My Pregnancy Must-Haves
Alright y’all, it’s finally third trimester time for this baby and I and let me tell you, I am ready to not be pregnant but not ready to have two little boys running around! Where is the time going?
This pregnancy has been tougher on me, in terms of health issues and energy. Granted, I think half of it is due to the fact that “me” time left with the birth of our first crazy monkey but I also feel like my body just never bounced back (hello, #2under2) from the first one to fully handle everything pregnancy throws at ya.
I am in no means an expert and I know that there are women out there going through much tougher symptoms and health risks and I am thankful that my little babe is safe in his little home and even more thankful that I get to have such a blessing, twice.
I do get a lot of questions from people who are either going through their first pregnancy or experiencing the same symptoms as myself, so I wanted to compile a blog post of “remedies” that have helped ease some of them.
Pregnancy pillow - my sister in law sent this to me as a gift during my first pregnancy and I love this thing! It took me a long time to get it out this time, but I’m not sure how I slept without it! I can’t explain to you how comfortable it makes me feel and having slept without it and now with it, I can tell a difference for sure! I’m not sure where she got mine but there are plenty of options on Amazon! The one I have is the “C” shaped one and I literally just cuddle with it every night.
Sweet almond oil - I spoke about this earlier this month on Instagram. I remember reading all of the “pregnancy must-have” blog posts with my first pregnancy and this one stuck out to me. Liz Adams had mentioned that she used this on her belly for moisturizing and help prevent stretch marks and she swore by it. I didn’t question it twice and bought a big bottle from Amazon last time, and now I gift it to all my pregnant friends that ask about stretch mark prevention and itchy belly remedy. During the tail-end of my second trimester and all through third trimester, my belly was super itchy and this helped a ton relieve that. Best part is that it’s all natural, good for you and actually smells amazing.
Heat pack - Oh man, I remember one time, we went to a wedding and I forgot my heat pack… I made Carter go out and buy a new one because I couldn’t lay down without it. A heat pack is a must!!! This helps me with back pain, which I unfortunately got and have with both pregnancies. I even have one in my cube at work. I know a lot of people have the plug-in versions, I just have the two microwaveable ones and they work great.
Fitness ball - Hello third trimester best friend. There comes a point in your pregnancy where you just can’t sit and standing is a pain so you’re just like, what do you want!!! The fitness ball and stretches with this really helped me with my first pregnancy. I plan to bring that giant pink beauty upstairs in the next couple of weeks to start doing my stretches because I know the pain is coming. In my last pregnancy, my coworker even took the fitness ball from our work gym and I sat on that thing pretty much every day for the last couple of weeks before Max was born. Trust me, I know it sounds ridiculous but it really does help!
Water bottle - You need a good water bottle from the start. Pregnancy sucks you dry and you need to keep hydrated to avoid headaches and just to replenish your body. I always think about it as I am drinking for two. So I have a Yeti for when I’m out and about and a Swell at work. The cuter the bottle, the more inclined I am to drink (i’m weird that way), so you do you but just remember to hydrate! If you don’t like water at all, a tip that everyone and their mother knows by now is to put some lemon, lime or whatever you’d like in it. I use my Lemon essential oil for days that water makes me more nauseous. A good trick is also grapefruit essential oil, if you get heartburn!
SNACKS - Nobody wants to see me hangry. So I keep snacks with me at all times. Just treat yourself like a toddler and make sure you either have a granola bar or trail mix to sustain you. If you get nausea like I was blessed with for both my babies, a good trick is to eat smaller meals. So if you snack throughout the day, you won’t be inclined to eat a heavier meal and you can save yourself some nausea ridiculousness.
Mints - A trick I picked up from my mother-in-law. I had heartburn last time, but it was very manageable and didn’t irritate me too much. This time around, I didn’t get heartburn, I got throat burn which also in return made me nauseous. It was a vicious cycle. Her tip? Suck on a mint as soon as you feel it! You guys, it really works! Trust me, take all the mints from your restaurants and stash them away!
These are just my must-haves, obviously comfy underwear, jammies, pants that don’t feel like pants and so many more things are out there that I have found works for me. I wanted to throw my essentials out there first.