pregnancy purchases

up until today, i hadn't bought much for me or baby.  i downloaded what to expect when you're expecting a few months ago on my phone and have been slowly working my way through that.  other than that, though, i hadn't really spent any money on anything.

on our trip to georgia, abriel lent me a few books.  i finished the girlfriend's guide to pregnancy, which was funny.  it also gives you real advice about what to expect and how to deal with it.  it doesn't shy away from topics that other books might.  parts of it really felt like i was just gossiping with an old friend.  it was a good starter book, i think.

source: from amazon

abriel also lent me the pregnancy instruction manual, which is almost like condensed version of what to expect.  so far, i've only read through the first trimester. 

source: from amazon

she lent matt the new dad's survival guide, which he plans to start reading once he finishes lovely bones.

source: from amazon

 and she lent us the happiest baby on the block.  i'm really glad she lent it to us, because i was definitely planning to purchase it if she hadn't.  from what i've read, it is one of the the books for sleep training.  

source: from amazon

she recommended we find the latest version of baby bargains.  she said it saved her and dave probably $500 on baby gear.  so i was out and about an picked that up today.  i'm definitely looking forward to digging into that.  i'm always looking for a good bargain - moderate price with great reviews! 

source: from amazon

i also picked up the baby name wizard.  i have a few names in mind for a girl, and only one for a boy.  and i'm not sure matt really likes any of them, ha ha.  hopefully by going through this book we can find something that we both like. 

source: from amazon

last but not least, i ordered the book pregnancy, childbirth, and the newborn. 

source: from amazon

i wanted a book that would tell me what to expect, not from pregnancy, but from the actual labor and delivery.  i wanted it to be unbiased.  i just want the facts.  i looked into the ina may gaskin book, but some of the reviews said that it was very unbiased against hospital births.  since i plan to deliver in a hospital, i don't want to read all the ways in which hospitals are terrible.  i thought about the bradley method book, but again, it had horror stories about hospital births, and that's not what i want to read.  not that i don't want to hear about the things that can go wrong, but i want it to be presented in such a way that it's not "hospitals are terrible, home births are best!"  the reviews of the book i ended up with said that it was fair and balanced and provided a real, honest look at childbirth.

today while i was out at target i picked up a couple of belly bands.  some of my work pants are close to being uncomfortable, and all of my shorts are.  so hopefully this will help me get some more wear out of them. 

based on reviews on hellobee, i ordered 2 coobie bras.  i came across it because one of the bees had a bogo coupon code, and everyone started raving about the bras on the post.  so i went ahead and ordered 2.  dude, they are so comfortable.  they are one-size-fits-all, and they grow with your expanding cup size as you go through your pregnancy.  they are also nursing-friendly.  i bought them mostly for sleeping because it's starting to get a little uncomfortable at night, but i may get a few more and make them a regular part of my wardrobe.  definitely check them out!

i'm hoping to hold off a bit longer on maternity clothing, although if this bloating keeps up, i see maternity pants nearer in my future than i anticipated.  anything you think i'm missing?  any books you couldn't live without during pregnancy?