Body Love

I'm getting very "full", as one of my yoga students remarked last week. Meaning my belly is very...apparent. I like it. I'm also experiencing tremendous fatigue on certain days, which I hear is totally normal--the baby is gaining about 1/2 lb a week--that's a lot of work for both of us. I'm due a month from today.

Given that this week has been a particularly fatigue-y week, I am putting off writing a long post on the subject of gender neutrality, which will require me to think a lot. My brain isn't up for it. I actually walked into a wall about 15 minutes ago.

Instead, some gentle, non-intellectual material: my favorite belly moisturizers. You do not have to be pregnant to enjoy these. In fact, I wish I spent as much time loving my body up when I'm not pregs as I do during this time! I plan to continue when baby is born. I spend an inordinate amount of time on my abdominal area, but my arms, legs, tush, back--all have enjoyed the benefits of me obsessed with moisturizing at least 2x and sometimes more a day. It's a chance to slow down, and, I'm going to say it, practice gratitude for the body you have.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter. No, it's not organic. It has "fragrance" as one of its ingredients and doesn't specify what that is. But it smells amazing (in my opinion better than some organic cocoa butters), is solid when it's like this in the jar, ie good for travel and bringing into bed where Sky likes to give the belly a rub every night, and women for generations have sworn by it. I've used it on and off since college, and I love taking a big hunk of it out of the jar and letting it melt as it gets rubbed everywhere. It's pretty cheap, too, which I have to say is really nice when we seem to spend money every day getting ready for you-kn0w-who. Why this picture ended up so big I can't really tell you......

Oh LUXURY. I wouldn't even know about Dayna Decker if it weren't for my mom. She has now given me 2 jars of it, and I parse it out soooo sparingly. Like every 4th or 5th day. Technically it's hand lotion, but it's so thick and luscious I find it delicious on my whole bod. The scent she's given me is Sierra, which is floral and herbal and a little woodsy at the same time. I'm sure the other fragrances are beautiful as well. Nice when I want something a little less slippery than the oils I'm about to mention and a little less thick than the cocoa butter. Think night out.....or important meeting......or you're wearing something silk and don't want to get a grease spot on it.....
I LOVE THIS OIL. At $17 a bottle, again, I don't use it every time I hop out of the shower. But it is SO NICE. Pure enough to eat: just almond oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter and Vitamin E. Safe for the baby if you rub it on yourself post-partum and then snuggle up to beebee. Can be used for perineal massage, mamas--I'm bringing it to the hospital with me. It smells warm and almondy and I feel like a glistening goddess after I've rubbed it all over. I keep it by the bathtub and use it when I climb out. Don't put clothes on right away if you don't want oil marks on them. I justify spending a little more on these things by 1)also using Palmers' Cocoa Butter and 2) I'm not going out for drinks

I've used Aura Glow since college as well. I go between almond and rose scents-both are heavenly. I just learned they have grapefruit---might have to try.....It's similar to Mother's in that the base is almond oil, but rather than the coconut oil I believe it's peanut and olive oil they put in there. No animal testing, very pure, and about half the price of Mother's. I get mine at Whole Foods; I've bought it at other health food stores and homeopathic pharmacies in the past--it's pretty easy to get a hold of. I know a lot of massage therapists who use this. My skin gets SO SOFT when I go back to using it after taking a break for a while. And it's really gentle--never irritated my skin or caused backne (as some oily products can do, let's admit it). I'm a devotee. Sometimes I'll alternate Mother's with this and cocoa butter--the trio is a nice one.

I can't not post this. This is my I'm-stranded-on-a-desert-island-and-I-get-one-thing-to-make-me-feel-sumptuous-until-the-cannibals-come-get-me product. I haven't used it much in pregnancy, but that's only because I have the bubble bath and I'm being abstemious. Join me and use that word in a sentence today.

Have a gorgeous weekend.