Last month my best friend found out what the gender of her third baby is, and she asked me to plan a gender reveal surprise for her family! After I recovered from the initial excitement that I’d get to be the first one to find out what they’re having, I hopped onto Pinterest and searched for cute ways to involve the whole family in a gender reveal! There were tons of adorable ideas that I thought would be fun for older siblings, and after narrowing it down to ones that I thought her kids would like, we decided on a balloon pop! Anyway, I thought it would be fun to put together a roundup for anyone else trying to decide how to involve their whole family in their gender reveal!

And as is usual in roundups, please click the links below the photos and pin from the source, or pin from the image at the end of the post. These ladies worked hard and I want to make sure they get credit! Now here we go!

{Filled Food via Life With My Littles}

{Confetti Balloon Pop via Sam Dobson Writes}

{Paint Squirt via Limelight 31 Photography}

{Paint-Filled Balloon Pop via Sweet Miles}

{Colored Handprints via Evin Photography}

{Box of Balloons via Ashley Hempel Photography}

{Smoke Bombs via Shutter Darling Photography}

{Silly String via Yellownest Photography}

{Piñata via Funny/Beautiful}

{Pillow Fight via Jeanne Mitchum Photography}

{Confetti Popper via Signature Sanchez}

Aren’t those so fun? I loved setting everything up to help make my best friend’s moment special. Hopefully at least one (if not all!) of these ways to involve the whole family in a gender reveal sound like fun to you and your kids! Finding out the gender of your baby is so exciting, and it’s even more fun when you get the whole family involved in the reveal!!

The post Ways to Involve the Whole Family in a Gender Reveal appeared first on Life With My Littles.

Back when I had just one baby, I was a very different person. Having kids changes you, and with each baby you add to the mix, your parenting style changes, out of necessity and because you’re just better at it. I definitely did things with my third baby that I never would have done with my first baby (gasp!). I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing, but l was more relaxed with my third baby than with my first baby. I’m willing to bet that if you think about it, you’ll notice some parenting differences between your first and third baby, too. Assuming of course that you’re crazy enough to have a third baby.

Here are a few parenting differences you may notice between your first and third baby:

Nursing your first baby: Sitting in your baby’s rocking chair in their perfectly decorated nursery, gazing into their eyes, petting their hair, rubbing their toes, and just taking it all in, all while making sure your baby is eating from both sides and eating every few hours. Breastfeeding is such a beautiful, special experience!

Nursing your third baby: Sitting on the sofa in front of the TV while your first two kids run around you, eating a snack and scrolling through Instagram, wondering if you fed your baby on the left or right side last time, and hoping that it was the side you didn’t start them on this time.

Sleep training with your first baby: You read Baby Wise when you were pregnant two times, so you’re basically an expert now on baby sleep schedules. You’re going to follow each stage and your baby WILL be sleeping through the night at eight weeks, and I will be sleeping through the night, too!

Sleep training with your third baby: You hear your baby crying in the middle of the night and roll out of bed to go feed him. It’s easier to just feed him and have him go back to sleep than to listen to him cry. He’ll sleep through the night eventually.

Starting solid foods with your first baby: Such an exciting time! You check with your pediatrician at six months, and then start your baby on rice cereal. You set him in his high chair for the first time, get the camera ready, and give him his first bite! What a cutie!

Starting solid foods with your third baby: You start giving your baby a few baby food purees at four months and by six months he’s eating off your plate.

Bathtime with your first baby: Every other night with a relaxing, lavender-scented body wash. You let him have a few toys and play in the tub for about ten minutes before rinsing him off and getting him out.

Bathtime with your third baby: How does your baby smell? If he smells okay, pass on bath time. If he smells stinky (or had a bad poopout that day) he probably needs a quick rinse in the tub before bed.

Cleaning up a poopout with your first baby: Gagging, using 1,000 wipes, soaking the changing pad and baby’s clothes immediately after to remove any stains, then sanitizing the changing pad area and giving baby a bath.

Cleaning up a poopout with your third baby: You’ve realized the value of a good wipe, so you use as few as you can to clean up the mess. Getting baby poop on your hands doesn’t gross you out as much anymore either, so if you get a little on your hand in the process, it’s not a big deal. Strip you baby down, wipe off the changing pad, and give your baby a good “wipe bath” before putting on a new diaper. You can wash the clothes and changing pad later.

Buying things for your first baby: You foolishly think your baby needs everything from baby sunglasses to three kinds of swaddles. You buy a bouncer, a swing, a playmat, a jumper, and five different pairs of baby shoes. Not to mention all the adorable tiny outfits you can’t wait to put him in!

Buying things for your third baby: After looking through storage from your first two and finding anything that can either be wash or wiped down, you buy some diapers, wipes, a new pacifier, and some baby lotion. You have everything else!

When your first baby is learning to crawl and walk: You’re constantly trying to encourage your baby and help your baby practice, bribing him with everything from snacks to your iPhone. You take lots of videos of his attempts and send them to everyone in your family.

When your third baby is learning to crawl and walk: You definitely aren’t in a rush for your baby to be mobile, because it just means you’ll have another one to keep up with. You’re lucky if you even get his first steps on video.

Milestones with your first baby: You write every little thing down in your baby’s baby book, recording the date, how you felt, and how exciting it was. You tell everyone and post every big milestone on social media. It’s too good not to share!

Milestones with your third baby: When did your baby get his first tooth again? Did he start rolling around four months? Or maybe it was six. Who knows?!

Feeding your first baby: You get him buckled safely into the high chair, put on a bib, and pull up a chair so you can carefully spoon-feed him homemade baby food. You’ve got wipes right next to you so he can’t make a big mess, and you’re constantly wiping his face so he doesn’t get food everywhere.

Feeding your third baby: You sit him in the high chair and put some Cheerios and blueberries on the tray. Then you go do your own thing while he eats.

When your first baby is crying: After immediately picking up your baby, you check to make sure he’s not poopy or wet. Then you go through the 5 S’s in your mind. Swaddle, stomach, shush, swing, and suck. You’ve got this!

When your third baby is crying: If he’s not poopy or dying, he’s fine. Let him cry.

When your first baby drops their pacifier: You quickly pick it up and frantically run to the bathroom to scrub it with hot soapy water before giving it back to your baby.

When your third baby drops their pacifier: You brush it off on your shirt and give it back to your baby.

When your first baby spits up on you: After panicking for a minute, you carefully set down your baby somewhere they’ll be happy and rush to change your outfit so you don’t smell like spit-up the rest of the day.

When your third baby spits up on you: Oh well. You wipe it with a burp rag and just deal. You’re going to put your pajamas on in three hours anyway, so who cares.

Worrying about germs with your first baby: You ALWAYS carry around both sanitizing wipes and hand sanitizer, and you wipe down everything before your baby sits in it or touches it. If anyone touches your baby, you sanitize both your hands and theirs. No germs!

Worrying about germs with your third baby: Most days, you’re just lucky if you have an extra diaper in your bag, let alone sanitizer. Germs are everywhere, so there’s no use worrying about them!

Nap time with your first baby: You plan your whole day around your baby’s nap schedule, and you refuse to go anywhere around nap time because if your baby doesn’t get good naps, your whole day is ruined. No exceptions!

Nap time with your third baby: What time is the play date? 1pm? That’s my baby’s nap time, but he can nap in the car for a bit. He’ll be fine.

Going out in public with your first baby: We can’t leave the house for the first six to eight weeks, and then when we do, it’s only going to be for short amounts of time, and he’s going to stay in his car seat, covered, the whole time.

Going out in public with your third baby: We just got home from the hospital two days ago but let’s head to the zoo! I’ll just feed him while we’re there if he gets hungry.

Where your first baby sleeps: He’s going to sleep in our room for the first six months and then we’ll slowly transition him to his crib if he’s ready.

Where your third baby sleeps: After a few days of sleeping in your room, you move him into his crib in his own room. You’ve got a baby monitor and you need your own space.

There definitely a lot of parenting differences between your first and third baby, and if you ask me, a lot of them are for the better! Babies are pretty resilient, and once you’ve had a few, you get pretty good at taking care of them and knowing what they actually need. So if you’re on the crazy train where you and your husband are outnumbered by your kids (or you’re pregnant with your third and reading this post trying to mentally prepare), you’re in good company. Having three kids is a wild ride but it’s a lot of fun!

The post Parenting Differences Between Your First Baby and Third Baby appeared first on Life With My Littles.

When we found out we were expecting our second child when our first child was still a baby, we were surprised. I mean, I know how babies are made and we weren’t using any kind of contraception, but since it took a year and a half to get pregnant the first time, we were a little shocked. But those two little pink lines were unmistakably clear. We were going to have kids 18 months apart.

The hardest part was the beginning. Nursing a newborn takes a lot of time, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do with my son while I was feeding my daughter. I also wanted to make sure I was still reading to him and playing with him and doing activities that challenged him and helped him learn. But to be honest, I was exhausted during the day from being up all night with my daughter. I couldn’t leave my baby girl alone because my son would try and give her kisses and smother her or bring her toys and put them on her face. I felt like I didn’t have any time to shower or exercise or even go to the bathroom by myself because I had these two tiny people who constantly needed my attention and couldn’t do anything for themselves.

As they got older, I started figuring things out. My daughter started sleeping through the night, my son started becoming more independent, and I figured out that if by showering at night I could feel a little more put-together during the day. The love my son had for his sister was not lost on her, and she started looking at him like he was the funniest, coolest kid in the whole world. They each had a built-in best friend and they were learning to help each other and occupy each other. I was witnessing an incredibly special and unique bond form right before my eyes.

Now my kids are five and three, and they are still best friends. They play together, they like the same things, they share a bedroom, and when they’re apart, they always talk about the other. Sure, things aren’t perfect and sometimes they steal each other’s toys or hit each other, but for the most part, they get along better than I could have imagined.

In the last three years they’ve often been mistaken for twins because they’re so close, even though my son is several inches taller than my daughter. Sometimes I correct people, and sometimes I let it slide. They are Luke and Leia, Lightning and Cruz, Moana and Maui. They are best friends in the deepest, truest form, and every day I am glad for those two pink lines that confirmed we would have kids 18 months apart.

Maybe in ten years when they’re teenagers I’ll be writing a post about why I’m not glad that they’re 18 months apart, but for now, I’m going to enjoy how they are now. Brother and sister, playmates, partners in crime, and best, best friends.

The post Why I’m Glad I Had Kids Eighteen Months Apart appeared first on Life With My Littles.

Today I am so, so excited to share with you guys all the details about “Preggers,” MY BOOK!

What is “Preggers” about?

First of all, you’re probably wondering what “Preggers” is about. “Preggers” is a straightforward, informative, candid, relatable, laugh out loud guide to pregnancy, from trying to get pregnant all the way up to labor and delivery. I included some of my popular (updated) blog posts in the book, but most of “Preggers” is new content. There aren’t very many (if any) pregnancy books that are actually fun to read and still informative, and the ones that are informative have way too much information and are too medical (at least in my opinion). I wanted “Preggers” to be funny, helpful, and honest, and I wanted it to cover everything you could possibly think about that is related to pregnancy. I didn’t want it to be overwhelming, and I wanted to make sure that it was actually useful and had good tips in it. I wanted pregnant mamas to read it and be like “that’s exactly how I feel!” I wanted to prepare them for what to expect, and help them know that there are a lot of weird and totally normal things that happen during pregnancy, and they aren’t the only ones who experience them (like vaginal varicosities!). I also wanted it to be helpful whether you’re a first-time mom, or a third-time mom, and there really is something for everyone to enjoy in “Preggers.”

A little history…

In August 2015 my husband was in Texas for the month and I was driving with Little J and Little A from Idaho to Utah to visit my sister. I was listening to my favorite podcast all about pregnancy, Pregnancy Perfect, and the thought came to me that I should write a book. I’d been blogging all about pregnancy and babies for two years, so I knew I would want it to be about pregnancy, but that was about it. I dismissed the idea (because it was crazy) and tried to move on. But I couldn’t get the thought out of my head!

In January 2016 I decided to go for it. I sat down at a little table in our rental house in Rochester, Minnesota and made an outline. I decided how to split the book up, and then got to work on an outline. I wrote the section headings on different pieces of paper and then wrote down different topics for each of those sections. Eventually, I had ten pages of notes and I was all set to go!

Over the next few months I began writing, and I got through the introduction and first two sections. In May 2016 we moved from Idaho to Texas, my husband graduated from medical school, and at the end of the month, we found out I was pregnant with baby #3! I lost all motivation to do anything with that pregnancy, and my book got put on the backburner.

Little R was born in January 2017, and life with three kids under four provided little time to write. We moved again in July 2017 to Minnesota, and I decided that it was time to get moving on my book. My husband’s schedule was a lot less rigorous for a few months, and he took the kids to the park and to the movies several times so that I could have some uninterrupted time to write.

In October 2017 I finished the first draft. I went back through, made some changes and a lot of edits, and then decided it was ready for other people to test-read. I knew I loved my book, but I wanted to make sure it wasn’t just me! My best friend, sister, and two more friends read it, made some edits, and reviewed it for me, and then I went through again and made MORE edits! In December 2017 I sent the book to my editor (one of my college roommates!) and she finished it and sent it back in early January 2018. One more big edit and “Preggers” was officially done!

I should also mention that I knew very early on what the title was going to be, and what I wanted the cover to look like. When I was pregnant with Little R, I painted a big wooden board bright pink and had a good friend come over and take some pictures of my pregnant belly kneeling on the grass in front of it. I used that picture and designed the front and back covers as soon as I knew how many pages my book was going to be (because it determines how big the spine is going to be!).

Since I am self-publishing “Preggers,” there has also been a lot of formatting and designing that I’ve had to do, as well as more businessy (yes, businessy) things like filing a copyright, getting a Library of Congress number, and getting the ISBN numbers. It’s a lot of work to self-publish a book, but I wanted to be 100% in control of all the little details, and it’s paid off!

When and where can I get it?

“Preggers” is available in an ebook and as a paperback book, and it will be published on March 6th, 2018. March 6th is my oldest child’s birthday, and he’s the reason I started my blog, the reason I fell in love with motherhood, and the reason I am where I am today. He has no idea, but I owe him a lot. So he will forever share a birthday with my book!

You can preorder “Preggers” now over at www.PreggersTheBook.com, and if you order before March 6th, you can get the paperback version for 50% off! I wanted to do that as a special thank you to everyone who has supported me and followed this long journey!

I’m also hosting an amazing new mama giveaway with a few friends for a paperback copy and some of the best mom and baby items from my favorite stores (like Sweet N Swag, DockATot, Tubby Todd, and Bamboobies, just to name a few). Make sure you’re following me on Instagram because the giveaway is happening the week of March 6th and you definitely won’t want to miss it!

Thank you!

I’ve worked so hard to get to this point, and while my hard work isn’t over yet, it has already 100% been worth it! I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me, who has read my blog over the years, and who has supported me as I’ve worked to achieve this goal! I have had some serious blessings along the way and lots of answered prayers to make this dream a reality. My ultimate goal is to get my book into a national bookstore, so here’s to that (I’m coming for you, Barnes and Noble). But for real, every copy I sell means so much to me! I am so, so excited, so grateful for everyone who has already ordered their copy, and I can’t wait for everyone to read my book! Thank you!

The post “Preggers” by Chelsea Johnson appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This post contains affiliate links. I received free product for this post.

If you have kids close together, you’re going to need a double stroller. A quick search on Amazon will reveal that the strollers with the best reviews are pretty pricey, and it can be hard to justify spending that much money on a stroller. But after using a cheap stroller for three years, talking to lots of moms who have nice double strollers, and finally getting a nice one of my own, I can tell you that it is absolutely worth spending more money on a good double stroller.

I 100% get that it’s hard to fork out $300-$600 for a stroller. That sounds like madness at first. But let me tell you why it’s worth it (and yes, feel free to quote me when you’re trying to convince your husband to get a nice double stroller).

When we were getting ready to have our second baby, the one thing I knew we were going to need was a double stroller. Our first two were 18-months apart, so we needed a stroller that could fit both of them. My husband was in medical school at the time, so in order to save money, I bought a cheap double stroller.

If you’ve been a reader of my blog for a while, you’ll know that the double stroller I bought was basically the worst double stroller ever. I’m not even going to tell you what it is because I don’t want you to even entertain the idea of buying it yourself. I toughed it out and used it for three years, and every time I used it, I felt like I was getting an upper body workout because of how hard it was to push. It maneuvered poorly, was super long, and was incredibly hard to turn. Even after three years of using it, I still ran into things. It was that bad.

When we moved to Minnesota, we moved 20 minutes away from our best friends. My best friend Melissa (who is amazing, by the way) let me push around her City Select stroller with the second seat while we were walking around the Mall of America. It was a complete night and day difference from our junky stroller. Not only was it smooth and required little effort to push, but it was SUPER easy to maneuver. I even had my husband push it around for a little bit and he agreed that there was a huge difference. You can use it

In case you didn’t believe me that Melissa was amazing, she also let us borrow her ZOE XL2 DELUXE double stroller a few weeks later while we were at the Minnesota State Fair and even though it was technically an umbrella stroller (so you can’t use it with an infant car seat), it still was 1,000 times better than our stroller we had. It was so light (only 16 pounds!), the umbrella covers were perfect for naps on-the-go, and I could push my two youngest in it with only one hand. I actually loved this one so much that I wrote to the company asking them to send me one, and they agreed, sending me the new ZOE XL2 BEST v2 double stroller. We’re bringing it to Disneyland next month and I can hardly wait to travel with it. ZOE’s customer service is superb, and it’s a small, family-run company, so I love supporting them.

I also wanted to make sure that it wasn’t just me being silly and overreacting because of my horrible, hellish, cheap stroller, so I asked my mama friends what their double stroller recommendations were. The most frequently recommended stroller? The City Select with the second seat. Mamas raved about it. You can even buy it with just the single seat and then as your family grows, buy the second seat and even the glider board that attaches to the back for any older kids wanting to stand and ride. It’s amazing, and if we have another baby one day, I’m going to figure out a way to convince my husband to get one.

Another one that came highly recommended that several of my friends have is the BOB Revolution PRO Duallie. It’s a jogging stroller so it’s great if you’re going to be going on long walks or runs with your kids, and you want something that’s going to last and hold up over time. It has a car seat adapter so you can use an infant car seat with it, and you can even adjust the height of the handlebar! It’s also great for non-paved roads, so if you do a lot of adventuring, this is a great choice.

Guys, it is absolutely worth it to spend the big bucks on a double stroller. Yes, it’s an investment, and yes, it’s hard, but you really do get what you pay for. And if you plan ahead, you might be able to score a deal on Black Friday or at a Mother’s Day sale or something. And if money is tight like it was for us in medical school, save up, ask family to help you buy it for your baby gift, or even try and find a used one somewhere. It’s so, so, so worth it to buy a good double stroller, and the only thing you’ll regret is not getting one!

The post Why It’s Worth Spending Money on a Good Double Stroller appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This post contains affiliate links.

When I was pregnant with my first baby, my husband and I registered for all the things. We had so much fun picking out clothes, pacifiers, bottles, a bassinet, a bouncer, and all of the cute little things you need for a baby. Once our little guy was born and started growing out of things, we saved them, and when the time came for baby #2, we had a lot of what we already needed. But there were still lots of things we needed to buy for our second baby!

People might tell you that it’s not worth it to create a baby registry for your second baby, but it absolutely is! There are lots of benefits to registering, especially if you do it with Amazon Baby Registry. Today I’m going to share a helpful list of things to register for with your second baby, and why it’s worth it to register for your second baby.

1. A double stroller. If you’ve got kids within a few years of age, you’re definitely going to want a double stroller. And since they can be a little on the expensive side, adding one to your registry is the way to go. I don’t like my double stroller, so I’m recommending the City Select stroller with the second seat. I’ve tried it out and it’s ah-mazing. Plus I have like 10 friends who love theirs. It’s like the Cadillac of strollers.

2. Diapers. One obvious thing you can’t reuse with your second thing are diapers, so adding them to your registry is a must! Babies go through so many diapers (it’s RIDICULOUS), so getting other people to buy them for you is very helpful! We personally really love Pampers and have used them with all three babies.

3. Wipes. Going right along with the diapers, you’re going to need wipes, and a lot of them! Make sure you add wipes to your registry, too! Babies are messy!

4. Baby wash and lotion. I have always made sure to add baby wash and lotion to my baby registries (even with my third baby), and I am so glad I did, because it’s something that we can always use at our house!

5. A second baby monitor camera. When our second baby was born, our son was just 18-months-old, so we still wanted a baby monitor in his room, too. Amazon has lots of baby monitors to choose from, and a lot of them have extra cameras you can add so you can have cameras in two rooms and still only use one parent monitor. And if the extra camera for your monitor isn’t available on Amazon, their baby registry allows you to add it from another site with their universal registry feature. Which is great, because you can make just one registry and have it all in one place! And even now that we have three, we still find all kinds of ways to use our baby monitor! They’re awesome!

6. White bodysuits. Even with my amazing secret for removing blowout stains, I still had a few white bodysuits that got trashed with our first baby. And since those are kind of a staple when you’ve got a baby, it’s nice to have a few on hand. So if you are in the same boat as me and need some crisp, new, white bodysuits, add them to your registry! They make for great outfits for monthly photos!

7. Diaper pail bags. If you have a diaper pail, register for some refill bags. I didn’t get a diaper pail until our third baby, but it has been revolutionary. And since these are another thing you can’t reuse, adding them to your registry is a great way to get more!

8. Diaper rash cream. Diaper rash cream is one of those things that you don’t think about buying until it’s too late and your baby already has a rash. And since I don’t think you can ever have too many tubes of diaper rash cream, adding a few tubes to your registry is a great idea!

Now why should you create a registry for your second baby? Hopefully I’ve already convinced you, but there are also a few benefits even if you don’t have a baby shower. Besides the fact that registering is super fun, it’s also a great way to keep track of what you need to get for your second baby (like the stuff on the list above!). Another reason to register for your second baby is that when you register is that when you register with Amazon Baby Registry (and you’re a Prime member), you get a free welcome box with full, travel and sample size products for parents-to-be and baby! Who doesn’t want free samples!? Amazon Baby Registry also offers a completion discount. Sixty days before your due date, Amazon gives you a 10% off discount (or 15% off if you are a Prime member) for select items that are left on your registry. So again, even if you don’t have a baby shower, it’s a great way to get a discount on the things that you need for your second baby. It’s so worth it to register!

Registering for your second baby is completely worth it, and now you know what things to register for with your second baby! Not to brag or anything, but I feel pretty confident in my list since I’ve had three babies and have reused a lot of stuff. There are just some things you can’t reuse, and registering for them is a great way to make sure you get everything you need before your baby is born! Having a second baby is crazy at first, but it really is amazing, so good luck, mamas!

The post Things to Register for With Your Second Baby appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This post contains affiliate links.

When we found out we were pregnant with our second child, our son was only 10-months-old and we had no idea how he would react to having a baby at home. He would be 18-months-old when our new baby was born, and we were worried he wouldn’t handle having a sibling well. So we did a lot of things to prepare him for the birth of his little sister, and when the time came, he was an amazing big brother (and still is).

I’ve gone through this twice now, once with Little J and once with Little A, and both times have gone great. Little J was 18-months-old when his sister was born, and Little A was 2 1/2 years when our newest little man was born, so it was different each time, and yes, different things work for each child. Now I’ve had several people ask me how to prepare older siblings for the birth of a new baby, so today I’m sharing nine ways to help you get your little ones ready for their new sibling!

How to Prepare Older Siblings for the Birth of a New Baby

1. Talk about the baby.

A lot. Talk all about how things will be different when the new baby comes, about how your child can help the new baby by bringing them their pacifier, a blanket, or a toy. Remind them that the baby will be born at the hospital and when they come home they will live at your house. Talk about how you are going to love the baby and how you will still love them just as much. Get them familiar with having a baby and what it’s like to have a baby (as much as their age allows) so that when the time comes, it won’t be a big surprise.

2. Show them your belly.

I remember distinctly the first time I showed Little A my growing belly with all its stretch marks. She was fascinated by it. We talked a lot about how baby brother was in my tummy, but seeing my bare belly all round seemed to be even more interesting to her. This one is probably a better idea for older kids because when I was pregnant with Little A, Little J didn’t really care about my belly.

3. Let them feel the baby move.

Once you are far enough along that you can feel your baby move from the outside, let your child feel baby kick and move around, too! It might take some patience on their part, but both of my kids loved feeling their baby sibling move around. It is a fun way to make it more real when they realize that something really is inside Mommy’s belly!

4. Let them pick out new clothes or toys for the baby.

Something both my kids enjoyed was picking out special clothes and toys for our new baby. Little J picked out a pink bear for Little A and brought it to her at the hospital, and when we were picking out the going home outfit for our newest baby, I let the kids help me decide which one to buy. It’s an easy way to help get them excited for the birth of the baby.

5. Read books about getting a new sibling.

Reading books about other kids becoming siblings can help your kids that babies are born all the time and being a sibling can be fun! Check out books from the library or buy some on Amazon. My kids loved “I Am a Big Brother,” “I Am a Big Sister,” and “The New Baby.”

6. Show them pictures of when they were a baby.

Another thing that helped my kids prepare for the birth of Little J was showing them pictures of when they were babies. We talked about how everyone starts out as a baby, and reminded them that they were babies once, too. You can also show them pictures of yourself as a baby if you want to blow their minds!

7. Get them a baby doll or stuffed animal to take care of.

We never got around to doing this but I love the idea of getting your child a baby doll or special stuffed animal that they can pretend to take care of by changing diapers, feeding them, or dressing them. It’s a great way to help them understand some of the different things Moms and Dads have to do for new babies.

8. Point out babies when you go places.

Since our daughter hadn’t been around many babies until Little R was born, one thing I did a lot was point out babies when we went to the grocery store or church. I would say, “Look at that baby! We’re getting a baby like that soon!” to help her kind of put two and two together and remind her what was coming soon.

9. If you have any friends with a baby, ask if your child can come meet them.

You can talk about babies and point out babies all you want, but actually being around a baby is different. If you can introduce your child to a friend’s baby it can really help. Show them how to be gentle and soft. Point out that you don’t poke baby’s eyes or put your hand in their mouth. If the baby cries that might be helpful too, since that happens a lot with new babies. I have a few friends who are pregnant and I love watching their younger kids around Little R. They are always very interested, and I hope that being around him will help them when their new babies come!

I promise that even though it’s a little scary and overwhelming, having two kids is amazing and watching them become each other’s best friends just melts your heart. Adding a third into the mix has been fun so far, too! Little J and Little R just love their new baby brother, and they are constantly up in his face and asking to hold him. It’s so sweet to watch him smile when he sees them!

Luckily, you have nine months to prepare older siblings for the birth of a new baby, and now that you know how to prepare older siblings for the birth of a baby, you’ll be ready! Good luck!

The post How to Prepare Older Siblings for the Birth of a Baby appeared first on Life With My Littles.

Announcing a pregnancy has always been a really fun, exciting thing for me. I love seeing how creative people get when they share their exciting news, and I love being able to share exciting news in a fun way myself.

In fact, two years ago I posted all about cute ways to announce a pregnancy in photos, featuring seven different pictures of my family announcing that we were having a second baby!

You can get so creative with pregnancy announcements, and one of my favorite ways to announce is using older siblings. It’s fun to get them involved and help them share the big news. Today I wanted to share 24 of these adorable sibling pregnancy announcements.

I tried really hard to find all of the sources, and as in all roundups, please click through to the links before you pin an image!

{via Elena S Blair Photography}

{via One Little Project}

{via Happy Home Fairy}

{via Hanna Mac Photography}

{via Grinning Weasel Photography}

{via Kayty Mary on Pinterest}

{via Flickr}

{via Samantha Foltz on Photobucket}

{via Keeping Up With the Morgans}

{via Life With My Littles}

{via Life As a Thrifter}

{via Little Faces Apparel on Instagram}

{via Nicole Banks on Pinterest}

{via Chalking It Up Boards on Etsy}

{via The Hendersons}

{via this link}

{via A&E Living}

{via Rebecca Whitney Photography}

{via A Painted Nest}

{via this link}

{via Pregnant Chicken}

{via Luehmann Circus}

{via Jessica Pope}

Oh and before I forget, there’s one more picture I need to share!

YUP! Baby #3 is cookin’ in my oven! Little J is so excited, and even though Little A doesn’t really get it yet, I know she’ll be a great big sister. They love telling people that there’s a baby in mommy’s tummy!

We decided it was time to share the news because I’m basically bumping out of all my clothes. On Wednesday I’ll be sharing a bigger pregnancy update, including the due date and how far along I am, but for now, I hope these cute sibling pregnancy announcements have helped inspire you to create your own!

The post 24 Adorable Sibling Pregnancy Announcements appeared first on Life With My Littles.

This post contains affiliate links.

Last week I shared with you guys some of the things we did differently with our second baby. I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback and I enjoyed writing it, so today I want to share some of the things we did the same with our second baby.

As a parent, you find that some things work, and some things don’t. Part of it depends on you, and part of it depends on your baby. Our daughter was not as relaxed as our son, but we were still able to do a lot of things with her that we did with him. Here are the things that we did the same with our second baby.

1. Announced the pregnancy with a cute pregnancy announcement. With our son, we announced that we were pregnant with a fun little photo on social media. With our daughter, we actually stepped it up a notch and took seven different pregnancy announcement pictures. It’s fun and I enjoyed it the first time, so we decided to do the same thing the second time!

2. We waited until the second trimester to announce the pregnancy publicly. This is a very personal decision and it’s different for everyone, but we didn’t announce our first or second pregnancies publicly until the second trimester. You can read more about why here, but basically I would hate to miscarry and have to be constantly telling people who weren’t that close (aka, most of Facebook or random church members) that I lost the baby.

3. Found out our baby’s gender at 20 weeks. I am not one of those people who could just plan a gender neutral nursery and have a bunch of yellow and white clothes for their baby and plan on being surprised at the birth. Woo hoo for those people, but it’s just not me. So with both of my pregnancies, we found out what gender our baby was.

4. Packed hospital bags weeks in advance. I am also not one of those people who waits until the last second to pack their hospital bags. I packed my hospital bag and a bag for my baby both at least a month before my due date. You never know what is going to happen, even if you’re having a normal pregnancy. I didn’t want to be caught unprepared!

5. Took newborn pictures at the hospital. Our hospital offered newborn pictures while you were still there, so we did that with both of our kids. We’ve never lived in places that would work well for pictures at home, and I just like how fresh my babies are in their pictures!

6. Sent babies to the nursery at night while in the hospital. I know some people think this isn’t for them and that’s fine, but after having a baby and all the work it takes, I just need to sleep for a few hours. I never had any problems with breastfeeding and the nurses always would bring my baby to me during the night so I could feed him/her, so it’s not like I was abandoning my baby. And I also think it’s great that you can take advantage of that extra help while you can since when you get home you’re 100% in charge. Thank heavens for the nursery and those sweet nurses who let new moms sleep a bit.

7. Breastfed as soon as they were born. I breastfed both of my kids as long as I could (8 months, 6 months), and one thing that I think helped me a lot was breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth. With my daughter it was a little sooner because my son had to be checked by the NICU real fast, but I did it as soon as I could with both of them and it helped our breastfeeding journey go smoother.

8. I was strict about naps. Naps are God’s gift to mothers. So I have always been pretty strict about making sure my kids get their naps and they aren’t interrupted. I try and schedule appointments around them, go shopping around them, and if I get invited to do something during nap time, I will say no. My babies get grumpy when they don’t get enough sleep, so making sure nap time happened has always been important to me.

9. Made sure people were healthy before holding my babies. Especially during the first few months. We made sure our families who came to visit all had their whooping cough shots, and anyone who came to meet the babies had to use hand sanitizer or wash their hands before holding baby. Newborns are especially vulnerable to diseases since obviously they don’t have their vaccinations yet (I’m very pro-vaccination), so I made sure to be careful with our precious babies.

10. Introduced solids at same time. With both of our babies, we introduced solid foods, namely rice cereal, at four months. Some people wait until six months and that’s fine, but our pediatrician recommended four months for both of my babies, and it was great. They both loved solid food and did great with it at four months.

11. Weaned them off of night feedings around four/five months. Once my babies were big enough to be able to sleep through the night, I definitely encouraged it by weaned them off of night feedings. It’s not super hard to do, but it takes a little time so you do it gradually. Anyway, it was great for us and especially for me because it helped them to sleep through the night!

12. Used swaddles. I used the same swaddle blanket for both of my babies, the SwaddleDesigns Ultimate Receiving Blanket. It was big enough to swaddle them for a few months, and it held up great through two babies. We actually tried to take the swaddle away from Little A for a while, and she basically stopped napping for a full month, so it was back to swaddling to save everyone’s sanity. Anyway, swaddles are a must in my book.

13. Introduced a wide variety of foods. I do not want picky eaters, so I always try to give my kids a wide variety of different foods from an early age. Even if they didn’t like one of the baby foods we tried, we kept trying and trying until they did. Little A did not like carrots, but eventually she learned to like them! It helped both of them not to be picky (at least until the wonderful toddler phase).

14. Used a sound machine for nap time. By sound machine, I really mean an app on the iPad, but still. It made a lot of difference when we used the sound machine and it was easy to wean them both off because I just turned it down gradually until it wasn’t even on anymore.

15. Used Pampers Baby Dry diapers. I’ve tried Huggies, Costco brand, Luvs, and Walmart brand, and there just aren’t any diapers that absorb and fit my kids as well as Pampers Baby Dry diapers. I seriously love Pampers, and I like their rewards program that they have, too. Anyway, they are by far, the diaper I would recommend to any mom. Plus I feel like there are always coupons you can print or get from the paper for them!

16. Took monthly baby photos. I know some people say that they take less pictures with their second kid, and while I feel like that was sort of true for me, one thing I did not fail to document was her growth. I took monthly pictures with some little iron-on stickers every month and loved how I was able to track her growth during her first year. We did stickers with Little J and by the time he was about 8-months-old and could figure out that the sticker came off, it was impossible to get a picture with the sticker on. If you need some cute ideas, you can check out this roundup post for inspiration.

As a first-time parent you’ll quickly figure out the things you want to do the same and the things you want to do differently the second time around. For us, we did a lot the same and a lot differently. Just do what you think is best for you and for your baby, and remember that babies are all differently, even if they come from the same family!

The post Things I Did the Same With My Second Baby appeared first on Life With My Littles.

As parents, we are constantly learning from our mistakes. It’s just part of being a parent.

I’ll be honest and say that we definitely learned a few things with our first baby that made us parent our second baby a little differently. I’m not saying we were bad parents the first time around, but we definitely learned some things and there were things we did differently with our second baby.

Today I want to share a few of those things in the hopes that it might help any new or expecting first-time (or even second-time) parents. Here are some of the things I did differently with my second baby.

1. Relaxed. Okay so I’m going to begin with this one because I think it just happens when you have more kids. I don’t know if it’s because you just can’t be as type-A about everything or because you just can’t control every single thing that happens, but I was a lot more relaxed with my second baby than I was with my first! And it made it a lot easier! So take a deep breath, realize that it’s okay if you don’t change your baby’s diaper every hour, and relax.

2. Announced the pregnancy later to family. I’m not saying that this is something you have to do, but it’s something we chose to do. With our first baby we told our family as soon as we found out at four weeks, and then told friends as soon as I hit the second trimester. But with our second baby, we decided to wait a little longer. We didn’t tell our family until I was eight weeks, and then we didn’t announce the pregnancy publicly until a few weeks after the second trimester started. It was just a personal decision we made, and it might be something you want to do, too. Or you could also do the same thing you did with your first. Really, it’s not a big deal.

3. Exercised and ate better during pregnancy. When I was pregnant with our first baby, I ate whatever I want and just did some stretches a few days a week. Consequently, I gained 50 pounds. I knew I didn’t want that to happen again with my second pregnancy so I exercised and did a little cardio every few days. I also was smarter with what I ate and didn’t hit up the Arby’s drive-thru three times a week. As a result, I only gained 35 pounds with my second pregnancy. I felt a lot better, and I wasn’t super chubby in my sister’s wedding pictures (when I was 35 weeks pregnant).

4. Brought an outfit for baby pictures at the hospital. There are some things you just don’t think about with your first baby, and one thing I didn’t think about was baby pictures. We were lucky enough that our hospital had someone come around to your room for newborn pictures the day after your baby was born. With our first, he just used a plain blanket we had packed in the diaper bag and he wore the hat from the hospital. Our second was delivered at the same hospital so we brought a cute lace romper and matching headband for her pictures. Planning ahead made a big difference!

5. Put our baby in the crib sooner. When we brought our son home from the hospital, we kept him in a little bassinet by the side of our bed for the first few weeks. It was fine, but I definitely could have put him in his bed sooner because once we did, it was hard to get him to sleep there. So with our daughter, I had her sleep in her crib just a week after we got home from the hospital. It was perfect because we didn’t really have to “transition” her because she wasn’t really attached to the bassinet.

6. Naps in the crib more. When you have two kids, you rarely have time to yourself. So when you do, you want to make it count. With our son, I held him a lot for naps, or had him sleep in his bouncer or out in the living room somewhere. I decided that with our daughter I would put her in her crib for naps so that when she was sleeping I could get things done that I needed to or have some one-on-one time with our son. It helped me a lot and also helped her nap better!

7. Introduce the bottle sooner. Okay so this one didn’t actually work very well, but we tried to introduce the bottle sooner with our second. We waited way too long with our son and as a result, he didn’t take a bottle until he had to stop breastfeeding at 8 months. Our plan with our second baby was to give her the bottle around three months and get her used to it so if I ever needed to go somewhere or if my husband wanted to feed her, he could. But of course, she was just as picky about bottles as he was and didn’t take one until she had to stop breastfeeding, too.

8. Didn’t worry as much about germs. I think this is a pretty universal thing that happens, but with your second baby, you just don’t worry about germs as much. With our first, I would drop his pacifier on our carpet at home and feel like I needed to wash it with soap and water before I gave it back to him. But with our daughter, if she dropped one of her toys on the floor at church I would just give it right back to her to play with and chew on. I don’t know if you can really make this happen with your first or if it’s something that has to come naturally, but it was a lot easier to do once we had our second baby.

9. Didn’t place our baby on her back as much. Our first baby was always on his back. He hated tummy time, so I felt bad making him do it. As a result, he started to get a little bit of a flat head. Guys, you’re supposed to do tummy time for a reason! Start it early and do it often. We did that with our second baby and she didn’t get a flat head, and she did a lot better at tummy time. Win, win!

10. Turned baby’s neck. Have you ever heard of torticollis? Well it’s when one side of your baby’s neck twists to one side and your baby’s head starts forming a little weird. Our son started getting it a little because he always turned his head to the same side when he was sleeping or in the car seat. So with our daughter, we kept an eye out and made sure we either put something on the other side of her head to keep her balanced, or we just turned her head ourselves while she was sleeping. It made a big difference and we didn’t have to worry about torticollis at all.

11. Kept baby’s head rest in her car seat longer. You know how infant car seats come with those annoying little side pillow things for their heads? Well they are super important for your baby’s safety. We took our son’s out way too soon because we thought his head was getting to big and that made his little head flop to the side when we were in the car. If we had gotten in a car accident it would’ve been awful for his poor little weak neck and spine. So with our daughter, we made sure to keep the head rest in there as long as we could.

12. Did kegels before and after. This isn’t for your baby, but more for you. You know how your doctor tells you to do kegels before and after your baby is born? Well I didn’t with our first baby and had one of the most embarrassing and shameful moments of my life because of it (you can read more about that here). So I did it all the time with our second baby and it made a big difference.

13. Didn’t care as much about toys in mouth at friends’ houses, or when friends put our toys in their mouths. You know how when your first baby puts someone else’s toy in their mouth and you totally cringe and wonder where that toy has been? Or when another baby puts your toy in their mouth and as soon as they are gone you immediately wash that toy? That’s part of first-time-mom-syndrome. With your second, you just don’t care as much, and it’s great. Like I said before, you just relax more and it helps out a lot.

Being a first-time mom is a lot more stressful than being a second-time mom. So whether you are about to embark on the first-time mom train or if you’re a seasoned vet prepping for her second baby, try to remember that it’s okay to make mistakes as a parent. It’s part of the process.

The post Things I Did Differently With My Second Baby appeared first on Life With My Littles.