Every year, I write a Thanksgiving message before the festivities begin. These festivities usually involve a cooking frenzy (I'm always overly optimistic about what I can realistically accomplish on the actual day), the sounds of kids and cousins playing together, excitement about seeing family we don't see often enough, trouble-shooting last minute details for our Black Friday sale, and holiday music or the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade playing in the background.

This year things are different. And I'm happy about it. 

It doesn’t need to be a holiday (although winter festivities will be here before we know it!) to let a special Mom-to-be know you’re thinking of her. During these unique times, Moms-to-be are enduring more stress than ever and since we can’t necessarily be there to care for them in person these days, it’s important that we encourage them to make time for self-care.

We started Nurtured 9 in hopes of helping expectant Mamas enjoy their pregnancy journey by doing the stressful legwork of ingredient research, safety & efficacy for them. While everyone is focused on baby, we wanted to focus on Mom!

Pregnancy is miraculous. You are growing a human being inside your own body! If you didn’t think your body was amazing before, I hope you do now. So many things are happening as your pregnancy progresses; increased circulation creates that pregnancy “glow”, your ligaments relax, and your blood volume increases by a whopping 50%! 

If you are pregnant during the summer, you are probably familiar with normal swelling due to increased blood and fluids, called edema, which most commonly affects the feet, ankles, face, and hands. Carrying extra weight puts added stress on your feet and ankles, which results in some seriously aching feet and legs.

Well, mama, we’ve put together a few easy DIY recipes just for you!