Having had a child already, you’re a lot more informed and prepared for the second one. There are a lot of things you don’t have to worry about or buy and that kind of thing.
You typically don’t have a baby shower after the first baby. In our case, that’s a good thing anyway. Having moved to Minnesota from Virginia last year, we have very few real friends yet and no family around, so no one to plan or attend a shower to begin with.
We didn’t take a birthing class this time around. We’re pretty informed now, and have even been through the whole birth thing, so we felt pretty confident that it wasn’t necessary for another course. We also have our workbook from our Bradley class, so we can skim that for a refresher. Plus I’ve already bookmarked the page with the “things to pack” list so we’ll be as prepared as possible when “D day” (as I like to call it, you know – D for delivery?) comes.
We haven’t really talked about much regarding raising the kids, because we have some experience now. We also know that you can plan all you want, sometimes it just comes down to doing whatever works.
We don’t have to buy a stroller, pack n play, swing, and many other things because we saved them from when Tara was an infant. We know we could have waited to buy a crib (but my nesting instincts wouldn’t allow it) and to not spend a whole lot of money on a changing table. This time we went with a nice little Ikea one, that’s sturdier than the brand name one I spent twice as much on for Tara last year.
We hadn’t planned on getting another stroller, however we MIGHT consider it only to get a tandem stroller. I’d like to be able to take them both for walks without worrying too much about having to chase the toddler or go at a snail’s pace with her getting so distracted. We’re still debating on that because of price.
We aren’t making a birth plan, which is fine because we’ll be in a birth center with a midwife anyway. We hired a doula nice and early since we already knew we wanted one, so no debating how necessary they were.
The only major thing you DO have to worry about is what to do with the toddler when D day comes. My mother-in-law is flying out to spend a month with us so that, unless this boy comes a week late, she’ll be here whenever the baby comes. That way I have someone I know well and trust with my daughter so I don’t obsess over how Tara’s doing when I’ll have other things to worry about. I’ll probably still think about her – it’s a mommy thing! 🙂