Pregnancy for everyone is different, which would mean everyone’s pregnancy must haves and must do’s, are a little different. Some people have severe morning sickness, some have none whatsoever (lucky you!!). Some people breeze through the whole 40 weeks and some really really struggle. I have to say I had a good pregnancy. I had, what I assume, is an average level of morning sickness for the first 16 weeks. At the time it was horrendous of course. Other than a touch of sciatica when I was 7 months pregnant and feeling tired it was really pretty good!
In saying this, I think that the list pregnancy must haves and must do’s I am sharing are made to suit everyone! AND if you enjoy reading this post, then you might like my post for Newborn Essentials – its what you ACTUALLY need, no fluff!
So here you are, my list of pregnancy must haves and must do’s for all trimesters. These are some important things to help make your pregnancy journey that little bit smoother.
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Prenatal Vitamins and Vegan Omega Oil
Probably the most obvious thing and also something that is recommended to take during your pregnancy – prenatal vitamins. I am vegetarian, so I didn’t go with the ones recommended by my doctor as they contained fish oil. Instead, I done a bit of my own research and ended up getting the Whole Earth and Sea prenatal vitamins. These are a whole foods based supplement that are suitable for vegans. The only problem with these was I could only take them with orange juice, I couldn’t STAND the taste of them while I was pregnant so I couldn’t take them with water! Then after I had my little lady, these weren’t available to buy in the health food shop I went to anymore, so I started New Chapter Prenatal Vitamins, which are also vegan. As these are vegan, they contained no omega oils, so I also took these Flora Udo’s Choice omega 3, 6 & 9 blend. I always made sure that I took my vitamins as I wasn’t eating the best in the first 3 months due to the sickness!
Note this is not medical advice as I am not a medical professional. Please ensure that you consult your Doctor and complete you own research!
Drink Lots of Water
Probably the most obvious one in this list of pregnancy must haves and must do’s, but making sure you are hydrated is very important. The last thing you want is a headache to go along with that morning, should be known as ‘all day’, sickness. Water will help keep your skin hydrated which is important as your skin will stretching as baby grows. Get yourself a reusable bottle and try to keep it with you all the time!
Body Butter & Body Oil
The statistics say that 8 out of 10 women will get stretch marks, so there is a high chance that you may get them. Its just part and parcel of motherhood! I used both a butter and an oil, yes to try and prevent them but mostly to keep my skin from getting dry as if I was going to get stretch marks I didn’t want them to crack or bleed if my skin stretched really bad! I LOVED The Body Shop Coconut Butter (and I still use it now after the pregnancy). It is realllllly good for dry skin and helps stop it feeling itchy. I applied this every single morning! Every night after I used a body oil. I tried two different types. The first few months I used a natural oil I got from well.ca that I cannot for the life of me find online nor can I remember the name of it! At first I didn’t like the scent of the oil that much (I would prefer unscented to be honest!), but I got used to it! This one I like the most, I found a little went a long way and I really like that the bottle was glass, which is more environmentally friendly than plastic. This oil lasted me a few months as well! When I ran out at about 7 months, I bought a different body oil from Sephora, Kora Organics, as this is a sustainable brand. Although I used it every night, I found I had to use a lot more of it than the other oil and it dry in quicker on the skin also.
Pregnancy Pillow
There are so many other great pregnancy pillows out there but when I ordered my pregnancy pillow, I ordered one that was memory foam…I found it heavy to move around, kind of uncomfortable and really hot (although it says it has a cooling effect)! When I was pregnant, I was hot all the time, it didn’t help that I was pregnant throughout the Summer and we don’t have air conditioning in our house! By the end, I was just using pillows to stick behind my back and between my legs, it pretty much did the same thing!
Bra Extenders
These yokes are the business and 100% make it in the list of pregnancy must haves! Fact, your boobs will get bigger throughout your pregnancy. Another fact, you will have to by new bras to accommodate those aforementioned growing boobs! Towards the end of my pregnancy my cup size stopped growing but I could have done with a larger band size. That’s where these bra extenders come in. Rather than buying a new bra I just clipped in the extenders. These have 3 extra sizing’s on them. I used these on my nursing bras too! You can get these everywhere, Pennys, Walmart/Asda or on Amazon
Have Snacks on Hand
Sickness in pregnancy is not fun and as I mentioned earlier, I was sick for the first 16 weeks. It was pretty much like having a bad hangover. The nausea was not just in the morning, it was throughout the day. The only thing that I found helped, and this might sound like it wouldn’t help but it really did, was to try and not let your stomach get empty! Before I went to bed at night, I had toast, even if I wasn’t hungry. I forced myself to eat breakfast in the morning and tried to snack throughout the morning at work. I always had bananas with me, so much so it became a running joke! Always have a supply of snacks with you!
The Best Decaf Tea
Cutting back on caffeine is recommended, so if you want a decaf tea recommendation then this is one of the more important pregnancy must haves! If you are in Canada AVOID the Red Rose decaf, that stuff is gross and the tea actually looks grey! Instead go for the Yorkshire Decaf Tea, its really good. If you are in Ireland, Barrys Decaf is the business!
Gentle Exercise
Now, I am by no means an exercise guru or even in any way fit for that matter, but I was conscious of getting some exercise in while I was pregnant as it’s said that it can help with labour. Mostly I walked, as the weather was great and the evenings were long. I did a little yoga (tried to anyway!), just at home following along to YouTube video’s, and it felt so good to stretch at times! I really enjoyed swimming too. Now, I didn’t do many lengths while I was in the pool as I got so out of breath but I loved lying back and floating as it made me feel weightless which felt so gooooood, especially in the later stages of the pregnancy!
Keep a Pregnancy Diary
This is probably one of my biggest must haves! It is amazing what you forget about your pregnancy and child birth, so it is sooooo worthwhile keeping a wee diary or journal. There journals out there that are specifically for keeping track of your pregnancy, but you could just use a regular notebook either. Just fill it in every week with how you were feeling, what you were craving, when you felt the first kicks and all that fun stuff!
Related: How To Have A Fast Labour
Take Lots of Photos
Just like the diary, be sure and take pictures throughout your whole pregnancy. As well as keeping the original, I edited the picture to write on them how far along I was. Its so nice to look back on and see your bump get bigger and bigger throughout your pregnancy!
Comfortable Clothes
As the first trimester is generally the hardest, what with all the puking and what not, all I wanted was to be comfortable. Get yourself a good pair of leggings and these will stretch with you throughout your pregnancy. They may not last through your whole pregnancy, but they’ll see you through the beginning! Throughout my pregnancy I mostly wore maternity skinny jeans, over the bump ones, but I would like to try the under the bump style. Which style do you prefer? I also bought a couple of maternity dresses for work and maternity t-shirts that I just wore under blazers that I already had.
Download An App
I think it is worthwhile downloading a pregnancy app (there are lots of free ones out there). I loved checking it each week to see what size the baby was (in comparison to a piece of fruit or veg!). They will also tell you how your baby is developing, like when they are starting to hear, when their hair is growing etc. In fact you can check out my list of the best free pregnancy apps right here!
I hope you found my little list of pregnancy must haves and must do’s helpful! If you have of your own essentials or must do’s, please add them in the comments below so they can be shared with other Mums!
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