Overall, I had a pretty easy pregnancy. I didn’t get too sick during my first trimester, I felt really good during my second trimester and tried to stay distracted during my third trimester.

Did I love being pregnant? I would hesitate before saying that. Some people really love being pregnant, but I just somehow didn’t click with it 100%.

What I did try to do was to find some things I loved. Above all, I hope this list helps you find some things you love about pregnancy even if it’s not your favorite.

Feeling the baby kick and hiccup

Feeling a baby kick and hiccup inside my belly was really adorable. I tried to picture a tiny baby having the hiccups and it was just too cute!

It was also special to catch that moment when the baby had hiccups or felt like kicking, and call Dan over to feel it. Whenever the baby wasn’t moving, it was sometimes almost easy to forget I was pregnant. But when the baby did these very human reflexes, everything felt real (and I tried my best to love those moments).

Being able to eat WHATEVER I wanted

When I was pregnant, I ate whatever I wanted, with no limit. For me, this meant eating Thai curry as often as I felt like it.

If I had friends who wanted to meet up after work, I would unabashedly say, “Let’s meet up for Thai food — I’ll find a place.” Through this craving of mine, I got to try new restaurants all the time in the weeks leading up to our move from the city to the suburbs, as I was six months pregnant.

Aside from my Thai curry craving, I ate anything I wanted in whichever amount I wanted, until my stomach started shrinking in my third trimester. By then, I missed having an appetite!

Getting to go to prenatal yoga

Prenatal yoga was so special for me. I went to two different studios in Brooklyn, and then I went to a very relaxed yoga studio in New Jersey when we moved.

In Brooklyn, I liked that the teacher mentioned some new facts about childbirth that I didn’t know. I appreciated that I was getting to learn about birth, while stretching out and testing the limits of my pregnant body.

When I switched to a yoga studio that had a weekly prenatal yoga class in New Jersey, it was an even better experience. I went to the class every week, and got to really know the teacher, who is a doula and birth coach when she’s not teaching yoga classes. I connected with some other expectant mothers, got to smile and enjoy.

Doing prenatal yoga was one of the highlights of my week, and felt like a place where I was finding my happy place. It was comfortable, cozy, relaxing and inspiring.

I recommend finding a studio (even if it’s 30 minutes away!) that does prenatal yoga classes, because I hope you’d love it as much as I did. If you can’t find a studio offering it, you can check out the loads of best prenatal yoga classes on YouTube. (I recommend one of the leading experts, Pregnancy and Postpartum TV.)

Planning maternity photo shoots

Leading up to the handful of times we got to take “maternity photos,” I got a lot of joy from making Pinterest boards for inspiration looks. When else do you get to do a photoshoot that’s all about you and how beautiful you look?

We did maternity photos when I had just started “showing,” around 24 weeks, and then again, around 7-and-a-half months pregnant. I liked thinking of locations and basing the time of day and weather on when we should do it (it helps that Dan is a photographer). Then, I got a kick out of asking friends what I should wear.

Ultimately, I didn’t dress up much for either shoot, and they were relaxed. We also had great weather, and we went to two different local parks. Nothing fancy! This was one of the best parts about being pregnant. I used the photos to announce my pregnancy on social media.

Reconnecting with old friends who were also pregnant

Before I got pregnant, I didn’t have much in common with friends who had already given birth and had kids. It felt like we were leading different lives.

But when I announced my pregnancy on Instagram, I magically connected with old friends, from high school and college, and everywhere in between, and got to chat and catch up about my pregnancy.

This was a really happy time. I got to reconnect with old friends with whom I had lost touch, and now we had something connective, and also beautiful, to talk about. Friends who had already had kids wanted to reminisce about their pregnancies, and friends who were also pregnant at that time got to share the experience alongside me.

This was something I loved, and I would hope for any pregnant woman that experiences like this could make you enjoy pregnancy a bit more if you’re having trouble.

Great hair days

Everyone says your hair is luscious and think during pregnancy. I have thin hair to begin with, but one thing I did like during pregnancy was that it seemed to never fall out.

That’s right: I had heard of postpartum hair loss (which is certainly real), but I was figuring out the rumors about pregnancy hair. As it turns out, my hair during pregnancy didn’t get thicker; rather, it just all stayed in my head and didn’t even come out much on hairbrushes.

Everyone also says that your nails will be beautiful during pregnancy. This wasn’t outwardly obvious for my experience, but maybe it will be for you! And this brings me to my next thing I loved during pregnancy…

Pampering myself

While I was pregnant, I made sure to get haircuts and pedicures and really enjoy myself. I would recommend this for any pregnant woman, too: if you’re feeling down about being tired, nauseous, exhausted or just plain big, pamper yourself in one of your favorite ways.

And, don’t feel guilty about it. I started being generous with myself ASAP, and it was one of the best things to do when I found out I was pregnant.

What I liked about getting pedicures while I was pregnant is that everyone in the salon would ask how far along I was, and ask how it was going and ask if the baby was a boy or a girl. It was like instant shared female connection.

Making my grandfather really happy

I knew that my grandfather was really truly happy about the fact that I was going to give birth to another great-grandchild of his. That felt really special.

I loved knowing that I could bring him so much joy, and that every time I saw him, I could bring him a lot of hope. It’s a very nice feeling to be able to give that type of feeling to someone, especially someone who loves you so much!

People telling me I had a cute baby bump

As I’m short, and pretty small, carrying a whole baby felt really big for my body. Therefore, when people told me I had a cute baby bump, that made me happy.

It was a struggle for me, with the baby growing in my belly and moving from one style of maternity pants to another. And another. Dressing up in maternity clothes, or devising how to avoid maternity clothes constantly, was like having a new identity, and felt a bit foreign.

So when someone would tell me I looked cute as a pregnant woman or as an expectant mother, I got so happy! (Also, if you want to look stylish during pregnancy, check out these cute maternity brands to consider.)

Having a lil mocktail every now and then

If you saw my guide to what to drink at parties when you’re pregnant, you may have seen my slew of mocktail photos. I had a great time “drinking at parties” while I was pregnant, and I was never hungover!

In fact, if I had the energy, I really did like going out and being social when I was pregnant. If I went to a party, I liked having a special drink that made me feel special. Before pregnancy, I rarely enjoyed cocktails (mostly because they’re so expensive). But having a mocktail is more affordable! Sitting down for a mocktail at a bar or a party felt like a unique thing I could do, and I looked forward to it.