Emergency Preparedness:
Being Pregnant or With a Newborn
How on earth does a pregnant woman or mom of a newborn prepare for an emergency? Do you have an emergency kit of any kind? This could be a reality for my family and for many young families that we know. I know we take for granted being less than a 5 minute drive from over a dozen stores that sell food, diapers, wipes,etc. BUT what happens if you cannot get to the store? What if the power is wiped out due to high winds or ice? Shelves may sit full of useful products but without the power to run a register or the internet for the computers you are SUNK!
I will first share where we were at this week and our Prepper Fails and then how we managed to correct each one. Bare with me and LEARN with us as we navigate the road to Emergency Preparedness. This should be a fun adventure or a journey of family learning!
Prepper Fail #1– please do not laugh at me too much when I share about my first prepper fail! I went to sleep last night putting our last disposable diaper on Big Red. Yes, we have a few more in the car but definitely NOT 3 days or 3 weeks worth! Yes, we have cloth diapers that fit him, but the smell turns this pregnant mommies stomach! Plus without power we would have to try to rinse, hand-wash, and hang dry and hopes they would dry quick enough to not stink!
Correction #1– Even on a tight budget we should try to keep 3 weeks worth of disposable diapers on hand. WHY? Say your local store is fine, BUT a huge snowstorm sweeps nearby states and delivery trucks cannot make it through to replenish the shelves! It has happened before or the possibility of gas strikes, driver strikes, or any other weird thing could happen. Will head to the store TODAY and buy a big case or 2 of diapers. If your child is close to moving up in diaper size buy the next size up as well!
Prepper Fail #2– A few months ago I smelled a strong metal burning kinda smell. So being the concerned mother that I am had my children pack “emergency bags” with clothes and such just in case we had to leave quickly. I know my insistence kinda freaked them out but I wanted to be sure we could leave the house if needed for a day or 2 and not worry about clothes, toothbrushes,etc. Those packs are no longer packed!
Correction #2– Convince the kids to re-pack their packs and keep them packed. Since Spring is not too far away I will suggest layers or warm-up suits or sweats with short sleeves. I think this may require a trip to the store to buy more socks for Eldest! I also want to have a zippered pouch for each child’s toiletries so it’s easier to keep track of toothpaste and deodorant by child.
Have you checked your children’s clothes and shoes for the next season?
Read how we check our Spring Gear BEFORE the season arrives!
Prepper Fail #3– I checked my pack and found regular clothing! I am now pregnant and need roomier clothes. Big Red’s clothes were packed for size 18 months and he definitely needs 24 months or 2T clothes-yikes again! I know he has plenty of shoes but not sure about the big kids!
Correction #3– Find/buy a comfy outfit at thrift store in my maternity size that will fit me most of the Spring/Summer. Make Big Red his own pack or split his items between mom and dad. He has an abundance of clothing just have to be sure the waist isn’t too big. Nothing like having to wear pants that fall down! His socks are also getting too tight!
Prepper Fail #4– Not having anything packed or gathered for future newborn or current newborn. My last baby will soon be 3 years old. So not a lot of baby stuff at our actual residence. (yes, we have breast pump and storage bags, baby toys, and books, but not ANY clothing of newborn size!) We store out-of-season and not-in-use sized clothes at the grandparents houses. Princess had a few preemie and newborn sized onesies and outfits that she gave to a friend for baby doll clothes!
Correction #4– Gather supplies that we do have! (Found lots of trial sizes baby wash, soap, lotion, powder.) I also found baby nail clippers, burp cloths, thermometer, bulb syringe, etc) Make trip to in-laws basement to go through newborn box. Check with a couple of friends for items their babies have outgrown. Pack up at least 2 different sized ziploc bags one with newborn and one with 0-3 months. We had received a $10 off $10 or more JcPenney postcard and so did my MIL. I was able to buy Big Red some training underwear and two neutral baby sleep ‘n plays for $1.07 out of pocket! Now that is my kind of shopping. When we really begin to gather baby clothes I plan to create a ziploc bag for each season and size as we go. What better way to make use of stained baby clothes!
Shopping List:
Diapers for Lil’ Red and newborn trial pack
Extra refill pack of wipes or learn to make my own
Socks for Eldest and Big Red
Toiletry Bags (may have to get creative and see if we can re-purpose some cloth zippered bags that we own. Walmart had empty cosmetic bags for $6-$10 ON CLEARANCE for the size I was thinking of getting! Way too pricey for my taste.)
Feminine Products
Pet supplies for two dogs and an iguana
Post updated 3/5/2019- Now children are ages 16,14, 9 and 5! Yes, the soon to be born baby mentioned in this post will be 6 years old this Fall!
Do you have your Emergency Preparedness kit ready or your 72 hr. kits packed or did your kids unpack them?
Check out your items and tell me what’s something you would add to my list!
Hi Thaleia,
It’s nice to meet you. I had a chance to explore your site a little bit. I love the post where you talked about homeschooling through high school. My kiddos are very young, but that’s the area that’s kinda a blur to me right now and would love to learn more about it. Visiting from Home Educator Mom. Thank you for linking up.
I definitely NEVER thought about stocking up on diapers. Need to do this.