Pregnancy Must Haves

I have honestly enjoyed this pregnancy so much! I am not feeling miserable and dying to go into labor like I was with the first three pregnancies, soaking up time with Archer and waiting for all this bad weather to pass us is keeping my mind off all the false labor signs my body throws at me.

Nothing more fun than living in a rural area during an ice storm and finding out you are in the "crippling zone" according to the Weather Channel. The other night I woke up every hour, praying that the interstate was still open as I timed contractions. The bonus feature is if we lose power, we also lose water because our well is electric-- so I kept bathing everyone and washing clothes in anticipation! Thankfully the worst has passed and we made it through unscathed.

Bring it on, ice storm!

If you look past the kids and out the window, you can see how much our street looks like an ice rink

I pulled out all my best Pinterest activities to keep everyone entertained

Anyways, fascinating weather tales aside-- here are four main reasons this has been my favorite pregnancy--

1. I am pretty sure it's my last, so I am trying to soak up even the harder moments like realizing my maternity pants are too tight or falling down in the aisles at Target when I get crazy leg contractions (has anyone else ever had these? I literally drop to the ground they are so intense!)

I actually told Mike to remind me to enjoy this season of life if I complain about not being able to walk, bend over, shave my legs, etc-- then quickly said he better not mention it if I'm cranky and hormonal so to choose his timing wisely. Oddly, he hasn't mentioned it... so that says a lot.

2. It has helped to be busy with the older three, I often forget that I'm pregnant until I walk past a mirror and think, "Oh dear God!"

3. This time I decided to deliver with a midwife instead of an OB-GYN. I could write a whole post on the differences and my personal experience with one compared to the other. I can honestly say I have felt far better this pregnancy and had more support than with the first three, and can attribute that to some of the suggestions my midwife group has made. But perhaps you have a great OB who is making those suggestions too! I am definitely not against OB practices, this was just the right choice for us this go around.

4. We haven't moved! It is amazing how much easier it is to be pregnant when you don't move at 32 or 36 weeks as we did with the last two. So much less stress!

Bump Pic at 36 weeks, I think it has doubled in size the last two weeks thanks to the bag of fun size Snickers Bars and chips I've eaten during our Ice Storm!

These are a few of the things I am loving that have made this a sweet pregnancy for me:

1. Blanqi Tank Top

One of my biggest complaints during pregnancy is Round Ligament pain. During my 2nd pregnancy, it felt unbearable as I was carrying around a one-year-old and I even left my job to become a stay-at-home mom earlier than planned because it got so bad. I finally caved and bought one of these tank tops a month ago and it is amazing!

They are expensive but I can say the support is worth every penny. I wear it a day or two in a row, then throw it in the wash and let it air dry. I know I will love it post-partum too because it is really long, has great chest-coverage and smooths everything out!

*I think it runs true to pre-pregnancy size and wore it in a small even though I typically buy tank tops in a medium because I shrink everything!*

2. Dr. Teal's Epson Salts

These are like my pregnancy life-line! By the end of the day I will feel so achy and tired, after soaking in these for 20 minutes (sometimes it's like an hour) I get out and feel like a new woman. As I've shared before, I am even known to get in the bath during the day while my kiddos wreak havoc around me just because it alleviates so many of my aches and pains.

3. Vitamins

I have never taken much beyond a prenatal and this time I am seeing some major differences and know that these are the real deal! Taking a combination of Vitamin D, Magnesium, and Iron in addition to my prenatal has helped me with postpartum/pregnancy depression, achy legs, and most importantly (to me!) insomnia. I had insomnia terribly with each pregnancy where I would lay awake for 3-4 hour stretches at night. I almost never wake up now, if I do it is just to go to the bathroom and that started two weeks ago versus other pregnancies I was getting up through the night from 20 weeks on.

This combo from Trader Joe's was a huge help during my morning sickness the first 15 weeks

4. Soma Cool Nights Pajamas

Since I am basically an old woman trapped in a thirty-something body, wearing these isn't much of a stretch-- my mom got me hooked on them (much to my hubby's disdain, but hello, comfort > sexy at this point in life). The patterns are a little dated but I LOVE how they feel. Even though we turn our thermostat down to a balmy 63 degrees at night, I still get hot. I like to stay pretty covered so I can jump up and quickly deal with the toddler issues that plague us through the night and these pajamas have been awesome. *Their bras are also my favorite nursing bra. Don't worry, I'll spare you the photo of me in my saucy digs-- the bump photo above made me reach my selfie-capacity for the month!

5. Ginger tea

This has helped me avoid a steady stream of TUMS in the evening hours when heartburn sets in and also helps curb my cravings for all the sweets I have started stockpiling around the house-- because, nursing = so hungry!

6. Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

If this is your first pregnancy, I'd love to share this book with you. It definitely has an emphasis on natural, drug-free childbirth but even if that's not your game plan, I LOVE the positive outlook on labor and delivery shared through dozens of birth stories.

So often our culture makes childbirth out to be an awful, traumatizing event with the woman screaming at her husband and begging everyone she sees for drugs! Although this may have been my experience at least once, I am so grateful for all the stories shared in this book about how beautiful and positive childbirth can be. Reading it before having our daughter prepared me for an amazing and dare I say, peaceful birth experience the first time around!

That's all she wrote for now, please share any of your pregnancy must have's as well so I can build a good list for all my favorite mamas-to-be! And lest you think that I am bragging and pregnancy is nothing but smooooooth sailing, let me share that I've been through the ringer with the following pregnancy symptoms that I did not have the previous 3:

- weird face rash (dermatologist said it's called parietal dermatitis and will *hopefully* go away post-partum)

- lots of new skin tags-- sick out!

- a 3 week go around with mastitis that led into thrush-- even though I'm not nursing yet! Just a fun precursor of what's to come

So I promise it's not easy breezy over here and we're all in the ups and downs of this season together!