Stockpiled | Things To Buy Before Baby Arrives | Elizabeth McKnight (2024)

Congratulations on your pregnancy! Whether your baby is due tomorrow or in a few months, you probably can’t help but start thinking of all the things you want to have done for their arrival. There are cute onesies to buy and diapers to purchase, but you can also start stockpiling things for your home so you have less on your plate when the baby arrives. The last thing you want is to have to run out with a newborn because you’ve run out of toilet paper.

I’ve included a few things we stockpiled before baby #2 arrived and I’m SO glad we did!

We hit the one month countdown to baby girl this week!

It’s really exciting, but it also a big reminder of how much I have to do. We still need to sort through Lincoln’s baby clothes, pull the bassinet out of the attic, and, you know, pick out a name. Additionally, I need to pack a hospital bag and consider ordering a few new sleepers so baby girl isn’t only wearing Lincoln’s hand-me-downs. This time around I’ve also stockepiled on a few non-baby items that I wish I didn’t have to send someone to the store for when Lincoln was born last year. I was so focused on getting all the BABY things ready, I didn’t think much about the regular life things.

So, if you have a baby showing up sometime soon too – or maybe you have lots of house guests coming this summer – or maybe you just want to get ahead on a little summer prep, here are some things to you should stockpile to make your life easier:

Food

1. Freezer meals:

A best friend had her third two months ago and she had over twenty meals stored away in a deep freezer before her baby arrived. Between friends, family, and that stash, she didn’t have to cook for a month!

So we don’t have a deep freezer, and I’m hardly cooking real meals these days as it is, but I have found a few favorite frozen meals from Costco that we really like and I have grand plans to bribe my mother into making a few freezer meals for us while she’s visiting after baby girl arrives. However you do it, having meals handy is a huge life saver post-partum.

2. Snacks:

I had the appetite of three elephants after giving birth last time and I was always hunting around the kitchen for a second breakfast, a second lunch, and middle of the night snacks. Whenever Ben, my mom, or mother-in-law asked what we needed from the store, I always asked for some kind of snack food and I wish I’d had lots more of these on hand to keep me company during the late night nursing or pumping session.

update: THESE were by far my favorite snack post partum (and while pregnant). I won’t tell you how many bags we went through in just a week 😀

Household Products:

3. Toilet paper:

You’ll go through this faster with guests and its just one less thing to think about. Also, do yourself a favor and don’t store the extras in the laundry room like we usually do. Put it under the bathroom sink, or in some cute holder in the bathroom so its accessible.

4. Paper plates+ cups:

Sometimes it’s nice to have zero dishes to do.

5. Laundry Detergent:

It BLEW MY MIND how much laundry we went through those early weeks with Lincoln. And on top of that, because we’ve stockpiled laundry detergent, it means one less thing to think about over the next few months. Plus our favorite detergent (remember this cute post of Lincoln when he was just a few months old?), Persil Pro-Clean, is now available at select Target stores so you can stock up while you’re doing your usual Target run. We usually get the original scent but I’m trying out the new Intense Fresh right now and it smells fantastic (I also highly recommend their formula for whites because it keeps them so bright!). The formula manages to not be rough on clothes while still having a really powerful stain remover (take that spit-up).

6. Dishwasher Detergent:

Because at some point the paper plates will run out and you’ll have to do dishes again.

Toiletries

7. Shampoo + Conditioner:

I was cleaning out bathrooms this past week and it turns out I already have about seven extra sets so we’re good on this one, but keep those toiletries you use regularly stocked so you aren’t running out that rare day (week?) you finally get a shower in.

8. Soap+ Toothpaste:

Remember to consider what you’ll need for any guests as well.

For the (other) Baby/ Siblings:

10. Snacks + Pouches:

Lincoln is just like his mom when it comes to his emotions being directly tied to his hunger so I’m planning on having plenty of healthy-ish snacks on hand for him. I also stockpiled on the organic fruit+ veggie pouches because they’re the easiest way for me to guarantee he’s getting healthy foods when I’m not on top of shopping for fresh produce (they were LIFESAVERS while we were in Europe for 2.5 weeks).

Expecting? PIN this post for later!