The 6 smartest things I did before I had my second child

Oddly, in some ways I felt more prepared for the birth of my first kid than my second. Before Benjamin, I had more free time to devote to reading lots of baby books and articles, watching videos, going to classes, and so forth.

Once I realized that all the information wasn't popping back into my head, I reread my favorite baby book, “Expectant Father: The Ultimate Guide for Dads-to-Be,” and went through many materials I'd studied the first time around, re-educating myself on what to expect from the birth and newborn days.

Once we were far enough into the pregnancy to feel confident that the growing baby was healthy, Kristin and I began to talk to Ben about what was happening on a daily basis. He got to look at our baby app that showed the size of the fetus at each stage (lentil, grape, plum, avocado, etc.).

He also helped decorate the baby's room and attended several doctor visits with us, where he listened to Scarlett's heart and saw her on the sonogram. In fact, he even chose her name. We whittled the list down to two choices, then let Ben pick the winner.

Going through baby stuff a kid has outgrown is tough. There's so much sentimentality attached to baby things that even a threadbare bib can be hard to toss. But with another kid coming and more baby stuff inbound, we had to thin things out.

Kristin and I kept plenty of memorabilia from Ben, but we also got rid of lots of stuff that had less sentiment attached that we would not use for Scarlett. And we didn't stop at the newborn stuff — we cleared out clothes, toys, and supplies from the baby and toddler years, because why not get it done in one fell swoop?

For everything we tossed, Kristin and I kept two or more items of baby gear. Why buy a new bath seat when the old one just needs to be wiped down? Why get new onesies when Ben's were still in great shape? As much stuff as we could reuse, we did.

In the last weeks before Scarlett was born, I made sure not to give up on a few things I like to do for myself. I still went for at least three or four runs each week, even when there was much to be done around the house.

I made sure to read for pleasure, even though I always could have used that time to do more work or clean out a cabinet or set up a high chair. I figured (correctly) that a lot of that stuff would be marginalized soon, so I made the best of what time I had.

And we made sure Kristin got some time for herself as well, such as getting a massage or two and having kid-free blocks of time where she could relax without interruption. Because once the newborn arrives, a breastfeeding mother is always on call.