1. a pregnancy pillow! i have the "leacho snuggle pregnancy pillow" and it seems to be a favorite with the pregnant ladies. they are not cheap, they retail for around $60 (use your buy buy baby coupon on this one!) but they are amazing during your 2nd and 3rd trimester. you are not supposed to sleep on your back after the first trimester so these pillows can be used in a variety of ways to support your back, knees, legs and belly. they can also be folded in half to prop you up in bed, which is nice for watching TV or reading. the downside to them is that they are very large! i am sure you have read my numerous complaints on how our apartment bed (a queen) is not large enough for me, jarad and my pillow, so make sure have the space to use it properly!
2. a good pregnancy book! i have several that i have been reading on and off, but my favorite one is "the mayo clinic guide to a healthy pregnancy." this was recommended to me by my acupuncturist and i think it is a great reference for all of your pregnancy questions and symptoms. what i found is that it is hard to read a pregnancy book cover to cover since so many of the topics don't relate to you during that time in your pregnancy. it is overwhelming to try to remember all those milestones and make sense of it when you are a first time mom and it is all new to you. so, i recommend you also get some good apps on your phone. there are a lot of good free ones, but sometimes it is worth paying the few bucks to invest in a good one with lots of info. i prefer the apps over the books because it gives you daily or weekly updates on the changes in your body and baby, and often times they are connected to a community of pregnant women who are due the same month you are, so you can ask questions or check out forums. the ones i used are; ovia, fertility friend (this is a paid one that i also used while trying to conceive and tracking my BBT chart), what to expect, the bump and pregnancy + (this was also a paid one, but worth it, they give you great pics of babies in the womb for your week of pregnancy).
3. maternity clothes! i don't think it is necessary to buy a new wardrobe, but a few key pieces will take you from those bloated uncomfortable days in your first trimester all the way until the end. i did well with the liz lange maternity line at target and old navy. i got pregnant in summer in california and moved in my third trimester in the middle of winter to washington, so i had to consider the difference in climate. we all have a maxi dress or skirt lying around that will become your new best friend, these are great because they are comfortable, stretchy, and will grow with you. i did get a 2 liz lange tank top dresses and 2 long sleeve dresses. i found that the tank top dresses were great in summer and could also be used in winter with a cardigan or button down sweater over it. the long sleeve dresses i used for fancy or evening occasions and really could have gotten away with only one of them. my fav was a tight fitting black stretchy dress with 3 quarter length sleeves, so the possibilities to dress this up or down are endless. i found that i really needed new shirts, as your old tshirts will not fit properly anymore when your belly grows. i got about 5 or 6 maternity tank tops from old navy that were around $5 a piece (watch for online sales) and i wore these all the time! i wore them by themselves with maxi skirts in summer and with stretch pants and sweaters in winter. i also got about 6-7 long sleeve shirts from old navy that ranged from $5-7 (again, an online sale) and these were great in winter under a sweater, vest or cardigan. i got a couple of pairs of nice thick leggings from kohls (lauren conrad brand) on sale for about $15 each and i wear these almost everyday with one of my maternity shirt options. i also got 2 pairs (black and grey yoga pants from target that were not maternity). all of these pant options are not maternity items, so i will be able to wear them after the pregnancy, but i find them much more comfortable than any pregnancy jeans i have tried on. my girlfriend gave me 2 pairs of her maternity jeans and they just don't work for me. i also got a belly band thing that you wear over your jeans so that they can remained unbuttoned, but i found this to be a waste as well. i used a hair band until i could no longer fit in my jeans, and either way i was always concerned that they were going to fall down or they just didn't fit right. so a few key pieces (mostly shirts and a few dresses) has comfortably gotten me through my pregnancy.
4. invest in your health! OK, this seems like a no-brainer, but i will further break it down...
~make sure you like your doctor and their office! you will have weird and awkward questions and you want to feel comfortable to openly communicate and ask what is on your mind. also there is a good chance that your doctor may not be the one to deliver your baby, so make it a point to meet their partners or at least read up on them so you know who will be taking care of you.
~make sure you are taking a high quality prenatal vitamin. there are so many to chose from and they are not all created equally. ask your doctor if there is one that they prefer. this is the one i take and there are a lot less expensive options but this one has worked well for me, especially since my body reacts better to folate acid instead of the synthetic form of it, known as "folic acid."
~invest in your nutrition and digestion! don't use pregnancy as an excuse to eat for two and stop working out. you don't need to increase your calorie intake the first trimester and 300 calories more a day in the 2nd and 500 additional calories in your 3rd trimester. listen to your body and feel free to indulge once in a while, but continue to eat a well balanced diet. and don't give up your workouts. they will change, but staying active will make for an easier pregnancy! and digestion is a very common topic in the forums and threads of the blogs i follow. it is one of the first changes you will notice, so do yourself a favor and buy a bottle of miralax and dried fruit or prunes and alternate taking one of them every day. it is a lot easier to be proactive than to try to correct the problem (sorry for TMI). also drink lots and lots of water. this is something i struggled with before pregnancy and i am trying to be better about, but it is so important to stay well hydrated!
5. invest in a good prenatal massage! i got my first one in my third trimester and it was heavenly. you will get lots of aches and pains and they come and go and some of them linger, and there are certain trigger spots that can not be massaged. so pay the extra few bucks to go to a professional and skip the add on foot and neck massage while getting a pedicure. there are 3 spots that can trigger contractions late in pregnancy. they are an area close to your shoulders by your collar bone, behind your knees and behind your ankles. and if you are not into massages, i have found that a nice relaxing bath does the trick. make sure it is warm and not hot water and i like to use epsom salts and lavender essential oil to make it more spa like. i have done a lot of reading on essential oils and pregnancy and lavender is okay for use in pregnancy, but should not be applied to the skin, so a couple of drops in the bath is okay.
6. if you get heartburn, invest in zantac right away! it is safe to take 150 mg as needed. if that starts to not work, then go to the prevacid, 15 mg daily. i spent so much time trying to control it with tums, apple cider vinegar, milk of magnesia, celery, etc. they don't work!!! don't suffer when there are options you can take safely and are super effective! it will greatly improve your "quality of pregnancy!"
these are some of the things that have helped me get through pregnancy and i am sure i will find some more in my last few remaining weeks. i hope some of these may help you or please let me know if you have other ideas and suggestions?!?!
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