Pregnancy

When I was pregnant, I wasn’t just growing one tiny human—I was also growing two fibroids. Yep, surprise! Alongside the little kicks and growing belly came two unwelcome guests that made themselves very much at home on the outside of my uterus. The larger of the two was about 3 cm—roughly the size of a golf ball—and for a while, we actually thought it was the baby’s foot or elbow. So let’s talk about what fibroids actually are, what to expect if you have them during pregnancy

Whether you’re craving lemonade, watermelon, olives, or peanut butter straight from the jar—trust your body. Pregnancy cravings aren’t random nonsense. Your body is whispering to you (or screaming, let’s be real) about what it wants. Sometimes it’s nutrients. Sometimes it’s comfort. Sometimes it’s just something that tastes really freaking good in that moment. As long as your cravings are safe, go for it. You're doing an incredible, magical, exhausting, mind-blowing thing—

My OB recommended something surprising: try a small amount of caffeine. She explained that up to 200mg of caffeine per day is considered safe during pregnancy, and that it might help by gently constricting my blood vessels and reducing the headache pressure. I gave it a try. And it changed everything.

If you’re pregnant and wondering whether any of the creams, oils, or balms out there actually do anything—this was the one that did something for me. It became part of my nightly ritual. I’d rub it in, talk to my baby, and thank my body for what it was doing.

I started building my hospital bag checklist around month two. I researched birthing methods, meditations, and medicines, trying to prepare for every possibility. In the end, I didn’t use half the things I packed, and a few items I was sure would be game-changers turned out to be totally impractical. So in the checklist I’ve created for you here, I’ve narrowed it down to what you actually need—plus a few thoughtful extras that, in my opinion, are genuinely worth the space.

I’ve always been a planner by nature. So naturally, as soon as I found out I was pregnant, the research phase began. I dove headfirst into baby gear deep-dives, product reviews, safety guides, and Pinterest nursery boards like it was my full-time job. But while I was always in planning mode, the nesting instinct—that overwhelming, almost primal drive to prepare my home for baby—kicked in with a whole new intensity around week 26, near the end of my second trimester.

When you first find out you're pregnant, you expect some of the classic symptoms—morning sickness, sore boobs, cravings. Maybe even a little swelling or fatigue. But no one—and I mean no one—prepares you for the nasty, weird, borderline humiliating things that happen to your body while you're growing a tiny human. I’m talking about things like uncontrollable gas, intense body odor, and the Sahara-level dryness that no lube on Earth can fix. Let’s get into it, shall we?

So you’re growing a whole human inside you, you go mama! Now let me guess, your emotions are doing Cirque du Soleil tricks, your back...