Guest Post: Nicole's Must-have's

Happy Monday sweet friends!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.  Mine was busy busy busy but oh so sweet.  Matt and I left G for the first extended amount of time and drove to a wedding on Saturday night.  It was about an hour and half a way and we drove home that night but we were away from our girl for about 7.5 whole hours!  I only cried a little... but it was so good to see my sweet friend Margaret Ann marry the boy of her dreams.  Oh Happy Day!  Then Sunday G and I, along with two other mamas and babies, hosted a shower for her friend that is due in October!  Mason we love you and can't wait to meet you!

Now I would like to introduce you to Nicole.  She's here today talking about all of her pregnancy must-haves.  You see, she just had a wee little babe not too long ago either and we have become fast blog friends - emailing constantly about life as a new mama.  I love her so and I know you will too.  So go ahead!  Enjoy!

***************************************************

Hi! I'm Nicole, and this is my handsome husband, Ben. I blog over at The Shea's. Would you like to meet our boy? His name is Jack. He'll melt your heart.

I told you! Isn't he the sweetest?!

I started my blog as a way to keep my family updated on my life in Okinawa while Ben was stationed there with the Marine Corps. Since then, it has become my space to write about our lives, lessons I've learned as a new mom, and share the occasional recipe/healthy eating tip/any other random thing that I feel like blogging about, such as grocery store mayhem. Oh, and Ben does an occasional post too! 

I'm very excited to be sharing my top 10 pregnancy must have's with all of you today!   

1. A Plan

We read Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way and it really helped prepare us. I mean, a lot. I learned relaxation techniques and visualization tips that I used during labor. Ben also learned a lot of ways to help me during labor since it is the 'husband coached' approach. I am not sure I would have been able to deliver naturally if we didn't have some kind of plan/preparation going in.   

2. Coconut Oil

I tried to remember to put coconut oil on my baby bump most nights and I didn't get any stretch marks!   

3. Yoga Ball

I used this the most during the third trimester to help alleviate lower back pain while sitting. I also rocked on it side-to-side during the early stages of labor to help ease the pain of contractions.  

4. Belly Band

  I bought mine from target and can still remember the relief I felt when I finally was able to unbotton my jeans and put this over them. I had a really hard time giving up my jeans and switching to maternity pants, so with the help of the belly band, I was able to stay in my regular jeans well into my second trimester!   

5. Body Pillow

I loooooved the 'snoogle' pillow that I bought from Amazon--can't say that Ben loved it though!   

6. Prenatal Vitamins

A good prenatal vitamin is really important--I checked the ingredients of the ones they gave me at the hospital on base and it had artificial colors and other weird ingredients! The guarantee for these vitamins is: "With Vitamin Code RAW Prenatal, you can rest assured that our vitamins are uncooked, untreated and unadulterated, with no binders or fillers and always dairy-free and gluten-free."   

7. Waterproof Mattress Protector

My water didn't break at home, but it's always good to be prepared!

8. Raspberry Leaf Tea

I drank about 2 cups of this tea a day during my third trimester. It helps strengthen your uterine muscles and get things ready for birth!

9. Good Size Water Bottle           

It's SO important to drink plenty of water during pregnancy! Having a large waterbottle to take with you makes it much easier to make sure you are getting those precious ounces!

and finally...

10. Food That Won't Make You Sick

This was Ben's grocery shopping list during my first trimester. Seriously. He's weird all the time sometimes.

If you are having a hard time keeping food down, find one or two things that you know you can handle and stock up!! For me, if I tried a bite of dinner and started feeling sick, I knew I could fall back on a tortilla with some tomato sauce and cheese on it. Not the most nutritious meal, but hey, sometimes you just need something in your belly!

Thanks for reading! Denise-thanks for letting me guest post!!

Were any of my 'must haves' really helpful for you? What were some of your other ones?

Find me here: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | Subscribe