The baby countdown is on! We’re officially in the last month before our sweet boy arrives. Which also means it’s time to make sure we’re ready whenever he decides to arrive. Katherine was born a week before her due date, and I’m very interested to see whether baby boy will have the same schedule!
Since we’re preparing for baby #2 this time, some of our to-do list has looked a little different. Even with this being our first boy, we’ve been able to reuse a lot of items like the bassinet and bathtub. A few things we did need a duplicate of – like having another diaper changing pad for our room when he’s in the bassinet. Of course, I’ve still bought some really cute clothes and blankets. You have to!
But I have a different perspective this time on what’s important to focus on. The things we really do need compared to the things we don’t. Here’s what’s been really important in preparing for baby 2!
This post is sponsored by Talk About Therapy.
Baby Prep
Reusing clothes, sheets, & swaddles – I basically kept all of Katherine’s baby items since we hoped for more kids. Some of them are in a keepsake box for her. The rest I kept, with the exception of anything that was super stained or didn’t function well. I didn’t expect to find a lot to reuse with a boy but was pleasantly surprised! We’re reusing all the bassinet sheets along with some of the swaddles and even a few articles of clothing from each size. So, it definitely pays to take the time to go through all that you have. Doing this early on helped me have a good idea of what new items we needed.
New nursery furniture – While we’re reusing the bassinet, we bought new nursery furniture for his room. For Katherine, we went ahead and got a full suite of furniture that she can have for the rest of her life. Her crib converts to a full bed, and she has a matching dresser and chest of drawers. Since baby boy will have his own room, we’re doing the same thing for him. It’s more pricey upfront but hopefully saves money down the road. We love the idea of buying furniture one time that each child can have forever.
Registering for essentials – We aren’t expecting as many gifts with baby 2 and don’t have as much we need anyway. But it’s still worth it to register! We chose 2 places where we shop a lot (so we can easily use gift cards). And we really focused on essentials – diapers, wipes, Aquaphor, burp cloths, changing pad, shampoo, etc. There’s not as much “cute baby stuff” on there this time. Although I did put on there anything cutesy that I knew we wanted so that we could at least use our completion discount. Make sure you know how the completion discounts work! That can help save you a lot of money.
Breastfeeding prep – I’m a huge advocate of breastfeeding. I breastfed Katherine and plan to do the same with baby boy. But I’m also aware that many things can impact a baby’s ability to breastfeed, from tongue ties and lip ties to other challenges So, it’s important to be prepared with a resource just in case. Talk About Therapy – Speech Therapy is a resource I’m so glad to know about because they offer so many services that can help with breastfeeding and other types of feeding issues. If challenges arise for baby (or for Katherine) at any point, I want to have someone local to go to for pediatric feeding in Atlanta. It’s such a relief to know who can help!
Family Prep
Preparing to be a big sister – We’ve been very intentional trying to prepare Katherine to be a big sister. She’s been so sweet patting my belly and talking about all the ways she’ll help with “baby boy.” We talk a lot about things baby boy will do and ways she’ll help. And we talk about how she’ll get to play with him and hold him. We’re involving her in as much of the baby prep as possible, from opening baby shower gifts to putting up baby’s things. In the next few days, we’ll give her a book about being a big sister. They have coordinating big sister/little brother outfits to wear when they meet each other. And we’re doing sibling gifts, which I’ve heard are really helpful. We let Katherine choose a small stuffed animal to give to baby boy. What she doesn’t know yet is that baby boy is going to give her a bigger version of the same stuffed animal!
Registering for family essentials – One thing we’ve realized is that some of the items we need are actually for Katherine! For instance, since baby will use Katherine’s high chair, we need to get a booster seat for her. We’ve gone ahead and put items like this on our registries. They’re not necessarily very popular baby gift items, but we’ve been able to use our completion discount on many of them. Win-win! Check the details of your completion discount because you may be able to use it for more than you think!
Mom health & wellness – Once baby is born, I’m quite confident that it will be hard to find time to shower, much less do things like shop for myself. I’m doing a much better job this time stocking up on my own health and beauty products (hair products, deodorant, toothpaste, makeup – all the things!). I’ve got a haircut scheduled for a few weeks before the due date. And I’ve stocked up on the postpartum care products that I needed the last time so that I’m all prepared!
Date nights – It’s so important to have some quality time just for Joel and me where we’re not doing baby prep or parenting stuff. Where we can spend time together talking or watching a movie. We’re keeping this super simple this time, so whatever we do is at home after Katherine goes to bed. Our go-to’s are dessert on the deck or streaming a movie. Simple, easy, and fun.
Preparing for baby 2 has been so much fun! Now, it’s your turn! I’d love to hear from you. What has been really important for you in preparing for a baby? Comment below!
