PREGNANCY TIPS

I'm really going to miss being pregnant. I had a fantastic pregnancy and have so little to complain about. Sure I dealt with a couple normal, not so fun preggo things, but nothing that was so bad I wouldn't do it all again. However, I thought I would share some of my 'must haves' or things that really seemed to help me throughout the whole 9 months.

Belly Cream/Butter - When we found out we were expecting, I immediately started using a stretch mark cream. I've heard it over and over again that stretch marks are hereditary, but I still recommend using some sort of belly cream regardless because even if you do get stretch marks at least this will help them fade. I originally started using Palmer's Belly Butter, Lotion and Oil. This has a cocoa scent and it drove me nuts, but I really did enjoy using the oil. I sprayed it all over my body after each shower. Once I ran out of my Belly Butter I switched to Mustela Stretch Mark Double Action Cream and I LOVE it! It is a bit more expensive and I know you can find it at A Pea in the Pod and Sephora (online only). I'm nearly through my second bottle and will continue to use it after the baby is born. I also plan on using the Mustela Post Pardum Reconstructing Gel for post pregnancy to help your skin bounce back.

Cravings/Food Aversions - When we found about we were pregnant it was in October so all the fall food choices were becoming available, especially those used for Thanksgiving. The one major food aversion I had was brussel sprouts. To me even walking past them in the grocery store, seeing them on TV or in a magazine made me feel absolutely sick! Mike was so sweet and would redirect me when we went grocery shopping just so I could avoid them at all costs :) The only other food that made me queasy was the smell of berry flavored yogurt. I know it seems kind of silly, but I was working in a preschool so I kid you not that almost every child ate yogurt for lunch and I would just about die going into their classrooms when they had finished eating. I'm sure many of the teachers began questioning if I was pregnant then :)

My cravings however, didn't seem that bad. I love fruits and vegetables and I have always been more of a vegetable eater rather than a fruit eater, but since being pregnant I have been craving fruit like no tomorrow. The frozen Edy's Fruit Bars are so delicious and definitely one of my staples! I usually don't go one day without eating some sort of fresh citrus fruit such as a grapefruit or orange or berries. I recently made grapefruit sorbet too! I've also been craving more sweets, which is a little odd for me because I don't usually have that much of a sweet tooth, but for some reason I can't pass up cupcakes or pie, especially Key Lime....yum! 

The one thing I cannot stress enough is regardless of what cravings you may have try not to indulge too much or think you're eating for two. It's so important to eat healthy during your pregnancy because you're helping your baby develop their taste buds and eating habits. Plus you really don't want to gain more weight than necessary because it's going to be that much harder to lose it afterwards!!!

Body Pillow - For Christmas Mike bought me a Snoogle Total Body Pillow by Leachco. I loved it at first, but I felt like I couldn't roll to my other side and ended up only using it sometimes. I actually prefer to sleep with my 4-5 different pillows placed strategically in our bed ;) I place one under my head, belly, between my legs and behind my back. It has been really hard for me to sleep on my side EVERY night and I would often roll onto my back, which isn't the best for the baby, so my doctor recommended placing a pillow behind my back just so I wasn't laying completely flat and it has helped a lot. I would still recommend getting a body pillow, because everyone is different. The one I have curls in at the top and the bottom, I think next time I would get something similar to the Boppy one that doesn't really do that.

Wardrobe - I was able to wear most of my pre-pregnancy clothes through my second trimester with the whole hair-tie looped through the button hole trick! When I did end up buying some maternity pieces I mainly shopped at the Gap. I did buy one pair of maternity jeans from the Gap and I loved them! I also lived in the Gap maternity leggings and those were awesome, I'll probably continue to wear them even afterwards, along with their tanks. The Gap has had SO many sales that I often found many of my pieces discounted. I also bought some regular clothing items just a size bigger (as long as it looked normal). The other stores I found some cute pieces were at A Pea in the Pod and ASOS (super cute dresses!). 

Exercise - I wasn't exercising as much as I would have liked the few months before getting pregnant and kind of started working out again after finding out. I know some people don't recommend that, but my doctor told me it was fine. In my first and second trimester I would do walking/running intervals on our treadmill, along with yoga. I have the Slim Calm Sexy Yoga book by Tara Stiles. I really like this book because you can mix and match different yoga sequences based on what you're trying to work on or accomplish. I swear by the sleep exercises by the way!  I would also work in some strength training using a weighted ball. This included 3 sets of 12 reps of lunges, squats, side lunges, push-ups, and a few pilates exercises for buns and thighs. I would mix things up every day so I wouldn't get bored, which for me can happen very easily. 

In my third trimester, I cut out a lot of the lunges and switched to walking the stairs two at a time. I would start in the basement and walk or lightly bounce all the way to our second floor and go all the way back down, counting that as 1. I would do this 8-10 times. I also started doing a lot more walking and stopped jogging/running. I still continued my squats and arm exercises along with some yoga, but not nearly as much as I was doing before.

Embarrassing Pregnancy Woes - No one wants to talk about these, but for all the not so fun pregnancy things that most pregnant women tend to deal with, try not to dwell on them too much. Almost everyone deals with hemorrhoids due to constipation and pressure of the baby (use Tucks cream and Pads, you can always name them as well because they'll stay for awhile!), swelling (keep your feet up and use ice packs), acne/breakouts (I used mint and lemon), stretch marks (try a belly butter or cream like I mentioned), headaches (talk to your doctor,  drink lots of water and I used Tylenol and drank one caffeinated drink each week), leg cramps (try eating bananas), heartburn (Peppermint tea worked for me, but check with your doctor!!!). You will also find that there is really nothing you can do for the super forgetful pregnancy brain. I can't tell you how many times things have come out of my mouth wrong or I have completely forgotten to do things, it's actually a little funny, Mike just makes fun of me and that's okay :)

Lastly, I highly recommend joining a pregnancy forum such as What To Expect. They have forums based on due date month, cities, age, etc. They even make an app for your smart phone. I love this because it has a baby growth tracker, daily and weekly information, and the forum/chat boards. This is a great place to post questions and connect with other expecting moms that can completely relate to you!

Also, if you choose to breastfeed, which I highly recommend for the sake of nutrients for the baby, look into taking a breastfeeding class. Mike and I did and a lot of the information I knew, but I still learned a lot of new information as well...such as peppermint can decrease your milk supply. We also looked into taking a child birthing class, but decided not to. If you really have absolutely no idea what to expect or what you're getting yourself into, then maybe you would enjoy taking a birthing class, just make sure you look into early because many of the classes fill up quickly. 

I hope you found my tips helpful! I'm still shocked we're down to the end and Baby B could be here any day now...so exciting!!!