Admittedly, my pregnancy was definitely one of the more easier pregnancies. I never experienced any morning sickness and there were no complications throughout. However, just as every pregnant woman, I did get fat, moody, and achy. I found there were a few items that helped ease the discomfort of pregnancy and a few items that were just super nice to have around when I wasn’t feeling my best.

 

LUSH BAR

Every pregnant woman needs something to help with the stretching, itching belly skin. At first I tried coconut oil, but found that it stained some of my clothing and I randomly developed an aversion to the smell! Weird. So I ended up using the Therapy Massage Bar from LUSH with organic neroli and lavender. It smells amazing and is completely safe to use during pregnancy. I ended up having zero stretch marks on my belly, so maybe it is thanks to this bar? All I know is that it felt great and alleviated the annoying itchiness.

 

SUPER CUTE WATER BOTTLE

Obviously, water intake is vital to a healthy pregnancy. However, remembering to actually have 8-10 glasses of water each day was a bit of a chore for me. I ended up buying a neon pink 32 oz water bottle and took it everywhere with me. My goal was to drink at least two entire bottles of it each day, and having it by my side at all times made it much easier. (Water bottle shown is from bando!)

 

LEGGINGS

Dude. Maternity pants are ridiculously expensive. I was not prepared. Luckily, my sister-in-law lent me a pair of maternity jeans and a pair of maternity dress pants to wear to work. However, they still weren’t super comfy thanks to those weird stretch waistbands. I found an awesome deal at Kohl’s one day for $8 leggings, so I stocked up and bought four pairs. They stretch so much, so I ended up wearing those as pants pretty much every day of my pregnancy. These leggings, featured on a ridiculously slim, NON-pregnant woman, are from Forever 21 for $12.90.

 

JOURNAL

While trying to conceive for well over a year, I kept a journal to gather my thoughts. It is full of anger, sadness, and confusion over infertility, but ultimately it helped me express those negative feelings in a healthy way. So when I finally became pregnant I wanted the same outlet to express my elation. I began a journal and addressed each entry to my baby. I told him how excited I was to meet him and all my ideas for future adventures together. It was a great way to begin forming our bond that would only intensify as he grew. I find the prettier the journal, the more likely I am to write in it. This beautiful journal is from Urban Outfitters.

 

CHOCOLATE

When I was five months pregnant I went to Las Vegas with my husband, my best friend, and her husband. For someone who loves a good moscato or moscow mule, it was pretty painful for me to watch my friends get ridiculously drunk and not be able to join in. So I indulged myself in chocolate. I literally got dessert every time they ordered drinks. It was the next best thing, in my opinion. So find something to indulge yourself with when you find yourself craving a margarita, or sushi, or whatever million things we, pregnant women, can’t have.

 

PHOTO EDITING APP

My mother-in-law once told me that she only has ONE photo of her ever being pregnant. She refused to be in any pics because she hated how she looked. But here’s the thing, pregnant women are MAGIC. We are literally growing a person, so I recommend taking as many magical pics as possible! Download a cute pregnancy or photo editing app and take those monthly bump pics. Your kids will probably love looking back at them someday!

 

ONE NICE MATERNITY PIECE

Within the nine months of my pregnancy, I attended one wedding, one fancy birthday party and, of course, my own baby shower. I decided to invest in only one of these outfits, and I chose my baby shower dress. I got my maternity dress from Pink Blush Maternity, but luckily I was pregnant during black friday, so I got it 40% off. It was originally $55 I believe. For the wedding, I just wore a loose nonmaternity top, and for the birthday party, I found a lacy flowy top on clearance at target a day before. Just remember, they are just one day occurrences, so it’s silly to spend so much money on outfits for a single event; however, you will take a bunch of pictures at your baby shower, so why not splurge on at least that one outfit! You can find my maternity dress at pinkblushmaternity (wait til black friday for those amazing deals, if you can!)

 

A NEW HOBBY

Pregnancy can feel like forever, so I recommend channeling your anticipation towards a new hobby during that time. Although I had done some knitting beforehand, I decided to pick it up while pregnant and attempt a baby blanket. I ended up knitting a massive blanket that still wasn’t complete when Blake was born, but it definitely kept me preoccupied during the evenings. I even got Katy involved and she began knitting her baby a blanket too! It was fun to go shopping for yarns together and try to finish by our “deadlines”. Neither of us finished. Haha. But, it was a great way to feel connected to our babies and let the months begin to fly by! This photo is of the pattern I used for my baby blanket. You can see the pattern here at Ravelry! 

 

A FELLOW PREGNANT/MAMA FRIEND!

This is hands down my #1 pregnancy must have. I was super lucky in having Katy get pregnant only a few months after me so we could talk about our hopes for our babies together. Also having my sister-in-law with two young boys helped a ton too. She was there for me for all of my crazy pregnancy and delivery questions. She offered her guidance before I even had to ask! There really is so much comfort in having someone in your corner that is either going through the same thing as you, or who has already been there.