An Uncomplicated Life Blog: Bringing Home A Second Baby

Monday, December 7, 2015

Bringing Home A Second Baby

 Preparing to bring home a baby, from an experienced mom's perspective


We are in the final, final, final stretch of pregnancy before we bring little Otto home! A second baby is so much easier to prepare for than the first. I feel like I have somewhat of a clue this time around - what to buy, what NOT to buy, and in my case - because I'm having my second boy 19 months after my first - what to pull out of storage and wash! Being a more experienced mom has made preparing to bring our second baby home so much fun. Here are all the things we've done, some of the products that have made the transition of adding a second baby to our family easier, and some of my biggest take-aways to having another boy 19 months after I had my first. This is what bringing home a second baby is like! Affiliate links used.

Bringing home a baby soon? An experienced mom shares what you'll REALLY need to have ready for your little bundle of joy!

We've pulled the infant car seat out of storage and washed it. If you're going to re-use a car seat, check to make sure it hasn't expired! These things are only good for about 5 years. Like I said, Otto is just 19 months younger than Henry, so that wasn't a concern for us. Just make sure to properly wash everything, and brush up on your car seat instillation abilities. It's so surreal re-adjusting all the straps back down to the smallest sizes!

We re-inserted the infant holder into the baby swing. The swing has been out in the nursery this whole time. Henry took no interest in it (since he's long outgrown it) but as soon as I started to get it ready, that kid wants to put his stuffed animals in there and watch them swing. Hopefully, he just watches his brother swing too, and doesn't try any "big brother" moves on him... Wishful thinking? Be prepared for your older child to re-take interest in all the baby things. Swings, bouncers, tummy time mats - all of the things your first child long outgrew and lost interest in will become interesting to him or her again. Let your older child be a part of the cleaning, washing and preparing, and let them play with their old things again! It will help them transition to having a little baby in the house. We also got a little baby doll and I showed my older son how these things were for little babies, so he'd get used to seeing a little face in his old toys.

This time around, we got a fully loaded Pack 'n Play for our room. Newborns wake often, and it's easiest to keep them in your room with you for easy feeding and changing. With Henry, we just had a tiny bassinet and put a changing pad on a book case. It was a pain the the rump! So we smartened up with baby 2 and got a fancypants "system." I highly recommend having two changing stations in your home if you have more than one child in diapers! My children share a bedroom, so this way if one is napping and one is awake and needs to be changed, it's super easy. Even if your children won't be sharing a bedroom like mine, you'll want more than one location to change them so that if both your children need a change at once, you can divide and conquer, and each parent can take a child and change him or her.

Bringing home a new baby soon? Invest in a fully loaded Pack n Play to make midnight feedings and changes easier!

This pack n play is amazing! It has a removable bassinet, a sleeper that vibrates, plays music and makes white noise sounds, a changing table that can be folded down for storage (where I'm keeping burp cloths and muslin's - new moms, you'll want TONS of these on hand and at the ready!) with a LIGHT and diaper wipe storage container and diaper holder. It's like the fully loaded BMW of bassinets, y'all! Update: we've since had four sons, and I've used this pack n play for every single one of them! We set it up in our room for the changing station, and bring it with us on trips for the baby to sleep in when we travel. You will not regret getting something like this if you're having a baby, much less a second baby.

With Henry, we had the diapers and muslin's out and visible in our master bedroom and it just made the whole house feel consumed by "baby." But with this, I can easily store my Huggies wipes and Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers. They're easy to access quickly, but hidden away from eyesight. Perfect! I can tell you that the more children you have, the more your house starts to feel like your children own it and all the space in it. Anything you can do to hide baby stuff and make that space YOURS is a win.

Have your changing table stocked and ready for when you bring your newborn home! Nobody wants to go on midnight diaper runs.

Adding a second baby to your family is a huge adjustment. Use these tips to bring home your second baby and seamlessly incorporate them into your family! For us, the car seat is ready in the back of my car, the swing is ready, the nursery is set, our bassinet station is set up and we're well stocked with muslin's, burp cloths, wipes and Huggies Little Snugglers! That's just about everything I'll need to bring home baby 2.

27 comments:

  1. EEEK, you have everything ready, that is sooooo exciting!

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  2. Love love love that pack & play! And it's so exciting to be that close to the end! Good luck! I can't wait for you to see your first become a big brother. That's been one of the most amazing things to watch with our son. Congrats!

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  3. Love that pack n play!! We have something similar and it's so handy to have. :)

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  4. That pack and play sounds heavenly! What a life saver. I cannot believe O will be here any day. That seems so fast! Didn't you JUST announce your pregnancy (I know it doesn't feel that way to you).

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  5. Your pack and play system looks so organized! It seems like you are so prepared. He will be here so soon!

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  6. You are well prepared girl! I love the pack and play you guys put in your room - sounds like it's going to be a life saver this go around! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  7. Aw, it's so fun to watch your first become a big sibling!

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  8. Our child refused to sleep in the fancy pack and play we bought. But I love the storage on yours.

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  9. These are awesome tips! I'm kind of freaking out... I have a guest room full of furniture to remove, I haven't even started on a nursery and baby #2 is coming in 10 weeks!

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  10. So exciting!! I loved reading this post as it brought back memories for me since we brought baby #2 home just about a year ago! I "nested" very similar to you - pack and play stocked in our room, brought out the baby gear so my first son (2 years at the time) could adjust and "play" with the baby gear in the house before the baby arrived.

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  11. That is an awesome pack in play! So cool with the wipes/diapers/changing station. I also love Huggies. They are the only wipes I use, and diapers too. Can't wait to see pics of your new baby very soon.

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  12. So excited for you and your family! Looks like you have everything ready to roll for when your little man makes his appearance! Hopefully sooner than later for you! I love that little elephant in the pack in play, so sweet!

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  13. Girl you are ready! Otto can come any day now and you would be prepared. A Pack N Play was our lifesaver. We had a bassinet as well and A hated it. So we got rid of it and put the Pack N Play in our room and that's what she slept in. It went everywhere with us and was really a lifesaver. You'll be so glad you got it.
    We have barely started getting baby's nursery ready. I figure come January we'll kick it into high gear.

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  14. A light on the changing station? AMAZING! We still have our pack n' play in our dining room (after we moved my son out of the nursery (he is 7 months) we moved it downstairs.) He even will take naps in there from time to time! You are such a prepared mama! Can't believe he is going to be here any day!

    Annie- All Things Big And Small

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  15. LOVE the changing station on that thing! Ours has a big floppy pocket and it stays very disorganized... drives me bonkers :)

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  16. Love the changing area station! What an organised and prepared mum you are!

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  17. oooh love this idea. keeping it in mind for the future. and ah! you are ready! how excitement.

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  18. Wish I had things I could pull out of storage for my second, unfortunately my kids are six years apart and different sexes... Best of luck becoming a mummy for the second time :)

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  19. Cute setup! Looks like you guys are ready to go for baby #2! So excited for you!

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  20. I think this is a great innovation. Safety is very important for all sides. Full information can be helpful for all. Thanks for giving some important information about safety.

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  21. This is my very first time that I am visiting here and I’m truly pleasurable to see everything.Your blog is great! your article is interesting, I like it.

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  22. where can i buy this pack and play!
    bostongrl26@aol.com

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  23. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  24. I really wish we had known about some of these 18 yrs ago… the car seat hand and diaper bag hook would have been so handy.

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  27. Check the haggles beyond any doubt that they are strong as well as has a decent bolting instrument. In the event that the bassinet is intended to crumple, ensure the legs are not intended to unintentionally fall.Best baby bassinets

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