Cravings of Another Kind

Welcome to the Pregnancy Necessities Carnival! This post was written for inclusion in the Pregnancy Necessities Carnival hosted by Parenting God’s Children. Today, participants share what they simply cannot live without during their pregnancies or simply what to gather for their upcoming new addition. Please see the full list of links to the other carnival submissions at the end of this post. Enjoy! ***

To be honest, there's not a whole I needed during pregnancy other than time to rest, some consistent healthy food, plenty of water to drink, and an understanding husband. However, taking more time to reflect on what really made my pregnancy bearable enjoyable, I was able to come up with a more detailed list. And for some reason, they all turned out to start with the letter B!

Books
Pregnancy spurred on a renewed love of reading and researching for me. Though I've always been a reader and researcher, suddenly I had a new topic, about which I knew little, to dive into and learn about. I've already done a post, shortly after my son was born, on my favorite pregnancy books, so I'll just link you to that list here.

Blogs
Pregnancy is what brought me full-fledged into the blog world. Actually, it was more the immediate postpartum period, but now I know that for future pregnancies, there are some amazing blogs and websites I would be frequently checking. The Natural Parents Network has an amazing list of resources for pregnant women. Perusing these sites and links helped me learn a lot about healthy, normal pregnancy as well as feel a connection with women who have or were currently experiencing the same things as me.

Bella B Tummy Honey
This may seem silly, but I got this from my mom when I was first pregnant. I don't know if it was genetics, the fact that I was only pregnant for 34 weeks, or this cream, but I escaped pregnancy without any stretch marks. I loved this stuff. It helped moisturize and sooth my expanding belly and it smelled good, too!

Bradley Education
I cannot say enough about how education helped my pregnancy and birth. The Bradley classes we took from our doula were so informative and helpful, and the knowledge I gained so beneficial and practical for use in birth, that I can't not include it in this list. It most certainly was a necessity for me. Education, in my opinion, is the second most important component in having the birth you want (the first, I would argue, is to have a doula). The education we received was so impactful for us, that I now teach childbirth education along with my husband.

Borrowed clothes
Being the self-proclaimed cheapskate that I am, I was blessed to be able to borrow some maternity clothes from my best friend, and the rest I got used from a local consignment store. I HATE (I could repeat that several times for emphasis) maternity clothes and was not keen on spending money on something I would only wear for a short period of time and that I really disliked.

Birth stories
I'd have to say that this is the third most important component of having the birth you want: hearing/reading/watching positive birth stories. Reading Ina May's Guide to Childbirth offered me so many great, peaceful birth stories that those were the ones I chose to think about when I pictured what my birth would be like. Reading birth stories on blogs, watching them in my Bradley classes and on YouTube, and hearing them from my friends was so encouraging. Staying away from the scary negative stories was very helpful.


Making this list encouraged me to make a list of things I loved immediately postpartum, and they also all happen to start with B's! Stay tuned for that at a later date. What are some of the things that helped you in your pregnancy?

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Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants!

• The Pregnancy Happiness List — That Mama Gretchen is half way through pregnancy number two and is spilling the beans on her pregnancy must-haves!
• What A Pregnant Woman Really Needs — Jennifer Hybrid Rasta Mama reflects on what items she could not live without during her pregnancy as well as those she wishes she had.
• Cravings of Another Kind — When reflecting on what made her pregnancy enjoyable, Adrienne at Mommying My Way discovered information is what she craved most of all.
• The Pregnancy Necessities — Kym at Our Crazy Corner of the World shares her top ten must haves for pregnant women.
• The Expectant Mom‘s List of Breastfeeding Stuff to Buy, or Not — Alicia at Lactation Narration shares a list of 10 breastfeeding products that the expectant mom might want to have on her shopping list, or not.
• Pregnancy Necessities with a Toddler In Tow — Amyables at Toddler in Tow lists several simple things that make pregnancy while parenting an older child much less stressful and more enjoyable.
• Ten Tips That Helped Me During Pregnancy — Kat at {Almost} Every Moment shares ten things that helped her get through her three pregnancies!
• First Trimester Staples — Megan BB from The Memoirs of Megan shares her first trimester "must haves"
• The Pregnancy Must Have — Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy shares the ONE thing she used almost daily, through all three pregnancies and suggests to all pregnant moms.
• Where to Find Cute Maternity Clothes — Lauren at Hobo Mama reviews which maternity clothing stores to hit or miss.
• My Pregnancy Support System — While there are many material things that are nice to have during pregnancy, Dionna at Code Name: Mama’s true essentials were her family.
• What I Needed During My Pregnancy While Still Breastfeeding — Jenny at I'm a Full-Time Mummy shares one of the things she needed during her second pregnancy while she was still breastfeeding her toddler.
• Ten Essentials for a HAPPY Pregnant Mama — Sarah at Parenting God’s Children is half way through her third pregnancy! She shares the things she‘s found to be essential to a happy pregnant mama.