One thing we are doing in our travels between Sweden and Hong Kong is bringing back-and-forth baby clothes.  For example, the things the little guy has grown out of are coming back to go into storage for a potential future “# 2”, and the things that were gifted to us or we purchased that were too big to bring with are now waiting to go back to Hong Kong.

Managing these two “inventories” is complicated but necessary.  We have to remember what we have in the other country so we do not waste money buying a duplicate of something, and when we came back we brought some things that were perfect for him right now, but would be too small in 2 weeks and the future months before our next trip back.  It is basically a constant juggle of what is here and there.

So, this morning I went to the storage for our apartment in Stockholm and brought up the “things for the next trip to Hong Kong” bag that we had set aside.  It is the size of 2 Ikea blue bags, so it is not a tiny bag, and it has everything from clothes to books and stuffed animals.  Fortunately all three of us have things that we brought back from Hong Kong that we do not need here (for me it was the many pairs of jeans I for some reason thought I would need in a country where you wear shorts 8 months of the year), so we will have plenty of room in the suitcases for these things (I hope!).

Now the little guy will have all of the latest things he will need for the coming months, and the next time we are back in Sweden, we will bring the other things he grows out of home, and the cycle will continue.  We had so many clothes that I am a little nervous if we do have a second child – they (boy or girl) will likely be only wearing these hand-me-downs from the little guy.  On the one hand, many items were worn only a few times and are just like new anyway, but on the other hand, as a 2nd child myself, I can appreciate that it is nice for a future child to not always wear those garments the older sibling had.

It is funny to think about these things now, and the simple question of “what do we do with the baby clothes the little guy grows out of?” forces any parents (I would assume) to talk about the topic of a future second child.  It has also come up as we discuss the stroller, our future plans for housing when we come back, and so on.  It is really healthy to talk about these things with my wife, as it is a different way of talking about “what are your dreams?” – we learn more about each other, and even start to change our opinions and compromise well in advance, knowing what one another wants and needs.  For me, it is important that we are all 3 having our needs met and all feel loved (probably the most important thing) – if we can do this, then we can bring another child into the family.

No wonder they say “time flies”, it seems like just yesterday we were getting married, and now we are talking about the future for our family and how we will plan for it in the best way that we can.  Next thing I know we will be talking about the little guy’s wedding and where to move when we retire 😉