Here we are, 7 weeks postpartum! How did we get here so fast? When I wrote this up I was starting what I thought would be the last week of my pregnancy… it turned out I had less than 2 days to go! So, here are the things that got me through my 39 weeks and 2 days (most item names are links)-
Preggie Pop Drops: In the first trimester I had these little suckers on me at all times. I had metal-cottonmouth along with nausea a lot in the first trimester, and the cottonmouth persisted throughout. These sour candy suckers are great for managing the dryness and nausea. Other sour candies do the job, but these were particularly great.
Glass water bottles: I drink a lot of water. I mean a whole lot. I’m a pretty thirsty girl regularly, and with a constant dry mouth I’ve been drinking even more. I have always carried around water bottles and once I found out I was pregnant again I decided to commit to only drinking out of glass bottles to avoid exposing the fetus to too much BPA. I’m sure I wasn’t able to totally eliminate it, but every little effort helps (I hope). I havea couple glass bottles, some cheaper than others. The one linked here is a good one though I don’t have this exact bottle.
Earth Mama Angel Baby Natural Stretch Oil: From what I’ve read stretch marks are mostly genetic and aren’t stopped with topical lotions or oils…. but who cares? This stuff smells good and moisturized my skin so the stretching itched a lot less. I tried BioOil and didn’t like the smell as much. Maybe the natural stretch oil did work, I only have a few on the bottom side of my big ol’ belly (postpartum update- those few look a lot worse once the baby is out… I’m not sure if these strechies could have been stopped but at least the oil felt nice).
Boden Maternity Leggings: I received a pair of these in a big bag of hand-me-down maternity clothes and it was love at first touch. These leggings are SOOO soft, comfortable, and stretchy. There are no tight seems. I’ve had a hard time with any tightness pressing on my tummy and these have been the number 1 most comfortable thing I can wear (other leggings I had bought on Zullily became too uncomfortable in the last months and I had to stop wearing them). I recently bought another pair to rotate in, as well as a smaller pair for postpartum lounging (which have been amazingly comfortable as I still can’t fit my regular pants).
Old Navy Maternity Rib-Knit Jersey Tanks: So comfy! I wore these to bed, lounging on the weekends, and under a cardigan at work. absolutely my most comfy maternity shirt.
Maternity pillow and extra pillows: I have two different pregnancy pillows (I bought myself the Boppy Pregnancy Pillow, and my sister gave me the Bean pillow as a gift). I like them both, but if I was to buy again I would look for one that goes around both sides of my body (Like the Leachco one shown below). I switch sides throughout the night and without a pillow on each side it became difficult to maneuver. Eventually I switched back to just a regular pillow between my knees to make the roll-over a little easier.
Massage tools: In our birth class we got a chance to practice back massages on each other to see what might help with back pain during labor. They passed around a bag of massage tools to try out and I fell in love with the roller ball tool. I hope it makes it back into the labor bag, because we’ve been using it all the time! It’s great for allowing Brian to apply extra pressure to my lower back without wearing out his fingers. We also go a wooden massage tool that is great for the total back and shoulders. I recommend trying out massage tools that might work for you during pregnancy and labor. It’s worth it. (Postpartum update- I don’t think we used them much during the actual labor, but it was SO worth having them during the pregnancy for my aches and pain).
Prenatal massage: I feel a little silly that it took me until week 39 to go in for a massage. I let my anxiety about triggering labor get the better of me and waited until I was full-term to get rubbed down. I am seriously wishing I had tried it earlier because it was amazing. My body has felt so foreign to me as it’s grown and changed. Being touched and feeling comfortable in my body on the table was AMAZING. I was totally comfortable in the side laying position and if I don’t have baby by next weekend I’m going to try to go again. For local ladies- Brian got me a gift certificate to Balance Massage and Spa (in Dixboro on Plymouth road) and it was great. I had Jerry and I definitely recommend him. (Postpartum update- I did go into labor the next day (with some early labor starting that night), but I don’t think it was related).
Prenatal chiropractic adjustments: I wish I could say I got adjustments throughout the whole pregnancy but after we moved to Ann Arbor, and then when winter set in, it became really difficult to drive back to Royal Oak to see my chiropractor. I did go a few times throughout though, and I think the adjustments really helped with my back and hip pains. I had a relatively easy labor as well, and it could be partially due to having good alignment. My chiropractic office has three docs that are all do prenatal and pediatric chiropractic work. (Postpartum update- I can’t wait to go postpartum since the breastfeeding is killing my back).
Ready Set Sarah 