Preparing for a second baby is completely different than preparing for your first!
When we found out we were pregnant with Greyson, I had 9 months to focus 100% of my attention and time on learning everything I could, prepping the nursery, and getting everything set for our new addition. Fast forward 4 years, and finding out we were expecting Hudson I had 9 months and only about 15% of my attention to get ready for his arrival. SO many things are different when you have a second child. While their arrival is not at all less exciting than the firsts, you have an older child that is already demanding so much of you – you simply do not have the ability to prep like you do the first time around.
Now that Hudson is 7 months old, I feel confident in sharing my top resources for getting ready the second time around!
I have narrowed down my list to 6 items that I think you should have on hand and at the ready before the baby arrives. I’ll explain why for each of them:
1- Freezer / Prepared Meals!! These are serious game changers. We were actually blessed by the women in my moms group. For two weeks after Hudson’s birth every other day a member brought our family a full dinner. It was amazing! Having dinners ready is so great. Just grab from the freezer and toss into the oven. It was also great to have a few smaller meals for lunches. I needed to make sure I was eating properly, and I also wanted to make sure that Greyson was still getting balanced meals. Without these I would have really struggled getting into a schedule so early on – we likely would have been pretty hungry.
2- Sound Machine- I think you should have one for your first born too, but if you didn’t grab one now. It helps your child sleep when there is noise in the background. Not only is it loud in the womb, but it will save you and your other child a lot of stress since you won’t have to keep repeating “…SHHH, the baby is sleeping!”
3- What to Expect when you’re Expecting Series – My cousin had her second child two months before we had ours, and my sister in law had her second child just last month. All three of us mentioned numerous times that we were shocked how much we had forgotten since our first! It does not matter if your kids are 15 months apart or 4 years apart- you will forget A LOT! These books are heaven sent! I used the What to Expect when you’re Expecting all throughout my pregnancy, making sure what I was (or was not) feeling was completely normal. It saved my sanity and my doctors sanity! (Stopped me from calling weekly). I loved that it walks you through your pregnancy month to month, answering any question you could possibly have along the way. Even better though, is that you can actually TRUST what you are reading. That is huge for me. I could “google” my pregnancy, but the books save you time searching, and you know that the information you are reading is accurate. You do not have that when searching the internet! In addition, they are on their 3rd edition of series. I love that they keep updating the books to match new standards / regulations and suggestions from doctors.
Now that Hudson is 7 months old, I am reading through What to Expect when you are Expecting the first year. Just last week we went on a family vacation – a camping trip. I brought this book with me. I was not sure if I would have great cell phone reception, and I wanted to make sure I had a reference for my baby at the ready. You know, just to be on the safe side!
The whole series also makes an amazing gift for a mom to be! You absolutely can not go wrong getting an expectant mother these books! Trust me, she will thank you. 🙂
4- Baby Swing & Toys- Second time around your little one will have to “wait” a little longer at times than your first child did. Sometimes Hudson will start fussing, but I cannot stop and tend to him immediately, since we need to get Greyson to preschool or soccer or something else. They need to have something that soothes them (besides you) Hudson absolutely loves his baby swing. I can put him in there and gain an extra 10 minuets at least! We have also broken out the baby toys earlier than expected. Hudson is great at entertaining himself and playing. We have a basket of Hudson only toys under the coffee table. He will lay on the floor and roll around from toy to toy. We also started two different “Lovies” since birth. One is a puppy dog, and the other is a vibrating elephant. Both bring him comfort – and have help him to “self-sooth”
This has been the only way I am able to get anything done around the house and still run this blog! You know, since he is the worst sleeper in the history of the world! 😉
5- Games / Activities for your older child – Hudson was born in early December and his very first winter was one of the coldest and snowiest on record! We were stuck indoors for nearly three months. We did not have the option to run to the playground and burn some energy, so I made sure to have some activities at the ready for Greyson. Since it was right before Christmas I had some gingerbread houses ready for him to decorate. To make it easy on me I partitioned the candy before Hudson’s arrival, so there was pretty much no work needed on my end. I also had other Christmas themed crafts ready to go, when I saw the boredom set in for Greyson!
So there it is! My top list of must haves for a second baby!! What are your thoughts? Would you add anything to the list?
p>I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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