Prepping with a baby

How are you preparing
pitchshifter
Posts: 80
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:34 pm

Prepping with a baby

Post by pitchshifter »

Hi all! So I've been away for a while, I was busy having a baby! She's coming up 3 months now and I'm starting to think about my preps again, having decimated lots of our stocks over the past few months when getting to the shops has been more difficult due to being enormous and then caring for a small baby. It's getting easier to be out and about now so I think it's time to start getting stuck in again. There are a few things that I've been doing through choice that I guess are also kind of prep-worthy, including breastfeeding (so no need to store formula or worry about sterilising bottles), using cloth nappies (so no need to store loads of nappies in different sizes) and I've learnt how to use a wrap for hands-free carrying! This is my first baby so I'm wondering whether any of you seasoned pros have any ideas for prepping with a baby?

My plan for this week is to inventory the food cupboards as we've eaten most of what was in there (mostly without thinking in a zombie-like, sleep-deprived state!) so need to stock up again now.
pseudonym
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Joined: Wed Jul 27, 2011 10:11 am
Location: East Midlands

Re: Prepping with a baby

Post by pseudonym »

Firstly congratulations. :)

Bacpacjac has some early vids with her child: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9fpZ ... mSA/videos

as does Urban Prepper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpPi0ATXcps

HTH
Two is one and one is none, but three is even better.
Arzosah
Posts: 6323
Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 4:20 pm

Re: Prepping with a baby

Post by Arzosah »

Wonderful! As pseudonym says, congratulations :)

I'm not at all seasoned about prepping with babies :oops: but what I've seen over the last few years at big events is big soft headphone type things that fit completely over the baby's ears ... preventing ear damage in loud situations.

I'd be stocking up with play basics, in case we were confined to the house by bad snow, pandemic, etc - paper (including otherwise wasted sheets of blank A4 that banks love to send), crayons, crayon sharpener, blunt scissors, and needles and thread for yourself to make hasty repairs or let things out - cutting out the toes on a babygro and adding soft fabric slippers seems to be a favourite one :)

HTH

The age the little one is now, of course, as long as you're there, she's fine :)
featherstick
Posts: 1124
Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:09 pm

Re: Prepping with a baby

Post by featherstick »

It's easier when they are little. You can use the buggy bag as a baby grab bag and keep it stocked with nappies, wipes, things to chew on and look at, spare clothes, muslins (lots of muslins. Lots!) Spare t-shirt for yourself as well, I've had baby sick, pee and poo on me in public...

A few disposable nappies will not go amiss for times when it is simply easier...

Baby-focussed FAK is useful. That could include calpol, plasters, antiseptic wipes and cream (3-year old got a nasty infected wound because I wasn't able to clean a playground scrape properly), perhaps an ice-pack.

Some cash for phones, taxis, emergency purchases.

Refill it as soon as you get back indoors from wherever you've been.

Getting on local freecycle/gumtree/parents' groups is a great way of getting 2nd-hand clothing, equipment and toys, keeping cost down, and meeting new people who can become good friends.

How is sleeping going? If problematic, get your hands on Sleep - secret of problem-free nights, by Beatrice Hollyer.

And enjoy your baby. They grow up quickly.
pitchshifter
Posts: 80
Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:34 pm

Re: Prepping with a baby

Post by pitchshifter »

Thanks all :D

Cheers for those links Pseudonym, the Urban Prepper baby is so cute, and the Urban Prepper dad so helpful!

Arzosah I'd been planning to get some of those baby ear defenders for music events in the summer so that's definitely on the list, and you're right in saying they'll come in handy for any loud situations.

Featherstick the baby bag is so useful! We got a backpack style one which can clip over the handles of the pram or be worn as a backpack and it's great. Also you've reminded me that I need to chuck in a spare top for myself as well as the spare clothes for the baby, I meant to do that after the vomcano incident of last week and forgot! I also think I really need to get more baby-specific first aid stuff, we've only got infant paracetamol, infant ibuprofen and nappy cream, I need anti-histamines and suchlike. I'm pleased to say that sleep has definitely improved since those first few weeks when I suspected that she might actually be nocturnal, she now sleeps around 5-6 hours in a stretch :D .
featherstick
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Joined: Mon Feb 17, 2014 9:09 pm

Re: Prepping with a baby

Post by featherstick »

Good.

Lots of late afternoon daylight will help to reprogramme the hypothalamus and prime it for night-time sleep. Leo was nocturnal in utero and when born, but a few weeks of lying in the garden all afternoon sorted it out.
Jaeger48
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2015 1:30 am
Location: Seattle, WA, USA.

Re: Prepping with a baby

Post by Jaeger48 »

Wipes, wpies, and wipes. They're good for adults and wonders for little ones. We have an 18 month old. Part of our preps include spare nappies in each vehicle and dried fruits and crackers that he likes. We also have a spare pacifier to help sooth him when we go for a drive. It makes sleeping during stressful times much easier.
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MissAnpassad
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Location: Sweden

Re: Prepping with a baby

Post by MissAnpassad »

A good prep with a little baby is to learn how to sew and mend clothes, and also how to darn socks.