Pregnancy is a wild time. Your body is going through immense changes and everyone has a different experience. This can actually make it feel isolating at times. So, I’d like to offer up a few different things that have made it easier for me to navigate the 9(ish) months where your body throws its hands up in the air and waves your sanity around like it just don’t care. I’m going on round 3 here and not that I’m an expert by any means, but I have learned over the years what worked and what didn’t for me. Maybe these will work for you too.
- I think it’s fairly obvious that things are going to stretch. I’ve tried a few things over the years and what I loved most was actually this nifty little product from Rocky Mountain Soap Co. A Canadian company – shout out to my fellow Canucks. Not only is the belly butter soothing for itchy skin, it’s not greasy at all (a big plus) and the applicator is a stroke of genius. Instead of getting your hands all messy like when you use other lotions / butters, Rocky Mountain Soap Co. has put theirs into a turn-dial applicator similar to stick deodorant. It’s also all natural, 70% organic and never tested on animals. What’s not to love?
2. Giant pregnancy pillows to me are a giant waste of money. And they take up so much space. Best bang for your buck is actually a wedge pillow. Seriously. This thing you can use for all stages of your pregnancy. Between your legs to help your hips, under your belly to support the weight, behind your back so you dont roll over. Yes… that’s a thing. Apparently lying on your back or your right side is not ideal. I don’t make the rules. I’m not a doctor. But this is how I’ve been told to live by one. Ok back to the wedge. What I love, besides the price (because you know I am all for a bargain) is the versatility, storage, and ease of use. As the Backstreet Boys so eloquently said you can “get down, smack it up, pump it and move it all around. Here it is if you want to get with this put [it] at the top of [your] list.” Huh. That got weird. anyways, unlike the BSB, this pillow is not all about being hot and heavy. It’s light and won’t overheat you as you sleep. You’ll likely turn into a furnace so keep that in mind when pillow shopping – especially if the bulk of your pregnancy is going to be over the summer months. This is the one I am currently using and I give it all the stars.
3) Ok, let’s get up close and personal. Being the frugal mom that I am, I figured I didn’t need to get maternity underwear the first time round. I was wrong. I was so wrong. Not only did I stretch out my favourite pairs beyond recovery, I found myself in the land of wedgies ( back AND front). Things swell, things change shape, things are not the same. Do yourself a favour and treat your body to a few good pairs of maternity underwear. You’ll be grateful you did for both during pregnancy and directly after giving birth. It’s worth it. I’m not going to link anything here because you can get them all over the place and I didn’t have a particular brand that I was loyal to.
4) Going out on a limb here but if you’re anything like me you might want to have more than one kid. The fun thing is when you go through pregnancy the second time round (or third… or more) you don’t really remember what the hell your body went through the first time. When did baby start moving where you could feel it? When did you really start showing (not your blump aka bloat from the first few weeks, but a proper baby bump)? When could your partner feel the baby move? When did your feet swell up so much you had to wear flip flops to the office? WRITE IT DOWN. A pregnancy journal is a great way to document what your body and mind are going through and there are lots of different methods. You can just buy a blank notebook, you can get a traditional weekly agenda, or you could even get a fancy pregnancy journal with tips and notes and all that. I went with the latter and have used it as a reference for my subsequent pregnancies because like I said, you’re likely to remember that some stuff happened… just not exactly when or how.
5) And last but certainly not least – my method of combating morning sickness. Or what was really 24/7 nausea with my 2nd and 3rd pregnancies for the first 3 months. Worst hangover ever. The only thing that worked for me was something sour. There are a few ways to go about this. You can get the Preggie Pop Drops. They work. But they are expensive. OR you can do what I did and eat fistfuls of sour candy – Sour Patch Kids worked like a charm for me. Plus, delicious! You can also go the more health conscious route and try ginger chews. Those worked for a lot of women I know. If you’re not down with that flavour though, any sour candy should do the trick.
Do you have any tried and true tips? Share below in the comments!
She Gets Literary 