When we were expecting Amelia, we thought we already had all the baby essentials we’d need. So I wasn’t sure if I we needed to have a baby registry again. On the other hand, people like to come with a gift… and I didn’t want to get things we didn’t have any use for or didn’t like. So we did have a baby registry and we also got some hot items second hand.

More!

When we had Elliot, we lived in an apartment but when I was 8 months pregnant with Amelia we moved to a house in the suburbs. For me that changed a lot in what I was going to need with two babies under 18 months.

we took this literally seconds before leaving for the hospital to have amelia.

With Elliot we had had just two blankets, two fitted sheets, two sleeping bags,… one for when the other one was in the wash. But I wouldn’t have time to wash everything so quickly and so I decided to get one or two more of everything on the registry. When I look back on it now, it was the best decision ever. I’m always behind on laundry and now I don’t have to worry when one of the kids has an accident, I’ll always have spare linen to fall back on.

Dresses and PINK

Life can be hard with two little ones under 18 months.

When we found out that we were having a girl, combined with the fact that we were having her in winter and not in summer like we did Elliot, we decided to open up a clothing registry for girl clothes. I found a little local baby shop that carried some gorgeous brands and I focused on some more special items; beautiful dresses, nice woollen cardigans, and some other items that stood out and were a little more expensive than I would buy myself.

I also put some clothes for Elliot on the registry and some other girly items like a more girly infant seat cover and some things for in her nursery.

Dirty

After Elliot, I’m embarrassed to admit, there were a lot of things I couldn’t reuse because they had stains on them. Those first white baby rompers for example,… lots of them had yellowish poop and breastmilk stains that I simply wasn’t able to get out. Also a lot of bibs were stained beyond help. So I put some really cute bibs and rompers on the baby registry but I must say that with a second baby, I was much more excited about second-hand stuff too. So I asked around and some of my friends who were done having babies were excited to sell their stuff for a small price or even just get rid of it. About 90 % of what you see Amelia wearing are hand-me-downs from friends! And I love it! I’ll often text my friends a picture of Amelia wearing one of their favorites.

A bed

We were so lucky to be able to borrow a crib from friends including a mattress. We also got an extra travel bed from an aunt and later bought another one. This way we have two we can leave at my mom’s house, (Bart’s parents also have two) and one we could leave at my dad’s at the seaside. We don’t always have to stuff the trunk with two beds when we're staying the night somewhere.

Changing table

We also got some bigger items second hand. Living in a house with stairs now, with two little ones, I wanted to make life as comfortable as possible so I started looking for an extra changing table. I got about a million reactions from friends dying to get rid of theirs on my facebook post, and ended up getting two on top of the one we already had. One we’re borrowing and the other we got for free. With two little ones in diapers, it really made all the difference! We have one downstairs in the living room, one on the first floor in Amelia’s room, and one in the bathroom. All of them are permanently stocked with diapers, wipes and rompers.

Car seats

amelia getting a make-over in her second hand outfit.

I also got some extra car seats second hand for when Amelia was done with the infant Maxi-cosi car seat. I didn’t just want to get them on a website though, you never know whether they’ve been damaged in a previous accident, so again I asked around on Facebook. I got one for free, and the two others were a bargain. This way we have two seats in my car and two in Bart’s. (With Elliot we were always switching the bulky thing from car to car.)

A highchair

Once Amelia would be sitting, she was going to need a highchair, but Elliot would still be in his. I started to look for a new high chair. Elliot’s was gorgeous (Micuna Ovo ) but it seemed silly to get such an expensive chair a second time. Turns out Bart’s grandmother had one in her basement we could have and we’ve been very content with it, although maybe it isn’t the most fashionable piece in the house.

What did you still need for a second baby?