Pregnancy Must Haves

Well, I'm just days away from our little guy's due date and I find myself reflecting on my pregnancy. Overall I've loved the experience, the good the bad and the ugly, all result in our son so I am learning to love it all. As I reflect I find myself feeling like it went so slow but it also flew by at the same time... how is that possible? I am so eager, nervous, excited and crazy curious about meeting our little guy. I cannot wait.

Throughout the pregnancy there have been things that I personally think are pregnancy must haves. Every pregnancy is different, but for mine there were a few products that I just couldn't live without and made the whole pregnancy process way more pleasurable. If you are preggers, I think this list might help you. I have added in Amazon links to make it easy for y'all to find the products, you might have to turn off Ad Blocker to view them. Okay, let's get into it...

TUMS

If there is any product that I COULD NOT live without during my entire pregnancy, especially second and third trimester, it's TUMS. Holy heart burn, this baby must be super hairy because I have heart burn all the time. I had never really experienced bad heart burn prior to pregnancy, so this really took me by surprise. It makes you feel super acidic and for me it was hard to have an appetite when the heart burn would strike. The only things I want when I have heart burn are a glass of milk and a couple of TUMS. It is quite amazing though, with my experience the TUMS took the heart burn away within a few minutes of eating them. I carried a container of TUMS in my purse the entire pregnancy. Praise God for those little tropical treats!

Preggie Pops

I have to admit, I didn't have the worst first trimester. I got super lucky with only a little bit of nausea, but I did still have some. I especially had nausea towards the end of my first trimester. I had never heard of Preggie Pops before, but my sister in law gave me some right after she heard I was pregnant. I was skeptical, they just look like little candies, but honestly they helped me a ton! I'm not even sure what's in Preggie Pops that helps fight nausea, but they work. Luckily the nausea stopped for me after the first trimester, but these were a life saver at times when I needed them.

Maternity Clothes & Belly Bands

If you read my 26 Week Bumpdate, then you know how I feel about purchasing maternity clothes. Your body goes through so many crazy changes throughout pregnancy and the last thing you need is to be trying to squeeze your body into your "normal" clothes, and then feeling like a big whale of a pregnant woman... no thank you! When I was in my first trimester I kept refusing to spend money on maternity clothes, saying that all of our money needed to go towards baby stuff and not mom. Luckily my mom was in my ear telling me if I wanted to enjoy my pregnancy then I needed to feel good about myself and my new body, and getting clothes that actually fit me right would allow me to feel comfortable and confident. Well, per usual, my mom was so right. I'm so grateful I got a good amount of maternity wear during my pregnancy. There are still a few tops and dresses that I owned prior to pregnancy that I am able to wear while pregnant, but not a full wardrobe worth. Maternity clothes used to be really frumpy and not cute at all, so ladies I say take advantage of the new and improved style that maternity wear has, buy some and feel confident (and comfortable)!

Prenatal Massages

This is SO worth the money! Throughout pregnancy you'll get aches and pains that you would have never even though about, unless you are crazy lucky. Before I got pregnant, I had heard of pregnant women experiencing back pain, but who knew there would be massive leg pain too. Especially in my third trimester, I've lost so much sleep because of the aches and pain the sides of my legs have. Throughout my pregnancy I got two prenatal massages, which is not enough! I mean it's better than none, but gosh the more the better. It relieved so much of my leg and back pain. On top of relieving physical pain, the prenatal massages released a lot of mental stress. Pregnancy is emotional, your body is releasing all sorts of hormones that you aren't used to and it can be quite draining. The prenatal massages allowed me to de-stress, unplug mentally and relax. It's so important to take care of yourself physically and mentally throughout pregnancy and I personally think this is one of the best ways.

If you are in the Denver area, go see Katie Dempter with Elevated Bodywork. Like I said before, I received two prenatal massages throughout my pregnancy, they were both nice but one was way better than the other. The first massage I had was decent, the girl was super nice, but the atmosphere was not peaceful at all. The lights were on, there was no peaceful music, and I could hear people talking in the office right outside the door the entire massage. When I went to see Katie for my second prenatal massage, it was a totally different experience. Her massage room is so peaceful, the lighting and music set the tone to really relax. She uses essential oils to reduce stress, and she knows what she's talking about when it comes to prenatal massages. It was so reassuring to hear her knowledge on what you can and can't do during a prenatal massage in each trimester. I absolutely loved her massage, I can't rave about it enough and I'd recommend it to any of my Denver area readers!

Coconut Oil, Bio-Oil & Coco Butter Lotion

I've heard mixed opinions on stretch marks, many say it's genetics and that you can't control if you'll get them or not. I don't know all of the facts, but my personal opinion on it was that I was going to keep my belly as moisturized as possible just in case it helps prevent stretch marks. I am currently 38 weeks pregnant and up until this week I has zero stretch marks from this pregnancy. As of now I only have a tiny one near my belly button, around the skin where I used to have my belly button pierced. I am really really praying that I don't get anymore, if I do I know it'll of course be worth it, but I still hope I don't. Throughout my pregnancy I've used multiple containers of organic coconut oil, it's been my number one form of belly moisturizer. I even have a few t-shirts that I have ruined because they have so much coconut oil on them. I also use Bio-Oil on my tummy, I have a few friends that swear by this stuff. It's supposed to help reduce the appearance of stretch marks, so at this point I am obsessively putting it around my belly button in hopes it helps. I've also been using Palmer's coco butter stretch mark cream and their regular coco butter lotion. I love all of these products and hopefully I won't get anymore stretch marks.

Ginger Tea & RASPBERRY Leaf Tea

During my first trimester I eliminated coffee and caffeine. I'm a total coffee addict so that was quite difficult. Also, it was during the winter months so all I wanted was a cup of something warm to drink. For those months, instead of coffee I drank tea. They don't recommend all teas during pregnancy so I stuck to ones that were safe and actually beneficial to my pregnancy. Ginger tea was awesome to fight nausea during the first trimester. I personally love the taste of ginger tea with honey and it did help settle my tummy at times. Raspberry leaf tea is also super tasty. Midwives suggest it during pregnancy because it is known to support the uterus and the female system.

YETI Cup

Sometime in January a friend gave me a Yeti cup, and omg it's become a pregnancy must have for me. I'm not the best at drinking water, I only enjoy drinking lemon water or water that is ice cold. If I am carrying a water bottle around with me all day, I am less likely to stay hydrated and drink it if the water gets room temperature or warm. Having a mug that keeps my water cold all day has helped me so much, it makes it so I actually enjoy drinking water and I stay hydrated during my pregnancy, which is so important for you and baby. I carry a 30oz one with me all day, and even though it's a bit of a pain in the butt to lug around, it's so worth it.

Well there you have it, those are my top pregnancy must haves! Those are the things I used most and felt like I couldn't live without during pregnancy. I hope this list helps you throughout your pregnancy. If you have any pregnancy must have suggestions, comment below, I'd love to hear!