Transitioning from 1 to 2 Kiddos: Part Two

Back at it! We’ll continue with the Q&A format in the next post in this series, but today I wanted to cover gear: what we reused, what we had to buy, and my best recommendations for equipping your family for a second child!

First up: what we reused for baby number two. Answer: almost everything! We used the same infant car seat and base, carrier, high chair, bumbo, activity mat, and the exact same burp cloths. The Rays again lent us their Puj tub for the first few months.

One of our biggest questions was whether we’d need a double stroller, and for our family, the answer has been a definite no. (June was 2.5 when Shep arrived, for reference.) We used our same stroller, adding a glider board for June. She doesn’t use it that much, though, preferring to use her scooter or just run! :)

We also reused our Rock and Play (which has since been recalled, but wasn’t at the time Shep was sleeping in it). Shep moved from the R&P to the Lotus Bassinet after a few months, which we also used and loved with June.

And of course, we’ve trotted out the same toys, books, spoons/cups/containers and more that we collected the first time around. We’re still using the same diaper bag, and I’m still using the same nursing cover.

Onto what we bought for baby number 2! A number of the items were duplicates of ones we already had, and a few were brand new…

We bought or were gifted a few special items, including a soft quilt, a silky swaddle (will be his blanket when he gets older!), a Jellycat of his own, and a scrunchy book (he LOVES this toy!).

We purchased a number of items for his nursery, including a crib. We technically could have gotten by without buying a second crib, because Shep hadn’t yet moved to his room when June moved to her big girl bed, but June’s crib was already a hand-me-down and getting a little rickety. John’s parents surprised us with Shep’s crib, making the decision easy!

We bought duplicates of a few beloved items, including another Amcrest camera and white noise machine (we got this portable one to use at school). We also again stocked up on Water Wipes, Up & Up diapers, these swaddles, and Kiinde bags.

Other new items this time around included this sound-only monitor, travel black-out curtains (genius!), a convertible car seat, and a Magic Merlin suit.

A note about that last one: when June began to roll and we needed to transition her out of the SwaddleMe swaddles, I was expecting it to be terrible but it was totally fine: she just flipped onto her stomach and was happy as a clam. Shep, on the other hand, had the ability to roll, but seemed to forget about that ability when he was in the bassinet and stuck on his back – so he would just wail and flail. I took to the internet in desperation, and landed on the Magic Merlin suit. It is THE most ridiculous-looking contraption (baby sumo suit!) and ridiculously expensive (borrow it if you can!), but it was exactly what we needed to smooth the transition.

The Merlin suit is safe to wear when babies can roll, since their arms are out, but since it’s padded, it stifles the startle reflex and gives them the feeling of compression they’re looking for. We only used this suit for about a month (you’re supposed to discontinue use once they’re consistently rolling over in it), but it was so helpful for that brief period!

Finally, we did buy a few items of clothing to fill in the gaps here and there, but, as with June, the lion’s share of Shep’s wardrobe was on loan from my older sister, who has a baby boy almost exactly two years older than Shep. Between our two kids, Kate’s generous loans have literally saved us thousands of dollars, and I am so grateful!!

Any more gear questions? I’m happy to answer! Or, anyone else out there who used the Merlin and giggled every time their child was zipped into it? :)

Previously:
Transitioning from 1 to 2 Kiddos, Part One