Congratulations momma on your second baby, it is exciting and terrifying to find yourself pregnant with another baby when you are caring for your first child.
I totally understand the range of thoughts you are having as I too am pregnant with our second child. You are probably asking yourself “what items must I have for this second baby”.
It can be frustrating trying to figure it all out when you are so busy with your other little one, don’t worry momma I am here to help you.
I am at the tail end of my second trimester with a week to go and sitting in the same boat as you, trying to figure out everything we need for this baby.
We saved a lot of big items and thankfully for us we are having another boy so we can reuse some of the same items for the new baby.
You may not be so lucky and have to get items for the opposite sex making it a whole lot harder to not stress over what you need to get for this baby.
If you are creating a baby registry I will give you a checklist that will help you get what you need and figure out what to put on the registry for baby number two. No worries momma, I got you covered!
The Must Have Items You Need For Second Baby
What items must you have for your second baby? Let’s go through the steps one by one and see what you still have from having your first baby.
There are some items you can reuse and some you need to buy new, I will go over what those are so there is no confusion.
What Do You need for second child
Go through everything you still have from your last baby, do you have a car seat, stroller, high chair, bouncer and a swing?
If you said yes to any of these, what condition are they in, have they been recalled and do they work for the gender of your baby?
Check out this site for a list of recalled items: Safe kids worldwide.
Here is a list of things you can’t reuse!
- Expired car seat– Look at the date on the car seat is it expired or does it have the manufactured date on it? It is only good up to six years after the date.
- Bottle Nipples– You will have to buy new nipples for old bottles due to use. Are the bottles in good condition? If so then you can reuse these.
- Older Cribs– Ones that have been recalled and have wider bars should not be used. If you have a newer one as we do then you are good to go.
- Pacifiers– The wear and tear on pacifiers make reusing them not a good option unless your child barely used them before.
- Mattress– If your babies mattress was recalled or has a lot of wear and tear you should buy a new one.
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what should you put on a second baby registry
What items do you need to put on your baby registry? I have noticed that this can be controversial for some people.
They feel that having a baby shower or registry for another baby is not needed or appears selfish.
In my own opinion and what I am doing is having a baby shower for this baby because we do need some items and it is a celebration of new life!
Why can’t you be excited and throw a party for each baby you have?
Anyway that is just my opinion and you might think differently about it and that is okay. If so you can still use this list so that you know what you should get for your baby.
Items For Your Second Baby Registry:
- Baby Bottles or Just New Nipples if you have bottles still.
- Pacifiers.
- Diapers are always needed even if you use cloth ones you may need some new ones.
- Double Stroller unless your first child is to old.
- New car seat if old one is expired or wrong color.
- Piggyback ride along for older children that get tired of walking but don’t want to sit in a stroller.
- Bassinet unless you still have one, we are using our pack n play that has a bassinet.
- Dual Baby Monitors so you can keep an eye on both children. This is the one I recommend!
- Bath Items like a tube, towels, baby wash, toys, washcloths.
- Dock A Tot to keep baby close to you while you do things around the house, great for use while you shower just park it right outside the shower.
- Baby Carrier is a must to keep baby close to you while you tend to your busy toddler.
- Night light for babies room that also plays music, we love this one and you will use it for years!
- Toiletries like diaper cream, medicine, and thermometer.
- Clothes if you didn’t save any from your last-child, they are for the opposite sex or you got rid of them. You are going to want some new outfits for your baby anyway!
- A lovey for your baby to hold, our son got a little bear that he holds onto even now.
- Sheets and Blankets
- Swaddles
- Baby Swing is a must, we gave ours away so we bought a new one.
- Bouncer if you need one, we still have our old one and it looks brand new still.
- High Chair or New Cover for the old one.
- Changing Table if you don’t have your old one, we are getting a toolbox that we are going to use for our changing table. Found the idea on Pinterest and it is a money saver.
Get your 2nd baby registry list here!
What are the necessities for a newborn
If you just want to stick with the basic items here is a list of the necessities you need for your baby.
This article may help you with the basics The Most Needed And Used Baby Gear
It all depends on what items you still have from your last child and what you need to get.
- Bottles
- Baby carrier
- Swing
- Diaper Bag
- Diapers
- Toiletries
- Swaddles
- Onesies
- Car Seat
- Changing Pad
- Crib
- Baby Bath
- Burb Cloths and Bibs
How do I prepare for a second baby
There are many things you need to do to prepare for a second baby, the first part is to get all the items you will need, then set up the nursery and lastly prepare your toddler for a sibling.
Here is some great advice other moms with multiple children have given me and I do believe it is important to follow it.
When preparing your first child for the new baby have them be a part of the process.
- They can help you pick out a name
- Go shopping for items for the baby and pick out what they like
- Have them open gifts for the new baby with you
- Help you set up the nursery
- Go to your doctor appointments and hear the babies heartbeat
- Feel the baby move in your belly
When the baby is born in order to keep him or her from getting jealous over the new baby here are some things to remember.
- Have them help you do things with the baby like getting a bottle or diaper for you.
- Talk to the baby and tell your baby that you are going to feed them after you get what the older sibling needs, that way they feel important.
- Put your oldest first and pay attention to them even when you are doing things for the baby.
- It’s going to be a big transition in the first month, give yourself grace and do what you can to help keep your toddler stay busy.
Final thoughts on what items you must have for second baby
After having your first baby only you can be the judge on what products to use based on your previous experience.
Go with what you know works best for you and not what people tell you that you need unless it is something you didn’t have before and makes sense to get.
Don’t over complicate the process, print out your checklist and go through the items you have already and check them off the list.
Add anything you need to your baby registry even if you aren’t having a baby shower so that you can keep track of it and also get a discount on the items you need.
Most registries will give you a welcome box when you register so take advantage of those!
To avoid being overwhelmed by everything you need to do break it up into tasks for each day or week. You don’t need to get it all done in one day if you simply don’t have the energy!
You may have noticed that I didn’t add a breast pump to this list, the reason I did this is that most insurance will cover a breast pump.
Call your insurance company to make sure and if they say they cover it go to your doctor and get a prescription and get one from a medical supply store.
I hope that you found this list to be helpful and congratulations again on your second baby, you are going to do great!!
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Great tips for second child! Super informational too!
Hi Brooke
Thank you so much! Glad you found this article helpful 🙂
Yes
I love the words of this article. I think these will work. Thank you for sharing such important information with us.
Hi Shaiful!
Thank you so much! Glad you found this article to be helpful and informative.