TWENTY-FOUR WEEKS // pregnancy diaries

We hit twenty-four weeks today, you guys!

That means in (hopefully) less than four months our little one will be in our arms, and I cannot wait. I’m sure every mama can relate to the feeling of feeling like the birth of this baby inside of you will never arrive, and I am starting to feel that more and more these days. It’s like some days my arms almost physically ache to hold this little one and rock him and snuggle him and all the little things that come with being a mommy. I know I will laugh at this eventually, but I even wake up at night wishing my baby was crying and I could get up and take care of him. I’m sure that’s easy to feel when I’m not actually sleep-deprived and feeling overwhelmed, hehe.

But sometimes I marvel at how much I’m actually looking forward to this baby…not that I felt like I wouldn’t be excited when the time came for me to have a child, but I really felt like I would probably struggle at least a little bit in thinking about the reality of the massive change coming to my little world. I don’t know if it the grace of God or just my inner mommy-heart that I never really knew was in there coming out – perhaps a bit of both – but I feel so-so-so ready for this change, so ready to embrace all that being a mom and a parent entails.

I am still feeling super good, and if weren’t for the little baby belly that is slowly stretching itself outward, I would hardly know that I was pregnant. Well, ok, I do have those endless trips to the bathroom (this is tmi but it amused me so endlessly…i was in town yesterday and seriously used the restroom in every single store except one) and middle of the night insomnia spells and I’m definitely more emotional than normal, BUT besides those minor inconveniences, I feel like my normal self. No nausea or food aversions (i’m even back to eating kale) or overwhelming exhaustion. Yay!

I feel the baby moving and kicking every day now, and that is so super fun! Ben felt the kick for the first a few weeks ago, and I will never forget the look of sheer wonder and happiness on his face from that tiny little kick for as long as I live. These little kicks throughout the day are such special reminders of the life and health of this little one, and I feel so grateful for each day of life.

We’ve started compiling lists of the essentials that we need for the little one, and it is definitely more extensive than I realized it would be! So many things…stroller and car seat and crib and nookies and snuggly blankets and baby monitor and of course cute little things to wear (that’s the best part of the list, haha). We’ve gotten a few things checked off, and I have a small collection of onesies and little things that I can’t wait to use on my baby. It’s amazing what you can find in baby consignment shops and thrift stores if you look! Of course, I’m a little limited in what I can get since we are waiting till the end to find out if we have a boy or girl, but I’m a big neutrals person anyway so the greys and whites and browns work just fine for me.

I’ve also started working on designing the nursery room, and have a few ideas that will be so fun to put together once we are ready to set up the room. Right now, the room we will use for the nursery is our guest room, so I want to wait a few more months to switch it to baby room. Ben painted the one wall we needed redone a few months ago, so we have that part finished, and so once we get our big items finished or purchased, we can get started on putting everything in place. I’m doing a very white + neutrals theme (no surprise there) with some natural wood and a few darks to give a little contrast. I can’t wait to see how if it actually comes together like it looks like in my mind.

What about you: what are the baby essentials you recommend?

I’d love to hear your thoughts!