Yesterday marked the 32nd week of my pregnancy journey.  Although in hindsight these weeks have flown by, with approximately 8 weeks left I can’t help but think that they seem so far away.  I’ve grown very close to my little nudger.  I love feeling him roll around, even when he is in my ribcage or making me slightly uncomfortable, it reminds me I will soon have a new little sidekick and I’m both amazed by this process and excited at the end product, my beautiful baby boy.  With all that said, I’d like to jot down some of the items I have found helpful throughout this process!  So here it goes!

1.  A great water bottle (or two!)

Staying hydrated has always been important to me, always.  But when I got pregnant I quickly started looking up the most important things to do and eat in pregnancy.  Of course, staying hydrated has always been at the top of the list.  I typically aim for about 100 oz of water a day, and that isn’t hard for me to get to with these awesome tools:

They are both awesome in their own ways, the CamelBak is awesome because it has a straw, and really I drink water a lot faster with it, but the lifefactory bottle is equally awesome (22oz) and perfect for Yoga classes (especially awesome for Bikram, pack in that ice!) this is my glass water bottle and I’ll probably get one (or two!) for baby, these you can order online and probably find at your local CorePower yoga studio.  I picked mine up at Whole Foods.  I purchased my CamelBak on Amazon.com it holds 20oz of water and is BPA free, but I have recently seen them at Target.

Water is SUPER important and I as much as I love Fiji and SmartWater, the choices above are better for the planet, and my pocketbook.  Not only does your body thank you for the water, but baby does too and so does that STRETCHING SKIN!!

Bored of water?  Add some fresh berries, cucumbers or a touch of lemon or lime!

2:  A BellaBand and a good old hairband

One thing I didn’t want to do was spend a ton of money on maternity clothes.  I work full time in an office setting and need to dress up to work every day.  So I bought myself a BellaBand.  I STILL use it!  At 32 weeks, I’ve gained some weight but most of my pants still fit, minus the button and in SOME cases a bit of the zipper and that is where this band comes in handy.

For my jeans, I still use the old hair tie trick:

3.  Foldover yoga pants

Luckily I’m into heath and fitness.  I own quite a few pairs of comfy pants/shorts needed to workout in, or recover from a workout in.  I LOVE GapFit/GapBody (a little pricey) and lululemon althletica (pricey) for yoga gear and it has been able to stretch with me this whole pregnancy.  I highly recommend, spending money here if you are pregnant because you can wear these items AFTER baby.  I also recommend lululemon althetica’s cool racerback (they usually have xtra long) enough to cover the bump!

4.  An EXCELLENT moisturizer! (No seriously, this is your skin, don’t feel bad to splurge here)

Many women complain about inchiness in pregnancy due to streching skin.  I have been so blessed to not have this problem and I owe this to my best friend, Nicole.  Very early in my pregnancy she gave me a container of bella b tummy honey butter.  It has been AMAZING at keeping my skin super hydrated and I use it RELIGIOUSLY two or more times a day.

I also treated myself to belli product’s lavender oil (Belli Elasticity Belly Oil) which smells AMAZING.  I got a great deal at myhabit.com.  I use this in combination with the butter above.  This soaks into my skin a lot quicker then tummy honey butter so I put it on, let it sit and then slather the tummy honey on next. Both of these items would make a GREAT gift for a momma to be.

5.  Music.  Pandora, itunes

This has helped sooth me and I already know that Evan loves Adele’s station on Pandora.  Probably because it is mommy’s favorite.

6.  Blog sites & First time mom groups (mine is on facebook, what wonderful ladies!)

I have been lucky to love and follow sites related to fitness and nutrition that also happen to be the pages of new momma’s.  They have written lighthearted updates about their pregnancies and parenting journeys so far and it has been awesome to watch them and their babies grow!  It is also nice to know that a lot of the things we feel are NORMAL.  I’ve read about people loving pregnancy and not loving moments of their pregnancy.  It makes me feel like I’m not alone.

It is also nice to hear their tips and read about products that worked for them (with a grain of salt, as I hear all babies are different but it is nice to know where to start) or advice that they wish they would have taken more seriously or things they would have read up on a little more before the baby.

Here are two of my favorites:

The Fitnessista
Daily Garnish 

I’d also check out baby center and see if your month groups (I’m a July FTM or July First Time Mom) are as awesome as mine.  Some wonderful ladies put together a closed July 2012 FTM group on facebook, and it is wonderful to share fears, pictures, happy moments, not such happy moments, rant moments, etc.  Ours is a great group.

7.  Smart food choices and daily fitness

Even though some days I feel like I can’t move, I try to sneak in a few squats or lunges or a good arm weight routine.  Even five minutes, is better than nothing.  I also still make sure to stock up on healthy snacks (almonds, walnuts, yogurt, hummus and carrots, etc.), TONS of fresh fruit (to satisfy my sweet tooth) and lots of crisp veggies.  I have found that when I want a cookie, if I go for watermelon instead (thank God for being an early summer mom to be!) not only am I more full (I have NO off button with watermelon, I’ll eat a whole half with a spoon) but I don’t feel guilty that I got a bunch of empty calories.  If you have the fresher stuff in your house and hold off on the junk you won’t eat it, and at least when you NEED to have ice cream, you have to force yourself out of the house for it (which usually requires walking, some FITNESS!!) and you could swap it for frozen yogurt or a fresh fruit smoothie.  Don’t get me wrong, chocolate, ice cream and a little fried food have fit their way in, but just like everything in life, moderation is key.

I’ve also done a lot of reading that you want to introduce your baby to all different flavors, so spice up your life!  🙂 I bet my lil guy is going to LOVE spicy foods, he has had a lot of them in his lil home!  I must say I have a lot of these too:

But take those walks, try some yoga.  You will feel great after.  Again, even 5 minutes is better than nothing.

8.  Great support (saving the best for last)

My support system has never been more important (probably why there are 2 of 8 of my top 8 must haves are support related).  I’m so lucky to be surrounded by friends and family.  Both those wonderful people who have been through it, like my best friend, Nicole (we were separated at birth) and those who just love me like my sister, Nicole (yep, Evan has a few Auntie Cole’s in his life) and all my other lovely friends and family, I’m very very blessed.  My mother has been AMAZING.  Finally, my husband, he has been so fantastic with this process I can’t IMAGINE doing it without him.

Through my meltdowns (oh yea, there have been just a few of these), sharing stories of fear and joy, feeling our son move every night and morning and just being together he has proven even further that I couldn’t have picked a better father for my son.  He is my rock, my love, and my best friend.  This journey simply wouldn’t be the same without him. My heart aches for the moment I see him hold our son, I know that that will the most emotional moment (I tear up writing this and dreaming about it) of my life.

Any things you just COULDN’T live without in your pregnancy?  I hear pregnancy pillows are a big deal… Please share!