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pregnancy favorites {glamorous edition}

05 May 2015

Sometimes or alltimes I feel bad when a friend announces their pregnancy because it's so terribly instinctive of me to want to give obnoxious and very much unsolicited advice about virtually all things bebe and maternity. I usually fail despite trying desperately to physically hold my hand over my mouth (or chuck my phone with my text-happy fingers and gently snap my laptop shut) so this is my version of getting it all out of my system to protect the future innocent, I guess. Sorry you're the unlucky audience. Sort of sorry. A little bit sorry.


I can't refer to any of these as "must-haves" because what I "must have" you might hate and what YOU "must have" I might not necessarily love but ... these all work together in sweet harmony to make my pregnancies significantly better.

High maintenance? NEVER.


I think I'm on the stage third from the right and I've never gotten to the cutting stage but the pregnancy is young.

0. We'll start with my favorite pregnancy essential especially in the third trimester and that would be: SLEEP. As previously typed, never have I ever been so excited for the kids to go to bed so that I might quickly follow and while I'm sure it's Mother Nature's way of letting us rest up before all adorable hell breaks lose postpartum that Mother Nature is a smart cookie. So, I'm guessing a majority of us can agree there. Maybe.

Moving on.

1. Memory foam pillow - I had terrible back pain toward the end of Sebastian's pregnancy and we happened to visit my lovely grandma when I was about 34 weeks along and I happened to sleep on this ridiculous pillow and what do you know? Pain vanished. I've been "borrowing" the pillow ever since but if she ever politely demanded it back .. I would happily shell out the cash for another because it keeps me sane especially towards the bittersweet end. Although! I have to admit I'm intrigued after having read countless rave reviews of these but for now ... I'm good. And for the honest record, I loathe sleeping on memory foam mattresses ... riddle me that.

2. Mustela Stretch Marks Double Action - Growing up in New Mexico's dry climate, I grew accustomed to dousing my epidermis with lotion after every shower lest I wanted to resemble the lizards that inevitably snuck into our house day and night. And even though the midwest is humid as bleep during the summer months ... I still can't quit the habit and have grown stupidly picky about body lotion (smell, consistency, etc - I'm the worst) and I love this stuff. I know that stretch marks are genetic (right? I believe so) and I've escaped them thus far (although of course they aren't even kind of the end of the world, at ALL!!) but just in case this has anything to do with it I'm not quitting the double action potion anytime soon. I mix it with this to stretch it a bit and help to elevate my skin tone from Casper to Casper-saw-the-sun-for-a-quarter-second.

3. Blanqi Support Tank - One of thee only reasons I stay on top of the laundry these days is to keep one of these clean at all times because I've become sadly dependent on it. If I go hours without wearing it and then I put it on it's like that feeling you get after standing all day and then finally sitting, if that makes sense. It's so supportive (Simon not-so-affectionately refers to it as Fort Knox) without being bulky and it's nice because it provides tanktoppy coverage if you have the weird issue of maternity shirts being bizarrely low cut (Phoebe grabberson Patton doesn't help either). I can wash and dry them without worrying about the quality suffering at all. Okay, off my soapbox. For now.

4. Paula's Choice Triple Action Dark Spot Eraser - I honestly might be willing to trade some stretch marks for my pregnancy mask (melasma, chloasma, whatever you want to call it asma) because it is BAD. I never think it's that bad until I look back at photos and then wonder what blinding drugs I was smoking because it truly looks like I've sampled every color of foundation and not blended OR painted on a camo mask and am readying myself for some dangerous mission in the wilds of beige brush and vegetation. I've tried loads and loads of dark spot erasers and this works practically overnight. If I'm diligent with scrubbing my face with baking soda (which I'm not) that helps too but it's nice knowing I won't necessarily be mistaken for a "serious and infectious skin disease" patient and be wheeled off of Labor & Delivery and into isolation when I have the baby. Here's my referral link for $10 off your first Paula's Choice order ... if you fancy. 

5. Magnesium - I've blogged about it before and I'll probably blog about it again but it helps me sleep sounder, keeps leg cramps completely at bay, and keeps general end-of-pregnancy aches to a dull roar. I've taken it ever since Sebastian's pregnancy and while the end of pregnancy is never a blast I still remember with great acuity how miserable I was at the end with Julia and have yet to get back to that cruel point. I blame you, Magnesium

I'm still on the hunt for an at-home barista to whip up terrible and sugary caffeinated beverages at a moment's notice, a discreet and portable bathroom, a personal trainer to peer pressure me into getting off the couch, and a magical varicose vein zapper (first time I've gotten them and holy horrible). That's all.

What am I missing? A million essentials I'm sure ... I recently discovered the delight that is avocado toast and have been living off of that so I'm only about five years behind the curve. Enlighten me, pretty please.


Oh! And of course! Other unsolicited pregnancy advice posts for your skimming pleasure:

hospital bag essentials
postpartum lifesavers
exercise and supplements: pregnancy style

12 comments:

  1. 1) That tank looks heavenly.
    2) What is UP with maternity tops being so low? And I had this one nursing top which started out comfy and ended up publicly offensive. I mean, really designers.
    3) Jealous about the stretch marks. I have stretch marks on my knees. My KNEES. WHY??? Oh wait, because so did my mother. Genetics ftw which is fittingly wtf spelled backward)

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  2. I had no pregnancy pillow for my first and a Snoogle for my second. What a world of difference in my quality of sleep, even if it did take up a lot of our full-sized bed. (Regrettably it succumbed to mold in our stanky basement two months ago when the space saver bag it was in failed. Gross!)

    And I think most designers of maternity clothing are on drugs. Why are maternity tops so low cut given the, erm, changes to the pregnant body? Why are they so tissue-thin that everyone can see my nosopretty belly button? Why are petite maternity clothes so rare? (If pregnancy made me taller...that's be pretty awesome, but it doesn't!) Questions that shall probably remain unanswered, all of them.

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  3. Varicose veins!!!!!! I got them so bad this last pregnancy!! Only on my right ankle, tried compression socks and no relief. They have started to fade now...but man no bueno!

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  4. ahhh this is fabuloso, yes yes, pour out your wisdom! i'll be needing that tank and a bottle of --asma eraser on my face, ASAP!

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  5. Stretch marks can be due to a variety of things -- genetics, yes, but also skin elasticity, dryness, how quickly you gain weight (and how much you gain) while pregnant, what you eat, health... yeah. I have stretch marks from puberty, but none from pregnancy #1 and so far none from pregnancy #2, and my mom got more with each pregnancy. But she wasn't healthy through pregnancies and she also gained faster than I have.

    But anyway! I love Mustela! I haven't tried that lotion, but I used their cradle cap shampoo (on my son) and it got rid of his cradle cap in just a few weeks. Which was good, because I am a picker. I'm very, very addicted to lotions, too, and I've lived in a non-dry climate most of my life, so now I want to try that one.

    I totally give unsolicited pregnancy/baby advice, too, even though I'm only on the second one. Ahem. It's hard not to.

    Kristina
    www.eccentricowl.com

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  6. I totally agree about the magnesium, great for better sleep and keeping restless legs at bay. I prefer magnesium citrate orally or topical magnesium oil.

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  7. My exboyfriend had one of those pillows and I 'borrowed' it for a year. I was so sad to give it back when we broke up that I immediately went out and bought my own. I never wake up with neck stiffness anymore; it's so great!

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  8. MAGNESIUM. word.

    After delivering the combined 13 lbs of twin babies, I started twitching and jerking awake in the middle of the night at the hospital--which was so terrifying after a Caesarean. The veteran nurses came in and were scratching their heads as to what the devil was going on. Thankfully, the doctor informed them over the phone that it was most likely a magnesium deficiency as I had lost so much fluid in 24 hours. They got it in me asap, and all was calm…(Then, it was "time to nurse your twins!!")
    I never thought to take it as a supplement during pregnancy, though…mind. blown.

    Anyway…glad to hear all you ladies have avoided the stretch marks…surrendered that fight long ago:/

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  9. Magnesium, I am going to give it a try. I have also read some good things about it helping migraines so it could be a double bonus. My beef with maternity tanks are that so many are not long enough on me, granted I have a long torso, but seriously, the last thing they should do is shrink. H&M camis are my go to, and at $5 a pop I have a lot of them since I just don't do laundry any more. Alka Seltzer makes chewy heartburn meds. I hate the texture of Tums, they make me want to puke even at 8 months preggers, they have been a life saver, and they are mint which feels like it helps too.

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  10. My husband has that pillow and loves it. I also have a memory foam one, but not with the curved bit on the one end. His also has this "cooling gel" thingy on one side, which he loves, because he's Hottie McHoterson when he sleeps, no matter the temp. My added pillow would be the body pillow, which I discovered in pregnancy #2, I believe. I can't remember because it has never left the bed. I'm on version #857, because I'm big on swapping the pillows frequently. And no varicose veins here, but there have been other, less glamorous, additions to my person which shall remain nameless (a-"hem").

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  11. I am still LOLing over Violet Beauregarde, so hilarious.

    I am in utter awe that you've avoided stretch marks, also a wee bit jealous. I need to try that cream 4 pregnancies ago 😐

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  12. Ahh this would have been so useful when I was preggers! I'm working on a post for my essentials / faves for life with a new baby. You might need that soon enough! :)

    xo
    Liz
    www.tastylittledish.com

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