Preparing for A Second Baby

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When I found out I was pregnant with our second child, my mind immediately thought of all the things we needed to do to prepare. While our family was growing, so was our to do list! Don’t get me wrong, we were super excited to grow our family and give our daughter a sibling, but our lives were going to become even busier with a second child. It was slightly overwhelming!

We tried to wrap our brains around what it would be like to bring another baby into our home. What would life with two look like? How would our toddler react to the new baby? How would our toddler respond to the change?

The second time around we focused mostly on preparing ourselves and our two year old daughter for the arrival of a second child. We did focus on some preparations around our home that are common to do when expecting a baby, but our priority was preparing our family of three for becoming a family of four.

The tips I share below helped make the 40 weeks of preparation for a second child less overwhelming and more enjoyable 🙂

Preparing Your First Child for A New Baby

We registered to attend a sibling tour at the hospital. During the tour, we visited a Labor & Delivery room, walked around the Mother Baby Unit, and watched a fun video about being a big sister/big brother. My daughter enjoyed pushing the buttons to make the hospital bed go up and down. She also enjoyed seeing the babies in the Nursery. At the conclusion of the tour, each child received a newborn diaper and hat for the stuffed animal/baby doll they were asked to bring to the tour. The sibling tour was a great way to show our toddler where mommy would be delivering the baby and staying for a few days. It helps show her that the hospital is not such a scary place.

We brought our daughter to a few of the OB appointments. She heard the baby’s heartbeat and saw her baby brother on the TV during the ultrasound. She was very curious about the nurse taking mommy’s blood pressure, measuring mommy’s belly and using the Doppler to listen to the baby’s heartbeat.

We talked about the baby in mommy’s belly. We referred to him as Baby JJ. We shared how the baby will be sleeping a lot, eating a lot and crying because that’s how babies tell us what they need.

We transitioned our toddler into a full size bed to free the crib. She transitioned to a big girl room (our old guest room), which we made a special place just for her, reflecting her interests and decorating it with the things she enjoys (AKA Minnie Mouse & Disney Princesses). Once the baby arrives, she won’t be the center of attention anymore so we wanted to give her a space that was truly designed just for her.

We scheduled play dates with friends. These play dates gave our active toddler time out of the house. When the baby arrives, we won’t be leaving the house as often, especially in the beginning. She was able to socialize with her friends, play with different toys, participate in fun activities and experience a change of scenery. Playing with other children helps our daughter practice the skill of sharing and teaches her how to interact with someone other than mommy, daddy, or her grandparents.

We redesigned our basement play area, making it more of a big kid play area. All of the baby toys were put into plastic bins and placed in our storage closet until we need them for our second baby. We sifted through every bin and basket of toys in an effort to minimize the clutter. We decided whether to keep, donate, or throw away toys. We created three big kid areas (Kitchen/Cooking, Reading & Drawing, Open Play) and gave every toy and book a home. We moved some stuffed animals, favorite toys and favorite books to our daughter’s bedroom.

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We involved our daughter in the cleaning and organizing of the nursery. She helped put away baby clothes and accessories. She helped put diapers in the baskets on the changing table. We talked about how the nursery was going to be where the baby would sleep.

We practiced taking care of a baby using baby dolls. We gifted our daughter a boy baby doll and stroller set for her second birthday. The stroller set included a car seat, carrier, diaper bag and pack ‘n play. We also spent time pretending to give her baby doll a bath, feed the baby a bottle of milk and wrap the baby in a blanket. She enjoyed giving her baby check ups with a toy doctor kit.

We worked on teaching our toddler to be more independent. We taught her how to brush her teeth, comb her hair, get dressed, throw her dirty clothes into the hamper and clean up her toys and books when she is finished playing with them. She uses a fork, spoon and napkin during mealtimes. We give her 2-3 choices for snacks and for what to wear each day. She helps unload the dishwasher, put clothes into the dryer, cook/bake and throws things into the trash. She helps mommy dust and vacuum the house. Toddlers love to help and especially love asserting their independence (“I do it” is a common phrase in our home) 🙂

We packed an overnight bag for our daughter and prepped a bedroom at my in-law’s house for her. My husband’s parents live about 15 minutes away so they are the ones we would be calling if we were headed to the hospital in the middle of the night. The overnight bag for our daughter was filled with some favorite bedtime books, stuffed animals and blankets. It also contained enough clothes, pajamas, toiletries and diapers for three days.

Preparing Our Family for A Second Child

We went different places and did things together as a family of three. We visited the library for storytime, spent time at the local science museum, did day trips to some of our favorite places (Knoebels, Hershey Park, Baltimore Aquarium), and played at the playground with friends. We planned a fun family road trip in the summer that took us through 13 states. My daughter and I took a mommy daughter trip to Montana for a week to visit my aunt & uncle 🙂 We wanted to make this time together special for our daughter and enjoy making memories with her before our lives changed with the addition of a new baby.

We went on date nights. It is important to spend time together, just the two of us, engaging in conversation and enjoying one another’s company before our attention will be pulled in several directions with an energetic toddler and newborn. The date nights were dual purpose because they gave my daughter some one on one time with her MomMom, SamPa, Uncle Albert, Grandpa Tom and Babcia 🙂 We enjoyed going to the movies, taking a day trip to see a baseball game, going out to dinner at our favorite restaurants and shopping together.

We stocked our freezer with meals and our pantry with wholesome snacks. I baked a batch of French Toast, Banana Pancakes, and Muffins for breakfast once the baby arrives. These are our go-to meals for breakfast, especially for our daughter 🙂 Sometimes we even eat breakfast for dinner! I also prepared a Ham, Potato & Green Bean Soup and a Ham & Potato Cheese Casserole for lunches. We had an abundance of leftover ham from a family meal so I utilized it in several recipes! We stocked up on applesauce pouches, trail mix, goldfish crackers, granola & protein bars, cereal and fruit snacks for our daughter and myself. While our freezer wasn’t filled with already prepped meals (Our freezer is small!), we did stock it (and the pantry) with the ingredients for our favorite quick go-to meals!

We checked the expiration date on our infant car seat, installed the car seat base in our car and purchased a double stroller. Our infant car seat is valid for 8 years so we were able to keep using it for baby #2. We installed the base in the car so we were ready to bring baby home when he arrived. Our daughter enjoyed saying, “Baby seat in there.” We also researched double strollers. We planned a family trip to the beach and Disney World when our daughter is 2 1/2 and our son 6 months old. So, needless to say, we needed a double stroller! Our daughter will still be too young to walk everywhere and the stroller gives them a place to nap when we are in Disney World. We chose the Graco DuoGlider Click Connect Stroller because we liked the tandum style, both children would be facing forward, it has a large storage basket and is easy to unfold and open.

We purchased a second breast pump. Our insurance covers one breast pump with each pregnancy. My doctor wrote me a script for one so I went to a pharmacy and picked one out. There were three options this time around. When I was pregnant with my daughter, there was only one choice, but this time, I had three choices 🙂 I chose to try a different brand this time. The first one I had was the Medela, but this time I got the Ameda. It came with a carrying bag and operates on batteries, which were nice features!

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We reviewed our spending from the previous year and updated our budget. My husband created a Google Sheet to track our spending. We are constantly reviewing and adjusting it to meet our needs. Since I became a SAHM, we’ve broken our spending down into even more categories to truly see where our money was going. We reviewed this spreadsheet prior the arrival of our second baby and decided on a budget for each category based on our spending from the previous year. While tracking our spending may seem tedious at times, it is really nice being able to see where our money is going and in which areas we can improve our spending.

We asked for favors from friends & family and welcomed favors with open arms. We discussed our plans for our daughter with our family. We welcomed help from those in our immediate circle when it came to watching our daughter while we worked on a house project, went grocery shopping or cleaned our house. When a friend or family member offered to bring a meal or come over and play with our daughter, we said, “Come on over!” Several of our friends offered us baby boy clothes, which was much appreciated since most of our baby clothes were for a girl. We purchased a few baby boy items at consignment sales and yard sales, but receiving outgrown clothes from friends was a nice surprise and definitely not expected 🙂

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We packed our hospital bag. The second time around, we used a small duffel bag and a carry-on suitcase for the hospital. When my daughter was born, I didn’t pack any clothes for my husband. This time, I packed a spare set of clothes for my husband, as well as snacks for us 🙂 The carry-on suitcase was easy to transport because it was on wheels and the duffel bag strapped on top of it. The less things we needed to carry, the better. We’d have enough to carry out with an infant car seat upon discharge and our hospital freebies 🙂

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Preparing Our Home for A Second Child

We took the baby gear out of storage, washed it all, and set it up. We set up the swing in our living room, the Pack ‘n Play in our bedroom, and the Rock ‘n Play in our basement family room. We wanted to make sure there was a place to lay the baby down in each space where we would be spending extended periods of time. Plus, our daughter got used to seeing this baby gear around the house before the baby was actually here.

We made a list of house projects we wanted to accomplish. We spent time on the weekends and during our daughter’s naptime working on completing these projects. I made it my priority each week to focus on a house project during naptime. Many of these projects have been on our to-do list for a long time, but knowing the limited time we would have once baby #2 arrives, we wanted to spend the duration of the pregnancy actually finishing these projects. My brother was a huge help with some of the bigger projects we wanted to tackle 🙂

We spent time deep cleaning, organizing and decluttering the rooms in our house. This was probably the BIGGEST item on our to-do list! Thanks to the help of my husband’s parents and my mom, we were able to get our house in order. Jemma was entertained with her MomMom, SamPa and Babcia while we cleaned, organized closets/kitchen cabinets/toys, and got rid of or donated items we no longer needed. Let me tell you, it felt great to walk into a clean and tidy home with a new baby!

We set up a basket of baby essentials in our main living areas. If my daughter and I are playing in the basement, I didn’t want to run all the way up to the nursery to change the baby’s diaper, grab a burp cloth or change his outfit. Therefore, I filled a decorative basket with diapers, burp cloths, swaddle blankets (These make a great nursing cover when visitors stop by!), a change of clothes, changing pads and wipes. This makes diaper changes much easier when there’s a busy toddler in tow 🙂

We decorated, organized and cleaned the nursery. Our nursery was painted a light gray and themed around elephants for our daughter. We chose a neutral theme from the beginning because we knew we wanted more than one child. However, I decided to change the elephant prints to blue whales for our little boy 🙂 The prints were in simple white picture frames on the walls so changing them out was super easy! The crib mattress was raised and all the baby clothes, blankets and stuffed animals were put away. Everything has a place in the nursery and we love it!

We stocked up on household products, post partum essentials, baby essentials and toiletries. We made a trip to Costco and purchased paper towels, napkins, toilet paper, laundry detergent (There was going to be lots of laundry in our near future!), plastic bags and cleaning/disinfectant wipes. We took advantage of Target’s Baby Sale and filled our closet with a few boxes of diapers in all sizes, baby wipes and baby shampoo. When we purchased $100 worth of diapers, wipes and/or baby toiletries, we received a $20 gift card to be used on a future purchase. We also stocked up on items such as nursing pads, nursing bras, comfortable leggings/lounge pants, and comfy sweaters to wear over a nursing tank top. We didn’t want to be running to the store constantly once the baby was here!

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We ordered new basics we needed for second baby. We had most of the things we needed, but there were a few items we needed (and I wanted) for baby #2. These included clothes, blankets, and bibs. The blankets and bibs we had were girly and my daughter still enjoys sleeping with her baby blankets. Also we needed to replace some of our crib sheets and restock our swaddle blankets and burp cloths. My daughter uses them to wrap up her baby and I like to use them as a quick nursing cover or to lay baby down on floor. Between spit up, leaking milk and messy diaper changes, you can never have enough swaddle blankets or burp cloths. This newborn lounger was something that we wanted and has been very helpful when laying baby on the bed to read books or laying him on the floor during playtime. It is comfortable and supportive for him 🙂

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We purchased a baby monitor with two cameras. We still wanted to be able to check on our daughter so it was necessary for us to buy a new baby monitor that allowed us to see our baby and our toddler. We spent time researching and reading reviews. We didn’t want to spend a lot of money, but wanted to find a baby monitor that worked well. We ultimately decided on this one and so far are very happy with it 🙂

We purchased Amazon devices for the bedrooms. We like to play instrumental lullabies or classical music at night for our daughter. Not only does the music soothe her, it will help drown out the newborn cries at night. We decided to purchase an Echo Dot for her bedroom, the nursery and our master bedroom. We took advantage of a Black Friday Deal 🙂 As Amazon Prime members, we have access to Amazon Music so this is our source for lullabies or classical music. Now, we can play music, nature sounds or white noise in all the bedrooms and operate the devices from the Amazon Alexa App on our phones 🙂 We like the hands-free operation of the Echo Dots, too! This is extremely helpful with a newborn and toddler at home.

Preparing Myself for A Second Child

I scheduled a pedicure and manicure. I love getting my nails painted and find a spa pedicure extremely relaxing. So I made sure to schedule one of these towards the end of my pregnancy. It gave me some much needed “me time”, something every mother deserves.

I scheduled lunch, dinner and coffee dates with friends. Meals out will be more challenging once there is a second child. Scheduling solo time outside of the house will also be challenging with my husband’s work schedule. I wanted to make time to see my closest friends before the baby came and scheduling these dates was the way to do that 🙂

I got my hair cut and styled. Similar to the pedicure and manicure, I wanted to trim my hair and be pampered. I also enjoyed some adult conversation with the hair stylist. It was an enjoyable and much needed break from my mommy responsibilities.

Going from one child to two children is not as scary as you may think! My husband and I made a plan and prepared our family, our toddler and our home for a second child as best as we could 🙂 We actually enjoyed spending time focused on our house and on creating lasting memories as a family of three. I hope these tips help you prepare for a second baby.

What ways did you prepare for the transition from one child to two children? How did you prepare your family and your toddler for a second child? What did you find the most helpful when transitioning from a family of three to a family of four? Share your experience in the comments below! Don’t forget to share this post with friends and save it to reference at a later time 🙂

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