Creating a “stockpile” of all your household necessities is do or…well, die is a little too dramatic but barely survive would be fitting. For first time parents, bringing baby home comes with a whole slew of surprises from astounding sleep deprivation (who knew a human being could live off of practically zero sleep?) to countless fumbling diaper changes and awkward 2 am feedings. On top of all that craziness, postpartum recovery and healing after birth is no joke. Sitting on the toilet, bleary-eyed and in pain, the very LAST thing you want to realize: there is no toilet paper in the house.

So, while you are in the nesting stage, preparing for baby in every way possible, start your stockpile. In addition, check out The ULTIMATE Pregnancy To-Do List, + FREE Printables if you’d like awesome printables for each trimester.

Most importantly, if you haven’t taken a prenatal class, register for Hilary Erickson’s classes here. She’s an RN with over 16 years experience in labor and delivery. Best of all, you can take Hilary’s classes at your own pace, within your own schedule. Hospital classes fill up FAST, you may have to take work off and sit for eight hours at a time. Skip all that inconvenience and check out her fantastic courses.

RELATED: I’m super passionate about helping other mommies stay home with their babies. Check out how I did this (and other REAL work from home jobs from other mommies) in order to make a great income and raise baby: How To Work From Home And Make Money On The Side As A Stay At Home Mom.

Preparing For Baby: What You NEED To Stockpile Before Baby Arrives!

Kitchen

1. Freezer meals. I love Diary of A Fit Mommy’s freezer meal plan. Find it here.
2. Easy sides. Things like (quick cook) rice or pasta.
3. Condiments. Ketchup, mustard or anything else your family typically uses.
4. Basic oils you use when cooking. We use A LOT of extra virgin olive oil.
5. Food staples. These would be regular things you buy on a regular basis. For us, that’s bread, peanut butter, butter and coffee.
6. Easy snacks. This will be a life saver. I stock up on yogurt, super healthy meal bars like these, dried fruit and healthy snack pouches for our toddler.
7. Quick Meals. Canned soup, mac and cheese, frozen family dinners and other things you or your family can throw together in minutes.
8. Disposable Dinnerware. Usually, I’m not all about this but after baby, it’s super nice to skip the dishes. We bought napkins, paper plates, and plastic utensils.

Basic Cleaning Supplies (non-toxic, baby safe and eco-friendly)

1. Basic multi-purpose cleaner. We use Legacy of Clean Muti-Purpose Cleaner because it’s non-toxic, baby safe, eco-friendly and low cost.
2. Baby safe laundry detergent. Legacy of Clean’s Laundry Detergent tops the list for extremly sensitive skin. It’s non-toxic, baby safe, green and perfect for your newborn.
3. Baby safe dishwashing tablets. Again I love the Legacy of Clean Dishwashing tablets because just like thier other products, these are baby safe, non-toxic and eco-freindly.
4. Wool dryer balls. Dryer sheets are dangerous for baby so try out: Woolzies Wool Dryer Balls, a natural fabric Softener.

Baby

1. Baby soap. Babies need special soaps due to their very sensitive skin. Try Aveeno Baby Wash & Shampoo For Hair & Body, Tear-Free.
2. Diapers. Our hospital used Pampers Swaddlers for our newborn and they were fantastic.  Consider never buying a diaper again, and saving thousands by using cloth diapers. Modern cloth diapers are super duper easy. Check out: Cloth Diapers 101, The Complete Guide For Beginners.
3. Wipes. Disposable water-based wipes are the BEST, especially for sensitive skin. Amazon Elements Baby Wipes have over 10,500 reviews with a near five solid star rating. They are FAN-tastic. If you are opting for reusable cloth wipes, we LOVE Etsy Marleysmonsters 40 Pack Reusable Wipes (the style we chose was: no preference). They are adorable and so far, have held up amazingly for 2 YEARS.
4. Diaper Cream. For disposable diapers, A+D Original Ointment is simply awesome. Pre-baby, I was recommended this brand countless times. It’s the best. If you’re going for cloth diapers, note they are notorious for zero rashes, but statistically, every parent will have to battle at least one bad rash.  For cloth, I highly recommend Motherlove Diaper Balm for Persistent Diaper Rash. It’s bomb. Since it’s a little bit pricier, I have used it for bad rashes and an outbreak of thrush but for a little redness, use Burt’s Bees multipurpose ointment.
5. Baby Powder. Johnson’s Baby Powder With Aloe Vera & Vitamin E For Soft Skin is basic and the best. You’ll have to skip the baby poweder if you are going the cloth diaper route.
6. Formula. If you are going the formula route, check out Earth’s Best Organic Infant Powder Formula with Iron. There are many types of formula to choose from and everyone has their own go-to brand. I had my eye on Earth’s Best and other moms (and babies) love it too. I love how you can choose from dairy, Dairy non DHA, Sensitivity or Soy. Every baby and mom has their preference.

RELATED: The ULTIMATE Pregnancy To-Do List, + FREE Printables

Bathroom

1. Toilet paper. I love to snag Scott’s 1000 Sheets Per Roll Toilet Paper off of Amazon. It lasts forever for a low cost, plus there’s usually some great automatic, in-cart coupons that come with it.
2. Shower supplies. Have you ever tried a low-cost but awesome sulfate-free shampoo? Sulfate-free shampoos are an easy, fantastic way to build up healthy hair and get rid of all chemicals. It’s gentle and helps with frizz as well.  My favorite is Satinique’s sulfate-free shampoo and sulfate-free conditioner. I also love G&H’s gentle sulfate-free body soap. It’s made with orange blossom honey, shea butter and pumpkin seed oil.
3. Beauty supplies. Stock up on those getting-ready necessities that seem to go quickly like hairspray and dry shampoo. I love Satinique’s a Final Step Finishing Spray because it miraculously keeps hair put AND is flexible.  Dry shampoo is the way to go postpartum (you’re welcome for that tip!). I LOVE dry shampoo and have tried A TON. The best I’ve EVER tried is Amika. It cost a little more than what you’d find in-store but I’ve found I use a considerable amount less. I had this a bottle of Amika dry shampoo on Amazon auto-ship every other month, compared to a variety of other store brands, I would have to buy every two weeks.
4. Toothpaste. I’m super picky about toothpaste and just wasn’t impressed with in-store choices. I found Glister whitens the best, helps the most with fresh breath, taste great and it’s one of the few US-based toothpaste companies. It’s an Amazon Choice item but you can find it way cheaper here.
5. Razors or razor refills.

Postpartum Care Kit

Preparing a postpartum care kit is essential for a quick and healthy recovery after labor and delivery. Stock up on a few items and check out 10 Unbelievable Postpartum Recovery Tips For Healing After A Vaginal Birth for more helpful tips and a more in-depth look at the necessities.

1. Peri bottle. There is a MUCH better alternative to the one you’ll get for free from the hospital. Fridababy makes a peri-bottle called the Fridet with a nozzle specifically designed to be held upside down, giving you much more control with each use. Trust me, buy this one instead.
2. Perineal cold packs. Cold packs are a necessity for pain relief and comfort, these medicated perineal cooling pads (like they have at the hospital) were AH-MAZING! In my books, this is a must-have item for recovering after a hard delivery.
3. Perineal spray. When you leave the hospital, chances are you will receive Dermoplast Pain Relieving Spray and you will be thankful as heck. Another similar spray gaining momentum is Earth Mama Herbal Perineal Spray. It’s a more natural product and I’ve heard raving reviews.
4. Tucks medicated cooling pads. The hospital provided Tucks Medicated Healing Pads to place directly on the maxi pad for relief
5. Pads. Dodge the duck waddle (that comes from wearing GIANT pads) and stock up on Always Maxi (overnight extra heavy flow with wings). They are not as bulky, hold a large amount and the wings provide extra space for any leakage.
6. Disposable postpartum underwear. This brand is identical to the disposable underwear they will provide for you at the hospital. They are an absolute necessity. Save yourself the trouble and buy your own postpartum maternity (post-surgical) disposable underwear.
7. Flushable medicated wipes. When going to the bathroom, the thought of using toilet paper WILL be cringe-worthy (nails on a chalk-board cringe-worthy).  Preparation H makes flushable medicated wipes that will solve this problem.
8. Stool softener. Take a gentle, dependable and effective stool softener like Colace which is the #1 doctor recommended brand. It’s a life savor postpartum.
9. Thin transition pads. You don’t want to wear those giant pads forever. Transition into these super comfortable thinner pads. Make sure to add a good panty liner like Always thin dailies as you transition to normalcy.
10. Comfortable (but trashable underwear, if needed). When you want to graduate into actual underwear (and ditch the diaper feel) I would advise having a pack of ridiculously comfortable underwear on hand like these boy short boxer brief panties.

Top postpartum recovery posts:
20 Must Have Supplies To Speed Up Healing Postpartum After A Vaginal Birth
5 Shocking Truths: What Postpartum Recovery Is Really Like

Check out “The Ultimate Postpartum Recovery List” on Amazon here

Other

1. Tylenol.
2. Baby Tylenol. Buy Children’s Tylenol not Infant’s. Infant’s Tylenol is a little more condensed and many parents accidentally overdose their baby with it. Make sure to ask your doctor for the correct dosage. Also statistically, new babies will have 12-20 colds a year! Be prepared and add Baby Cold and Flu Remedies to your Pinterest board because you’ll need it!
3. Gripe Water. I had never heard about gripe water pre-baby until my aunt bought it for our baby shower. “It’s a life saver.” She couldn’t have been more right!!! Babies get bubbly stomachs and can’t burp yet so they’ll cry and cry. Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water will be you’re go-to and it helps SO much!
4. Prenatal Vitamins. You will keep taking these postpartum. A friend turned me onto Nutrilite vitamins since they are the #1 health supplement brand in the world and the only company that grows their product on certified organic farms and creates the vitamins all in one place. My doctor raved about them as well. I use Double X which you can find here.
5. Amazon Prime. Having a delivery service ready to ship things to our door within 48 hours was…a breath of fresh air. We were able to order anything from food to diapers and have it at our doorstep without leaving the house. Thank you, Amazon. Auto-order for things like wipes and diapers while saving money is fantastic too. Check out Amazon Prime here.

Having a pre-baby stockpile 4-6 weeks before your little one is here may seem overwhelming, but take it a little at a time. Also note, living under a rock postpartum is absolutely acceptable. You may not see yourself desiring to put on “public appropriate” clothes while skipping with joy about having to go grocery shopping. In fact, seeing daylight and dealing with people may be the last thing on your “oh, joy” list. Take the time now to stockpile, skip any trips and sign up for Amazon Prime if you forget something. Having a brand new baby is an amazing experience, but not everything is rainbows and butterflies. That time is HARD for many new parents. Make things easy and prepare now!