| Pregnancy is a delicate time in a woman's life. Your | | | | pregnancy, you will have LOTS of questions. While |
| body is going through huge physical and hormonal | | | | you can find many answers online, or ask friends and |
| changes, you are faced with a seemingly endless | | | | family, a good, trusted pregnancy book is very |
| stream of advice about what you should and shouldn't | | | | comforting when you're faced with an unfamiliar issue |
| do, eat, feel... your relationship with your partner is often | | | | or problem. My favorite down-to-earth, non-preachy |
| a bit strained because of all these changes, and your | | | | pregnancy books are "From The Hips" and "The |
| body image often becomes quite fragile. By the end of | | | | Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy." |
| the pregnancy, you are often bloated, tired and just | | | | 4. Anything pampering! Pregnancy is tough on your |
| want the whole thing to be over! | | | | body. You should take good care of yourself - drink |
| There ARE ways to make a pregnant woman's life | | | | lots of water, get plenty of rest, and eat well (as much |
| easier. Lots of patience, active listening, and avoiding | | | | as you can while you have morning sickness anyway). |
| unnecessary advice are some of them. There are | | | | You should also pamper yourself with creams, lotions, |
| also pregnancy products out there that can make a | | | | regular manicures and pedicures and anything else that |
| real difference in terms of how a pregnant woman | | | | makes you feel good about yourself. I love the Mama |
| feels, emotionally and physically. Here are a few of my | | | | Mio line for expectant moms. It's truly pampering and |
| favorites: | | | | helps you to deal with many of the problems |
| 1. A Body Pillow. If you've ever been pregnant, you | | | | associated with pregnancy, including dry skin and |
| know how difficult it is to get a good night's sleep, | | | | stretch marks. |
| especially as your pregnancy progresses. The body | | | | 5. Grocery delivery and a cleaning service. Not exactly |
| pillow is great because it provides amazing, total body | | | | products, but especially during your third trimester, both |
| support and helps you find that elusive position where | | | | are invaluable because you will likely be too tired to |
| you're actually comfortable and can drift into sleep - | | | | clean your house and carry groceries. While a cleaning |
| and stay asleep. | | | | service is expensive, you can go with a biweekly |
| 2. Preggie Pops. Morning sickness is a real issue for | | | | service that covers deep cleaning, leaving you to only |
| many pregnant women, especially because it's often | | | | handle light cleaning. |
| an all-day sickness, which is debilitating and makes life | | | | Pregnancy is an interesting ride, filled with excitement. It |
| very hard. This is especially true if it's not your first | | | | is also filled with challenges, uncertainty and lots of |
| pregnancy and you need to deal with a toddler or a | | | | questions. Make sure you are surrounded by as much |
| small child while having these horrible waves of | | | | support as you can from family and friends, and take |
| nausea. Preggie Pops are great - they have a way of | | | | advantage of these great pregnancy products to |
| taking the edge off and really helping you to cope. | | | | make the ride into parenthood as smooth as possible. |
| 3. A good pregnancy book. If this is your first | | | | |