Feeling: I must admit I am one of those women who absolutely adores being pregnant. Every single moment of this process feels like a complete miracle to me. My hand is never far from my belly because I don’t want to miss even a single kick. A smile often creeps across my face when I feel the baby move inside me – sometimes forgetting I am pregnant until I feel this little one kick.
Craving: Oh french fries, why do I love thee so? During the first few weeks when I was incredibly nauseous fried food and carbs were the only thing I could stomach. Sadly that craving has stuck and nary a day goes by that I don’t indulge in french fries. They best be hot and loaded with salt or this mama is likely to pitch a fit!
Wearing: I am so grateful for some long dresses that have been handed down to me from friends who are no longer with child. And then I found this incredible caftan by Nina Caryna (image above). There is something so feminine about the silk chiffon and the beautiful pattern. It’s exactly what I want to be wearing right now.
Reading: This book, Great with Child, was gifted to me by a dear friend during my first pregnancy. I love this sweet story of motherhood and friendship. I read it each time I am pregnant.
Needing: Since my second pregnancy I have been plagued with varicose veins. NOT. FUN. Aside from being very unsightly they are also incredibly painful. I’ve tried just about every brand of compression tights and Preggers are by far my favorites. Ladies with veins trust me on this one – the tights help. It’s worth investing in more than one pair. I wear them under long dresses and pants almost every day.
Loving: My skin gets so dry when I am pregnant. So much stretching going on right now. When I was pregnant with my first my husband gave me a few tubes of Mama Mio Cream for Mother’s Day. Smells like heaven and feels like a dream when you slather it on.
Buying: When my second was 6 months old we threw out all her pacifiers. We “ripped the band-aid right off” as they say. We had let our first have a “binkie” until age 3 and we vowed never to make that mistake a second time. This time around I’ll have to buy all new pacifiers and I have been told these little WubbaNub Pacifier Critters that are attached to the green Soothie pacifier make it rest in your babies mouth while the animal sits on their chest. I can remember going back into the bedroom many times a night when my babes had lost their binkies. Hoping this little critter might fix that issue. One can always dream…
Gifting: My girls are obsessed with baby blankets. I adore these Angel Dear Blankies and can’t wait to get this little babe a few of his/her own. “Lovies” are the perfect gift for an expecting friend. (In fact almost anything on the Two Blue Peas website is a great gift! Read on to hear about the incredible Giveaway they are offering through Friday!) You can never have enough blankies and heavens forbid they got lost in transit. Best to have a spare with you at all times.
Drinking: I am always VERY nauseous for the first 3 months of pregnancy. About the only thing I could get down during those early days was seltzer with fresh squeezed orange juice (9/1 ratio of seltzer to juice). Refreshing and thankfully hydrating.
Yearning: Whenever I am pregnant I crave water. I yearn for the sea. Floating in the waves is my happy place.
Wanting: And finally – what do I want more than anything else right now? SLEEP! This mama is a tired mama. Pillows and many of them are the key to my success at night. My poor husband is barricaded into a small quadrant of the bed. It’s a wonder he hasn’t decided to camp out full time in the guest room.
And as a special treat for my loyal readers the adorable online store Two Blue Peas is hosting a Giveaway today on The Sent. One lucky readers will receive two monogrammed “Lovies” from their online store. To qualify to win A “blankie and a spare” you must “like” both The Sentimentalist and Two Blue Peas on Facebook and also leave a comment at the bottom of this post about who you would give the blankets to. I will choose the winner by Friday afternoon! Thanks Two Blue Peas for your generous offer!!
Even this non-pregnant mama loved your tips, Linds! I would give the olives to my dear friend, Jessica Schur, who has spent the entire summer on bed rest while simultaneously managing the needs of her 3 year old son. She’s expecting a GIRL (!!) in January and, while that feels like months away, time should fly as she’s also chairing the auction for our nursery school. This mama deserves some lov(ies)! Xx
Stupid spell check. Olives=lovies
I would give my blankets to these sweet twin boys, Asher and Breydon, who tragicically lost their mom during childbirth:
https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/0t65/in-memory-of-andrea-imkhanitsky-fund-for-bobby-and-their-beautiful-twins-asher-and-breydon?utm_source=giveforward&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=dashboard&shareid=2498640
There has been a big fundraiser for them in Darien, and they are accepting all sorts of things, so I thought these blankets would be a lovely donation for them.
Your belly looks beautiful, by the way! Xo
Oooh! I like Lindsay’s idea. I just ordered a few more for John Thomas (who can’t sleep without two of them on either side of his bald head). But I would gift them to the boys written about in the prior comment. Love you and love your blog! xoxo
Myself and my best friend our both pregnant so I would give one to each of us and then buy the spare. 🙂 Great blog. I’ll be following you.
I loved this post! I’ve heard some crazy great things about the WubbaNub Pacifiers as well, so I bought one on Amazon recently. They’re actually pretty adorable. Ha Ha! Also, I’m so glad to know about the Preggers brand, especially the leggings. It might be too late into this pregnancy to buy a pair, but I’m definitely pinning for future reference.
I loved this post as well. I love angel dear lovies and they make the best gifts. I get them personalized at makaboo.com and they gift wrap the whole thing too. I am going to give the wubbanub pacifiers a try. Thanks.