Frosting on cupcakes and popcorn with Snapple…

Snoogles and serenades and…. well, you get the picture, don’t you.

Enter – my favorite (pregnancy) things. I received a lot of questions asking about some of my favorite products and “survivor kit tools” throughout this pregnancy. I’m here to share the love.

1.) Maternity clothing staples

DO NOT — I repeat DO NOT hold of buying maternity clothes for the sake of buying maternity clothes. The MINUTE I purchased my pair of maternity jeans was when I realized I am not nearly as smart as I initially thought — I should never have waited as long.

That being said, you really don’t need to go out and buy a lot — for me, 4 articles is all it really took. Thanks to long sweaters and cardigans, I was able to make outfits with most of my pre-pregnancy clothing acting as layers. I will, however, share my essentials.

James Maternity Jeans - I bought them at about 4 months in and am still wearing them comfortably (37 weeks today!)

These are incredibly comfortable and still make you feel fashionably sexy. Just do yourself a favor and purchase one size bigger than you think you are. Nothing is more humiliating than feeling bloated and awkwardly chubby at the beginning of pregnancy and not being able to squeeze into MATERNITY jeans. Tears were shed.

Kohl’s Oh Baby By Motherhood black corduroy pants

Kohl’s Oh Baby By Motherhood brown dress pants

Kohl’s Oh Baby By Motherhood Leggings – buy these in as many colors as you can. Most comfortable leggings – period. (seriously)

2.) Fiber One Cottage Cheese– O felt so sick at the beginning of my pregnancy that anything with ANY flavor would stay in my throat all day feeling. I needed mild, creamy and simple foods to get me by. I glommed on to this cottage cheese and never looked back. I eat it for lunch at least 5 days a week.

3.) My Snoogle - God smiled when snoogles were created. This, I am certain.

(source)

4.) BabyCenter

The most comprehensive pregnancy site I have found. My advice? Join your Birth Month’s community group — you’ll see what other women at the same stage in pregnancy are going though and you won’t feel so alone in your own issues. My favorite part of the site compares your growing Little to a vegetable every week, which makes things fun to visualize. This week the Little is as long as a stalk of swiss chard!

5.) Zulily – enter at your own risk. Seriously, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

6.) Popcorn. My favorite pregnancy snack — although I don’t think my love affair will EVER end.

7.) Childbirth prep classes

If your hospital offers them — take them. You don’t know what you don’t know and while you think you have it all covered, I gaurantee you’ll learn something. The Mister and I took Childbirth Prep, Infant CPR and Breastfeeding Basics.

8.) My Mister

I couldn’t have made it through some days without him. Seriously. I know not everyone is fortunate enough to have a supportive partner in their life, so look to others for support — your mom, your best friend, sister, etc. Find someone who won’t care if you call them crying that you didn’t fit into your first pair of maternity jeans (thanks mom) or to ask if it’s normal that you blow chunks of blood out of your nose every morning (totally normal).

9.) Belly Laughs, by Jenny McCarthy - a MUST read for all moms-to-be

10.) Comfy lounge clothes that aren’t frumpy

Case and point:

Some of my favorites were found at Anthropologie and Target. Look for forgiving, WIDE waist bands, longer shirts and cute prints.

11.) A pair of GOOD walking shoes — to support my favorite form of exercise

Other Mommas– have any other products/resources to share with everyone?! I’ll be posting my stretch cream reviews later, so don’t think I forgot about that!