I am currently not pregnant, and haven’t been for 15 months, but I wanted to share all of my favorite things from pregnancy in hopes that it would help other moms-to-be who don’t have the time or energy to do hours of research.

From nausea remedies, to books and supplements, here is my list of Pregnancy Self-Care favorites!

All Day Nausea

(I wish it was only morning sickness)

I was very nauseous throughout my entire pregnancy, and tied with the fact that I couldn’t lay on my back after the 12th week, I was struggling. My mom sent me some Gin Gin ginger chews which definitely curbed the nausea, but I had to keep eating them in order to keep the nausea at bay. And they were pretty spicy! But the chewiness at least helped me feel like I was eating during the times that nothing sounded good.

But, my #1 favorite nausea medicine were Preggie pops! Idk what magic is in these little candies but they were able to help me feel normal for hours. The candy was pretty sharp on my gums/tongue though, but it was worth the pain for me!

Dressing for the Bump

Nothing makes you feel more frumpy that trying to fit in all of your old clothes, and realizing none of them fit. Even before I began bumpin, the bloat did not do me any favors. I wanted to invest in some new clothes that I felt comfortable in, but since this was my first pregnancy rodeo, I didn’t want to go all out just to hate the clothes in a few months. So, I shopped secondhand.

I wanted the fancy Mother, Hatch, and Paige maternity jeans, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted over or under the bump jeans. I visited Village Maternity in Seattle when I was about 10 weeks, but since I wasn’t showing then, I didn’t feel like I could bite the bullet on $200 jeans. In comes the secondhand shop.

When looking for a secondhand shop, there weren’t any Maternity/Nursing only shops, but I found that mostly all children’s consignment shops had decent maternity, nursing, and babywearing sections. I like to go to the “high-end” children’s consignment shops (you know, the ones with only Janie & Jack, Hanna Andersson, Mini Boden) because those tend to have the accompanying higher end maternity items.

I visited Sugarlump, a children’s consignment shop in Seattle during our babymoon, and found a pair of Paige maternity jeans for around $40 that were so comfortable and such a steal. I also saw so many great items from Hatch, Seraphine Maternity, and Kindred Bravely for both Maternity & Nursing. Some of my other favorite shops are Pinwheels Resale in Portland, Oregon, Littles & Fiddles in Tigard, Oregon, and Denim & Frills in Vancouver, Washington.

For basics, I loved Target’s Isabel Maternity line, I have a lot of tshirts & bras I still wear postpartum. H&M also has great maternity and nursing options with organic cotton for a great price as well. Pact is another organic natural fiber company that I have a few items from, but they are on the pricier side.

Lastly, ask your community! I had a few friends who had old maternity items they no longer wear that were happy to let me borrow some items. It never hurts to ask and I love the idea that the clothes I’ve shared with my friends who are pregnant have helped them feel love and comforted just as I did when I wore them.

Tea, Supplements, and More

I searched high and low for a clean vegan prenatal vitamin that wasn’t super expensive, and I found Pink Stork. My favorite thing about Pink Stork supplements is that they are prayed over. As a Christian who dealt with a lot of anxiety around pregnancy and birth, having a product that was prayed over just helped me feel a little bit more calm. Not to mention the pills for the Prenatal + DHA and Magnesium that I took had a berry scent (they also have a mint one!)  so they didn’t trigger any of my pregnancy aversions like my iron pills did.

Pink Stork also has a pregnancy nausea tea, but despite my normal affinity for teas, during pregnancy, the thought of drinking a tea made me gag so it was a hard sell for me to have a cup of this. But on the other side of pregnancy, I can say it smells and tastes delicious, you just never know how your body will respond to the random things you once loved during pregnancy.

As with many pregnant women, I was worried about stretch marks so after my shower every night, I liberally applied the Burt’s Bees Mama Belly Butter. It was soft, non-oily, and low-scent.

 

I’m sure I’m forgetting a few things, but these were the things that helped me feel cared for during pregnancy. Let me know if you have questions about anything specific. I’d love to help other mamas feel their best while they grow their sweet babies 🙂