my pregnancy must-haves

Now that I'm the home stretch of pregnancy, I thought I'd share all my pregnant-lady recommendations. The truth is that I've barely bought anything these past (almost!) eight months. In fact, my overall lifestyle hasn't changed dramatically — except that I stopped surfing and running in my second trimester and I need more sleep. That said, here are the things that I swear by:

1. Prenatal vitamins. Duh. I bought Nature's Made off of Amazon, plus some krill-oil omega-3's for baby's brain. I've also been loading up on chia and flax in my smoothies and yogurt.

2. What to Expect When You're Expecting. There's really nothing in this book that you can't find online, but it's been fun to read the week-by-week descriptions with Erik. Plus, buying it made me feel like I was being a responsible pregnant lady. Sure, I may be moving cross-country, homeless, and buried beneath deadlines, but, hey, I have a guidebook!

3. Maternity jeans. One of the perks of working from home is wearing leggings all day and not having to invest in maternity wardrobe. I wasn't a fan of those full-belly-panel jeans, so I bought a pair from J. Crew and have pretty much worn them every day since. I also got a similar pair of black skinnies from J Brand to wear to work events. Figure I can wear these post-baby (and tempted to wear them for the rest of my life, since, hello, stretchy waist).

4. Long tops. I have five of these Everlane tank tops in different colors because I love them so much. They're also one of the only shirts that I own that's long enough to stretch over my baby belly. I've mostly been wearing those and Erik's old shirts as a pajamas. I did buy a striped long-sleeve shirt and nursing top from ASOS, and should probably get some shorts soon.

5. Trader Joe's jojoba oil. I think stretch marks are mostly genetic. So far, I've been spared, but I still moisturize with this lightweight oil. I've been showering more often because the heat feels so nice on my muscles, so it's become my moisturizing best friend.

6. Workout DVDs. I got Hilaria Baldwin's yoga for moms-to-be off of a giveaway table at some point, and I've actually been using it! It was a little too slow for my taste during the first two trimesters, but now it's my speed. I also Denise Austin's prenatal cardio workout on YouTube, which is cheesy but gets the job done.

7. Prenatal (kind of) massage. During the second trimester, my back constantly ached; it was adjusting to the new weight of my belly and boobs. So I searched for a good pre-natal massage and learned that they often cost way more, which is annoying. Just for the pillow? In desperation, I went to my local Chinese place. Dude seemed as if he'd massaged pregnant ladies a billion times, and had me lie on my side instead of face-down. It was so good that I literally had tears in my eyes. So worth the $50.