Storage guidelines for diapers, wipes & other baby products?

[Maura]

Congratulations!

My little surprise is 6 already, but I agree 100% on the wipes... if you start stockpiling them now, go for the sensitive skin ones, just in case. And get a LOT. You will find they are good for more than just baby booties. They work well for removing makeup, and I still keep a small pack in the car for last-minute face/hands cleanup.

If you choose to nurse, you can stockpile nursing pads (that go inside your bra to catch leaks), and breastmilk storage bags.

As for baby food - I had great results making my own and freezing it. If you choose to make your own instead of buying jarred, get about 6 ice cube trays, and/or a ton of the smallest size gladware cups. Steam or boil the ingredients you want, put it thru a seive or blender, and freeze it in ice cube trays or gladware (later, pop the cubes out of the ice cube trays and store in a ziploc).

[kittensqueak]

Congrats!!! Best of luck!

Check walgreens for the "back to school savings books" and there are $2/1 Huggies wipes coupons. These books are located in the front of the stores with the weekly ads!

Be sure to check out my RAOK as I will be sending some of those out very soon!!!

[CW&M Mom]

Yup the wipes will be good.

I would get maybe one package of newborn diapers...(get the best brand you can). Then get some size ones...but hold off on getting too many...because you never know if you'll have a baby that grows out of them too fast.

Size 2 are sort of an inbetween size...so they tend to not stay in size 2 very long either.

However size 3, most babies will be in for a long time...so if you wanna get a ton of those....that is what I would do and hold off on stockpiling too much of the other sizes until you see what kind of baby you have.

Will you qualify for WIC? If you do (remember they count you and the baby as 2...then they will give you most of the formula you will need...if you need it.

FYI too on the formula....I actually would not stockpile it at all. the reason being is you never know if your baby is going to tolerate that kind of formula. If your planning on doing bottle feeds...I would start with the kind that the hospital gives you...as long as that goes well....then if you qualify for WIC...use what they give you, otherwise use a generic kind. With my daughter I could use any brand and she didn't care...so we used all sorts of brands. But with my son...he was pooing blood...so we had to go to super expensive hypoallergenic formula....so if I had stockpiled formula...it would of been a waste.

Stockpile coupons or the retailer checks for them...but I would wait on buying a bunch.

[Cynthiabutterfly]

If your wipes dry out, just put some water in and let them rehydrate, and they'll be good as new- only the water evaporates, not the soap.

Also, if you just stock one or 2 small size diapers, then lots of size 3, even without a receipt most places will let you exchange them easily for another size.

[love2cook]

My sister just found out she is pregnant. I want to start stockpiling baby stuff for her to help them out. I figure every little bit helps and since I have learned how to combine coupons and sales, I should be able to get some good deals.

My question is this: Will baby stuff stockpile well and last? Obviously clothes and blankets, etc will be fine but what about diaper cream and baby wash and all that kind of stuff. Do they have exp dates or will they be fine until she has the baby? She is not due until the end of April.

Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

[JoesWife]

Some things have exp dates- look for them first. If you are only talking the next year you should be fine on pretty much everything. Wipes can keep for a LONG time as long as they are not opened. I'm not sure what stores you have in your area but until I think 9/12/09 you can combine MQ's & the Mealbox Q's at Meijer & get tubs of Huggies wipes for $0.89 at my store they are typically $2.39 a tub. At Target this week you can also get Huggies diapers pack that is $8.99 for 1/2 price by combining the MQ & Target printable Q. HTH

[ekoury]

Wipes and diapers have no expiration dates on them. I would stockpile those as much as possbile. There is a thread here about how much of each size you would need (approximately of course.) Baby wash, powder and lotion usually do not have expiration dates either, but look for them anyway. If you are talking about April of next year, you should be fine stockpiling all of those things now. Do not know anyting about diapers creams. I think those have expiration dates, so look for those that will stay good the longest.

Target has a great deal right now on baby wash, powder, baby soap. Between Target coupons and printable mq that you can find in the database, you can buy 9 oz Head-to toe wash for about $0.19. Same with the powder and lotion. Extra cheap. Johnson Buddy bars are either free or extra cheap after Target coupon. Target coupons expire 9/5/09.

[tmsmalley]

My only caution is that babies are finicky little creatures. You just don't know which diapers or wipes your child is going to be allergic to until they arrive. You don't know which brand/style of diapers is going to fit your child properly and not leak on them. You also don't know how big the baby is going to be and whether they'll be too large for newborn when they first arrive (a very common thing by the way) or if they'll be small and stay in the small sizes for a long time.

Babies are very finicky about bottles too (actually, not so much the bottle as the nipples and the same with pacifiers). You definitely cannot predict formula. She may be planning to breast feed and find out it doesn't go so well. If the child starts on a certain brand of formula you can't just switch to another, you have to make a gradual change over several days. You won't know if they'll need soy or the specially formulated (expensive) versions either.

So, use caution. If you're going to stockpile, go with very safe things. Unscented wipes. Tide Free or All Free for detergent to wash clothes in. Baby Tylenol and Mycelin drops that are always needed at midnight when the stores are closed. Basic diaper creams and Johnson's shampoos (unscented) should be pretty safe. Keep in mind you don't use a lot of these, they don't have a lot of hair and you don't bathe a baby every day, so don't go out and get 50 bottles!

If you get any baby food like teething biscuits or whatever, look very closely at the expiration dates and determine if they'll be appropriate. Remember that babies don't eat any solid foods until 4-6 months out.

Hope this helps!
Tess

[ekoury]

That's why you should keep every receipt for diapers, wipes, etc... If the baby does not like it, return the stuff and get your money back or get a gift card. However, yes, you should go with the safest stuff - unscented and/or sensitive wipes, etc.