from Baby to BABIES!

I think its pretty obvious at this point that we are about to have two BABIES.  No longer will we be a little family of three, we will be a family of FOUR!  We are less than 4 months from our due date and things are getting REAL, REALLY fast!! :) Oh, and just for the record we are going to have TWO babies who are exactly 19 months apart (if baby number dos comes on its due date, that is.)

This is a shout out to all you mamma's out there who already have BABIES or who are about to have more than one child.  There are tons of things running through my head as to how to properly prepare for this sweet child to come into the world... I thought I would throw a few questions out there and if anyone wants to throw some advice my way I would be more than willing to hear it.  

-Strollers: I already know that I do NOT want a side by side stroller... we have some friends who have one and I can hardly maneuver the single one we have- much less the double wide one they have.  I also tend to always bump into things in stores in our single stroller... how could I ever manage a double-wide. ha! {just being honest, nothing against those who have them!}  So... here comes the question- what do you have? Do you like it? What do you plan on getting? What do you wish you would have gotten -- if you don't love yours? 

This is what we have and used for Raleigh Grace as an infant.  We absolutely love it and will be using for baby#2 most likely...

This is the stroller we have for RG now... we do not have the Chicco infant seat- anyone have this one they want to gift us? ;) kidding.. but we like the stroller fine but it only works for one child (obviously!)

-Diapers: ick, I hate to even bring this one up. TWO children in diapers?!  Hopefully not for long though.  I would have never imagined writing this in a post but my friend Stephanie posed a question: should she start cloth diapering now that she is going to have two children in diapers.  Actually she titled the post: "Convnice me I should go cloth" ... I really have little to no interest in cloth diapering (for my kiddos) because I feel like I can't even stay on top of the laundry and house work that I currently have much less adding more to the mix-- but is it worth the money to add a few more loads of laundry? If significant enough I might would consider.  I can't wait to read the comments on her post but if you have any feel free to leave them for me as well! 

our faves since day 1!

-Sleeping/Cribs/Beds: First off, we will not be moving Raleigh Grace to a "big girl bed" anytime soon. She is an amazing sleeper (sleeping 10-13 hours a night) and I refuse to mess with a good thing!  She slept in our room for the first 5ish months in the bouncer, in the pack n play-- and if baby number two likes the bouncer like RG we will be doing the same- otherwise we plan on just putting the baby in the pack n play in our room. I also feel it is important to be transparent about our living situation.  We are going to be in somewhat of a "grid-lock" situation when baby number two comes. We are currently living in a really nice condo that is two bedrooms.  We are in one room and RG is in the other.  Like I said earlier, we plan on keeping #2 in our room for a little while so consider the following questions to be applied several months down the road... The crib that RG is in right now is a regular crib that will not transition into a toddler bed.  We also have a day bed with a trundle in her room (see pics of her nursery here).  What do you think about having both kids in the same room (obviously when #2 is around 6+ months old)?  I don't see much of an option otherwise.  So, how should they sleep? Do you think RG will be ready for a "big girl" bed by that time? She will be 2 years old plus or minus a few months.  Or... should we bite the bullet and purchase a second crib? If we were to go that route we would purchase a convertible crib that will eventually be a toddler bed, and a twin headboard later.  (or is that totally unnecessary considering we have the day bed?...). Should we just move the pack n play to RG's room when #2 is older, and pray, pray, pray that they both sleep well? I'm really at a loss on this issue and most of me is just planning to play it by ear and take it a day at the time.  Obviously, K and I would love to purchase a larger home but with us still owning the house in TX that's not totally an option right now.  The lease on that house is up in the end of April so pray for wisdom for us in that situation-- I'm not sure if its a feasible idea to sell it or to continue to try and rent it and build up more equity in it...? (Not trying to open that can of worms in this post -- just letting you know we could use some prayers in that department of our life.)

see day bed and crib... as you can see there isn't a lot of extra room for a second crib but we could make do if need be (or take the day bed out)

-Diaper Bag: This issue isn't really a huge priority to me but I just thought I would include it to get some input if you have it.  I love my current Coach diaper bag (seen in crib above). I really do!  But... I feel like its almost already maxed out.  Do I need to get something larger? What did you do? I have looked at the Petunia Pickle Bottom boxy backpacks and I'm obsessed. If I had $180 dollars and had no clue what to do with it I probably would have already purchased one.  They also make the PPB boxy backpack (Abundance) in an extra large size-- is all that really necessary? Should I hang tight with what I have and make do- or indulge in a new bag? 

 The left one is the Abundance Backpack, the right is the regular Petunia Pickle Bottom Boxy Backpack

-Baby Showers: How do you feel about having a baby shower for the second baby? Especially when they are this close in age? Go for it? Or hold off? 

Although those are most of the questions I am throwing around right now, I am sure that many more will come up over the next few months.  Those of you who are moms of multiples, I really applaud you. I need you to impart ALL of your wisdom to me... seriously.  :) Thanks for all of your feedback in advance, I can't wait to bounce ideas off of everyone-- if there is something I left off feel free to advise me in that department too!  

OH! And if you aren't a mom or a mom with multiple kids I would still love to hear what you think!!! :) 

Here are just a few friends who are going to be going from one to two (or two to three etc. ;) )  in the next several months... let me know if I didn't include you... I thought it would be fun to see who else will be going through this at the same time to know that we aren't alone.  I love knowing that I will have a support group when the baby gets here! 

Stephanie at Blawnde's Blog

Natalie at Extraordinary Love

Beth Ann at My Life More Abundant

Stephanie at Houghtons Happenings
Jen at A Girl in Pearls & A Boy with Toys