How to Grocery Shop With a Baby

There’s no one answer to how to grocery shop with a baby, and even if you’ve learned how to before, your newborn may throw you for a loop. We’ve got a checklist of essential items to bring when grocery shopping with a baby, some tips on seating your little one in the cart and some parenting hacks to make each trip to the store run a bit smoother.

One grocery shopping tip we recommend above all else, though, is to use Fetch when you’re putting together your shopping list. You’ll earn points on all your grocery purchases, and those points can be redeemed for free gift cards to wide array of grocery stores and other retailers.

Get the Fetch App

Checklist of Things to Bring: How Do You Grocery Shop with a Newborn?

You wouldn’t leave the house with the baby and without a pacifier or a bottle; here’s a quick checklist of all the things we think you should bring grocery shopping when you’ve got a baby in tow:

Well-stocked diaper bag 

• Diapers
• Wipes
• Diaper cream
• A change of clothes
• Changing pad

Something to carry your little one

• Shopping cart hammock
• Shopping cart cover
• Baby carrier
• Stroller
• Car seat shopping cart mount

Things to keep your kiddo happy

• Pacifier
• Bottle
• Blanket
• Snacks

Shopping Cart Cover vs. Hammock: What’s the Difference?

If this is your first time figuring out how to grocery shop with a baby, you might think a shopping cart cover and shopping cart hammock are the same thing. They’re both incredibly helpful pieces of fabric and padding to make your baby feel at home in a shopping cart, but they’re actually very different.

• A shopping cart cover is designed to cover the shopping basket and make it a cozy fit for your baby.
• Shopping cart hammocks stretch the width of your cart just like an adult hammock, keeping your little one suspended over the groceries.

How to Put a Car Seat in a Shopping Cart

A shopping cart hammock is pretty straightforward: just latch it to the sides of your cart and baby can doze right over your groceries. If you don’t know how to put a car seat in a shopping cart, though, you’re not alone. Here’s what you need to know

• Standard shopping carts are built to fill with groceries, not kids.
• Many grocery stores have shopping carts that can take your car seat.
• Look for a Safe-Dock, a plastic attachment shaped to hold a car seat securely at the top of your shopping basket.
• If you don’t see a Safe-Dock, you shouldn’t try to fit your car seat into the shopping cart.
• If you have no other options, you can set the car seat in the main grocery area… as long as you’re not refilling the whole pantry.

Now that you know how to put a car seat in a shopping cart, do you think you’ll give it a go on your next grocery trip or hang the shopping cart hammock?

The Best Times to Go Grocery Shopping With a Baby

Once you know how to grocery shop with a baby, you might notice your best trips shopping with your newborn all happen around the same time. Maybe that’s a specific time or maybe it’s just nap time.

What Time of Day to Shop with a Baby

Historically, Mondays at 8 AM are one of the least busy times to go grocery shopping, meaning a quicker trip and less potential for someone or something to upset the baby. Saturdays between 12 PM and 3 PM are notoriously the busiest.

Make Your Grocery List First

Whenever you find yourself at the store with your little one, you probably want to get in and out as quickly as possible. That means two things: you should make a grocery list ahead of time and sort it based on where everything is in the store. Sticking to your shopping list is a great way to save money at the grocery store, too.

Make Nap Time Work for You

We know your first instinct might be to use that precious nap time to relax just like your kid, but a sleepy baby is the best baby to go grocery shopping with. 

Parenting Hacks: Bring a Friend When Grocery Shopping with a Newborn

They say it takes a village to raise a child, but you don’t need to take the whole town to the store with you. Bringing just one friend along can make grocery shopping with a baby easier. Trade off picking your items off the shelves and keeping the kiddo entertained, or send your friend across the store for something you forgot.

Worried that this parenting hack will be a favor that’s hard to repay? Team up with other new parents to shop together. 

Fetch: The Ultimate Grocery Store Parenting Hack

Make Fetch your go-to grocery app to fully maximize every trip to the store. Snap your receipts, rack up points and turn them into gift cards with our rewards app. We put everything in one place for you, too, so be sure to make your grocery list with Fetch open, and see which brands can net you some extra points on your next grocery shopping trip with baby.