I’ve seen a lot of these lists on Pinterest, but thought it’d be fun to share the items that have been on my must have list so far during this pregnancy! Let’s take a look:

• Water Bottle – I am (slightly) obsessed with my Mason Jar Tumbler! It’s 24 oz so I shoot to drink 2-3 fillings of water a day!
• Cocoa Butter – not entirely sure how much (if at all) this really works, but it’s been a nice routine to keep my belly moisturized and me hopeful that I won’t get any stretch marks (so far, I’ve lucked out but we’ve still got 7 weeks to go)!
• Blender (Ninja) – as I shared with some of my favorite smoothie recipes a couple weeks ago, I’ve absolutely loved making healthy smoothies to start my day with many of the nutrients I need for me and my babe.
• Maternity Leggings – Seriously, the best invention ever! I probably have 5 pairs of these and have lived in them every day!
• Extra Pillow – This came around 25 weeks for me, when I could not longer sleep comfortably on my stomach or back and had to resort to the dreaded (for me) side-sleeping. An extra pillow for between my legs helped with the discomfort (at least for a little) – I’m now over 32 weeks and there isn’t much that can keep me comfortable.
• Bella Bands – These lasted me well over half way through my pregnancy, before I had to make the switch to maternity jeans. They were not only great to wear with my “pre-pregnancy” jeans early on, but I’ve always loved having something snug against my belly and these were the perfect solution.
• Journal – I actually started a “pregnancy” journal when we were first trying to get pregnant and picked it back up when we were going through the scare we had early on in this pregnancy. Since, I have kept up with it recording cravings, excitements, scares, and everything in between. I know I am going to be so thankful I did this years to come when I look back and read through our first pregnancy journey!
• A couple good books – I’ve enjoyed “What to Expect When Your Expecting,” “On Becoming Baby Wise” and “The Nursing Mother’s Companion“
• Tea – As much of a coffee lover I am, I turned to tea early on in my pregnancy. For a while I was enjoying peppermint green tea, until I was told that green tea isn’t the best for pregnant ladies like myself, so I went back to my college favorite, Tazo Passion Tea and an assortment of other fruity teas.

And a couple “Nice to Haves”:

• A pair of good quality maternity jeans – A friend encouraged me to invest in a good pair of maternity jeans to help me get through the last trimester and mentioned how nice they will even be for postpartum and I’m so glad I took her advice! I myself up a pair from Destination Maternity and while they weren’t a $20 pair from Target, they are so comfortable (and stylish)!
• Fetal Doppler – Another friend of mine let us borrow the doppler that she bought while she was pregnant, and it was such a treat to have early on in the pregnancy and right after my surgery. It allowed us to here Emily’s heartbeat whenever we wished and also provided a peace of mind for those 2nd trimester days that I wasn’t quite feeling her move as much as I wanted.