Five favorites this week:
1. Preggers tights: If there's one thing that I could change about this pregnancy, it would be to start wearing Preggers compression tights earlier. I purchased a pair of grey ones early on in my pregnancy which I wore constantly with dresses but never under my scrubs or dress pants, despite how comfortable and durable they are. I'm kind of in disbelief that I spent so many weeks on my feet at 6-7 months pregnant on my surgery rotation and didn't wear any compression stockings (contrary to my mom's warnings about my genetic predisposition to varicose veins). Well, it came back to bite me because the last month or two, I've had awful, crampy leg pain along with a couple faint-but-still-there veins showing up on my calves. Needless to say, I've been wearing the Preggers every.day. and was thrilled when they wanted to collaborate and sent me another pair of my beloved grey tights (I love, love all the fun colors they have but grey is just so practical and arguably more fun than black) along with a pair of their amazing pantyhose. I have to honestly say that I like the Preggers compression tights 10x more than my prescription maternity hose which have a saggy, uncomfortable top, versus the supportive but uber comfortable Preggers waistband. They are offering a $50 (!) gift card to a reader and you can enter at the end of the post.
A bunch of maternity outfits with my Preggers tights
2. I have to give this Isabella Oliver dress a shout-out because it has been my go-to dress for graduation (see #7), Easter, maternity pictures, work, church, etc. It was worth every penny because of how much I've worn it and the fact that I still feel good in it even this pregnant. Bonus that it's really, really comfortable (it's made of this stretchy but forgiving jersey fabric) and the blue/green color is just beautiful.
3. I've been obsessed with smoothies lately. I like this Strawberry Oatmeal one for something a little more substantial as well as this Strawberry Orange Oatmeal one (kind of like a healthy orange dream smoothie), but my go-to lately has been this smoothie that I modified from an old concoction that I pinned from Grace. I add a banana (half a banana is fine too), a cup of frozen berries (I love the antioxidant blend of cherries, pomegranate, raspberries, wild blueberries, and strawberries that I picked up on sale at Target), a cup of vanilla soy milk, a large dollop of plain greek yogurt (I like Fave or Chobani), a generous spoonful of honey, and a big handful of fresh spinach. The spinach may seem a little weird, but I can't really taste it and it's a great way to get in a little extra veggies (Stephen hasn't braved the spinach yet but I'm determined to get him to try it this weekend).
4. Yoga pants: I've been living in them ever since I finished my last med school rotation. I didn't find maternity yogas to be necessary (my pre-pregnancy ones work just fine, tucked under my now large-and-in-charge bump). My absolute favorite pair of comfy pants are the J. Crew dream cotton pants (on the right of the picture below)- I've had my black pair for a couple years and wore them over and over again throughout this pregnancy. They are starting to get a little threadbare, so I picked up a pair of navy ones during the J. Crew 30% off sale (still going on). They fit just loose enough through the legs and butt to be flattering. I also picked up a pair of J. Crew yoga pants (on the left of the picture below)- I'll be honest that although they're so very soft and comfy, I don't think they're the most flattering pair of pants on me right now (really though, what pants do feel flattering at 38 weeks pregnant?) but I kept them because the fabric is a-mazing and I think they'll be perfect for after baby.
Old Navy ($32.94 + 25% off)
Swedish Hasbeens ($218.95)
Old Navy ($29.94 + 25% off)
J. Crew ($129.99 on sale)
6. For those of you who have been following along with my mundane pregnancy details (and don't mind reading about cervical exams), we had our 38 week check-up yesterday. My doctor was shocked that the baby's head had 'dropped' (not a medical term ha) dramatically and apparently his head is now engaged in my pelvis (yay!). My cervix is thinning but not dilated yet. I was up for a few hours last night with nausea and cramping, so I'm not sure if that means anything or not...honestly though if he could wait until Friday that would be great (I'm scheduled for a spa pedicure on Thursday with the gift certificate Stephen gave me...I know, I sound so selfish, sigh).
7. I made the bittersweet decision this week to not go to our medical school graduation ceremony on May 10 based on the fact that I will either be almost 40 weeks pregnant with a good chance of delivering on the way down or back (it's a 7 hour drive each way) or my water breaking as I walk across the podium to get my diploma OR we will have a brand new babe. We did have our rural medicine program graduation last week (there are 10 of us in the track) which was lovely:
And make sure to enter the Preggers giveaway if you are expecting/soon to be expecting/etc. etc.:
