Now that I’ve reached 35 weeks, it’s time to start getting prepared for Baby Number 2’s arrival. I’ve heard that second babies can sometimes come early, and although I know better than to blindly believe all the things I have ‘heard’, it is certainly worth being prepared! I have a feeling he’s going to come soon.

We will be leaving all of our bags in the corridor, ready to pick up as we dash out of the door. I packed the baby’s bag first as I think it’s probably the easiest one to get ready. I won’t need to grab things like phone chargers and remember to pack them on the way out, so once the baby’s bag is done, I don’t need to touch it again!

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Buying A Change Bag

So the change bag I’ve gone for this time is a million times better than the bag I had with Luke. In fact, I didn’t even buy a change bag for Luke, I used the one that comes free with a coupon when you buy a packet of Pampers nappies in Boots. To be fair, I haven’t seen that offer around this time, so maybe it has been discontinued. Or maybe it’s just because I haven’t joined the Boots Baby Club again?

The Change Bag Of Dreams

So this time I decided to actually buy a change bag and not be stingy. After seeing some ads on Facebook, I decided to shop around and find one that was similar to what I liked, but most importantly, cheaper. I’m glad I did, because I came across this, the change bag of dreams! Okay so that’s not it’s official name. It’s official name is: Large Capacity Nappy Changing Backpack, YIMOJI Multi-function Baby Diaper Bag Mom and Dad Travel Backpack with 3 Insulated Thermal Milk Bottle Pockets (Grey). You can see why I shortened it.

So I could rave on and on about how amazing this bag is and why I have nicknamed it The Change Bag Of Dreams, but I’m not going to. If I did, you’d be sat here for ages reading this and that is not what this post is about. Instead, here are some of the main points I love about it:

It’s a bit like the TARDIS – small on the outside and blooming huge on the inside. It’s very spacious.
Lots of pockets and zipped compartments (13 in total), great for keeping everything organised.
Multifunctional – can be attached to the stroller, worn as a back pack or carried.
Neutral grey colour – which by the way is gorgeous – means that it’s great for mums and dads. I don’t think Mikey would feel too happy about walking around with a super colourful change bag.
The base is water resistant as well as being dirt resistant. The back of the back pack has an anti-theft secret zip, perfect for phones and purses.

In a few months, I’ll be doing a full review of the bag, once I have had the opportunity to thoroughly test it. But for now, I’m in love!

What’s In My Baby’s Hospital Bag?

After having a look at some guides online and remembering my own experiences of being in hospital with Luke, I had a pretty good idea what I did and didn’t want to include in Baby Number 2’s bag.

If you’re thinking about packing your baby’s hospital bag soon, here’s a list I put together that you can pin, download and print out to make the job easier.

Clothes and Hats

We’re having a summer baby and we all know that hospitals are warm places. I’ve packed around 5 baby grows, they’re short sleeved, so I have also packed one to two ‘proper’ outfits for coming home. The baby grows are all from Primark and the hats we have packed are from F&F at Tesco. I must admit, this is completely over kill – normally you only need two or three, but I like to be prepared.

Socks and Booties

I haven’t packed any all-in-one grows, so the little man is going to need socks and booties. I’ve got two pairs of socks and one pair of booties packed. I’m pretty sure we picked up these little bits from Poundland. We’ve also got a pair of scratch mittens in there, just in case.

Blanket

Once you’re outside the hospital, it’s not so warm, so I’ve packed this gorgeous fleece lined blanket that we picked up from the ALDI baby event. It’s the softest thing ever!

Nappies and Wipes

I’m not bothering to take nappies out of the packet and count them up. I’ve just shoved one pack of newborn nappies in the bag as well as one pack of wipes. At some point you will get a free pack of nappies in either your Bounty or Emma’s Diary packs and these are perfect for the hospital. You don’t know how long you’re going to be in hospital for, so I think it’s best to just take a whole pack of each. Those packs also contain little tubes of nappy cream, so we’ve popped one of those in too.

Muslins

I’ve packed two muslin squares, they’re both from ALDI. They’re not the thickets of muslins, but they’ll do for hospital as they’re light weight and thinner, meaning they pack well into the change bag.

Bottles and Breast Pump

I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to be feeding Baby Number 2 just yet. I breastfed Luke for two months and then, sadly, had to give it up. It’s left me with some pretty negative connotations associated with breastfeeding, but every baby is different and my situation is now different, so who knows. Just in case though, I’m bringing the breast pump. Currently, it’s all set up to go in the baby’s bag, but I might transfer it to my hospital bag just to make things easier. I’ve bought some Tommee Tippee Closer To Nature bottles and they’re sat in the very handy insulated bottle holder pouch at the front of the change bag.

Going Home Outfit

Long story short, you’ll most likely know that we are a bunny mad family and have two house bunnies. We really wanted to get Baby Number 2 the ‘That’s Not My Bunny…’ all-in-one grow from Mothercare as his going home outfit. However, it seems that online and in every shop we have gone to, newborn sizes are sold out. Instead, we’re bringing him home in an outfit Luke chose, which retrospectively, seems like a much nicer idea.

Present For Luke

Obviously, I’m so keen to make sure Luke is as involved as possible and isn’t left out. I know that juggling two kids will inevitably bring up some sour feelings from him, but we decided that it might be a really nice idea for Luke to have a present from his little brother when he comes to meet him for the first time! I wrote a post about why we felt this would be a great idea and what we eventually ended up choosing.

So that’s it…for now. Now that I’ve written it all down, I’m starting to second guess myself and make myself feel a bit paranoid that I’ve forgotten something really important! If you have any further suggestions on things specifically for the baby that we should take to hospital with us, please let me know in the comments!