Pregnancy Must Haves

Sparkling Water in Bottles – The perfect alternative to all of the other things you can’t drink while pregnant! Coffee in the afternoon, wine with dinner or a beer on a Saturday afternoon.. but with no calories! These are great to have around when you’re with a bunch of people drinking too.. you have your own bottle of something to drink & it sort of gives you the same type of taste in your mouth.
Humidifier – We used the Crane Drop Humidifer (love it!) in our bedroom for most of my pregnancy. I started having a dry/stuffy nose in the second trimester & it lingered forever. The humidifier helps so much, also great for your skin, makes a little white noise to help you sleep AND has a soft glow when it lights up so you can find your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Mustela Stretch Mark Cream – This stuff has saved my skin! I know they say it is very much hereditary whether or not you get stretch marks…so I knew I was probably bound to get some. My doctor said my skin has stretched well but my belly is LARGE these days and so far thanks to this stuff, no stretch marks. I have plenty of stretch marks elsewhere thanks to my freshman fifteen 😉 And it smells good! I gag at the smell of cocoa butter.
Mustela Mustela Stretch Mark Double Action
Olay Makeup Cleansing Wipes – Love these for all the nights that I am way too tired to wash my face before bed. My nightly routine has to be under 60 seconds these days or I will fall asleep in the bathroom.
Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy – Loved this book because it is so light hearted & funny…but really gives you some great insight on what to expect. The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy can be found here.
Water Bottle or Tumbler – Sounds silly but here is my reasoning…  it is recommended that you drink seven bazillion cups of water each day while pregnant. If you have a water bottle or tumbler that you LOVE.. you will be so much more likely to keep filling it up rather than just using a glass. Also helps to have something with a lid that won’t spill so you can tuck it in your bed or couch cushions for the days that you are huge & immobile. I would recommend the cute tumblers from Starbucks or a Camelback…both are the shit.
Whole Fruit Bars – Very specific on this one. These are only 70 calories, loaded with real fruit & cure a serious sweet tooth. A great alternative to ice cream…or in my case Strawberry Jelly. I have maybe eaten thirty boxes of these over the last 9 months. Bonus, they were rated Fitness Magazine’s Best Healthy Desserts.

My other words of wisdom:

• Get a body pillow sooner than later. Helps so much with hip & tailbone pain.. sounds silly when you could just use 2-3 other pillows between your legs or under your belly… for some reason a full body pillow just works better! I got one for $10 at Target. Also, splurge on a cute pillowcase 🙂
• I have LOVED all maternity clothes from the Gap…their leggings are amazing (I will probably continue wearing them for life) plus all of their maternity tanks & long sleeved shirts are sooo soft & fit so great. I’m actually bummed that I wont get to wear some of them anymore.
• Endlelsly roaming around malls DOES count as cardio.. my doctor just told me that I am burning many more calories walking in these final days carrying around all the extra weight. Hmmm.. ok works for me!
• One last tip.. Do not, under any circumstances, open the Victoria’s Secret 2012 Swimsuit Preview catalog when you are shoveling lemon bars in your mouth like someone is going to steal them from you. Ladies, it is in the mail, it might be in your mailbox right now. This is considered a pregnancy fail.