How are you preparing for DC2's arrival?

[Playboxpony]

Hi, I am only 30 weeks pregnant with DC2 so got a bit of time to go yet, but just wanted to ask what others in the same position are doing in terms of preparing for number 2 arriving - both your emotional and practical preparations please!

We've got most of the baby gear we need from first time round (crib, cot, bedding, pram, breast pumps, some clothes, change table, monitor etc). So I just intend to clean/wash it all thoroughly and perhaps buy a few new babygros, vests, bottles, dummies etc.

My DS is 3 and we've spoken a lot about the baby and I plan to buy a couple of "new baby" story books to help him too. We are also planning to move him into the spare room this weekend (which he seems excited about!) so that we can use his old room as the baby's room. I know it's not ideal to move him out of his room to make way for the baby, but it makes more practical/logistical sense if you saw the layout of our house! We intend to have the baby in our room for the first few months anyway by which time DS should hopefully be well used to his new room and not feel pushed out (that's the theory anyway!).

Emotional preparation has definitely been harder though! This pregnancy has flown by so fast that I have had barely time to think about the baby and I just cannot imagine what it will be like to have a newborn again.

For those who have been through it what was having DC2 like for you?

Hi Playbox, I'm 31 weeks with dc2 and am trying to do little bits each day to get ready. It'll be almost seven years since we had ds, so am trying desperately to remember what to do! It's all very exciting though
So far we've got the furniture sorted in the baby's room, and as I wash and dry stuff am putting it away. Only got a few blankets to wash now.

Emotionally I am still in denial I think - took us 5 1/2 years, a lot of heartache and four rounds of IVF to get to this point, so we still can't really believe it's actually happening. Just want the baby safely in our arms now then we can breathe again...

Sounds like your ds will be well prepared for the new arrival By the time the baby goes in his old room he'll be so used to being in his new room. We've bought ds new furniture and given the baby his old stuff which he's happy about. He's older though, so can see the logic in it.

How are you feeling physically? I am exhausted most of the time! Only got 11 more working days left then am on mat leave, I can't wait!

Hi. I'm 35 weeks with DD2. DD1 will be 3 in January. I've done very little so far but am now in maternity leave so have some time to get things sorted. DD1 was 4 days late so I'm (naively) working on the same timeline.

The one thing I have done is buy bits for my as yet not packed hospital bag. The baby's things are in her room but in huge piles...

Physically I'm exhausted. It was nowhere near as hard the first time round I'm sure!!

Hi:) I'm 28+4 with dd2 and dd1 is 3 at the moment. Jumping onto this thread because I'm also interested to see what everyone's doing:)

Iv already sorted through all dds clothing to organise what we still need and partly organised the spare room in preparation but feel very unorganised in preparing dd1 for the new arrival. We've spoke to her a lot about having a little sister but don't really know how best to truly prepare them for everything. Iv heard a nice introduction is to have a little gift from dd2 to dd1 when they first meet but I'm more worried about how your first adjusts to not having all the attention and also the crying and broken sleeps because I guess it's not just is parents that are affected in this way.

Ps also exhausted!! Don't know how our bodies cope!! We truly are super mums:) xx

I'm 38 weeks tomorrow with dc2 and am embarrassingly unprepared. Hospital bag half packed, still haven't got the Moses basket or car seat out from under the stairs, in the middle of redecorating our bedroom (where us and baby are supposed to sleep...!) think I'm kind of in denial. Someone give me a kick up the backside please! Dd (2.8) understands what's happening and is quite unsettled at the moment. I'm trying to carry on as normal with her plus a few little pre baby treats for us like lunches in cafés etc...

Hello, nearly 32wks with DC2 here! DD is 2.8months.

We started 'prepping' DD quite some time ago. Simple things like, 'the baby will use the pushchair when it comes' just small little comments over the months. We moved DD into a big girls room months ago, once we'd done potty training. So the 'baby's' room is empty and she's been helping me get it slowly sorted.

DD asked last week if she could get the baby a present, cute! So we went shopping and I let her pick a jellycat toy for DC. Said we'll wrap it later for the baby and she can bring it too the hospital. Clearly it's working seems very happy with that.

I am total bricking it thorough....time to dust off the slow cooker

Hee hee glad to see that some of you are in the same boat! I literally have done nothing yet....seriously.....not one thing....other than lots of mental list making. I've not washed one item of baby clothing yet or got any of the baby stuff out and given a once over just to make sure it's all ok. Hoping it will all come together soon. I'm very jealous of those going off on mat leave shortly. I won't be finished until mid-January . I was physically feeling fine until recently but now have a niggling backache and just general slowing down.

Still feels very surreal that there will be another little addition to our family soon....

Another one here in same boat, DS turned 2 last month and i'm 31 weeks with DC2.

I've had to get organised so i feel more in control, i was starting to lose the plot a couple of weeks ago feeling very unprepared & worrying about everything and loosing sleep so decided it was best to pull my head out of the sand.

So far i've painted & decorated DS new room, complete with big boy toddler bed, he has been having his day naps in there, we're away this week and when we get home he'll be in his new room and his old room will be turned into baby's room. So far so good & while we're away he's sleeping on mattress on floor so a change from cot/travel cot.

I've sorted through clothes & put everything usable into size piles (newborn, 0-3 months etc) so i now know what i need to get, which isnt much.

We've started telling DS that mummy has a baby in her tummy and he has to be gentle (i'm having elcs) as he's quite boisterous so hopefully by time baby arrives he'll be ok. I've held a few new babies when we've been to groups and he's shown no sign of jealousy or being rough so thats a little bit of relief, obviously it'll be different when baby is here but its a good start. My friend gave me a book to read to DS about new baby arriving which i'm planning on starting reading to him towards the end of December.

Other than that he now goes to play at Grandad's one day a week and he absolutely loves it, so we will try to keep that going as it gives me a break (full time sahm) and once baby is settled Grandad wil babysit for an hr or 2 so i can do something just me & DS.

Oh, and i'm planning on having some chocolate buttons or magic stars in baby's cot (along with a little toy) at the hospital for DS when he first visits.

I'm mainly preparing by inviting my mum over to stay indefinitely when DC2 arrives.

Oh and I just bought a lovely book called 'there's a house inside my mummy' for DD. Made me cry pregnancy hormones

Oh that's a good idea about having the toy in the cot when DS visits. I also read somewhere that it's maybe a good idea to have the baby just lying in the cot when DC1 arrives so that you're free to give them a big cuddle (and so that they don't immediately feel replaced by the baby).

Oh crikey I am now panicking as some of you seem so organised!! Hoping to get a lot done this weekend and next.

I have a 6 week dd and a 2.6 yr old ds and we read books about becoming a big brother (pirate Pete one) for quite a few months before baby arrived. We also put dd's cot in his room several months ago so he could get used to it being there as they will share a room when she is out of ours. I tried to point out new babies at groups and when out places and he spent lots of time with his baby cousin. When he visited us in hospital I made sure that dd was in her cot and not in my arms and we put a little present for him- a train- in her cot. When he got home the rest of the train set was waiting for him from her and is now his favourite toy. I make a big point of giving ds important jobs like passing me a new nappy or a vest for dd to make him feel involved and I am always talking to him on behalf of his sister e.g. dd loves her big brother, dd doesn't know this story / game can you explain it to her etc and he loves doing this.

Overall it has gone well and certainly better than I expected. He is very affectionate and gentle with his sister. If she cries he will stroke her head or say mummy cuddle or mummy milkies :-)

We have found that he has been a bit unsettled with me though. I had emcs and so couldn't lift him for several weeks and this really upset him. Dh had 3 weeks off work and so did most things for ds and so when he went back to work ds was really upset with me doing things instead, he didn't really like the changes in his routine. Just to warn you to be prepared for that aspect too.

Good luck to all of you for the rest of your pregnancies