What to Buy New for a Second Baby

So you’re having another baby – yay! Aside from everything else that may be buzzing around in your head, you might be wondering what to buy new for a second (or third!) baby?

It’s only a couple of weeks until our second little one arrives – eek! I have been trying to get organised for another baby and think about things we need to buy or do before she arrives.

Luckily, being the second one there has not been a lot to buy, as we can reuse a lot of baby gear that we bought for Little M – lots of Little M’s old clothes are perfectly fine for a girl, plus we still have his infant car seat, stroller and baby carrier.

But there are a few bits that I have had to buy new, plus a few things that are just nice to have new as well. I hope this may help you if you are also wondering what to buy new for a second (or third, or fourth…!) baby.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, however all opinions are entirely my own.

Replacement Breast Pump Parts

If you are planning to reuse a breast pump then you’ll want to buy replacement parts – valves, tubes and breast shields. Anything that has come into contact with breast milk, or that may have deteriorated over time. If you have breast milk bottles these should be fine to reuse, but you’ll want to give them a good wash in hot soapy water, or sterilise them. The general rule I have come across is that if the plastic is clear and in good condition they should be fine to reuse, if the plastic is cloudy, or damaged in any way then ditch it. You’ll need to use your own judgement by looking at the age and condition of the bottles.

Replacement Bottle Nipples

If you are bottle feeding, or planning to use a bottle at all, then you can likely reuse your old bottles, if they are under around 3 years old. Again check the condition of the plastic and thoroughly wash or sterilise the bottles. You will need to buy replacement bottle nipples for all of your bottles though, as the silicon can crack and deteriorate over time. I’ve bought just a couple of nipples for different bottles and then will buy more when I know our baby’s preference. You might want to buy more if you are planning to solely bottle feed, but don’t go too crazy until you know what baby likes!

Pacifiers/Dummies

Again these can crack and deteriorate over time and harbour bacteria if kept too long. So if you are planning to use pacifiers/dummies just buy new! We never planned to use pacifiers with Little M, but quickly discovered they were his preferred method of soothing! So I’ve bought some new ones for baby girl just in case she is the same…

Crib Sheets

Who loves the smell of fresh sheets?! So lush! We’ve bought new crib sheets for baby girl, mainly as she’ll be sleeping in a mini crib and the sheets are a slightly smaller size than regular crib sheets. Space is scarce in our small San Francisco apartment!

If you have a toddler still in a crib or toddler bed and buying a new crib, then you’ll probably need extra sheets for baby. If you are reusing a baby crib, you might not need new sheets.

Tip: If big brother or sister is graduating to a big kid’s bed when baby arrives, then you might consider getting some new sheets for the baby anyway – so big brother or sister doesn’t feel left out that baby is getting all of ‘their old stuff.‘

Each to their own depending on your situation – though personally I think it’s nice to have a couple of new sheets for a new baby regardless! There’s nothing like soft new sheets!

A Couple of New Outfits

This is more of a ‘nice to have’ and will depend on the gender of the baby and the clothes you already have. We have kept a lot of Little M’s baby clothes and will be able to reuse them for baby girl – I’m not precious about girls only wearing girly things! But who can resist a couple of cute new outfits for a new baby?!

That’s covered the essentials and the main things that we have had to buy for baby girl. We are reusing Little M’s car seat, as it’s barely used and under 5 years old – but do bare in mind that car seats do have expiration dates (generally over 5 years) so you might need to look at car seats too. You might also need to buy a new crib if you have a small age gap, or just a new crib mattress if you have a large age gap.

Nice to have!

Other things are really just nice to have! You might like to buy some new bibs and burp cloths as these can get that worn and used feeling – if you know what I mean! I adore the Aden + Anais burp cloths and swaddles as they are so versatile – you can use them for burp cloths, swaddling and lots more. They are a little bit more pricey than some others, but a nice treat if baby is mostly having second hand clothes! They are SO SOFT and get even softer after washing!

Of course you might be planning to decorate a nursery or nursery corner and then there’s the usual diapers/nappies and wipes… But I think that covers the essentials of what to buy new for a second baby.

Is there anything I have missed? What else would you buy new for a second baby?

You might also like to read my post on Newborn Bare Necessities, as a reminder of the basics you’ll need for baby, plus a free checklist to print and tick off.

Do let me know how you get on!