10 Crunchy Mama Pregnancy Must Haves

If you haven't heard the news yet-- We are expecting again! Wow what a surprise this little one was-- & is! My husband and I had decided we were going to wait until he separated from the military and we could move to where there was more support, after all, raising a child should take a village right??? 

With this baby comes some very exciting news, bittersweet really. My final cookbook. Wow let's take a moment and let that sink in for a second. My FINAL cookbook is set to come out in July. I'm really happy about it but also feeling anxious about it. It is so hard sometimes putting so much of yourself into something. My mini cookbook & Healthy by Choice: The Cookbook, were really big accomplishments for me, even if others didn't see it. I learned a lot with those books and plan to leave you guys with a lifestyle & recipe list in this final cookbook, Healthy by Choice: Living Balanced, Living Well. 

Now onto some pregnancy details? Sure why not!

I had a faint line on a pregnancy test on January 17th and took a digital on the 20th and had a positive. I was honestly in shock. I cried for a number of reasons. I was so happy to have this sweet baby growing in my womb, I was terrified realizing how the dates were lining up & how the timing of this pregnancy was, and I realized my beloved Ezra was no longer going to be an only child. About a couple hours after I had a positive on my test, my sweet, darling, beloved cat of 8 years, Roxy, passed away very traumatically in my arms. Its been 14 weeks and I still don't think I'm over it yet, it hurts just as bad at this moment as it did 14 weeks ago. At 13 weeks we found out we are having a boy (by blood test) and that made everything feel so much more real! He is super active and keeps me awake kicking!

But---- to move on from the super emotional stuff.. there are 10 things that have helped me survive pregnancy thus far (and some of those things I used during my pregnancy with Ezra). This pregnancy has been anything but easy. My heart condition has reared it's ugly head, nausea, vomiting, extreme (and I mean extreme) fatigue, leg cramps, you name it.. I've pretty much had a rough time so far. So here are some things that have really helped me through! 

10 Pregnancy Must Haves

1. Gingerale. I will get super specific here. I grew up in Michigan, the home of the original ginger soda, Vernors. This stuff helped my nausea better than anything! Since I live out of state now, I order it here
2. Super Papaya Enzymes to help with indigestion and heartburn. Like I said, I tried it all. This stuff has helped more than I can explain! 
3. Something for light reading, like Ina May's Guide to Childbirth and the Natural Pregnancy. 
4. For muscle aches, headaches, and more.. Young Living sells a blend called Deep Relief. The roll on is amazing and has really helped me! (Ask around on Facebook to find a distributor near you!)
5. Red Raspberry Leaf Tea-- a must have! In school we were taught that Red Raspberry Leaf Tea (or the supplement) help to create a stronger uterus and helps tone the uterus to get it ready for stretching. I drink it every day!
6. Muscle spasms??? Have one of these handy, your partner might not always be there to rub them out for ya! 
7. A good body scrub and moisturizer to go with it.. Of course, I am partial to HBC Organics' products, but ya know.. you could check us out or find your own! A good scrub with exfoliate away dead skin while moisturizing. A good moisturizer will drench the skin in moisture without pesky chemicals & without leaving your skin oily.  
8. A glass water bottle to always have full! This is my favorite kind in the 32 ounce.. but I also have used this and this attachment for my mason jars. 
9. For those sore boobs, I not only have iced them, but bought this super comfy bra to sleep in at night. It will double as a nighttime nursing bra once the baby is born! 
10. These Italian lounge pants from Bella Materna are a little pricey but you will love them! I mean you will probably live in them! I love bella materna, if you remember, I did a review of their nursing bras (which I still wear daily!!) a while back... you can check that review out here. 

A few bonus ones??? Sure why not!!

1- We have amazon prime and amazon prime now ! I can have things delivered instead of going to the store. 
​2- Sleep as often as possible ! 

Below I'll answer a couple questions
​I've gotten on social media

• What prenatal supplements are you taking?
  • I'm taking Garden of Life prenatal vitamins, Garden of Life's Vitamin D, Probitoics, papaya enzymes, food enzymes (from nature's sunshine), and fermented cod liver oil. 
• What do you do for heartburn?
  • I don't have this often, but when I do I usually try 1 tbsp of braggs apple cider vinegar in a quart of water. If that doesn't help I resort to my papaya enzymes and that usually helps!
• I always have terrible back pain during pregnancy! Do you?
  • Yes as a matter of fact I do! I have a low back abnormality plus a few herniated disks on top of normal pregnancy aches and pains. I have a few things I do: Weekly chiropractic visits, I use a deep relief roll on my low back a few times a day, ice/heat when necessary, baths with Epsom Salts, and a maternity support belt (you can find it here).  When I was pregnant with my son I bought so many different belts, this was the best. 
• How do you keep up with your 2 year old while having a high risk pregnancy? It seems like you would be pretty exhausted!
  • I would be lying if I said it was easy. I usually fill his drink cup the night before and put it in the fridge. He also has a shelf in the pantry that I keep healthy snacks (apples, fruit leathers, organic granola bars, etc) so he can bring them to me. We bought a bubble gun on amazon and when he wants to go outdoors & I don't feel like chasing him around, I let him play with it. Kids love bubbles. He recently started coloring more and loves it so that is helpful. We even bought him that he can burn some energy on. Every day is different though, I do my best & sometimes I cry in the shower haha!
• I've heard a lot of people in the crunchy or hippie community eat their placenta (gross) will you eat yours?
  • I plan to! I had my placenta with my son partially made into smoothies, some into a tincture, and some encapsulated. I think with this one I will make a tincture and have the rest encapsulated. I suggest looking into some of the benefits and people who have done it & how they say it helped them!