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Some pregnancy must-haves: what to fill your online shopping time with while you are waiting for your little nugget

1/19/2020

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It is certainly no secret that pregnancy was a very difficult time in my life. It happened much more quickly than we anticipated, and while I do realize how much of a blessing it is that we did not struggle with infertility, in a much more minimal way, I struggled with the uncertainty, doubt and anxiety over every little detail. I did a lot of coping through online shopping, which is certainly not a healthy way to deal. However, I did manage to pick up a few things that helped me get through pregnancy a smidge easier. 

PharMeDoc Pregnancy Pillow

This first item is the ​PharMeDoc Pregnancy Pillow with Jersey Cover. I was pretty uncomfortable sleeping even very early on, and this definitey helped. Yes, it took up a very large portion of our bed, but even my husband can say that it was worth it. It comes in various colors, and is currently only $39.95 on Amazon.
www.amazon.com/dp/B07JBNVJ9Q/ref=twister_B07DNJFKMS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Bump Box Subscription

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If you're a sucker for a monthly subscription like myself, this one is a no-brainer. I did ~3-4 months of BumpBox and it was a little ray of sunshine in my mailbox during the month. You enter your due date, and they send a monthly curated box targeted towards where you are in your pregnancy. While I admit that there were some things I definitely did not use and perhaps re-gifted (secret), there were plenty of things I did use that I probably wouldn't have purchased for myself. The prices vary, but if you want a full nine months, it will run you $34/month.  bumpboxes.com/

LeTote Maternity

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I had a few friends and co-workers who were kind enough to give me some of their maternity wear, some was not appropriate for the time of the year, etc. so I knew I had to get some of my own. And while I perused every Old Navy, Gap and Target clearnace sale I could, I still struggled with spending money on clothes I knew would be a thing of the past in a few months. LeTote is a monthly clothing rental service and they happen to have a maternity option as well. This ran me $79 per month. I would receive 5 items of clothing per month that I was able to choose myself. I had the option of purchasing at a reduced price as well, which I did for a couple of Summer & Sage nursing sweatshirts I'm still wearing 10 months later. This is great for working moms, as it is so hard to find a decent array of maternity office apparel. This service helped me get a little bit of new-clothes confidence back, and spared my closet from being too cluttered. Below are a few looks where I felt my "best".
​ www.letote.com/maternity

Books

I read like crazy during pregnancy. Probably to a fault. It definitely fueled my anxiety, but part of me just felt so much better being armed with knowledge about something I previously knew nothing about. I read so much so that I made it one of the foci of our maternity shoot. Above are a few of my favorites:
  1. Expecting Better by Emily Oster. Oh, I am a huge Emily Oster fan. Her refreshing take at looking at the actual evidence and studies behind commonly held pregnancy "wisdom" helped me so much. Let's just say, I was able to indulge in my love of blue cheese throughout my pregnancy. She has a postpartum book out more recently called Cribsheet which I could just not put down. 
  2. Babywise by Dr. Robert Bucknam and Gary Enzo. This was given to Dave by one of his clients who absolutely swore by this. The premise is how to teach babies to sleep through the night at an early age by focusing on feed-wake-sleep cycles during the day. We did follow this (not to a T) and am happy to say Carson is a pretty great sleeper to this day.
  3. The Fourth Trimester: A Postpartum Guide to Healing Your Body, Balancing Your Emotions, and Restoring Your Vitality by Kimberly Ann Johnson. While admittedly this is quite "crunchy" even for me, there is definitely great wisdom in this book. She focuses on postpartum rituals in other countries such as in Chinese or Mexican culture where postpartum women are catered to and healed in certain ways by those around them. And living in a country where many women either don't have paid leave or go back to work at 6 weeks (tiny peanut!) this message resonated with me, and I thought about how I was going to "lay low" and put Carson and myself first during the immediate postpartum period so we could both regroup and come out ok. 

Skechers Slip On Sneakers

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Guys. I'm serious. As my coworkers will attest to, I wore these babies with everything. And even though my sister-in-law Jessica lovingly calls them my "water shoes", these puppies saw me through some rough times. Ankle swelling... what?! That pitting edema in both my legs was atrocious and I was devastated that my normal footwear just did not fit. And again, trying not to end up with a closet full of things I wouldn't wear, I opted for a cheap pair of Skechers that I wouldn't mind getting beat up. The openings are still stretched to this day. Amazon has a lot of cute options for slip-on shoes. Be open! They're not that bad. 
www.amazon.com/s?k=skechers+womens+slip+on+sneakers&ref=nb_sb_noss

Amazon Floral Pajama Pants

I cannot even tell you how many times these have been purchased from Amazon by me. I discovered these pre-pregnancy and got them for all of my bridesmaids. I them discovered that these expand nicely with a growing belly. Since then, they have been one of my go-tos for every pregnant mama I know (sorry, another secret is out). Just too good not to share. 
​www.amazon.com/dp/B073P8H9QG/ref=twister_B07GVD8JPD?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Yeti Tumbler

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If anyone owns any Yeti products, you know they are amazing. Drinking water is something I've never been especially diligent with, but I felt noticeably worse when dehydrated during pregnancy. I purchased the Yeti tumbler for hiding my non-alcohol drinking during pregnancy but also for ice water, and paired it with a straw. Any time during the day I went to take a drink, it was still ice cold. This came to the hospital with me when I had Carson and was next to me at all times during the postpartum period. It's BPA-free and dishwasher safe. And comes in lots of cute colors. 
 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073WJX9ZV/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_aWljEbH4VYM3Y

Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter and Peppermint Foot Lotion

We have a good friend who works for Burt's Bees and sent some pregnancy and baby items our way. Like any pregnant mama, stretch marks were certainly not something I wanted to experience, but I am also aware that there is no real evidence that these types of products do much to help stretch marks from developing. But with no real downside, I slathered myself in this belly butter each night and low and behold, I do not have stretch marks (note: staying hydrated definitely has something to do with it!). 

Another pregnancy woe of mine were terrible foot and leg cramps that would wake me up in a panic and cause me to jump out of bed just to stretch my feet. I tried magnesium sprays, special socks, you name it. The only thing that brought me a bit of transient relief was the Burt's Bees Peppermint Foot Lotion. I looked forward to my nightly ritual of belly butter + foot lotion! 
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    ​Hi! I'm Laura, a 30-something first-time mom raising her little dude in southern California. It's been quite a first year, and this is my way to try to make sense of it all. This is a safe space for all moms to get some laughs, recommendations and feel like they are not alone.

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