottles :-s

ha ha!! i did this a few weeks ago, spent over £200 on a massive shop. i was 38wks at the time, now im 41 wks and have ran out of everything already.

Cool, seems like it's a good idea then.

Will sort a big shop of the household basics later this week and set up an online shop so DH can do that once baby is here......

No I didn't and my son was born early. It was horrible coming home from the hospital and there was "nothing" in. I also felt like an absolute cow for sending my boyfriend out to buy all this stuff.

Like you say, I'd meant to get in 100 bog rolls, 6 packets of dog food, 2 bottles of washing liquid etc., etc.

I do this all the time!! Buy it when it's on offer. I think I went almost a year without buying shower gel as I had such a big stock pile.

Did it with baby stuff (wipes etc) when pregnant.

totally a good idea.

I did this last time, and it was great. It meant the day to day nonsense of buying essentials wasnt one of the things niggling at you all the time.

ALSO, I made batches of things like curries and bolognese sauce etc, and stuck them all in the freezer. We had weeks of eating proper food that took minutes to heat in a pot. You never know how you'll feel - physically and mentally - after the birth, so do all you can to make things easier for yourself - you'll be amazed at the things that are much harder than you thought they'd be, with a new baby. You dont need to add late-night trips to the supermarket to this

I had only a couple of things pre-made&forzen before having DS, should've probably made more though.
What I found quite useful was buying a few packs of UHT milk (tetra-packed), which didn't need to be refrigerated or frozen (we have very limited freezer space).

I think the UHT milk is an excellent idea.

When I got home from the hospital I was so overwhelmed, it was just gone lunchtime and I was hungry & tired. We had no milk or bread in and all I wanted was a coffee and a sandwich. So I burst in to tears.

Oh I made loads of stuff for the freezer for when I came home and then ended up staying in the birth center with ds for 8 days.

On my return I discovered dp had eaten it all

I sorted out a milkman for before DC1 arrived. Just couldn't be arsed to carry all the sodding milk that DH drinks plus a baby and a change bag up all the steps to our house. Glad I did it, we've still got one now 6 years later.