You’d think I’d be ultra prepared for a second child, right? Since Rissa was born 10 days before her due date, I pretty much am looking at baby boy’s arrival being between 38-40 weeks. That’s only 4-6 weeks left! Now… Don’t laugh, but I made this list over a month ago and I STILL haven’t checked anything off of it. It’s like I have to keep reminding myself that I can’t reschedule his birth around my schedule. If I don’t get these things done before he arrives… well, who knows when they’ll get done!
Before baby arrives I want/need to…
- Wash baby blankets and clothes
- Redecorate the nursery walls
- Rearrange the nursery
- Reorganize the closet
- Purchase and prepare newborn cloth diapers
- Tour the hospital (it’s a different one this time)
- Pack my hospital bag
- Arrange for childcare while I’m delivering
- Dust off/clean up little baby gear that’s been packed away
- Install the infant car seat
- Write and schedule blog posts
- Make a labor/delivery playlist
- Sell/giveaway outgrown girls clothes
- Make and freeze meals
- Buy sibling gifts
Some of these items obviously must be done no matter what, but a few (like redecorate and rearrange the nursery) can be skipped if need be. The list looks long but it’s not really that scary. I’ve made a little headway on a few items, but I’m not “done” with anything yet. This checklist is not too different than the list I had in the last few weeks before Rissa’s arrival. Though with her, I was much more aware of how much time was left and what needed to be done. It was also easier to work on preparing for her because I didn’t have a toddler to tend to at the same time.
I find it interesting when I reflect on how differently I’ve approached this pregnancy compared to my last one. I think the biggest difference is how little I’ve needed to “prepare” overall. Before having Rissa, we had ZERO baby stuff. Our house had no traces of children, but now you can totally tell a child lives here. We have plenty of STUFF for babies and toddlers. I’m home. I know I’ll need to learn how to juggle my time and their schedules, but other than that my own life isn’t really being altered in such a big way. I mean, not as drastically as it was when we added our first baby.
Did you find yourself actively preparing less for subsequent children and waiting until the last minute for the things that did need preparation?
Darcy is the founder of “Life With Darcy and Brian,” where she combines her love for education, board games, and crafting to create engaging learning experiences for kids. Her creative projects and writing have been featured in outlets like The Toy Insider, CafeMom, Mom.com, Parents.com, Country Living, and The Pioneer Woman.