5 Pregnancy Necessities at 21 weeks

1)      Tylenol. With my little Noah man and his growth spurts, pain is something I typically deal with on a daily basis. I don’t take a lot of Tylenol (maybe once-twice a week), but it is a good thing to keep around with a growing baby boy.

2)     Snoogle. This pillow has helped tremendously. If I try sleeping without it, I have an even harder time getting comfortable. It helps provide support for my back/body and keeps me sleeping on my side. I have always been a back sleeper, so I still find myself on my back sometimes when I wake up in the middle of the night. This pillow has helped me adjust. A great gift for a pregnant woman if you ask me. Matt says he plans on using it once Noah is born. If he has taken a nap before I come home, you can bet your bottom dollar he is napping with the snoogle. It’s a great investment.

3)   Exercise. When Ashley was gone, I had a lot of trouble with back pain. Since being back to my normal runs with Ashley and a new edition Catherine, I have seen a HUGE difference in my lower back pain. I work at a desk in a cubicle all day, and I think without exercise my back was feeling the weight of sitting and being stationary. Now that running is back in the ball game, I do not have as much lower back pressure. I am going to keep this running up until the third trimester and see what I/my doctor is comfortable with from there. Catherine heads back to New York around the middle of July and Ashley and Luke are moving at the end of the July, so it probably will be perfect timing to slow down the running and hit up the stationary bike or pool.

4)     Ice water. I crave it. I need it. I get a headache without it. Dehydration is a really bad thing for the baby, so this is something that I’m always drinking. I even take a water bottle to church. I know it’s only an hour and a half without water, but I feel terrible if I don’t drink it throughout the day. I do have to pee all the time as a result, but ice water is a must.

5)     Snacks. I have always tried to be a 3 meal a day girl with 2 snacks throughout the day. With Noah, I’m much more of a snacker. I find that I feel so much better if I have a little something every two to three hours. After dinner, I don’t really snack but I’m usually in bed (you know, around 9:30), so I don’t really need it. Some of my favorite snacks are sweets. Surprise. Surprise. I usually eat a Snickers bar a day for one of those snacks, but try to stick with fruit, cheese, and granola bars for the rest. You are only supposed to increase your calorie count by 300 calories while pregnant, so I keep my meals normal size. My mom gained 28 pounds with both Daniel and I, so I’m hoping to stick around 20-30. We shall see. There is a super good chance I will weigh more than Matt at the end of October. Cute. I know.