Each pregnancy is different and everyone has their own list of must haves for being pregnant.  I really appreciated all the tidbits my friends, coworkers and family shared with me on what I need or will need to help me enjoy being pregnancy.  Let me be honest; I have good days and bad days.  Sometimes I LOVE being pregnant and other times December can’t come soon enough.

It’s a roller coaster ride for sure, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.  It took some trial and error in the first trimester, but I slowly identified what “stuff” was essential to a “happy pregnant Nicole”.

So here are my pregnancy essentials … at least so far! :)

Pregnancy Must Haves and Essentials for all trimesters |  Life's Tidbits

{1}  Snoogle Total Body Pregnancy Pillow with Jersey Knit Cover
After sleeping SO well the first trimester I was shocked at how uncomfortable I was in the second.  While maternity clothes shopping, my mom made friends with another grandmother-to-be and her daughter.  The woman swore by this pillow and after a 5 minute conversation on “why this pillow is a-mazing” I was sold.  I LOVE this pillow … I’m not sure the husband does though as he keeps joking he has been “replaced”.  I should have invested in a pregnancy pillow sooner!

{2}  Kashi Chewy Granola Bars
I keep at least two granola bars in my purse at all times. I learned the hard way in the first trimester that if I skip a meal or wait too long to eat I start to feel horrible. Granola bars have been a life saver when we are on the go!

{3}  Manis and Pedis {I love the OPI colors!}
A little pampering for the Mom-to-be never hurt anyone, right?!?!

{4}  Cotton Lace Waist Thong
Comfy underwear is a must! I purchased these a size larger than I normally wear to give the tummy room to grow.  They have a good amount of stretch and I probably could have stuck with my normal size (at least so far … we shall see how the 3rd trimester goes).

{5}  What to Expect When Your Expecting
To quote myself from an older post … “This book is a classic.  It comes in handy when I have questions like “is this <insert pain/ache/feeling> normal?”.  Unlike Goggling it doesn’t give all these horror stories …”

A lot of moms and moms-to-be have mentioned Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Lotion is a pregnancy must.  I just started using it about two weeks ago when the belly started getting itchy.  Luckily my friend warned me this was on the horizon so the lotion had already been purchased before the itchiness began.  I’m not sure if it will make it onto my pregnancy essential list, but will definitely keep you posted.  :)

What are/were your pregnancy must haves?

signiture_nicole

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I stumbled upon this picture last weekend while perusing the external hard drive.  It was taken in 2010 when the husband (then boyfriend) and I went to Charlottesville, Virginia for a little weekend get away.  We visited Barboursville and Horton’s Vineyards.  It was a great weekend!!  Can’t believe I completely forgot about the photos from that weekend.  Thank goodness for our external hard drive /backup.  It’s so much fun to look through old photos and reminisce! :)

winevineyard_grapes

Happy Friday and have a fabulous weekend!!

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Hello second trimester it is SOOOO nice to see you! Morning (really all day) sickness is .. GONE!  HOLLA!  I feel like myself again and while I’m still more tired than normal, early evening naps are no longer required. =)  The belly and baby keep on growing and growing.  I was surprised to compare my first belly picture to the updated one.  Here’s the belly at 22 weeks (and a couple days):

22 Weeks Pregnant, 5 Months | Life's Tidbits

Pregnancy Tidbits from Weeks 18-22

Random Tidbits

As previously announced Jellybean is a girl!

Belly button is out … already! POUT.  Apparently my inny/outty belly button is taking full advantage of being pregnant and has become a full blown outty.  Hopefully it goes back to “normal” after Jellybean makes her debut.

I am craving coffee, which is weird for someone who has never been a huge coffee drinker.  Regular coffee, iced coffee and lattes … I want them all multiple times a day.  Don’t worry though, despite the craving I am limiting myself to the doctor’s recommendation of only 1 cup of caffeine per day.

Symptoms

Leg cramps – Holy Charlie Horse Batman!  I don’t think I’ve had leg cramps/charlie horses like this since playing ice hockey and soccer in high school.  According to my handy dandy pregnancy book, leg cramps are completely normal.  I’ve been trying to stretch my calves and eat more bananas to combat these nightly legs cramps.

Back Pain – As the belly got bigger my back started to hurt.  The beginning of the 5th month was pretty uncomfortable, but it quickly subsided.

Easily Winded – I was glad the doctor warned me that I might become winded easily.  Although I wouldn’t say I am super in shape I’ve always been able to walk long distances and go up/down a flight of stairs without issue.  Now when I walk and talk for too many blocks I get winded.  Carrying my computer and purse up or down the stairs in my building while talking on the phone … also equals getting winded.

Movement

I felt the baby move for the first time the afternoon of our 20 week appointment.  It really does feel like a “flutter”.  For me, in the beginning, it was hard to determine if the sensation was the baby moving or well …. ummm … other stomach stuff … yeah let’s put it that way.  She tends to be most active right before I go to bed.  In fact the calmer and more still I am the more I can feel her move and kick.  The highlight of any day (or evening really) is when I feel her kick.

Maternity Clothes

I’m rocking 90% maternity clothes at this point.  Sweat pants, pajamas and a few flowy shirts about sums up the clothing that still fit over the belly.  I had been holding out on buying a bunch of maternity clothes when my mom made a good point.  The earlier I buy them the longer I get to wear them!  That was all the justification I needed.  At about 21 weeks pregnant my mom and I went shopping at Motherhood Maternity.  It was honestly the best thing she could have suggested we do while I visiting the family in Massachusetts.   I now have enough clothing options that I don’t have to wear the same things over and over again.  Plus in all honesty I’m far more comfortable in my new clothes then what was already in my closet.

Missing Anything?

Turkey breast sandwiches!

Highlights

Finding out Jellybean is a girl and feeling her move are definitely tied for first place this month.  A VERY close second would be the first time the husband felt Jellybean kick!!

Looking Forward To…

The 24 week ultrasound.  My little sister is coming into town and will be my wing woman for what will most likely be my last ultrasound!  It has been pretty special to see the Jellybean with the husband, my mom and even by myself.  I’m so excited though to share the moment with my little sister/Auntie-to-be.

No more traveling.  While I adored seeing so many friends and family in July, the 5 consecutive weekends of traveling was just too much for this pregnant gal.  The husband and I agreed early on in the pregnancy we were going on “travel maternity leave” starting in September.

Fears/Concerns

Gestational Diabetes Test.  I am not looking forward to this test at my 24 week appointment.  I know it is uncommon and the test will probably come back negative, but I’m still a little worried.

Labor!  Despite delivery being about 28 weeks away I am nervous about it.  I think I will continue to live in denial about it for a few more weeks … currently pulling an ostrich move and burying my head in the sand.  At some point soon facing this fear is a must.  =)

Any pregnancy tidbits you care to share?  I would love to hear them!

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The husband’s favorite home improvement we made early on was wall mounting the TV in the living room.  For the past year we have discussed doing the same in our master bedroom.  If it was a simple wall mount we probably would have knocked it off the to do list a while back, however to make the TV more visible from bed we needed to do a corner wall mount.  And of course, the corner we wanted to put the TV in isn’t close to the cable outlet.

Being the super handy person he is, the husband decided we could run the cable wire ourselves (read himself) instead of hiring an electrician to install a cable outlet in the spot we want to have the TV.  The husband’s DIY electrical solution cost only about $45.  We purchased the following:

Plus we purchased the wall mount for an additional $60.  When looking at the picture the head of the bed is next to the window so one must turn their head to the left in order to see the TV.

Dresser Before:

tvondresser

Sophi totally photo bombed the picture with her ball! :)

Dresser After:

tv_dresser_after

This corner is to the left of our his/her closets before:

tvmountcorner_before

Corner After:

tvmount_after

Although the wires along the door frames don’t bother me they are apparently driving my husband crazy.  What’s driving me crazy is the wires hanging down to the cable box.  We need to install a shelf under the TV for the DVD player and cable box.  Once we do that this issue will be solved:

tvmountafter-2

And thennnnn the husband can execute his project to hide the cable wire underneath the trim.  Though, this will have to wait until after the nursery renovations are complete.

We are loving the new positioning of the television.  It makes watching TV in bed so much easier!  Not only do I like the position of the TV now, but I think the dresser looks better without the TV on it.  What do you think of our wall mount?

Happy Home Improvements!

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I’ve been trying to get started on the decor for the baby’s room and despite pinning a lot of cute nursery’s on Pinterest I really haven’t made much progress.  In the past when decorating I have picked the big pieces and then the small details/accents seem to fall into place and the room comes together nicely.  The problem with the nursery is the hubby and I just can’t seem to decide on any single piece of furniture so far.

About the only decisions we’ve made is to paint the walls gray (shocker I know!) and for the crib to be white.  You can probably see why we haven’t pulled the trigger on anything yet. :)   It wasn’t long after I started researching cribs that “sticker shock” set in.  While it would be nice to pretend there is no budget when it comes to our little one … I know there is.  To get us started I compiled a short list of cribs that fell on the splurge list and then found similar crib designs that would save us some moolah.

Nursery Crib Inspiration - Splurging vs Saving | Lifes's Tidbits

{1} Isabelle Iron Crib from Pottery Barn |  {2} DaVinci Jenny Lind from Amazon
{3} Emelia Sleigh Crib from RH Baby  |  {4} Stork Craft Vittoria from Amazon
{5} ducduc Oslo Crib from Land of Nod  |  {6}Babyletto Madison from Target
{7} Juliette Crib from Pottery Barn Kids  |  {8} Million Dollar Baby Ashbury from Overstock
While we still have plenty of time to decorate the nursery I am getting nervous we will never make a decision … or maybe it’s more I’m worried we will start going in one direction and then realize we should have gone another.

I can’t decide if we should splurge for the “perfect” crib or save on one we like.  I mean the baby is only in this thing for a couple years, right?  It’s not like a tween bedroom set that might last them through high school if chosen correctly.  Help please!!  Did you save or splurge on the crib?  Any recommendations on where to find the perfect crib?

Happy Decorating!

 

Linking up at Savvy Southern StyleThe Style Sisters and Chef-in-training

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