When I found out I was pregnant I was cautiously optimistic, but also THRILLED. Even through the extreme food aversions, nausea and other less pleasant pregnancy symptoms, I was happy to be pregnant and nothing was going to stop me.
Despite my quest to savor and enjoy as many moments of pregnancy as possible, there were still moments where I felt rough, exhausted or just plain uncomfortable. There’s only so much smiling you can do when you’re back feels like it may crack in half and the thought of eating makes you gag. It’s even harder to smile when all you want to do is sleep, but you know that you’ll never get comfortable… meaning there’s no end in sight to your insomnia.
There were, however, a few key things that helped (my tried and true buddies) me get through the rough patches. And those, pregnancy superheroes were:
- Bump Nest. The whale roll is a real thing. Trying to turn a full sized, pregnant mammal while readjusting for comfort was pretty darn near impossible. I’d shimmy around trying to find the position of least suffering, all while moving my army of pillows to support me. It was a pain, quite literally. Enter the bump nest. This thing saved my pregnant life each night from about 16 to 32 weeks (at 32 weeks, all sleeping bets were off). It was great in both belly and back support and was easy to turn after one of my many night time bathroom trips. The only cons: that both sides weren’t full length and that the portion under my knees deflated a bit after a while.
- Life Factory Water Bottle. You know you have a hydration problem when your doctor comes in and tells you that your urine is high in ketones and that you had better giddy-up on the daily water intake. I hauled this water bottle around with me just about everywhere and filled it up at least 6-7 times a day. Plus, I loved that it wasn’t plastic. As a personal policy, I try to avoid plastic when I can.
- Reed’s Ginger Candy. For starters, I loved these things even when I wasn’t pregnant. However, my nausea in the first trimester garnered them an even higher ranking. They’re delicious and the ginger really helped to settle my stomach when I was having a hard time getting anything down.
- Breville Juicer. The food aversions were real. No chicken, no vegetables, no big hunks of meat… the list could go on. By the end of pregnancy I was convinced that I would probably never eat vegetables or chicken again and I was truly sad about it. In order to make sure I got some sort of fruit/veggie nutrients, we bought a juicer. I faithfully drank (or gagged down) a glass of juice each day from week 7 or 8 until the third trimester. If you’re having a hard time getting anything of real nutritional value down, I would highly suggest investing in one of these bad boys.
- Ritz Bits Peanut Butter. I turn to peanut butter Ritz Bits whenever there’s an emotional high or low in my life. They’re like an old comfy sweatshirt on a bad day or a big glass of bubbly for the carb addicted on a good day. So, it was no surprise to me that I turned to them during each phase of my pregnancy. They’re the perfect food when you need a little something to stave off nausea. They’re the perfect snack. They’re the perfect little treat to kill a few minutes. Really, there isn’t a bad time to eat these.
- Stash Lemon Ginger Tea. I have a huge drawer in my kitchen devoted solely to tea. I like tea. I’ve turned to fertility tea when I was trying to get pregnant, I drink throat coat when I’m sick, I drink green tea because it tastes delicious and because it’s good for you. Which means, that I turned to lemon ginger tea to help with my nausea… and it helped (at least a little).
- Belli Elasticity Belly Oil. I rubbed this oil all over my abdomen each and every night. I still came out of pregnancy with stretch marks, but I’m pretty sure it could have been worse. It smelled good and definitely left my skin soft. I liked the belly oil so much that I also used their facial products during pregnancy too!
Even though my sweet girl is here, I still miss being pregnant. It’s such an incredible experience… both pregnancy and motherhood. What were your favorite items when you were pregnant? What made your life easier/more comfortable.
MeganStecker.com 