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Products That Helped Me Through a Quarantined Pregnancy

Everything from face masks to a DIY stock tank pool.

We've all been through a lot in the last few months, there's no doubt about it. Everyone's experience with the coronavirus pandemic has been different, but I think there's one thing we have all learned since March: Self-care is necessary for our physical, mental, and emotional health.

For me, the past few months have been nothing short of a dream paired with a lot of anxiety of the unknown. The dream part started on April 1 when my husband and I found out the best news ever — we're having a baby! I knew from that moment that I wanted to cherish every second of this pregnancy, and that I would need to play it extremely safe not only for myself, but for our baby girl. That meant a lot of time spent at home, which if I'm being 100% honest, isn't that hard for me and Sal because we are pretty much homebodies and are obsessed with the coziness of our home.

And so began the start of our quarantined pregnancy. The number one product we invested in this year was a stock tank from Hastings Equity Manufacturing that we had big plans for: a backyard pool. After finding inspiration on Pinterest for a stock tank pool, my search for the actual tank commenced. After sending an inquiry to Hastings and literally not knowing what to expect, their sales manager Patrick got in touch and was so helpful. Luckily for me, Patrick had a truck of equipment heading to Chicago shortly after he received my email and offered to have them load the tank up for me and drive it here free of charge. Major score! While we ended up getting the tank complimentary, I can assure you that I would have, and was planning to, pay the $400+ for the tank because I wanted this pool that badly, and in the end, it would have been worth every single penny.

We used the Dolly app to hire someone to meet the truck driver and deliver our stock tank to us, which made for quite a memorable night. Here's Sal after the tank was delivered and had to be rolled into our yard through the back gate because of the size.

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And here's what it looked like the next day before we got to work on our backyard oasis.

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With some help from this website on which products to use to make the tank into the pool and Sal's landscaping creativity, our work was officially underway. I'll save you the boring details and leave you with these pictures of us enjoying the finished product for a solid four and a half months.

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As you can see, we soaked up every second of sun that we possibly could this summer.

The next product that I've been loving in the past few months are face masks from the brand MUDMASKY. As much as I love a nice peel off or wash off face mask at night, these masks are so nice to put on after a shower and not have to worry about washing them off.

As much as I've opted to stay safe at home over the past few months, I'm also just as human as everyone else and have craved getting outside to keep myself occupied at times. I'm extremely lucky to live in an area that boasts some super cool events outside, which not only helped me stay safe & sane, but also discover new products. I loved being able to get out and safely explore at Oak Park's Rare Bird Preserves' outdoor market a few times over the summer, and even just recently this fall. On top of Rare Bird's amazing pastries, bread, and coffee, I also got the chance to meet the very sweet Andrea of Ivy and Birch Floral. Ivy and Birch offers a variety of beautiful floral arrangements, and if you live in the area, a major perk is that they deliver FREE of charge. Check out some pics from the summer and fall market below.

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More to come...