Pregnancy Essentials

Happy Easter!

Let me preface this entry by saying that I am irritable and miserable right now.  My back hurts, every bone in my pelvis hurts, I'm tired and I'm just plain grumpy.

How is it possible that I can feel so blessed to be able to be so miserable?

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My list of the Things I Couldn't Live Without during pregnancy:

• A large, reusable ice pack – my back hurts all the time, and 20-30 minutes cuddled up with my ice pack keeps me going.  The bigger the better - there's a lot of places that can hurt back there!
• Colace and Gas-X - I think these are self explanatory
• Cottonelle wipes and Tucks pads – use them every day (provided the Colace is doing it's job, that is).  My bottom is eternally grateful.
• LeachCo body pillow – this is an enormous pillow: there would not be room for another human in my queen sized bed with this pillow, which a reason to be glad to be single and pregnant, because this pillow is amazing.  It supports both my back and front, and continues to do so when I turn over, without a lot of pillow rearranging.   I can lay halfway on my back, on my side, or almost on my stomach and feel supported.  Two cons: the fabric pulls a little too taut at the inside bends in the U at the top and tends to dig into my neck when I sleep.  I solved that problem with a very smooshy and thin feather pillow that I put just inside the U; and it does get hot – but I just keep the ceiling fan on and I’m fine.  Unless the cats want to cuddle, but that’s a whole other story.
• The Boppy Wedge – this has really only be necessary the past few weeks, but it has been a lifesaver now that my belly is so heavy.  I wedge it under my belly, and the rest of the wedge fits under the body pillow.  It would have been annoying to need this earlier in pregnancy, because it requires moving it when I turn over, but I can’t turn over now without waking up anyway, so it works out ok.
• Ice cream.  Lots and lots of ice cream.
• Palmer’s Cocoa Butter – the skin on my boobs itched horribly my first trimester, until I started using this stuff.  And later in pregnancy, the skin on my belly tends to get dry and flaky whenever we go through a growth spurt.   This stuff is so moisturizing and gets rid of the itch almost instantly.  I use it twice a day (sometimes three if necessary) and just love it.  Definitely better than all the expensive stretch mark creams I’ve tried, with the added bonus of smelling yummy.  And so far - no stretch marks!  (Though I fully anticipate that to change after delivery.)
• Maid service every two weeks.  Nothing better than not having to bend over to clean the floor right now.  If only she'd come and clean the litter box every day.
• Cole Haan heels with Nike Air – I splurged towards the end of my first trimester and bought myself a pair of these in two inch heels (black patent leather).  I have worn them to work almost every day for the past 3 months, and complain every time my outfit dictates I wear something else.  My back and feet feel better wearing these shoes than running shoes or flats.  Really.

I'm sure there's more, but these are the big things that really stick out in my mind as being the most wonderful.