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My Pregnancy Must Haves

Sunday, April 26, 2015
We are officially in the two week countdown until our princess makes her arrival, so I should probably get myself in gear and write this post before pregnancy enters the realm of distant memories. This pregnancy has been a complete 180 vs. when I was pregnant with Parker. Some aspects were better (hello, dream hair) while others threw me for a loop and forced me to adjust my every day as I knew it. I found myself turning to a few trusted pregnancy products that worked wonders for both pregnancies and stumbled across a couple newer products that I can't imagine living without. Some of which are just too good not to share with all of my current and future expectant mamas.


Bump Nest Pillow - This pregnancy brought with it some pretty intense hip pain from around 12 weeks until even now. As if switching sides while sleeping wasn't hard enough with a huge bump, having hip pain made it a thousand times worse. Enter the Bump Nest pillow. This has been a serious game changer. My first pregnancy I just went with the run of the mill body pillow from Target, but this one has been a MAJOR upgrade. The stuffing feels like your sleeping on a cloud and you can adjust the pillow to so many different positions that it's impossible to be uncomfortable. Not to mention the cover is so easy to remove for washings. My night's sleep significantly improved and I'm not sure I'll be able to part with it after pregnancy. I also love the prints since they are pretty neutral and can easily match any decor style.

Symphasis Belt - Since we're on the subject of hip pain relief, I might as well one of the products that saved me the most, the Symphasis Belt. When I looked up the effects of SPD (Symphasis Pubis Dysfunction), I was pretty sure that I was on the road to crutches fast. Although I had my days when I would have gladly used them to get around, finding the Symphasis Belt was nothing short of a life saver. It's pretty discreet and provides just enough support to my hips that I can (somewhat) feel like my old self again.



Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray - I've been using this product for years but it has especially come in handy this pregnancy when I had trouble mustering up the energy to blow dry and style my hair each day. A few shots of this to my roots saves me an extra wash and even adding some to my freshly washed hair gave my fine, flat strands more volume and texture. Not to mention, all Oribe products smell AMAZINGGG!

Mustela Stretch Mark Cream - I used this with my first pregnancy and made it the entire 10 months with zero stretch marks. I wasn't taking a chance with any other cream this time around and I'm happy to report that 38 weeks in, there are still no stretch marks. This stuff can be a little pricey but in my mind it's definitely worth the investment.

Alo Allure Aloe Vera Juice - This is the most interesting and maybe one of the most delicious drinks I've consumed in a while. And a HUGE plus, it can help keep heartburn at bay! My doctor recommended this product to me at my 36 week appointment when my heartburn was at an all time high and it worked like a charm. I was able to find it in the Organic section at our local Wegmans.

Liz Lange Maternity Tanks - Somehow I just got turned on to these this pregnancy. I initially started off with two and wore them so much that I had to go and get five more. I've worn them almost every day and I've heard they are even better post pregnancy.


Skinnytaste Cookbook - For those times when you feel like your appetite is capable of taking on an eating competition. We turn to recipes in this book every week to see what we can cook up. The recipes are sneakily full of fresh and filling ingredients and I swear each dish we've made has been insanely delicious. Especially the pork with mango salsa and coconut chicken salad. There's pretty much a healthy alternative to all of your best preggo cravings!

Easter Prep

Friday, April 3, 2015
Parker is now two and a half and can fully partake in and appreciate holiday activities. This makes me so excited because I now have a legitimate excuse to do fun festive things with my tiny sidekick like decorate Easter eggs and set up an Easter egg hunt (through the house, since it's calling for rain on Sunday). Matt and I are sneaking out of town on Saturday, so I am squeezing in all the fun Easter prep with my girl today.


I snuck into her bedroom this morning once I heard her talking to herself. I cuddled in bed with her (whilst she demolished the better portion of my smoothie), and after a few minutes of talking about her plans for the day, we were off to the kitchen to whip up some festive pancakes. Probably once of my favorite ways to celebrate holidays lately. I try to make a piping bag out of a zip lock bag and draw the bunny on the griddle while its hot. The ears broke off when I attempted to flip them so i detached and added them to the head when it was time to  plate. I then added in some blueberries for eyes and a nose and called it a day.





After breakfast and a movie, it was time to set up for decorating eggs. I found this cute kit by Meri Meri and thought that since it involved stickers and pompoms that it would be a better option for tiny hands. She wasn't a fan of the feathers but did so well placing the stickers on by herself and telling me where she wanted the pompoms placed. She kept thinking the small white pompoms were eggs and kept asking, 'can you crack this, please?'. She was also a huge fan of the glue and spent the end of the decorating session 'coloring' with the glue on the instruction pages. 


As we approached nap she started to have a couple mini meltdowns due to the fact that she dropped her puzzle pieces or threw all of the tiny egg decorating pieces all over the floor. Five chicken nuggets, 1/2 a banana and a scratch to my face later, it was nap time. She's fast asleep now which always seems like a saving grace because this is the time when I can clean or do some things for myself, but staring at this mess of her hulk disaster of cheddar bunnies on the table, I miss her. I won't be disturbing her nap quite yet as that would only create a monster but I can't wait for her to wake up to enjoy the rest of this Easter prep day with her.
 
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