# Infant bug out



## kayakprep (Jun 23, 2012)

Would love to have your opinions and strategy for bugging out with a 7 month old. Any ideas for special things for the BOB?


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

I have 2 little ones so we plan on a bug in only. I highly doubt our survival out on foot. In the army my units combat life expectancy could be counted in minutes and realistically on foot with hostiles nearby I give us maybe a couple of days. Babies have no tactical sense!! Nope, prep hard for a bug in buddy and say a prayer for you and families like you cause survival on foot on the road is doubtful.


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## Emerald (Jun 14, 2010)

I have one idea that I think would work better for a bug out bag (or home) on the diaper thing.. no disposables.. sounds hard but they have outer diaper "holders" now that are made from flannel with a waterproof membrane in it. it holds the cotton diapers in place and then velcros onto baby.. well you could only take so many but if you added a roll of good plain Viva paper toweling and put a double layer on the cotton diaper next to baby you could pull the poo with the good paper toweling and change the cotton diaper liner (put in another good bag like waterproof canoeing bags) till you can clean them or even let them just dry for now.. the viva could be disposed of by burying and is smaller than disposable diaper is. 
I used to baby sit a neighbor's child and that was their system.. the diaper holder (PAL material) folded cotton diaper and a folded over viva paper towel.. the poopy viva went in a special trash in their bathroom and the wet wet/dirty went into another and if not wet/soaked the diaper holder had another diaper/viva put in and away baby went.. incidentally her children potty trained much earlier than other children.. the "wet" feeling of regular diapers really teaches them quicker than the "stay dry" type disposables. The cotton diaper can be easily washed out our even just rinsed and dried easier than no diaper at all.
I can see this as a better alternative than disposables that will run out eventually. I hope I explained that proper. 
also if you have to leave.. make sure that you have extra comfort items for baby.. they will not know any better.. soft little blanky/binkies/small items that they enjoy.. get doubles let them use them all and touch them all and use them and put them in the bob with the "stink" on them.. babies are very tactile and smell is a big thing to them.. at 7 months I was still breast feeding my kids and a small flannel blanket that had my smell and a bit of the breast milk smell on it got sent with them to grandmas house or to the sitters while I worked and at stressful times(like teething or new sitter etc.) that slighty stinky milky smelling blanket calmed them right down.. very helpful in a bug out situ. 
Plenty of the powdered formula even if you do breast feed may be helpful if you can not be there every second to feed little ones.. even tho at 7 months I was starting to put just a bit of real food in them and a tad bit of good milk from local source. They have these new baby foods in soft pouches with twist off tops.. my grand son loves them and in the car will suck them dry.. he is almost 11 month tho. they are very clean and easy to use compared to the baby food jars and you can pack many more in your bag than the glass ones. Also remember that at 7 months babies are starting to eat normal foods and (other than super spicy stuff) can and will eat anything you are eating.. just buy a small hand cranked food chopper( amazon has them) take what you are eating add a bit more liquid and chop as fine as you can and add to baby's diet.
And of course plenty of baby motrin/tylonol teething tablets or numbing stuff
make a baby sling for carrying baby.. and if you can put pocket in it.. they are more comfy than baby carrying back packs but if you have a strong hubby get a metal frame baby back pack.. mine would stand on it's own and could be used in a jiffy to feed baby on the trail during a rest. It is how we fed our littles while out hiking. Sure we only made day trips when they were small or just an over nighter but man we carried a lot.. 
If possible get a back pack that has those "loops" all over the outside then you can rinse baby diapers and "loop' them thru the loops while hikin/moving and hopefully dry them before they are needed again. Or use those big safety pins to make sure they stay hooked to the back pack to dry.
and last but not least.. invest in a small ceramic water filter.. bad water is rough on an adult.. it would be fatal on an infant. Katadyn and burkey both make portable filters that can take river/lake water and make it pure enuf to drink with no worries of giarrdia and cystio (*something or other)which is common in almost all of the USA waterways.

I know that you've probably already thought of most of these but I hope it helps a bit. I sure wouldn't want to bug out with a baby at my age now but I know that I've done it for fun and for a life and death situ.. I could do it again. hope it helped.. I'm sure other have other things I've forgotten..


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## kayakprep (Jun 23, 2012)

mojo4 said:


> I have 2 little ones so we plan on a bug in only. I highly doubt our survival out on foot. In the army my units combat life expectancy could be counted in minutes and realistically on foot with hostiles nearby I give us maybe a couple of days. Babies have no tactical sense!! Nope, prep hard for a bug in buddy and say a prayer for you and families like you cause survival on foot on the road is doubtful.


Yeh I came to that rational as I was thinking about possible scenarios last night. Thanks for the input.


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## kayakprep (Jun 23, 2012)

Emerald said:


> I have one idea that I think would work better for a bug out bag (or home) on the diaper thing.. no disposables.. sounds hard but they have outer diaper "holders" now that are made from flannel with a waterproof membrane in it. it holds the cotton diapers in place and then velcros onto baby.. well you could only take so many but if you added a roll of good plain Viva paper toweling and put a double layer on the cotton diaper next to baby you could pull the poo with the good paper toweling and change the cotton diaper liner (put in another good bag like waterproof canoeing bags) till you can clean them or even let them just dry for now.. the viva could be disposed of by burying and is smaller than disposable diaper is.
> I used to baby sit a neighbor's child and that was their system.. the diaper holder (PAL material) folded cotton diaper and a folded over viva paper towel.. the poopy viva went in a special trash in their bathroom and the wet wet/dirty went into another and if not wet/soaked the diaper holder had another diaper/viva put in and away baby went.. incidentally her children potty trained much earlier than other children.. the "wet" feeling of regular diapers really teaches them quicker than the "stay dry" type disposables. The cotton diaper can be easily washed out our even just rinsed and dried easier than no diaper at all.
> I can see this as a better alternative than disposables that will run out eventually. I hope I explained that proper.
> also if you have to leave.. make sure that you have extra comfort items for baby.. they will not know any better.. soft little blanky/binkies/small items that they enjoy.. get doubles let them use them all and touch them all and use them and put them in the bob with the "stink" on them.. babies are very tactile and smell is a big thing to them.. at 7 months I was still breast feeding my kids and a small flannel blanket that had my smell and a bit of the breast milk smell on it got sent with them to grandmas house or to the sitters while I worked and at stressful times(like teething or new sitter etc.) that slighty stinky milky smelling blanket calmed them right down.. very helpful in a bug out situ.
> ...


Thanks for the input. I'm the dad. Very good thoughts here. My boy loves those twist top foods. I especially like the diaper idea.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*I totally agree*



mojo4 said:


> I have 2 little ones so we plan on a bug in only. I highly doubt our survival out on foot. In the army my units combat life expectancy could be counted in minutes and realistically on foot with hostiles nearby I give us maybe a couple of days. Babies have no tactical sense!! Nope, prep hard for a bug in buddy and say a prayer for you and families like you cause survival on foot on the road is doubtful.


Not only is it doubtful for infants but is real doubtful for old folks too.

I am 63 and no pansy but I know I am not going anywhere either.

I have everything I need right here and someone with a death wish will have to disposses me of my dwelling !


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## mojo4 (Feb 19, 2012)

My other thought was why bug out? Assuming whatever hits is nationwide and not a katrina type event where will you go? Assuming you don't live in a downtown condo somewhere just about everywhere you go is gonna be crappy too. It would suck to make it to a forest only to be burned to death cause the gomer in the next ridgeline can't figure out how to build a campfire. At least at home I can have a large enough garden to feed us and with helpful neighbors we can and will band together to farm and keep lifestock. It would be hysterical to turn the fenced tennis courts into a community livestock pen!! At least we wouldn't have to pay the hoa to cut the grass!! Nope, gotta round up the neighbors and work together.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Emerald said:


> I have one idea that I think would work better for a bug out bag (or home) on the diaper thing.. no disposables.. sounds hard but they have outer diaper "holders" now that are made from flannel with a waterproof membrane in it. it holds the cotton diapers in place and then velcros onto baby.. well you could only take so many but if you added a roll of good plain Viva paper toweling and put a double layer on the cotton diaper next to baby you could pull the poo with the good paper toweling and change the cotton diaper liner (put in another good bag like waterproof canoeing bags) till you can clean them or even let them just dry for now.. the viva could be disposed of by burying and is smaller than disposable diaper is.
> I used to baby sit a neighbor's child and that was their system.. the diaper holder (PAL material) folded cotton diaper and a folded over viva paper towel.. the poopy viva went in a special trash in their bathroom and the wet wet/dirty went into another and if not wet/soaked the diaper holder had another diaper/viva put in and away baby went.. incidentally her children potty trained much earlier than other children.. the "wet" feeling of regular diapers really teaches them quicker than the "stay dry" type disposables. The cotton diaper can be easily washed out our even just rinsed and dried easier than no diaper at all.
> I can see this as a better alternative than disposables that will run out eventually. I hope I explained that proper.
> also if you have to leave.. make sure that you have extra comfort items for baby.. they will not know any better.. soft little blanky/binkies/small items that they enjoy.. get doubles let them use them all and touch them all and use them and put them in the bob with the "stink" on them.. babies are very tactile and smell is a big thing to them.. at 7 months I was still breast feeding my kids and a small flannel blanket that had my smell and a bit of the breast milk smell on it got sent with them to grandmas house or to the sitters while I worked and at stressful times(like teething or new sitter etc.) that slighty stinky milky smelling blanket calmed them right down.. very helpful in a bug out situ.
> ...


I wanted to point out the diaper system you descibed is similar to what we use. It can be found at Cottonbabies.com and they have 3 interchangeable types- Bumgenius, Flip and Econobum. There are disposable inserts at 28 for $5, organic inserts/prefolds or microfiber. They also have a fabric liner to protect the inserts from poop. You can get the flushable liners from G Diapers found at Babies R Us for $6 a box of 36.

They also have cloth training pants.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

We raised two children before disposable diapers.

You put the cotton diaper on the kid and then you put on a pair of rubber pants over the cotton diaper.

When we did not have rubber pants a bread sack would take the place of the rubber pants.

You can wash out the diaper in any kind of water, just so you get it clean.

Hang the wet diaper on the outside of your backpack to dry.

The thing is that you need to have extra safety pins and at least four diapers.

If it is warm and the kid is bigenough to walk, let em go necked from the waist down.

That is what they do in the third world.


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

I intend to bug in as well, but we do have a bug out stroller just in case. It is essentially this stroller slightly beefed up with a camo net and a BOB.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*Queston*



Sentry18 said:


> I intend to bug in as well, but we do have a bug out stroller just in case. It is essentially this stroller slightly beefed up with a camo net and a BOB.


Is that big enough for you to ride in and who's going to push it ?

:rofl:


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## helicopter5472 (Feb 25, 2013)

Sentry18 said:


> I intend to bug in as well, but we do have a bug out stroller just in case. It is essentially this stroller slightly beefed up with a camo net and a BOB.


Hummm let me see.... some long reach shocks, a 5 point harness, gun rack and mount, run flat tires, cavlar side curtains, high intensity nite lighting.. yep it's coming together


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## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

> Is that big enough for you to ride in and who's going to push it ?


Thats strollers not for me! THIS stroller is for me.


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## lovetogrow (Jan 25, 2011)

My youngest grandchild is a year old. Grandpa and I have another grandchild due within the next few weeks, and then two more in November (sixteen grandchildren in total). One of the essentials I have stocked up on is Slippery Elm Powder amongst others listed in this article.

http://articles.herballegacy.com/nutritive-herbs-to-store-for-survival/

Excerpt: 
"Slippery Elm Powder 
This is high in protein and vegetable gelatin. One could thrive very well on slippery elm alone. We have attended several cases where small children were losing weight rapidly and becoming weaker from some wasting disease. Often they could not keep down any regular food. When they were placed on slippery elm gruel, a combination of slippery elm powder, water and honey made into a thin paste, they not only survived, but actually gained weight and regained their health. The taste is very palatable, too. It is filling, satisfying and nourishing."

Note - I like the taste - like cream of wheat.


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## Aliaysonfire (Dec 18, 2012)

We have a jogging stroller for our 2 yr old, sorta like the one with all the guns and junk on it...3 wheels and whatnot. We plan on bugging out to a ranch 2 1/2 hrs away, hoping to drive... Anyways we enjoyed using the jogging stroller for our hikes. It works really well. Has a bike brake on it, and a lil hand pump/tool to air up the tires...also a couple of cans of fix a flat... Has a nice place to carry stuff on bottom and with a few modifications I'm sure it will carry more. 
My son walks a super slow pace though- which is fun for a stroll, but no fun when you want to hurry. He also has a back pack/leash that he carries a small Baggie of wipes and a diaper in, with a small toy so he feels like us with our packs on- but nothing heavy.
We also have the back pack carrier. This setup allows us to put a one of our fully loaded back packs on the stroller (to be pushed), wear the baby on the other person or let him walk if permitting and give an adult a rest from the back pack. I eventually want the enclosure bike attachment. I don't know yet what our upgrade to this system will be. 
But I do know that we are storing things for my son at the bol. We will carry some toys for him enroute. He has his own hiking clothes too. Got him a lightweight rain jacket from rei on clearance that's a bit big. Just one modification to the zipper at the chest (padding at the end where it stuck into his neck) and he loves it (wore it thus weekend at the ranch). He has a wicking long sleeve shirt and lil boots with a hat that covers his neck and a bug net for his head (like ours). He also has winter gloves and clips to keep them from getting lost. Lol, I love shopping for him. I will also pack a ton of socks (weeks' worth)! I can't wait to find some hiking pants that zip into shorts like mommy and daddy's. we also will pack his life vest for swimming. Virtually no weight. He also needs a pair of safety glasses. I know it sounds like an awful lot of stuff. I just want him to be as safe as possible. 
For food, he will eat with us, but I'm also bringing chocolate milk mix/powdered milk. We will stock up on that at the ranch as well so he can have something "from home" too. It's a comfort item. Like his coloring pad and crayons. I don't ever want him to feel the stress we will be going through, and as much as I can make that possible I will. I know our odds of surviving an actual 2 week hike isn't good, if its as bad as I think it will be with hoodlums and the like, he will have a good time, dammit! We will also carry a ton of Benadryl for the scariest of times. I recommend anyone who plans on bugging out with a child that young, near hostile cities to consider keeping that along. I'm not going to argue with you about it- you should know what I mean. A tired/cranky/afraid baby that's crying can kill the whole family in the wrong place. I trust you to make that decision with lots of consideration. 
So I really hope we leave earlier than later. I don't wish to submit him to any of that. Once we get to the ranch I'm going to include him in as much as I can of the work side of things- he tries to help mommy so much now, it's adorable. He already feeds the ducks daily and will learn more responsibility as he gets older.


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## 08siboost (Jun 17, 2013)

I pretty much have my bob for my and my wife. And a "beefed" up diaper bag for my 7month. 
Medicine, diapers, wetwipes, canned food, bottles, formula, water filter tablets, etc. 

That way if need by foot, my wife can carry that, and i can carry our Shtf bag. I also boughta pretty chest carrier for my daughter to make it easier.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

08siboost said:


> I pretty much have my bob for my and my wife. And a "beefed" up diaper bag for my 7month.
> Medicine, diapers, wetwipes, canned food, bottles, formula, water filter tablets, etc.
> 
> That way if need by foot, my wife can carry that, and i can carry our Shtf bag. I also boughta pretty chest carrier for my daughter to make it easier.


I have an Ergo carrier that can be worn on the chest or the back. My 20 month old can still ride in it until she's 4 years old. It has a pack that can attach to it as a diaper bag or BOB. I picked up a second one back when I was trying for a second child.


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## spregan (Aug 6, 2011)

I would agree that if the SHTF it would be hard to bug out with children, but what about more probable emergencies. Wild fires, tornadoes, floods, etc., we have been through the first 3, a few times. We had toiletries, games, coloring books, blankets, toys, extra diapers and the snacks they enjoy, bottles, Tylenol, Benadryl, pictures of family and lots of wet wipes. Having little ones is probably the biggest motivator to survive, good luck to you.


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## DKRinAK (Nov 21, 2011)

spregan said:


> I would agree that if the SHTF it would be hard to bug out with children, but what about more probable emergencies. Wild fires, tornadoes, floods, etc., we have been through the first 3, a few times. We had toiletries, games, coloring books, blankets, toys, extra diapers and the snacks they enjoy, bottles, Tylenol, Benadryl, pictures of family and lots of wet wipes. Having little ones is probably the biggest motivator to survive, good luck to you.


Excellent point - it's the little emergencies - like loss of utilities that could force you from your home.

A Rubbermaid container -think super diaper bag - is just the thing to load into the auto and press out.

My one contribution to the thread - by a Stainless steel garlic press. Use it to make baby rations out of your adult food. Saves carrying a completely separate set of chow - for those not yet on solid food - have extra formula and a good quality water filter (Like a Sawyer point zero two) with some plastic bottles.

Best of luck!


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

How often do you go to the ranch? I'd say to make it easier on your son, go often so he gets used to the trip and include him (as much as his age and maturity allows) in planning foe trips there.


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## Coastal (Jun 27, 2013)

It's a scary proposition, I have a 7 year old and now a 2 week old....they would both be a complete hindrance trying to escape to anywhere on foot. Luckily I have a great place to bug in, hide, and be undetected. The only other plan would be to drive somewhere if driving was still a possibility.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

Here is Roo's BOB. Just some basics she can carry. If it becomes a burden for her I can add it all to my bag with little added weight.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Have started on this for our soon-to-be conceived (or adopted) baby. Since gender is unknown, lots of gender neutral clothes of various sizes, as well as cloth diapers, toys and recipes for emergency formula and food should I have to be away and my husband has to take over for a while. I also have a manual breast pump and glass bottles for when the grid goes down. 

Since its been almost 11 years since I had a baby, am I missing anything?


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## Aliaysonfire (Dec 18, 2012)

dixiemama said:


> How often do you go to the ranch? I'd say to make it easier on your son, go often so he gets used to the trip and include him (as much as his age and maturity allows) in planning foe trips there.


We go a little less than once a month. That's a great idea.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

dixiemama said:


> Have started on this for our soon-to-be conceived (or adopted) baby. Since gender is unknown, lots of gender neutral clothes of various sizes, as well as cloth diapers, toys and recipes for emergency formula and food should I have to be away and my husband has to take over for a while. I also have a manual breast pump and glass bottles for when the grid goes down.
> 
> Since its been almost 11 years since I had a baby, am I missing anything?


It goes with diapers but any and all creams, powders and ointments for rashes and redness. You never can tell which will work on a child and which will make things worse.

Teething tablets or other teethers.

If you don't have one a baby carrier. Not the carseat kind but the ones for baby-wearing. The Ergo works til 40lbs so you can still strap on your toddler if you have to. Roo still loves hers.

Breast pads and nipple butter. 'Nough said!


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks Grimm! Completely forgot about those. Wishful thinking of a very healthy baby with no probs apparently lol


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

dixiemama said:


> Thanks Grimm! Completely forgot about those. Wishful thinking of a very healthy baby with no probs apparently lol


Also think about stocking some of the Little Remedies items. Most are safe for a baby/toddler and they are homeopathic. We used the honey elixir when Roo got a summer cough that made her lose sleep. Of course this was approved by her doctor.

Wipes (cloth or otherwise) for both butt and face. Snotty noses are yucky. And so are poopie bums.

Aspirator for stuffy noses.

Rectal thermometer. 

Hmmmm... I'll post more as I think of them...


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## TheLazyL (Jun 5, 2012)

Coastal said:


> It's a scary proposition...have a great place to bug in, hide, and be undetected...


Unfortunately little children can pick the most inopportune time to excise their lungs by emitting a LOUD displeasure.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

To eliminate the need to carry our infant new born granddaughter and leave our hands free to handle weapons, we have constructed a carrying pouch that our Rottweiler ,( "Spike" ), wears on his back.

We are breaking him in, to carry our six week old granddaughter.

His training is going well with the exception of a couple of times when he rebelled and ran off . It took several hours to locate him but, don't worry! 

Our granddaughter seemed to enjoy it when he ran and jumped the fence. It was kind of scary when he ran across the highway in front of the eighteen wheeler but he just squatted down when he saw he was not going to make it and the truck passed right over him without touching him or our granddaughter. 

We think it was the unbalanced load that spooked Spike so we are adding another pouch on the opposite side of the pack to carry his food.

Hopefully he will not get confused about which side is his food and which side is our granddaughter, ( ha ha).


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## mamak (Nov 28, 2012)

I have four kids from 3 to 12 and over the past year I've had to change out their BOBs due to growth spurts, new skills learned, potty training, etc.... 
My family loves to go primitive camping and it's a great way to teach the kids important points. Like they're not to take off their hip packs (contains basic, age appropriate survival items), always be in sight of us, locating poisonous plants, fire building, starting, and safety, cooking over a fire, learning about various types of wildlife, being aware of surroundings, etc.... Yes, these are basic but they're learning and don't realize it. 

A few things to add to those BOBs for the kids (or put in your own) are a good size first aid kit, a hygiene kit (washcloth, bar of soap, clippers, etc), a bandana (multiple uses), bug spray, sunscreen stick, petroleum jelly (multiple uses), foot powder, and most important plenty of anti diarrheal. Both adults and children's. Dehydration is not something to mess with for the little ones and the adults, especially in a SHTF scenario. 

BillM, hilarious!


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Hit yard sales and goodwill for clothes in the next couple sizes for cheap for all seasons. If they don't like it and SHTF, tough. You wear what you have and when its outgrown its handed down or made into rags. 

I have the kids pretty well stocked on what we call 'play clothes' but that are changed out according to season and size by their mom and me (we have a better storage building than them so we keep the clothes). Keeping 4 kids in clothes is tough at any time; and they are all just month apart so both boys wear same size and both girls wear same size. No hand-me-downs here lol.


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## Grimm (Sep 5, 2012)

dixiemama said:


> Hit yard sales and goodwill for clothes in the next couple sizes for cheap for all seasons. If they don't like it and SHTF, tough. You wear what you have and when its outgrown its handed down or made into rags.
> 
> I have the kids pretty well stocked on what we call 'play clothes' but that are changed out according to season and size by their mom and me (we have a better storage building than them so we keep the clothes). Keeping 4 kids in clothes is tough at any time; and they are all just month apart so both boys wear same size and both girls wear same size. No hand-me-downs here lol.


Roo's "play clothes" have gone through 4 little girls before they are passed on to us. Most are on their last legs but they are clothes and they are free.

Check your local independent thrift/second hand shops for sales and give-a-ways. There is one about 20 miles away from us that have Free Tuesdays. They offer one shopping bag of free clothing to every family that comes in. You get to fill the bag with clothing so you know if you will use them. I go once a month if I can to get clothes for Roo and my nephew. I figure my SIL can't afford to clothe her kids so I'll help out.


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