Now that I’m a mom, I have a much better sense of what I really need for a new baby and what I can do without (you can see my list of must-haves for the first six months here). With Jackson, we accumulated a ton of stuff, so what I need to buy this time around is fortunately very minimal. This is especially true since we decided that we want the baby to share a room with Jackson after she’s no longer sleeping in ours, so we have no need to buy any new nursery furniture. I went all out with a high-end crib and dresser/changing table combo the first time and although I love the set and it has served us well, I’m very glad we can save this time around by just sticking with what we have. Our plan is to keep the baby with us in our room for at least the first six months, possibly closer to a year like we did with Jackson, and at that point, we will have transitioned Jackson out of the crib and into his regular bed, which is already set up. So the baby will just take over his crib when we move her into the kids’ room. Sharing a room may not work out well, who knows, but that’s our hope. We will see how it goes!

Without the need to buy new nursery furniture, and having all the gear left over from when we had Jackson (rock and play, infant car seat, swing, bouncer, etc.) I’m feeling very well set for the new baby’s arrival. There are just a few things I decided to pick up that I think will be very helpful when the baby comes:

1. Co-sleeper: This is something I didn’t have with Jackson, although he wound up sleeping in our room next to the bed for over seven months. He slept in a rock and play for all that time and while that worked out well for him, it was only possible because he was small. Many babies outgrow rock and plays well before then. For this baby, I want to have something designed for sleeping that we can definitely use for as long as we want the baby in our room. I also like that co-sleepers are made to be placed right up against the bed, which makes overnight breastfeeding sessions more convenient. I opted to go with the Arm’s Reach Clear-Vue Co-Sleeper after reading a lot of reviews because it had overwhelmingly positive feedback across the board. The Wire Cutter gave this co-sleeper a top rating and customer reviews on Amazon and baby sites were great. I’m excited to try it out and hope that the baby likes it!

2. Storage cart: This isn’t technically a baby item but it’s something I bought with the intention of using for baby stuff in our room. As I mentioned, we plan to have the baby in our bedroom for quite a while, so I need to have a place to keep all the essentials, like diapers, wipes, changes of clothes, etc. Although Jackson was in our room for a long time too, I kept all his things in the nursery and just went in there as needed for diaper and outfit changes. Since we don’t have a separate nursery for the new baby, I’ll need to stock the basics in our room so that I don’t disturb Jackson at night. This cart was only $26 and is perfect for temporary storage in our bedroom. It’s on wheels so it can be moved around easily, and it fits a lot. 

3. Mini Diaper pail: We have a Diaper Dekor in the kids’ room, but again, when I’m changing newborn diapers in the middle of the night, I’m not going to be going in there and disrupting Jackson’s sleep. I was planning on picking up another diaper pail to keep in our bedroom for this purpose, but a local mom happened to be donating a mini Diaper Genie, so I scooped it up for free and I think it will work out perfectly. It’s discrete and small and will be great as a second diaper pail to keep our room from smelling stinky. It doesn’t look like they make this diaper pail anymore but Diaper Dekor makes a similar mini style that seems pretty comparable.

4. Double stroller: I’m probably most excited about this purchase. I just ordered a Baby Jogger City Select and I can’t wait to try it out. This stroller is quite the investment and I almost went with a cheaper option, but I’ve loved our City Mini GT so much over the past couple of years and really wanted to stick with the Baby Jogger brand. I’ve been nothing but happy with it. We love to walk and although we haven’t honestly used our existing stroller all that much since we moved in November, all in all it has gotten a ton of use since Jackson was born. We live in a hilly area and I want a well made stroller that I know can handle our walks around town. If it’s too cumbersome or unwieldy, I know I won’t want to go walking, and it’s important to me to get out and move. I can’t wait to test drive this soon!

5. Breast pump: I’m not actually buying this since insurance covers one but I figured I’d mention it because it’s something new I’m getting for the baby. With Jackson I got the Medela Pump in Style Advanced and it was fine, but I honestly don’t think it worked for me all that well. I was never able to pump very much and although this probably wasn’t due to the pump itself, I’m looking forward to having a hospital grade pump at my disposal this time around. I’ve heard great things about the Spectra S2 so I decided to order it, and I’m hoping I’ll have more success pumping with this model. The only bummer is that all the spare parts I already have for the Medela aren’t compatible with the Spectra, but if the Spectra works better for me then that’s a small price to pay.

That’s really about it! I didn’t include diapers, wipes, and baby clothes on this list because I think it goes without saying that those items are necessary. If I’ve left out anything here that you think is essential for a second baby, please let me know! I feel like I must be forgetting something and I’d love to hear what was useful for others.