Practical ways to prepare for baby number 2
How to plan and prepare for baby number 2 while dealing with a brand new range of feelings.
One minute you find yourself excited to welcome a tiny little life into the world again while the other side of things makes you uncontrollably anxious as you worry how your toddler may react or if you’ll simply have enough time to prepare.
I vividly remember finding out I was pregnant with my 2nd baby and being overwhelmed with “HOW AM I GOING TO HANDLE TWO LITTLE ONES?!” feelings.
It took some time, but with lots of planning & preparing, I turned that stress & worry into lots of joy and excitement.
If you’re ready to do the same, read on to find out how you can prepare for your second baby!
Practical Ways To Prepare For Baby Number 2
When I was planning my 2nd pregnancy, I read so many tips that just didn’t seem practical to me.
Hiring outside help, buying lots of brand new baby products, things that cost a lot of money and take up too much time (especially when you already have a toddler).
Instead, I reflected on all the things I did that were totally PRACTICAL & broke them down into this list for you.
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What do I need for baby number 2?
Believe it or not, if you haven’t already purged your toddler’s belongings, you likely have almost everything you need for your 2nd baby!
For instance, we had tons of baby clothing leftover from our toddler that we deep cleaned all stains off & reused for baby.
Other items we cleaned and reused:
- Baby bibs/wash cloths
- Dr. Brown’s Anti Colic Baby Bottles (just purchased brand new bottle nipples)
- Breast Pump (replaced parts & sanitized all pump accessories)
- Crib bedding
Tackle those “having a second child fears” early.
It’s totally normal to be afraid or anxious about having a second child.
However, facing these worries upfront can really help you prepare for the rest of your pregnancy stress-free.
If you’re worried you won’t have enough love to give to two little ones, I can promise you that you will.
I don’t really know how to explain it, but I truly believe the love we have to give doubles in size each time we welcome a baby. It’s the most amazing & selfless feeling ever.
If you think you won’t have enough time to spend with your first, you’re right, you won’t. Simply because you can’t be in two places at once.
But you know what? Our young children are INCREDIBLY resilient! And just because we may have less one on one time to give, doesn’t mean we will go from all to nothing. So give yourself some grace as you and your kiddos figure out this adjustment.
Upgrade to a double stroller
Depending on how old your first baby is, you will likely need to upgrade to a double stroller.
I upgraded to the Graco Ready2Grow LX Double Stroller. It gets the job done, however, I do find it to be incredibly bulky & somewhat difficult to maneuver through the stores.
After reading more reviews and chatting with other mama friends, I realized I should have gone with their DuoGlider Lightweight model instead, but just my opinion!
Consider preparing lots of freezer meals
You likely won’t have as much time to cook fresh meals each night between caring for a baby and toddler.
So instead of making it hard on yourself, designate 1-2 days a week to meal prep!
You can prepare meals for a couple of weeks in the freezer, this way when you need to cook you simply warm up your meals and they’re ready in an instant!
If you need some ideas, here’s a couple of recipes I’ve tried and really enjoy:
- Lemon pepper chicken crockpot recipe (see the photo within the post for ingredients)
Note those aren’t my recipes, but they’re the recipes I found online when I began looking into freezer meal prep and I literally love them!
Don’t procrastinate
I’ll say it again, DO. NOT. PROCRASTINATE.
I know pregnancy the 2nd time around is a bit more tiring since you are running around still taking care of your first.
However, don’t let those tasks stack up until the last minute!
Recruit some help from friends or family to help you tackle all the items on your list of things to do before baby arrives, such as:
- putting together baby furniture
- decorating baby’s nursery
- baby proofing the home
Enlist your toddler for help
Our kids want nothing more than to be helpful and know that mommy is proud of them!
What better way to let them get the satisfaction they need than allowing them to jump in and help prepare for baby WITH YOU?
You can let your toddler help out by offering options such as:
- Holding up 2 colors and asking “should we paint the nursery room light blue or dark blue?”
- Giving them a pack of diapers and asking them to help you stock the baby drawers.
- Letting them help separate laundry that’s clean vs. needing a wash
As you can tell, there’s plenty of ways to get your little ones involved and excited about the arrival of their new brother or sister!
Preparing for second baby CHECKLIST
If you’d rather have a quick overview of things to help you prepare for your 2nd baby, here’s a little checklist you can keep on hand:
- Sort through hand me downs from your first baby.
- Surround yourself with encouraging friends to help you see you’re SO ready for this new chapter in life!
- Research double strollers.
- Start meal prepping some freezer meals.
- Take a prenatal class refresher.
- DON’T wait to finish up any big projects at the last minute.
- Get your toddler involved in the preparation for their new sibling
- Remind yourself again that YOU GOT THIS!
Preparing for a second baby can be overwhelming, but I hope these tips can give you a boost of confidence that you’re totally ready for this new journey!
How did YOU prepare for baby number 2?
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