First Trimester Survival Kit & Tips

Now that I feel much better I thought it would be a great idea to share how I survived my horrible first trimester with two little kids running around. It was not easy or pretty but we all made it out to the other side.

If you've never experienced morning all day sickness, good for you and I'm slightly jealous. For those of us that have dealt with the sickness that comes along with pregnancy you know how tough it can be to find some relief.

Here are some of the products and survival tips I used to help make it through those tough weeks...

Favorite Products:

Cetaphil - Pregnancy acne happens to the best of us.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter Tummy Butter - Itchy skin

Bio-Oil - Safe for use in Second Trimester - Stretch mark

Prenatal Vitamins - This one is a no brainer. :-)

What to Expect When You're Expecting - This pregnancy bible will answer all of your questions and calm your fears.

Journal - Record your milestones.

Ponytail Holders - Wear your hair out of your face. It makes throwing up less messy.

Motion Sickness Bracelets - Some swear by them; give them a shot.

Lemon flavored candy - Sour/bitter candy always helped settle my nausea. (Try making lemonade.)

LBD (Maxi, Maternity - whatever) Black looks good on everyone and will flatter any changing body.

Ginger Tea - Helps with nausea.

Unisom & B6 - Helps with nausea. Ask Doctor before giving this a shot.

Lip Balm - If you become dehydrated a lip balm will keep your lips moisturized.

Body pillow - Sleeping will be so much easier with one of these. Get one and thank me later. :-)

All of the items featured in my First Trimester Kit can be found in my Amazon Store. 

Survival Tips:

Shower - Something about a shower always makes me feel better.

Brush your teeth - Brushing your teeth gets that icky feeling out of your mouth. 

Wash your face 2x a day - This helps fight pregnancy acne. Do it even when you feel tired.

Be slow to rise - Getting up quickly can make you lightheaded/dizzy.

Rest. Rest. Rest. - When you feel tired, rest. Pushing yourself to do more will only make you feel worse.

Eat small meals throughout the day- The too empty or too full struggle is so real. 

Stay hydrated - Get plenty of fluids everyday. If water is tough to keep down try adding lemons to your water.

Get fresh air - Getting off the couch and out of the house helped me a lot during my first trimester.

Exercise - Try a water aerobics class to keep your body moving.

Be weary of Pregnancy apps - The forums on those apps are like the gift and the curse. Proceed with caution. If you've ever been on one you know what I'm talking about.

Treat yourself to something - A pedicure, manicure, hairdo, outfit or something for the baby.

So what were you go-to items during the first trimester? Share some of your survival tips with me in the comments!

Chic Obsessions: Pregnancy Survival Kit

It's a thunderstorm rainy day here in San Antonio. I for one am glad to see some rain and cooler temps. We went to dance this morning and then out to run a couple errands before coming home. Savannah's dance class will be dancing to a song from the Winnie the Pooh soundtrack. They will be dressed as little Piglets. That should be cute. Once we were home I tossed some chicken breasts, beer and BBQ sauce in the crock pot for dinner. Super easy and fast. We'll have pulled chicken sandwiches with roasted mustard potatoes. I saw the recipe on Mimi's blog,  Lipgloss and Binky, and thought I would try it. 

Anyway. I digress. Last night I was thinking about how fast this pregnancy has seemed to fly by. I have exactly twelve weeks left. So exciting. I thought this would be a nice time to share some of the products that I have used during this pregnancy to help with some of the common pregnancy issues. This post is not sponsored and I have not been compensated to share these products. I just wanted to share what works for me in the hope that it would work for you as well. We're girls, right? If I'd recommend it to my bestie I'd recommend it to you too! Here we go... 

Lemon Heads. A morning sickness lifesaver.

Remember how bad my morning sickness was? It lasted forever it seems.

Everyone's body responds to pregnancy differently. I know stretch marks are said to be hereditary and that there's nothing you can do about them. When I was pregnant with Savannah I thought I would try to beat my odds and lather up twice a day. I read somewhere that keeping your skin moisturized helps. I used the the Palmer's Cocoa Butter line during both pregnancies and loved it. So far no stretch marks, but I do notice that I'm getting cellulite so trust me I'm not getting off that easy. :-)

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Love this lotion by Neutrogena too.

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My skin went through a lot of different changes during this pregnancy. It went from being extremely dry to acne prone. My acne is finally starting to clear up again. I found two different skin care lines to treat my issues. During the dry stages I used the Burt's Bees Intense Hydration line and Mary Kay's Velocity line for my acne. They both have worked wonders. 

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This BB cream has an SPF and it provides a slight bit of coverage. It makes getting ready to go so much easier. A little BB cream, mascara and blush or bronzer and I am done!

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 I discovered the Be Band during my first pregnancy when my pants no longer buttoned. This was a great way to still wear some of my jeans before investing in maternity clothes. 

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Those are all of the items I could think of for now. I also thought it would be fun to share some of the meals I've eaten recently. I live for grits, eggs and bacon for breakfast. A yummy "kitchen sink" salad covered in Thousand Island dressing is always good and the last pic is of our Easter dinner, delicious!!

Mac n Cheese, Mustard Greens, Rice and Ribs

What"s in your pregnancy survival kit? 

First Trimester Tips

Since I am almost done with my first trimester I thought it would be helpful to share some of the things I've learned. This is my second baby and I had many similarities and a couple differences from my last pregnancy. Hopefully these tips will help someone else who finds their first trimester to completely miserable. Babies are a blessing but let's face it, it sucks being sick for weeks at a time. Blame Eve.

Nausea. I had it with Sav but it was no where near as bad as it is this time. I found it really helpful during both pregnancies to keep a bag of lemon heads near my bed. I noticed that laying down or sitting still directly after eating helped me keep my food down. Any kind of post meal motion would send me hovering over something. Another thing that helped me was to eat lots of small meals. If I start feeling done after a couple bites I quit eating. You can always go back for more later. Apparently the key is to never get too full or too hungry.

Get your husband involved. I know we all like to think at times that we don't need any help. I know I sometimes think that I can do it all. Well. This has been one of those time where I had to put in my back up quarterback. We like to joke that I'm Eli and my husband is Peyton (Manning). Delegating tasks when needed gave me the opportunity to rest. My husband has been doing almost everything. Grocery shopping, cooking, some cleaning, etc. 

I always say that there are two times in a woman's life where it really is all about her. Wedding planning and pregnancy. Figure out what works for you and have your family adjust as much as possible. Last night we learned that chicken (the smell of it) does not agree with me right now. I looked at my husband and said, "No more chicken until after the baby." He's cool with it. With Savannah we were "pregnant vegetarians"because any meat made me sick. You have to find what works for you and then stick with it. What worked for you during your first trimester? Share some tips for others in the comments!