Preparing For A Second Baby

What a joy it is to be pregnant for the second time! However, what you once took for granted, like time to prepare for the new baby, is gone when you have a small child to care for at home already.

You’ll find you don’t have hours to peruse baby magazines uninterrupted. You won’t get to shop for baby clothes without a toddler pulling you into the toy aisle. You won’t get to wear cute maternity clothes without sticky stains from wiggling toddlers on them. You’re going to be tired and possibly stretched to your limits. But just wait, it gets better.

When you’re pregnant, are working in or outside the home, and also have a husband and child who need food and clean clothes, you’re going to have to budget your energy. The dream of preparing the baby’s room may turn into carving out a small corner of the first child’s room for a crib.

You may not get the luxury of imagining the perfect shades of paint colors and the cutest decorations—especially if money or time turns out to be tight.

You need to be kind to yourself and cut yourself a break. You won’t be able to do everything you once did when you were single, or even when you were married without children. And now with one here and one on the way, you’re going to have to save your strength for where you really need it. The toilet scrubbing may go from an everyday to a once a week job. No one will fault you for it, and, by all means, hire help if you can at all afford it.

You still want to prepare for baby’s arrival, but it’s a fact that second and subsequent children get hand-me-downs. That’s fine, and in a way it works in their favor. You already know how to use all the equipment.

You’re going to be a more relaxed mom knowing that you made it through your first child’s infancy. Every cough and sniffle won’t send you to the emergency room. You’ve got experience working in your favor.

You may find that if you’re having a second girl, there’s little you need to do to prepare. You’ve probably saved most of the baby gifts and equipment especially if the girls are close in age. So instead of feeling like you have too much to do, realize that you already did most of the prep the first time around. Instead, spend some extra time with your firstborn. After the baby comes, she may feel a little left out. So any time you can spend with her doing things she likes will be much appreciated and fondly remembered. It’s not to say that you will soon be ignoring your beloved first child, but things will be changing for everyone.

A second child is cause for joy. You’ve already got a built in playmate for him and grandparents who are now experienced in having a child at their house. You will have the benefit of knowing you can redo anything you got wrong the first time around. You also have a little helper in your older child to hand you bottles that are out of reach and even help dress the baby.