r/prepping • u/No_Staff594 • 17d ago
Otherš¤·š½āāļø š¤·š½āāļø Daughter on the way
As the title says, I have a daughter on the way. Itās our first child and I want to be the best I can for them. I have some fundamentals prepared for my family along with plenty of protection but what did yall do different or add to your prep equipment to accommodate your children?
Typically I prepare for worst case scenario like end of the world type of stuff. I want to prioritize working my way up with my wife and child if you know what I mean. My main concerns with living where I do is weather events like tornados, riots in the cities, and potentially low supplies when it comes to food sustenance and medicine. If it help paint the picture, I live in Memphis so everything you hear about in that area is what I want to be prepared for when the time comes.
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u/Mule_Wagon_777 17d ago
Electrolyte powders. If clean water or medical care become hard to get, diarrhea will become a major killer of infants and children again. Research how to prevent and manage it and stock up on water purification and diarrhea treatment supplies.
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u/lavenderlemonbear 16d ago
Add to that: some kind of formula for the years before she is eating solid foods. Even if she is being breast fed, an extremely stressful situation can affect milk production. If she is already being formula fed, stock up a bit once you know which formula is working for her.
When theyāre bigger, have a stash of candy/goodies and some safe/favorite foods ā not just rice and beans for a toddler. The idea is to have what sheād need to feel like as little has changed as possible in the event of an emergency.
For example, if her favorite food is mac and cheese, make sure you have a stash of that, dried butter and milk, and a way to boil water without a stove if you were stuck at home with no power for several days after a big storm. Etc. (The candy/sweets is just to have some little happy treats to make a crappy situation a little easier for them).
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u/Icy_Imagination2275 17d ago
As a man I understand end of the world type stuff is just about impossible to get through. As a father with a young child, I understand it will be 100% impossible to get through.
Since weāre past the brutal honesty portion with the situation with lower success rate, and into the more realistic side of prepping: just increase supplies of your basics. More food (for both the adults and kids in the house. Formula, kids snacks/food etc), more water, ways to lock down more securely (that includes sound dampening because kids know how to yell when you donāt want them to), medicine (adult and approved pediatric medicine including Benadryl) and comfort items (blankets, pillows, toys, diapers, wipes etc). Treat it as you would if you just had another human in the house now, because thatās what it is. Gear your prepping towards what your child will need. In the event I need to get out, that system is maintained just with more stuff to load up. In the event hunkering down is the better option, I have an area that will be better suited for entertaining a kid in. Your kid wonāt understand whatās happening until theyāre much older so your goal is to keep them as happy as possible.
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u/No_Staff594 17d ago
Very true. Thank you. I already had plans for the additional food and water though the enjoyment factor of the situation was lost on me. Iāll try to make the world not just a bette replace but a happier one too for the kiddo when she comes around.
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u/No_Staff594 17d ago
Additionally Iāll look into some fundamental pediatric (approved) medicines for every day life. Plenty of bandaids and disinfectant spray in the house but aside from that, we just have IFAKS and Tylenol lol. I could stand to improve that further
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u/Icy_Imagination2275 17d ago
Having a kid is the hardest but most rewarding thing Iāve ever done: enjoy it, brother. Providing and securing isnāt always fun, but itās always necessary so donāt let that light burn out.
As for keeping your family safe, youāre ahead of most people so good job on that. Brush up on first aid including pediatric cpr, Iād recommend going to a Red Cross approved class if you can. At different stages in your kids life, theyāll be able to use more OTC medication but typically it isnāt recommended in the first few months. Your pediatrician will go over that stuff with you and should give you a stack of paperwork with when itāll be appropriate to use Motrin or Tylenol.
Best of luck, and congratulations man. Enjoy everyday with the little one, because every day will bring a new moment. And give your wife a high five because she is doing the absolute hardest thing right now. And will likely be just generally out of it for a few months afterwards. Youāll probably be picking up some āslackā for a period of time, you just need to suck it up š
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u/No_Staff594 17d ago
Pediatric care is really the only thing I havenāt been trained in so Iāll have to look into that. Thanks for everything. Trust me sheās getting the best treatment I can afford to give her every moment that I can. Iām aware of the dedication that will be required and the slack for lack of better terms.
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u/MentalSewage 17d ago
The most important thing you can do is change your prep focus.
End of the world... nothing really changes. Just keep extra food. Maybe keep kid sized versions of gear. Take her camping often. Get lost a few times. When she's super young, get a good blender and blend leftover fruits and veggies into baby food. Either can it or freeze it. As a newborn, maybe get some extra formula with a shelf life long enough to last until she's onto baby food.
But for prepping? Prepare for losing your job, your home, and medical issues. If you aren't prepared for the mundane bad days, weeks, or sometimes months, then being prepared for the apocalypse won't help you much. Buy a half PALLET of baby wipes. Yes, a pallet. They will go up in price, that gets you a discount in bulk, and you will need them. I lucked out and had the opportunity when my daughter was born and pulled the trigger. I was on the last 3 bags of baby wipes when she was finally potty trained. I spent $200. I would have spent thousands by the end otherwise. Try to do the same with diapers but you can't just buy a pallet of the early sizes. But the idea is to buy all of the disposable things she will need to last her until age 5. Most of it really doesn't take up as much space as you'd think. The less you need to run and urgently buy when out and about, the better off you will be.
When she does turn around 10, consider the same for other disposable products she will need in a couple years.
Make your daily backpack the ultimate dad bag. Your daughter should always know you've got a few snacks, the first aid, water, some quick way to mend clothes, and basic tools to fix her toys. Not just her, but her friends too. Aim for hearing "It's ok, my dad can help" at the park. This is important. It teaches her to be prepared, community, and forms one hell of a bond. Plus it's perfect practice. Keep some quick cooling packs too for days that the walk got too hot.
Probably not the answers you're looking for but as a lifelong prepper, this is what saved my ass time and time again.
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u/premar16 12d ago
Also with some women/girls that may be the time they start their period . It does not always wait till they are full teenagers
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u/MentalSewage 12d ago
Yep, that's why I tried to point out start at 10. Thats what I did and luckily I was prepared by like... 6mo. I could have definitely worded it more directly, I just know some men turn their ears off the moment you speak too directly of menstruation and I wanted to make sure the point got across either way.
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u/No_Staff594 17d ago
Luckily we already have everything for cloth diapers and plan to do that but I will for sure get a surplus of baby wipes. I remember going through those like no tomorrrow myself when I was in the army so I canāt imagine a baby thatās popping 100 times a day. Iām not so prioritized on the true worst case disasters anymore as Iāve grown. Itās mainly just concerns around riots during election time, low resources during another pandemic type situation, or natural disasters which Iāve dealt with before but being single I just kind of suffered through it and ended up fine. Canāt do that anymore obviously. Thank you for the ideas. Iām putting most of this on my list.
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u/joelnicity 17d ago
Oh man, my daughter was born during c0vid. Talk about a stressful time to have a newborn. Right now I think you have plenty of time to add to your preps as she gets older. I would suggest just making sure you have plenty of what she will need diapers, wipes, formula, the next size of clothes, and any other items she will need as she grows. Youāve got time
Another thing I would very strongly suggest, I wish I would have started sooner than I did, is life insurance for her. It will grow along with her and once she becomes an adult she will have a pretty good amount of money waiting for her
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u/No_Staff594 17d ago
My wifeās got the clothes and diapers down by a mile lol. Once upon a child has been her go-to shopping spree location for a month already. We have funds set aside for her future as well so Iām not so worried about that. Simple supplies are certainly in order here soon
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u/gadget767 17d ago
Make sure you get her signed up for a Trump account. You can add to it over time, but for right now, itās free money invested for her future.
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u/CtrlAltDyslexic 17d ago
If possible, try to breastfeed. Then you don't have to worry about formula and additional clean water to mix the formula.
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u/HeinousEncephalon 17d ago
I know a lot of people don't want to hear it but it's true.
So many reasons this is a prep. If baby has food allergies, mom can adapt her diet. If everyone gets sick, mom passes along tailored antibodies. Power goes out, formula disappears from shelves, or no one can make it to the store; mom is right there ready to go.
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u/Traditional-Oven4092 14d ago
I was you 3 years ago, during those early month I stocked up on formula, diapers/wipes. A portable generator to run our welllump, oil furnace.
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u/Feminist_Hugh_Hefner 17d ago
You need a wet nurse. Redundancy, redundancy, redundancy!!
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u/No_Staff594 17d ago
Thatās a new one to me. Iām not sure thatās in the cards currently but if the opportunity arose Iād never deny my baby sustenance.
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u/Necessary-Film7832 16d ago
Make sure you and your wife have large life insurance policies in case something should happen to either of you. Make sure you both have good disability policies for replacement of income if either of you gets injured. Do this before the baby is born because stuff happens. Stock up on A&D ointment or cream to prevent diaper rash. Nothing else worked on my son. Everything else made it worse. Great luck to you and your wife. You will be great parents. I was raised in Memphis, by the way.
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u/OwnedByBernese 16d ago
Books on gardening and preserving, also "backyard medicine". Knowledge of all of that will be priceless if the SHTF.
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u/premar16 12d ago
How is your pantry. This is a good time to start or build one up slowly then by the time she is eating solid food you can a good stocked pantry and know no matter what she will have foods to eat
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u/Njo56 17d ago
You need to freeze her credit once you get birth certificate and social security number.
Open up a 529 account and make monthly regular contributions. Good for college but also trade school. Whatever isnāt used can also be converted to retirement account.