Y’all it feels so surreal to be writing this 36 week bumpdate blog post! Ah! On one hand, I feel like I’ve been pregnant forever…but it also kind of seems like yesterday when I was writing my 17 week bumpdate post! Assuming baby Sims comes at 40 weeks (and not later than that), I’m thinking this will probably be my last bumpdate post! Don’t worry though – I still have a lot of pregnancy / baby blog post ideas in mind (including a post about my pregnancy must-haves, what I’m bringing in my hospital bag, and a lot more!) for the next month or so!
So for my 36 week bumpdate, first I wanted to talk about my baby shower! I’ve had a lot of questions about how we did an out of town baby shower, as far as getting the gifts back to Colorado. In case you didn’t know, Michael and I were born and raised in Dallas and just moved to Colorado less than two years ago. So, my sweet sisters and mom threw me a baby shower in Dallas when I was 32 weeks prego, for all of our friends and family there! It was so much fun having all of my favorite people (including a lot of people I don’t get to see very often) all in one place, celebrating the arrival of our baby girl.
So I did my entire registry online through gugu guru. I liked doing it this way because I didn’t have to go into a store to register for anything, and my registry could contain items from tons of different stores (amazon, nordstrom, etc) all in one place. Here’s how we did the out of town situation: Michael and I flew southwest back to Dallas so you get two checked bags for free. So we both brought two huge checked bags back to Dallas (they were pretty much empty on the way there because our trip was only 3 nights). After the shower, we just filled up the suitcases with all of our gifts. Since people knew we don’t live in Dallas, if they gave us a big gift (ie: a diaper genie or her travel crib), they had those bigger items shipped to us. We honestly didn’t have a lot of gifts though that wouldn’t fit in a huge checked bag. (Just the diaper genie and the travel crib).
If you do get gifts at your shower though that won’t fit in a large checked bag…I’d suggest returning the gift after the shower and then re-purchasing online and shipping it to yourself. Or, take the gift to UPS or the post office after your shower and ship it to yourself. The first option is cheaper though!
Next, I want to share a few baby items we’ve gotten these past few weeks that I’m really excited about!
- Snoo bassinet – I have heard so many amazing reviews on this bassinet! I will definitely do an entire blog post on this after baby girl is here and we’ve had a chance to try it out. But, if you’re not familiar with the snoo, the SNOO Smart Sleeper is a bassinet that applies Dr. Karp’s popular 5 S’ssoothing techniques, giving baby a perfect 4th Trimester for safe and happy sleep. Essentially it’s supposed to create a “womb-like” environment for baby to sleep in and I’ve heard it works like a charm and helps with sleep tremendously. We shall see!
- Willow pump – Again, this will be another item I’ll review after I’ve tried it out. But this is the breast pump I decided to go with because it allows you to pump hands free, without any cords. Designed to work quietly in your bra with no attachments, Willow lets you keep your clothes on, so you can move and pump as you please! My friend Ashley posted about it a while back and told me she absolutely loves it. Excited to give it a try!
- Fawn Design backpack – I’ve gotten SO many questions about what diaper bag I’ll be using. I got this one like as soon as I figured out we were pregnant haha. I saw it on a few other moms before we were ever pregnant and knew right away I loved it. I love how it looks, love that it’s a backpack, and I’ve heard amazing reviews about it. (This isn’t an item I’ve gotten within the last few weeks, but I thought I’d include it in this post because I get questions about it all the time).
Symptoms I’ve had in the past few weeks…nausea! Which seems so random because I hardly had nausea at all throughout pregnancy so far, until about a few weeks ago. It hasn’t been awful, but definitely more prevalent than it was in my first or second trimesters. Another symptom has been insomnia. I’ve had sleep issues for years now, but they’re much worse / more consistent now. I have a hard time getting comfortable at night + my mind just races with how much stuff I feel like I have left to do before baby arrives. Along with sleeplessness is just general discomfort. Changing clothes in the car (for blog photoshoots) is super uncomfortable now, putting my shoes on, etc. So, baths at night have become my best friend to help with that uncomfortable / back pain feeling. Honestly though I’ve still been feeling great overall and feel like I’ve really lucked out with pregnancy, because my symptoms have not been bad at all!
In addition to baths being my best friend right now…I’ve also been eating dates because I heard they can really help prepare your body for labor! I eat 6 a day. Apparently 6 dates a day could help you have a faster labor. Who knows if that’s actually true, but why the heck not at least try haha.
As far as working out…I’m still consistently working out 5-6 days a week, which honestly helps with my energy levels and stress management SO much. I also haven’t had any swelling in my hands or feet at all (yet haha) and I heard that could partially be because of exercise! There are so many benefits to a healthy exercise routine during pregnancy and I’ve definitely reaped those! I do a variety of workouts including running, indoor cycling, weight training, and the stairmaster. I need to be better about stretching and yoga! As I continue to get bigger, I continue to modify my workouts. I’ve slowed my pace down with running or take more breaks during spin classes. It’s all about listening to your body and making sure you’re not pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion. The goal is just get active, get moving, get your heart rate up, and keep your body strong. But, listen to your body and never do something that feels uncomfortable.
Cravings: sweets, sweets, and more sweets haha. I feel like I could eat dark chocolate all day long. I always want ice cream. And recently cheesecake has been a MAJOR craving. So, that’s been a challenge trying to keep those cravings semi under control lol.
These past few weeks have been absolutely crazy for us. We were gone every single weekend in September except for 1 when we hosted some friends who stayed with us. Our basement is being finished out right now and it’s really close to being done. Our wood floors on the first floor of our house have to be redone, so we had to move everything out of our first floor + stay in a hotel for a few days. So, I definitely have not entered into “nesting” mode yet haha and baby girl’s nursery is nowhere near ready! I’m hoping I’ll start on those things this week! To be honest, lately I’ve been really focusing on getting tons of work stuff knocked out before baby girl arrives – getting ahead on blog posts, getting as many collaborations shot as possible, etc, just in case she comes early. Hoping that these next few weeks though will be my time to start ‘nesting’ and getting our house ready! They say after 37 weeks, it really could be any day! I don’t think there will ever be a time when I’m fully ‘ready’, but I feel so ready right now to meet this baby girl! I can’t wait.
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Outfit details: Long Sleeve Swing Dress (Similar Here) | Scarf (Similar Here) | Sole Society Boots | Sole Society Crossbody Bag | Flower Stud Earrings
I think I’m going to start putting my hospital bag together this coming week and would LOVE your feedback on the most important things to pack! I am completely clueless! Comment below if you have any must-haves for a hospital bag.
Thanks for reading friends, and for following along this pregnancy journey with me! Y’all are the best!
xo Lauren
