Truth?! I have done nothing...zip , zero, zilch and the honest truth is we already have so much stuff! The life lessons of the first and not knowing what the baby will adapt too or like has resonated deeply.

The Hubs and I were not even going to have a baby shower until the mamala insisted and decided to take on the role of putting one together one. We haven't even registered, instead we asked for diapers and for the guests to bring a book of their choosing with a message to the baby in it. The highlight of our baby shower is the date, which speaks volumes to our nerdy side...May the 4th (cue all the Star Wars references and giggles).

We went super simple by using Etsy and having the amazing SweetJaeDesigns create a digital file invitation as well as thank you tags. She was accomodating, super fast and beyond sweet and communicative. She made the one role I took on super simple. Other than Amazon and Target, my other shameless plug for shopping is Etsy. Especially for Mama-to-Be's. The honest truth is that I am too exhausted to brush my hair, let alone craft (I have some girlfriends that excel at this and it blows my mind), so I bought a simple It's A Boy Jedi banner and Star Wars Pez dispensers for 'thank you' gifts.

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As we did for Ellie, we purchased a Star Wars inspired onesie for guests to sign and to shadowbox later with the invites, tags and ultrasound pics. Yet another fantastic seller!!!

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Now onto our one pre-baby item that actually needed to be purchased...a double stroller. Have you ever had to research one of these?! What a pain in the patootie. I researched double strollers for what seemed like forever and I am sure my Google Chrome search engine was ecstatic when I gave it a break. We invested in the Graco Ready2Grow Click Connect double stroller. We chose another Graco for several reasons. The big one being, we already had a lot of Graco stroller accessories. All of our car seats (Hubs, Myself, grandmothers, etc.) would fit in to it and honestly with expensive as strollers are and EV loving her $30 Kolcraft travel stroller that we purchased from Walmart. I am all about travel/umbrella strollers that come equipped with snack trays, although our love for them and EV's might differentiate. They are a necessity to us because we don't have to strap her in and she loves it because it allows her to survey her surroundings like a meerkat. The stroller has become a necessity in Disney, so we saw no point in going overboard buying an over-the-top $700 stroller. Not to mention we would wind up in the same boat in another year or so using an umbrella stroller and putting this to the wayside with our other four/five strollers (#firsttimemamaproblems #amirite).

Our garage is basically a baby essential hoarders dream!

#cuesideeyejudging only being masked by the glare of her glasses, but make note of the bag, it will reappear again

You will soon learn that all of my stroller decisions are made based on navigating around Walt Disney World, but can still hold the most stuff (food, cocktails, ears,etc., basically mama necessities more than EV's). Cruising with a a stroller around Food and Wine is so much better than it ever was without ;). Not to mention the kiddo like her mama, fidgets and gets easily distracted (#squirrel) and feels that in order to get the best views, one must stand up while the stroller is moving.

#babymeerkatdoodoodoododoo

Having a stroller that can provide 12 different riding options was the most logical next step for my sanity. I have been hesitant to buy anything too early, but it was too hard to pass up when Target was having a major baby stroller sale and we were able to get one at a deep discounted price. it ended up being kismet since Disney has since recently released a small, but impactful "what is being banned from the parks and Disney Springs" starting May 1st list. For those traveling with kids, I highly suggest you review this immediately as most of the attention is on the no-smoking policy, but it actually affects strollers and wagons significantly too.

If you are curious about what the heck I am talking about, see HERE. I would not have purchased a side by side stroller anyway because for those of you that have ever tried to navigate Epcot during one of their many "festivals" it is nearly impossible to walk around comfortably with one of these. Not to mention trying to get around people and balancing libations and food besides....no thanks, count me out! Based on the new stroller size requirements, a tandem stroller fits the bill and I feel personally vindicated that I do not have to return it (once again saving me the research overload and my sanity). For a millisecond, I was on the fence and considered taking the $300 plunge and getting a wagon which seems to be the new Disney trend, however, Disney has also eliminated this option as well.

Moving on.....

I will admit I am kind of baby bag obsessed (the love of fashion, functionality and organization, it makes my heart twitter-patted). I am kind of embarrassed to admit that it was the item I was most excited to buy when I was pregnant with EV (obvs not counting clothes and design aspects for her nursery #hereslookingatyoupinterest).

When EV was born, I got an amazing deal on a Rebecca Minkoff black baby bag complete with silver spikes and hardware at Nordstrom Rack during one of their additional 7o% of their clearance bonanza. It was a stunner that could serve as a cross-body or had two shorter clutch handles. Did I feel mama blog and Instagram worthy? Heck Yeah! Did it make me want to throw the bag in the canal every time I forced myself out of the house with it and a newborn? Heck Yeah!

It was horrible in function, weighed a ton with all the spikes and hardware and became heavier once all the necessary daily items were added. it quickly made an appearance with all my other Rebecca Minkoff lovelies, in my closet and hasn't seen the light of day since. I then splurged a smidge (okay, a lot) on the regular Nordstrom site and purchased a Tokidoki JuJuBe BFF diaper bag that was a backpack and also could be converted into a shoulder harness (I made this my triple points day on my Nordstrom credit card, so I rationalized that I was saving in the long run...right?!).

The bag is/was awesome; PROS:

• It holds everything and the fabric makes it super lightweight (even when it is stuffed to the gills)

• Has a changing pad and a binky carrier that matched the print

• My husband felt he was "dad cool" wearing it. He got many a compliment from other daddio's and was quite pleased with himself ;).

• The material is easy to wipe down if anything opens up inside or gets on the outside of the bag.

• Lastly, for my girls who are lover of pockets, it is pocket heaven!

CONS:

• The width! It always fit comfortably in our large stroller because the undercarriage basket was so big, but once we went to the travel stroller it was a struggle to take it out and put it back in. You better hope that you don't need something quick either like a snack cup or wipe, you might as well consider it lost forever (we actually purchased one of those handlebar stroller organizers for this reason).

I was so impressed with the large version that I also purchased the more compact version (see above and also in EV's stroller picture) for when EV hit her toddler years. I have since transitioned to this one and am loving it equally. I was able to get this on super sale on Nordstrom (I think it was something crazy inexpensive like $30) and because of the functionality and size of it, I am able to use it as an around-the-town diaper bag, which also comfortably fits my own day-to-day essentials (cellphone, wallet, keys, etc.) and it fits easily in the travel strollers basket.

Remember that time I said I didn't "need" anything else? Yeah, me either....

Although I didn't technically NEED another bag (#bagloversanonymousanyone?), I decided that I would just 'peruse' and see if there was anything that met the needs of carrying both a newborn and toddlers things around, could fit in both a regular stroller and travel stroller, but could also easily transition to the House of Mouse. Again, YES! All travel and baby purchases are made with Disney in mind #dontjudge. Plus, I justified the purchase as not being impulsive since nothing else as of yet has been purchased.

#thisishowijustifiedittothehubstoo

Drum Roll Please......

Let me introduce you to the UpSimples baby backpack that we bought on Amazon (as all things are #praisetheAmazonPrimegods). My finger couldn't hit the "Buy Now" button fast enough and all I had to see was one description and the high reviews. The USB charging port had me at "hullo." The hubs and I are those people that spend a great deal of the day in Disney (of course with plenty of breaks), but with all day comes phones losing battery and since we use our phone to take pictures, this became a point of contention on many trips. We have a couple of extra portable phone chargers that we charge up in the room night before and bring with us (like this one). The stroller caddy on the handles often becomes laden with wires criss-crossing over each other and we constantly have to move everything so that our phones won't go missing if we walk away from the stroller. The USB port is life changing. The port is hidden on the inside of the bag where the charger can go and the cord leads from the inside to the outside where the charging phone can go into a hidden pocket in the front. Furthermore, did I mention ALL the pockets and the insulated bottle cooler and snack holder?!!?

I also love the two well structured hooks at the top of the backpack (2nd picture on the left) which latch onto the stroller handle. All of mama's Target bags ::cough cough:: can be put in the basket and instead of feeling as though the backpack has to be carried (because who honestly leaves Target with one bag anyway?), it can latch directly onto the handle, leaving you hands free and still able to peruse around Target...and honestly purchase more than intended.

Check it out for yourselves, in all its $34 glory....that's right, you read that right..$34!!!!!

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Honestly, the pictures do not even do it justice, the quality is structured and even with all the bells and whistles is still quite light and anyone that has purchased anything "fashion related" off of Amazon can tell you regardless of who is promoting the product, it can be hit or miss. Upsimples, hit it out of the park with this bag and I cannot suggest it enough to mama's who feel that there are never enough accessible compartments that keep all of the items organized while still having room for your own stuff as well.

The real test will be in Disney when we have the 2nd little and whether or not this holds up to a day in the park with them. To be continued....

So that is it, the whole preparation in a crazy convoluted post that went six ways from Sunday and seems so basic when you see that the preparations can be listed in three things....stroller, invites, and a baby bag....I can't be the only one this basic the second go around?!

#TravelingwithaBaby #Traveling #waltdisneyworld #waltdisneyworldban #doublestroller #pregnantand40 #pregnant #over30andpregnant #travelstroller #diaperbag #tokidokijujube #mamaof2 #travelingtodisneywithbabies #travelingtodisneywithtoddlers #Amazonbabyessentials #travelingtodisneywithkids #whattobringtodisney #maternity