Jenna Dewan Shares Her Best Pregnancy Advice and 4 Nursery Must-Haves
It’s Jenna Dewan’s third time around the parenting block, and while she might not have it all figured out, she’s proud to have the knowledge and experience that makes enjoying her third—and possibly last pregnancy—easy.
“It’s just flowed this third time around,” the Step Up star told The Bump in an interview just days before welcoming her third child Rhiannon into the world. As mom to Everly, 11, who she shares with ex Channing Tatum, and Callum, 4, who she shares with her fiancé Steve Kazee, Dewan says she’s been much more at peace this third time around. “It’s something you’ve done, you’ve accomplished, and you’ve been through already. It’s more, ‘I remember this,’ than it is ‘What’s happening!’ this time around,” she said.
As The Rookie actress prepared Rhiannon’s nursery, she took the same sense of “I’ve done this before” into crafting the perfect nursery in partnership with Crate & Kids. “Part of when you have had two other kids is that you know what you really will use, what is comfortable and what makes the difference in a nursery room,” she said.
For this experienced mamma, her four nursery essentials break down into a stellar crib, a comfy daybed, a cozy rocker and some sentimental artwork. “The crib is sort of the centerpiece of the room; you obviously use that all the time,” Dewan said, calling out how much she loved the natural wood finish she chose.
“I found a daybed was really essential for my other two because there are so many moments when you’re in the room all night. Even if they’re in their crib, you’re waking up every hour,” Dewan explained. “The other two kids love to get in the daybed and hold their younger sibling too, and to be able to have that family time and just have a nice space for that. It’s perfect.” Dewan notes that “a really good glider chair” is also where she spends 99 percent of her time. “Breastfeeding, sleeping, everything that happens in that chair,” she said.
And what would be a nursery if not for some personal touches to surround your little one with love? Dewan said she put up several shelves to showcase personal mementos, from art done by her older daughter Evelyn to photos of those passed, like Kazee’s mother and her dog Mika.
No matter what goes in your nursery, the most important thing is the memories made in it. Dewan maintains that the best pregnancy advice she ever received was to write it all down. “Every moment you have that really sticks out to you while pregnant, whether it be a hard moment, or an aha moment, or something that you’re experiencing. Write it down,” she advised. “My mom told me that and she gave me a journal. I didn’t find that I used the journal; I used the notes app on my phone, but I did write it down. So when you look back on this, you have a record that you can show your baby and you can look at yourself years later.”
For Dewan, this process of savoring and remembering all the moments from her pregnancy is even more important as this might be her last little one. “I have said before, ‘This is it.’ But I am always really hesitant to say anything final because I know how the universe works, and so I just never like to say, ‘That’s for sure happening’ or ‘That’s definitely not happening.’ I just think you make plans and life laughs. But I would say I would bet most everything, this is my last," she said.
As she eases into her first few days postpartum and first few weeks and months with Rhiannon, you can bet she’ll be doing it with her eyes open. “I really want to feel and experience all of it because it could be and most likely will be my last show. Even the nerves and the overwhelm and the excitement, all the feelings, I’m open to it all because I know I don’t want to rush through it," she said. “I want to really be there and experience it and just soak it up because newborns are the most magical thing in the entire world. This is my last postpartum, so to speak. So I just really want to slow down and enjoy it as much as possible.”
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