Spring has sprung! Or has it? With our area in the midst of our fourth Nor’easter in three weeks, I’m sure most of us feel fairly confident with our storm prepping routine by now, but I don’t think it can hurt to go over the basics again. At the end of this article, I am including the link to our abbreviated informational graphic we have created for storm preparation. Feel free to save it to your phone, send it to friends, share on social media, etc.
Storm Preparation
Charge your cell phones, tablets, laptops, etc. It also won’t hurt to download shows, movies, or new games to play, both for yourself and for your children (if they get “screen time”). If you have portable power packs, don’t forget to make sure those are fully charged. Put your cell phone in “low power” mode to increase the battery life.
Have extra batteries on hand – for your breast pump and children’s toys (although I don’t think many of us would be too devastated if the batteries of a certain toy happened to die). Keep the batteries close by and easy to find (maybe in the drawer of the end table where you typically keep your pump).
If you pump, do it now! You may want to increase the frequency with which you pump if you start hearing that those in your area are losing power. If you have a manual pump (or haakaa) this isn’t necessary).
Fill your refrigerator or freezer with containers of water. A full refrigerator or freezer holds its temperature better in the event of a power outage. Those extra hours are invaluable if you have a frozen stash or medications that need refrigeration. Don’t forget to leave room in the containers for expansion of the water as it freezes!
Boil water if you use powdered formula for your baby. If you baby takes a warmed bottle and you lose power, you could have a problem. If you boil water, put it into the bottles, and store the bottles in an insulated cooler or lunchbox, there is a chance that they can still be lukewarm when it is time for baby to eat. Please make sure to check the temperature of the water before mixing formula to avoid injury.
Download
Find attached a downloadable reference of the points discussed in this article. We hope everyone stays warm (and with power!), but if not, you are well equipped to handle the situation.