Finalizing Things Before Baby Gould’s Arrival

I’ve done so much research on baby items! I probably should have asked for advice sooner, but here we are—36 weeks in! Honestly, I didn’t mind doing the research myself. Most of it came from TikTok, friends, and family who have had kids. We still feel so oblivious to everything, but we’re figuring it out as we go.

Our stroller finally arrived, and we absolutely love it! We were torn between the UPPAbaby and the Mockingbird but ended up choosing the Mockingbird—it’s half the cost and still seems super efficient. At this point, we probably won’t use half of the things we’ve accumulated, but just in case, I’ve been on Amazon nonstop since our baby shower. We were so spoiled with gifts and continue to be showered with love. I’ve also found some great deals on Marketplace, which has been so nice for getting gently used items.

I'm so obsessed! It's adorable!

Since I’ll mostly be bottle-feeding, I wanted a mini fridge and bottle warmer by my bed—again, just in case! I also got a bottle washer and sterilizer, which might be a little extra, but if it saves time, it’ll be worth it. We have some adorable gender-neutral baby clothes, but I cannot wait to shop for actual gender-specific outfits!

For pumping, I have both the Spectra and the Willow Go (a generous gift from a coworker after my insurance kept denying the good pumps). We’ve checked off all the big-ticket baby items, but if there’s anything you swear by, let me know! I’ve asked for so much advice throughout this pregnancy, and I appreciate every bit of it.

We’ve also started packing our hospital bags—it’s getting so real! Baby is getting bigger and stronger, and I constantly feel little hiccups, which reassures me every time. At our last checkup, baby weighed just shy of 6 pounds! We even had family and friends place their bets in a baby pool—guessing when baby will arrive, their weight, and, of course, gender! It could be any day now. I still can’t believe we’re already at this point—it feels like just yesterday we were finding out we were expecting.

The dreams I’ve been having are so vivid and incredible—I never want to wake up from them! Most of them are of me holding a baby boy, though I’ve had a few girl dreams too (but not for a while!).

Our baby moon was perfect!

We are beyond excited and, of course, a little nervous for baby’s arrival. But we know that once our little one is here, our worries will melt away. We’re just praying that everything goes smoothly—our biggest hope is that baby eats well, gains weight, and doesn’t have too many complications at birth. We’re leaving it in God’s hands and trusting our guardian angels to watch over our little one.

Only four more weeks (or less!) until we’re finally snuggling our sweet baby! 💛