Preparing for Baby

Preparing for a second child is so much easier than preparing for a first!  We already have the majority of what we need and a clearer idea of what are "must haves" vs "nice to haves" vs "why in the world would anyone buy this baby junk?"  And since you are now asking, "Heather Frowow, what are the must haves?" I will tell you.  (Note:  these are my must-haves that we have purchased brand-new for this baby.  I'm not including ones we already own).

1.  A crib.
I know.  We already have a crib.  People may think we are crazy to buy a second crib, but here's the thing...Max's crib is the Rolls Royce of cribs.  It converts to a toddler bed, then to a double bed.  Those kinds of cribs aren't cheap.  Max's crib is now in it's toddler bed phase, so baby needed a crib.  Plus also, the nursery has a white beadboard so I needed white furniture this time around, ya know?  While Max is our Rolls Royce baby, baby number two is our All-American Chevy, so he or she gets this:

 

The Baby Mod Park Lane in white.  It's from WalMart, I got it while it was on rollback with free shipping.  See?  Our Chevy Baby.

2.  A crib mattress.

Obviously.  We got whichever one was $169 from Buy Buy Baby.  I splurged for the coil springs.  When I bought it I told the guy, "My first son has the Cadillac of mattresses.  We are looking for something good but cheap."  

3.  A dresser.

How hard can it be to find a white dresser?  Very.  After scouring all manner of furniture stores, we finally found one at the Durham Buy Buy Baby.  The exact model isn't online, which is why it took us so long to finally get to the most obvious place to buy nursery furniture.  

4.  A sleep sheep.

 

Rolls Royce Baby has the big version, Chevy Baby gets the travel sized version.  They are exactly the same, except in price.  The Chevy version is cheaper.  Yes, each of my children will have their own sound machine.  It's a must-have in this house.

5.  Baby carrier for the infant phase.

With Max I had great expectations about being a Moby wrap mom.  Let me tell you:  I LOATHE the Moby.  I'm short and petite, and the Moby is outrageously long.  It was way too much fabric on me and made me feel frumpy.  It was also complicated to put on...it required practice and who has time to practice when they are trying to calm a fussy baby?  I will say, that when it worked, I loved it...but getting it to work only happened 25% of the time and it usually took 15 minutes to get to that point.  The first time I tried to wear it I cried ugly postpartum, "what kind of mother can't even wear her baby?!?!?" tears.   This time around I splurged and got the Nesting Days baby carrier:

 

Practically everything about it...how to put it on, the fabric, the sizing...seems to be the opposite of the Moby.  The owner of the company, Julie, was great to work with (I ordered mine during a 20% off promo and they got so many orders that they had to delay the shipping date).  Julie emailed me to see when I needed the carrier and included a handwritten note on my receipt.  I am so excited to try this out!  You can order yours (or one for a friend) at www.nestingdays.com.

There you have it!  That is what we have purchased so far!  Of course, we still need things like diapers, wipes, clothes that are appropriate for an early Fall baby (Max was born in the middle of winter)...and I'm hoping to find a City Mini double stroller at a consignment sale later this month.  But I think we're off to a pretty good start!