Glad I did/Wish I would have done: Pregnancy

I've been thinking a lot about my pregnancy and how fast it went.
Of course I had a million things on my to do list of what I wanted to do during my pregnancy to get ready for the baby. I didn't do nearly as many things as I wanted to do, and some of the things I did weren't really worth the effort. Pinterest added about a hundred things to my pregnancy list. I thought I would write down the things I am glad I did while pregnant and the things I wish I had done.

Glad I did:

1. Take Pictures/Have pictures taken!

 I really loved having my friend take a couple shots of us when we were announcing our pregnancy. It was a cute way to show it off and I'll always have these pictures. This isn't something I would've spent much money on, but I really have loved them.


2. Take weekly photos and write down experiences.

As soon as I found out we were pregnant I made a chalkboard. I had seen it a little bit on pinterest and I loved the idea. I bought a 2 dollar frame from D.I, and bought chalkboard spray paint. It was done in one night and I use it to this day. If you haven't jumped on the chalkboard bandwagon, you definitely should. I love it.
I can't tell you how much I've looked back on these weekly pregnancy pictures. I think it will be fun with my next pregnancy as well to see how much faster I pop out. The weekly questions I answered were also really fun to read. Give some detail when you write, because you'll forget a lot.


3. Make things for the nursery!

I swear these projects kept me sane. I desperately wanted McKinlee to come sooner than later, and doing these projects kept my mind busy until she came. I made this bow holder, a lamp shade, her quilt, a couple pillows, and a ruffle bed skirt. (My mom helped me out on the quilt and bed skirt of course. She's amazing.) Looking at her nursery is so fun now. It's all in the colors I wanted and I do take some pride in it. If you're not that crafty, start with something small. This bow holder was just a matter of cutting some fabric and ribbon and hot gluing it all together!

I also worked on hair bows for baby girl. It's great to do all these fun projects when you have the time. Once baby comes it takes a while to get into a routine and find time for the extras (you know.. like showering and stuff).


4. Set up a photographer for when the baby is born.

I was lucky to have my beautiful friend do these pictures again for us, so I didn't really have anything set up beforehand. I love having these newborn pictures of McKinlee! I also love that they're professionally done. I'm not awesome at photography and neither is my husband, so it's nice to have beautiful pictures of our little girl at this age. If I could I would get them taken every month, but we all know that's out of our price range :) It's also great to get these pictures when she's a newborn because I had a lot of frames in McKinlee's room that needed pictures with her in them, so I filled them right after we had them taken. One less thing to worry about.

Wish I Would Have Done:

1. Exercise Often

Perfect picture right? I did work out while I was pregnant, but not as much as I could've. It got harder as my belly grew, but I felt good about going. We've all heard that exercising while pregnant is great for the body and I do feel like it played a role in my mood, my weight gain and my weight loss after birth. There really is something to being proactive while pregnant. There are times when you just beat up on yourself and the world is over. I felt like exercising was something I could control and it would make me happy. Let's face it... If you're going to be in sweats anyways why not do some stretching or walking? Next pregnancy I think I will try and do a daily walk in the morning or at night and stretch afterward.

2. Eat Nutritious Meals

Sorry about the brightness overload! This was actually my dinner before I went into labor. Nutrition wasn't always on my mind during my pregnancy, and it's always easier looking back. I craved anything sweet. Chocolate and sour gummy worms were my go to. I had a dessert every night.. whether it was popcorn with chocolate chips or a couple scoops of ice cream. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that! I know when the urge comes, it comes strong, so I'm not saying get rid of anything with sugar in it- but make your meals count! Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Cutting things up at the beginning of the week makes it easier to grab something healthy during a hunger attack. This is important for your weight gain and for the baby's health. Calcium is extremely important at this time in life so eat some yogurt, or try almond milk. It has more calcium than cow milk. Research foods a little bit- it will benefit you and your body.

3. Get Out of the House At Least Once a Day

I went CRAZY some days. We lived in Idaho when I was pregnant and McKinlee was born in February. This meant it was below freezing a lot of my pregnancy. Plus the only places to go out in our small town were Walmart and the local grocery store. That killed any motivation I had to leave the house. This may be why I was driven to do so many crafts and take on projects. Please learn from my mistake and for your husband's sake and your sanity- LEAVE THE HOUSE AT LEAST ONCE A DAY! haha- but seriously.

So there you go. There's my list of things to do during pregnancy. Have a good week!