When I was preparing for a newborn the first time around, I spent a lot of time watching numerous YouTube videos, looking at Pinterest, and reading every blog post I could find about preparing for baby. I wanted to look at several people “lists” and points of view, so that I could make sure I was absolutely not missing a thing. Well this time looks a little different – how I am preparing for baby number two is all based off of my previous experience and I can guarantee I have thought of EVERYTHING. Some mom’s may tell you that not everything on my list is necessary to get done before baby, but I disagree. All I want to worry about once baby is here, is her and my Charlotte Lane, at least for the first couple of weeks that is.
- COMPLETE TASKS AROUND THE HOUSE | This may seem random, but I don’t want to be worrying about organizing the coat closet, purging my clothing, or patching any holes in the walls once baby is here. We have been making sure all of our random home improvement jobs, organization tasks, and honey do’s are all complete before baby arrives.
- SORT THROUGH OLD BABY ITEMS | I did this as soon as I found out I was having a baby girl, because I was obviously excited about buying more baby clothes, but I wanted to be sure that I was buying clothing in sizes I needed. I didn’t want to end up with twenty 0-3 month footies. Once everything was sorted, I organized all of the clothing I wanted to keep into these drawer organizers. I simply placed these in our spare room until baby number two’s nursery was all ready to go. I also sorted through all of our baby gear to ensure everything was in good working condition and wrote down items I wanted to replace.
- PURCHASE ALL BABY AND MOMMY MUST-HAVE’S | As soon as I was done sorting through old items, I made a list of items I needed to buy for baby and I both. It was nice to have this done early so that I could watch for sales both online and in stores. My shopping list for baby included newborn essentials, baby girl clothing, and new items I wanted to try. As far as for myself, I included items for my hospital bag, nursing friendly loungewear, my nursing/changing station cart, and items for postpartum care.
- WASH NEW BABY ITEMS | Because newborn skin is so fresh and sensitive it is important to wash all of the fabrics they are going to come into contact with. Some people say to wash these items last second so that they do not collect dust, but I find that all of my items that are folded neatly and stored in baby’s dresser stay perfectly clean. I washed all items including nursing pillow covers, lounger covers, newborn and 0-3 month clothing, blankets, changing pads, sheets, and burp cloths. I held off on washing larger sizes in clothing for both babies until they are needed. This is the detergent I use, because it is free of fragrance and made for sensitive skin.
- COMPLETE THE NURSERY | This can be another controversial topic, because newborns do not typically use their nursery right away, but I like I said above, the last thing I want to do when taking care of newborn and running around after a three year old is to decorate a nursery. I also like to get started on this early as well, so I can buy things with coupons and on sale. You can shop our nursery HERE.
- PACK HOSPITAL BAGS | I like to start this early, do it gradually, and have it done by week 35 at the latest. I highly suggest starting early and using near empties in your toiletry bag. For example, I am just about out of my Snow Mushroom Serum so instead of buying whole separate travel size, I am throwing my near empty in my hospital bag and buying a new one for everyday use. And yes, I will be packing skincare, I cannot live with out it. You can see everything I am packing for baby and I HERE.
- PREPARE POSTPARTUM BATHROOM CADY | This may be silly to some, but having everything you need in the bathroom prepared and ready to go will be a life saver. I simply placed my postpartum underwear, Dermoplast, peri bottle, and witch hazel pads in a small container on our bathroom floor.
- PREPARE BEDSIDE NURSERY | We do not co-sleep, but baby does stay in a basinet in our room for the first three months or so. For convenience, I made a breastfeeding and changing station that has everything baby and I will need for late night changes, feedings, and pumping sessions. You can shop everything I am using on our changing and breastfeeding station HERE.
- INSTALL CAR SEAT BASE AND CAR CAMERA | We only installed the base just in case there is an unpredictable fender bender before baby gets here. I didn’t think about this factor the first time around, but if the car seat happens to get into a wreck it is no longer considered safe for baby. We also installed our car camera. It is the same one we used for Charlotte and works so much better than those flimsy mirrors. If ours is out of your price range, I also found this more affordable version with great reviews.
- UPDATE CAR CADDIES | I’ve utilized car caddies since day one with Charlotte and plan to do the same with baby number two. Since Charlotte has been potty trained for over a year however, I have not needed diaper changing supplies in the car until now. I updated the caddies to accommodate both a newborn and a three-year-old. I added diapers, wipes, diaper rash cream, a burp cloth, disposable breast pads, on-the-go diaper bag refills, and a changing pad to one of the caddies and left the second caddy as a toy bin. Some other items I like to keep in the changing caddy include sunscreen, bug spray, potty chair liners, boogie wipes, hand wipes, and infant Tylenol. That baskets I use are linked HERE.
- PLAN FOR SITTERS FOR BOTH KIDS AND PETS | Since I have a both dogs, horses, and a child at home this time, I am planning two things. First I have asked our friends who live close to be the first people we call so that we can leave immediately at the first signs of labor, and second to have a sitter who will come and stay permanently with Charlotte and our animals until we are back home with baby sister. The second sitter will most likely be my mom or my neice who both live at least an hour away so for obvious reasons our friends will be the first we call.
- GET THE NEWBORN GEAR OUT | The only things I currently have out and ready to go is our bouncer and our baby lounger. I don’t see the need to get out the rest of our baby gear until they’re needed. I don’t want my house filled with clutter.
- MEAL PREP/STOCK THE FREEZER AND PANTRY | I know that I won’t have much time for cooking once baby is here, so I will be stocking the freezer with healthy, quick meals, and the pantry with lots of healthy snacks. I will also do a little meal prep. I plan to make and freeze my black bean burgers for sure, but I don’t have anything else planned at this time.
- TAKE A NEWBORN SLEEP CLASS | Although this is my second baby, I will be taking the Taking Cara Babies Newborn Sleep class. With Charlotte I only used her blog and Instagram tips, so this time in order to be extra prepared I will be taking the class at the very end of my pregnancy.
Happy Shopping!
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