Pregnancy must-haves (lifesavers!)

I feel like I haven’t been able to write in forever! These have been crazy months, what with the Christmas season, most of our work projects ending, my family coming over for the holidays and the arrival of our baby girl. I had a few pregnancy-related posts in mind I wanted to publish before she was born; some I feel are still relevant and now that I look back on my pregnancy I can weigh in better than I could a few months ago. So before my new mommy life takes over, I wanted to let you in on the few pregnancy must-haves that were lifesavers for my pregnancy.

Nowadays the variety of products you can buy that promise to help during pregnancy is infinite! This made me dizzy at times so, in compiling my pregnancy must-haves list, I tried focusing on ones that stood out and helped me in all three trimesters. Some might not be as essential for you as they were for me, so if you’ve been pregnant before let me know which things helped you manage pregnancy in a smoother way.

Without further ado, here is a list of my pregnancy must-haves:

• Teas: Ginger tea was my ally throughout my pregnancy, especially during the first trimester since it helped me relieve nausea. It also kept me awake and helped my cutback on caffeine. I also started drinking raspberry leaf tea at my last month of pregnancy (though I’ve heard it’s beneficial to start by mid-pregnancy). This last one strengthens your uterus and may help during contractions in labor. Not sure if this tea was why I managed a 24-hour natural labor (more on that on a post to follow!), but hey, I’m sure it helped!

• Pregnancy pillow / Snoogle: the awkward back and hip pain struggle is real and this weirdly-S-shaped pillow was super helpful to alleviate it. My husband got kinda fussy about it because it did take more space in our bed, but hey, trust me: you’ll want and need to get as many Zzz’s as possible before baby arrives and this pillow helps you get them! There are several pregnancy pillow options in the market but the Snoogle’s design worked for me. The first tries felt kind of awkward but then my back
• Coconut oil: I used refined organic coconut oil this to prevent stretch marks instead of the usual Palmer’s lotion. I kinda felt it worked since I didn’t get any throughout my pregnancy, though a couple of tiny marks showed up once I had delivered my baby.
• Pregnancy apps: keeping track of baby’s growth in the shape of fruits, veggies and toys was loads of fun. Plus, many of these had great tips and discussion boards that eased my hypochondriac mind. I used: Ovia Pregnancy, Pregnancy+ (this is paid after some weeks though) and BabyBump Pro.
• Relatable/helpful Mommy sites and discussion boards: I know, surfing the internet is probably the worst thing you can do when trying to get a calming answer to any fear or question that may arise. But hey, if you “Google with care”, you can find good stuff! I found real answers and solutions to my concerns, thanks to the fact that there are sites that basically are infinite pools of baby and pregnancy experiences. The Bump and Baby Center were my go-to places. Both of these have apps as well, to learn on the go!

• Oversized shirts and sweaters: you don’t need to splurge on expensive maternity clothing… I mean, why does a pregnancy t-shirt cost three times as much as a regular one?! All you gotta do is move 2-3 sizes up and that’s it! The one thing I did spend money on was maternity jeans since the fit of the larger-sized ones wasn’t too flattering, nor could I zip properly. I bought about 4 pairs of jeans (including the pink ones shown above) by Jessica Simpson and Indigo Blue, and spent a lot of days in leggings.
• Comfy shoes: especially at the end of the pregnancy, slippers and good tennis shoes that can also be useful when all the physical activity that you can do (if any) is walking (great labor inducer!). Which reminds me of the last item on my list.

• Childbirth book + prenatal classes: I must confess we were a bit late to the game of taking our prenatal classes so we opted for an intensive course. Even though the amount of information that you get is a lot and you won’t really memorize it, these help to get you familiarized with the major event that’s about to take place. A book I would recommend is  “Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide” (it has a little bit of everything!).
• Massage lotion: massages are something you’ll definitely long at the end of every day during the last months of pregnancy. Now, finding someone who doesn’t get tired of rubbing your feet all the time… That’s a whole other story! This lotion with Arnica is great.

And those are it! My pregnancy must-haves. Short and sweet! Granted, these are just products and comfort things that you can purchase to ease the troubles, discomfort of pregnancy. But nothing helps as much as the support of friends and family who remind you every day that you’re going through what you’re going through for a reason. Nonetheless, hope this list helps you in any way if you’re pregnant or, if you are not, at least I hope I amused you for a bit. 

Stay tuned for the upcoming post: MY BIRTH STORY!