Pregnancy Survival Kit

Although I'm not quite done with this whole pregnancy thing yet, I've come pretty far. It's hard to believe it's been 37 weeks - technically I've only known for 31 weeks! At times it has seemed to fly by (second trimester) and others have been like watching paint dry (every week since about...26 weeks). There are some things that have helped me get through this whole experience that I may not have been able to survive without....Ok, that's being a little dramatic, but if I had to start this process alllll over with a survival kit, this is what would be in it from the start.

Beginning with the first trimester...I didn't have food aversions like many women - I love food WAY too much for that - but I did have some serious smell aversions. Basically I hated anything with a scent - deodorant, laundry detergent, Andrew's body wash, you get the point.

 

Ivory "fresh scent" body wash and Secret unscented deodorant saved my life - or at least my breakfast every morning. 

I was extremely lucky in this pregnancy in that I didn't really have morning sickness. Five times tops. However, when I was feeling a little nauseous, I would drink Perrier Sparkling Water - but it had to be the citrus flavor. Another favorite was Juicy Juice Sparkling Apple. It was fizzy and allowed me to pretend I was sipping on champagne while watching everyone else drink - and it comes in a can, so I could joke about shotgunning it! 

 

As far as products specifically designed for pregnant women - I only had 2 "must haves". One was gummy prenatal vitamins. Apparently I'm 4 years old again because I simply could not swallow the regular prenatals without gagging. (I think it had a lot to do with the fish oils too) The second is my beloved Snoogle. Snoogle and I have a fabulous relationship that is most definitely not going to end in 3 weeks. She is my new life partner and Andrew is okay with that. 

 

My cravings weren't so much weird combinations of foods (except for that one 'jar of pickles/cheese/orange juice/apple sauce' day, which lead to 1/5 "sickness experiences"), but I did have certain foods that were must haves and must have oftens. First and foremost: banana peppers. On everything. Second, chocolate-covered strawberries. I once ate an entire Edible Arrangements centerpiece at a rehearsal dinner by myself. And last but not least, Dunkin Donuts. Dunkin and I also have a love affair that's been going on for about two years now...Andrew's not as okay with this one as with Snoogle. I did have to switch up my usual order to "medium iced DECAF French vanilla coffee with cream and sugar and an order of hash browns". (I've said that exact statement one too many times). 

My darling husband even put a jar of banana peppers in my Christmas stocking! He's so good to me! :)

 And finally, the last two things I would shove into my pregnancy survival kit are....

My mom - without her, I would have been a complete wreck. Whether she was loading my car with baby "essentials" every time I saw her, calming my nerves, sending me weekly update emails, always staying positive, or making me laugh...I definitely could not have done these last 37 weeks so easily without her! Love you, mom!

And for good measure....this guy - without whom, none of this would be possible! :)

My sweet, sweet husband who has kept me laughing, painted my toenails, brought me strawberries in bed after receiving my text from the bedroom to him on the couch, and shown me more love than I ever thought possible. I absolutely cannot wait to see him with his son - he's going to be such a fabulous daddy!