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.

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.

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.

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.

Improving Your Personal Time

Personal time is rare for anyone, but there ARE ways to sneak in a quick moment just for you!

When was the last time you had a minute just for you? To think? To eat in peace? To be mindful and present? Quality "me time" is so rare these days, no matter what you do for a living. Whether you're a SAHM, a work at home mom, a work outside the home mom or not a mom at all, modern life is demanding and takes us away from simple moments in life! I thought I'd share how I like to improve my personal time, rare as it is, in hopes that you can squeeze in some quality "you time" this holiday season too!

Here's what I do to be a happy, healthy person - despite little to no "me time" and added stress of the holiday season:

1) Get moving. Spend some time on a yoga mat, go for a walk, go for a run, or hit up a fitness class. Getting yourself moving produces serotonin in your brain and makes you SO much happier. Oddly enough, it boosts your energy too! Just 20-30 minutes a day is all you need to feel the benefits of movement.

2) Don't eat garbage. "You are what you eat, so don't be cheap, fast or fake." Ever heard that? One of my favorite sayings. But in our world, we often NEED fast if we're going to eat at all. I'm a huge fan of these protein bars! I can throw them in my bag and eat on the run, and know that I'm not eating my weight in fat grams or ten times my weight in sodium! Even better, you can click here for a coupon to try them at a discount!

3) Play YOUR favorite tunes in the car. I don't usually get "drive alone" time anymore - I've always got little passenger(s) with me. Driving used to be my de-stresser time, and when I started to stay home I nearly went cray cray. So I decided that, as the driver, adult and therefore decision-maker, I would continue to play what I wanted to hear while we drove to help relax me. Now Henry is all about dem jams, and more times then not, I see him with his hands up in the back seat, having just as good a time as me!

4) Make snacking healthy and communal. Henry still eats some "toddler food" but mostly, he wants whatever I'm eating. He's still too young for nuts (no allergies - just not enough molars to grind them down. FYI, toddlers shouldn't have nuts until over 2! Nut butters are totally cool provided there are no allergies) so I found my favorite brand of protein bars in an oatmeal chocolate flavor. When he gets super fussy the hunger hits, I break out one of these for us to share. I love that it's full of protein! Getting a toddler to eat protein after they've discovered carbs is no easy task, amirite mamas?!

5) Let go of guilt. If you need a minute, you need a minute! Don't feel bad about taking some time for yourself. We all need mental health breaks to relax, meditate, be present and remember how grateful we are for what we have. If you repeatedly don't take these moments for you, you'll be grumpy and agitated. Slow down, calm down, and focus for YOU, even if only for a few minutes each day.

Improving your personal time is so important, especially over busy holiday schedules! Remember that it only takes a few minutes a day, a little planning and the benefits of having some "you time" are enormous!

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Leftover Turkey Andouille Sausage Gumbo

Looking for new flavors and a creative way to use up the dark meat from your holiday turkey?

Thanksgiving has come and gone and the next wave of holidays are quickly approaching! Basically, it's turkey season. And turkey season means leftovers. Lots of them too, if your family is like mine. While I love stuffing, and leftover-inspired sandwiches and soups, here's the deal: I can only eat so much butter-induced, sage-flavored, overly-rich food before I want to brush my teeth and not eat for a straight week! I also never know what to do with all the dark meat that gets picked over. This year, I did a massive "flavor change" and mixed things up with a big pot of gumbo. And let me please tell you, this will be a new tradition!

Any of you who cook regularly can understand me on this one: I think I'm a good cook, but it always tastes better when someone (mom, I'm looking at you!) makes it. So I rarely ever impress myself with my cooking - it's just good to really good. But y'all. Y'ALL. I straight up impressed myself with this pot of gumbo! Even as the cook, I wanted to lick my bowl clean!

Leftover Turkey Andouille Sausage Gumbo

- 1 package andouille sausage

- 1 C leftover turkey (I used all dark meat)

- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes

- 2 bell peppers (I used orange and red; green is classic but hubs hates green bell peppers)

- 1 medium onion

- 32oz vegetable stock

- 1/2 C flour

- 1/2 C olive oil

- 3-4 bay leaves

- 2t thyme

- 2T Worcestershire sauce

- 2 C uncooked rice (white or brown, we used brown)

- Salt, pepper, and hot sauce to taste

Dice up the onion and bell peppers into medium bite-sized pieces. In about 2T of olive oil, saute in a large dutch oven style pan. When they've just turned soft, remove from pan and set aside. Slice the sausage into bite sized pieces. Add the remaining olive oil to the pan, and brown the sausage on medium-high heat.

Once the sausage is browned (you'll want a nice, deep color on it) add the flour to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the leftover turkey. Pour about a half cup of the vegetable stock to the pan to "de-glaze" it (aka, get all the flour and sausage bits off the bottom of the pan with the liquid and stirring) and then add the remainder of the stock. Add the diced tomatoes, sauteed veggies, bay leaves, thyme and Worcestershire sauce. 

I love eating all these colors after a monochromatic holiday meal!

Reduce the heat to low and let simmer for an hour, uncovered and stirring occasionally. In a sauce pan, cook the rice. PRO TIP: If you want your rice to turn out fluffy and not sticky, use half the amount of water called for by the directions on the package. It took me over 30 years to figure that out! (Also works for fluffy quinoa - use half the water called for, always!) Taste the gumbo and season with salt and pepper to taste. I found that with the sausage, turkey and veggie stock, very little salt was needed!

Serve in a bowl, with the gumbo going in first, then spoon in a large spoonful of rice. Add hot sauce to taste. I paired mine with a Louisiana cane sugar root beer (LOVE being neighbors with Louisiana and having their products readily available in my Texas grocery stores!) and found that the sugar went really well with the spicy, savory gumbo. Enjoy some Leftover Turkey Andouille Sausage Gumbo!