Pregnancy Series: 14 Pregnancy Must-Haves

With so many friends getting pregnant recently I was inspired to write this series of articles focused on pregnancy. While I am no expert, I can share my experiences with my two pregnancies.

The focus of this article is pregnancy must-haves. A quick reference list of the items you wouldn’t want to be without. So if you’re newly pregnant or someone you love is, this list is a great place to start in stocking up for a nine month journey.

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1. A way to document your pregnancy. Today most pregnant women document their pregnancy with weekly or monthly photos of their ever-changing and growing body. Looking back on my pregnancies, to some extent, I regret not taking more photos of my pregnant self. I have struggled with body image issues for years, so when I became pregnant those issues surfaced again. There were times I like how I looked, but overall I felt like I looked fat, swollen, uncomfortable, and less pretty. Because of that I chose not to take many pictures of myself. I do wish that I had a few more to show the progression over time. So consider it, even if you don’t share it with the world, it’s nice to have to look back on and show your kids. Another option is a pregnancy journal. They sell journals specifically for this purpose with prompts, questions, and fill in the blanks, but you could always just purchase any journal that you designate as your own pregnancy journal.

The Nine: A Pregnancy Countdown Journal, $13.89

This book offers a great way to keep track of all things pregnancy and baby as the countdown continues.  There are entries for each week that allow you to document your thoughts and feelings throughout the pregnancy.  There are writing prompts and areas for attaching photos.

 

 

Waiting in Wonder: Growing in Faith While You’re Expecting, $15.29

This is a journal and devotional with weekly memory verses and places to write prayers for your baby.

 

Waiting for Baby: A Pregnancy Memory Album, $17.96

This is a keepsake journal that records information about you, dad, and the whole family.  It also allows you journal about your pregnancy.

2. Belly band. This is an essential part of a maternity wardrobe. This band holds up your pre-pregnancy pants to extend their life during your pregnancy. You can also use it postpartum as your body shrinks back down.

Blanqi Maternity Belly Band, $38

3. Maternity pants. Most women are resistant for various reasons to start wearing maternity clothes, but from experience there is a reason they make them- they are WAY more comfortable. Whether you buy, borrow, or make your own, I highly recommend investing is a few pairs of maternity pants, especially jeans and leggings. For the first time in your life (or at least mine) I didn’t have to suck my stomach in, so embrace being comfortable.

4. Comfortable shirts and pjs. The bigger you get during your pregnancy, the more uncomfortable you feel. That is why it is so important that in the times you are supposed to be most relaxed, you have comfortable clothes to wear. Think soft, stretchy, breathable fabrics. And nothing too tight.

5. Hard candy. I had morning sickness with both of my pregnancies and I craved all things lemon flavored. Sour hard candies are supposed to help with morning sickness.

6. Sleep bra. I was amazed at how quickly my boobs changed once I got pregnant. Within the first trimester I went up a whole cup size, but more importantly, my boobs were SORE. Wearing a sleep bra at night was the only way I could minimize the pain enough to sleep. I ended up buying the cheapest ones I could find from Target or Kohl’s, and actually still use them for nursing at night now.

7. Underwire-free nursing bra. I ended buying a bunch of bras during my first pregnancy because I just wasn’t sure what to do. Ultimately, the most economical option was to buy a nice nursing bra that you can use after you deliver and can still wear while you’re pregnant. I highly recommend the Bravado Seamless Silk Nursing Bra. This bra is sized XS-2X which makes it easy to accommodate your changing cup size from pre- to post-pregnancy.

8. Shower accommodations. I found that towards the end of my pregnancies taking a shower was exhausting. Fortunately, we have a shower with a seat, so I would sit for most of the shower. If you don’t have a built in shower seat, I would recommend looking into getting a removable seat. Also, once you can no longer see your feet, shaving becomes quite challenging. So if you plan to keep shaving, and doing it yourself, somewhere to prop up your foot helps immensely, like a removable shower foot rest.

9. Sleep pillow. I sleep surrounded by pillows when I’m not pregnant so this didn’t change much for me, but I will confirm that I still needed and wanted the added support. Some women swear by specific pregnancy pillows, some by wedges, I ended up using a body pillow and regular pillow and that was enough for me. I tried the Leachco Snoogle, but didn’t like the fabric it came in because it was too scratchy. Though after a quick search it looks like it comes in a jersey fabric now, which might be worth a try.

10. Pregnancy app. There are a TON of pregnancy apps to choose from, but I really liked having one that could tell me what was going on in there, how big the baby was, and what to expect. I tried and would recommend Ovia Pregnancy Tracker, Glow Nurture- Pregnancy App, and The Bump- Pregnancy Countdown.

• Ovia Pregnancy Tracker is one app in a series of apps related to women’s health. They have a fertility app and a parenting app. It allows you to track your daily symptoms, mood, weight, diet, sleep, exercise, dr appointments, shows trends over time, connects you with other pregnant women, articles, pregnancy information, and useful tools. I especially liked the kick counter, medication and food safety lookup, and symptom lookup. I hated having to call the doctor’s office for every question I had, and this way I could look it up and see if it was normal or a concern before I freaked out and went through the long process of getting ahold of someone at the office.
• Glow Nurture allows you to track your daily symptoms, mood, weight, water intake, sleep, exercise, and vitamins, as well as medical data like heart rate, blood pressure, fundal height, and baby’s heart rate. It also provides insights and articles relevant to pregnancy. It has a discussion forum that allows you to ask other women questions and advice.
• The Bump Pregnancy App is nice because it grows with you. I still have it on my phone and it alerts me about developmental milestones, and parenting topics.

11. Foot relief. Wear or invest in loose/comfy shoes with good support. I had significant swelling with both of my pregnancies and so I highly recommend getting compression hose and/or socks for added support, blood flow, and to help control swelling. To relieve swelling and soothe aching feet, soak your feet (or whole body) in Epsom salts which removes toxins and reduces swelling, and if you’re pregnant in the summer, can also be a nice addition to a cool bath to help keep the heat at bay.

12. Back support. At some point during your pregnancy you will likely experience back pain just simply due to your body compensating for your growing imbalance. There are tons of options out there for every budget. I chose to go as cheap as possible because I wasn’t even sure it would help. I ended buying a basic support belt for around $16 and especially towards the end of my pregnancy was helpful to distribute the weight away from my lower back. Though I will make a point to say, although I have no scientific evidence to back it up, I felt like Declan didn’t come as early because I wore the support belt more often and the weight wasn’t pushing down as much “speeding” things up.

13. Tummy shield. Most of you know that I am short, so if you don’t know, I am 5′. I worried that by the end of my pregnancy my belly would be so big that I wouldn’t be able to reach the pedals in my car because I had to accommodate my belly. This was a completely unnecessary fear. By the end, I was still driving myself and had inches left between me and the steering wheel.

Regarding driving, I had briefly heard about a seatbelt accessory that accommodates your pregnant belly, but just assumed that it was more for comfort than anything else. Two pregnancies later, I randomly came across this video and ad for the tummy shield. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of maternal injury-related death during pregnancy in the US. I’m sure you’ll feel after watching the video the same way I do, that it’s a no brainer to purchase this seat belt adapter, but in case you need more convincing, keep reading.

• Redelmeier, D et al. Pregnancy and the risk of a traffic crash. CMAJ, 2014, 186(10): 742-750. The authors of this paper questioned whether pregnancy might interact with human error and increase the risk of a serious motor vehicle crash. The study looked at pregnant women over a 5 year period, 3 years prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy, and the year following delivery. The results of the study found that there was no increased risk of accidents in the first or third trimester, or a year after delivery, but a 42% increased risk of motor vehicle accidents was found in the second trimester. The increased risk was greatest in the early second trimester.
• Vladutiu, C. et al. Pregnant driver-associated motor vehicle crashes in North Carolina, 2001-2008. Accid Anal Prev. June 2013, 55: 165-171. The authors found that the average crash risk for pregnant women to be between 1-3% (13 out of 1,000), but was especially elevated among pregnant women who were young, black, less than college educated, or unmarried.

14. Books. I love to read and especially like learning and preparing myself for new things. Here are some of the books I would recommend reading:

• Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth, by Jenny McCarthy, $16.87- I thought this book was hilarious. It’s an honest description of pregnancy that all you can do is laugh.
• What to Expect When You’re Expecting, by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel, $11.97- I liked that it was a good overview of what to expect.