A Few 1st & 2nd Trimester Must Haves

I have compiled a little list of items that I feel are “must haves” for the first trimester and the beginning of the second trimester. It’s a pretty simple list – nothing too crazy! But some of these thing have done a lot to help keep me sane and comfortable throughout the beginning of my pregnancy.

1) Sundown Naturals Prenatal Vitamins – I tried these from the very beginning because they were readily available at my grocery store and they weren’t too expensive. I geared up to try several with the thought in mind that they would probably upset my stomach and I’d have to find the right one for me – but these worked great from the beginning. I take them at night before bed just in case they bother my stomach at all. Warning: they are pretty large, so if you have trouble taking big pills then these may not be for you! If you have bathroom issues when you take prenatal vitamins due to the iron I recommend CitraNatal Prenatal vitamins – they have a particular one that has a mild laxative already in it!

2) Humidifier – Running a humidifier at night during these dry winter months has been a huge help to me. When I don’t use it I can tell a big difference in how much more congested I feel right when I wake up. I have a pretty cheap one made by Vicks that is fairly quiet but makes a little bit of calming noise (or, I find it calming).

3) Rain, Rain App – I used to sleep like a rock. Once I was out, that was it! I would sleep right through the sonic booms of the space shuttle re-entering the atmosphere when I lived in Florida – ha! But now? If a magnet falls off the refrigerator in the kitchen downstairs – I’M UP, I’M UP, WHAT!? I downloaded a free app to my phone called Rain, Rain that I love. It has a ton of different white noise options but I stick with “summer rain”. I don’t wake up nearly as often anymore now that I pair this with the little bit of noise from the humidifier. Ahhhh, relaxation.

4) An Extra Pillow – Are we seeing a theme here? Clearly, I’ve been experiencing sleep issues! A lot of ladies swear by the giant body pillows that are specifically made for pregnancy – and I am certainly not opposed to trying one out! But I haven’t wanted to spend the extra money just yet, so I’ve tried some alternatives. I started sleeping on my sides almost right away and I would wake up every 30 minutes with hip pain. I tried putting a pillow between my knees but that didn’t help a bit. Finally, I tried putting a pillow right under the middle of my back and that seemed to relieve the pressure I was experiencing. It helps support my stomach a bit and elevates me enough that all of the pressure isn’t resting on my hips.

5) Save My Skin Body Oil – Let me tell you – this stuff is amazing. I use a couple of pumps of this every morning and evening on every part of my body that is stretching out – and things are really starting to stretch out now! Haha! My stomach and chest were especially itchy and uncomfortable even from the beginning, so I started using this right away. This product keeps me feeling moisturized and comfortable in those places and has prevented stretch marks so far. I have also been using this on the stretch marks that I already had on my inner thighs and they are almost completely invisible now. So I have high hopes that this will keep me stretch mark free throughout my pregnancy! This is a product made by Pure Romance and I do happen to sell it as a consultant- you can get your own/read more about it by clicking here and navigating to “Shop” and “Bath and Beauty”. You can purchase it directly online through my little shop!

6) Yoga/Exercise – This is definitely a must have for me! If you haven’t been very active in the past I recommend walking and light stretching. I honestly believe that staying active kept me from experiencing true morning sickness. Any time I took a significant amount of time off from it I would start to feel pretty gross immediately. As someone who was already very active when I got pregnant, I have just continued doing what I was doing (with some modifications) and it has felt wonderful!

7) Orange Juice with Vitamin D – I found out that I was vitamin D deficient when my first prenatal appointment blood work came back. I started taking a supplement once a week which helped me to start getting my energy back. Drinking orange juice with vitamin D in it alongside of the supplement helped me feel even better, not to mention, I have been craving orange juice from the beginning. And a side perk? The cold and sweet juice gets the baby moving – and I LOVE to feel him move around!

8) Hot Heart Massager – I’m throwing out another Pure Romance product here because – YES – this thing rocks my world. This is a little reusable hot pack that warms up to 129 degrees when you click the little disk inside. I use them on my feet after a long day, on my neck, on my lower back, in my pockets when I’m outside in the cold – basically all of the time. Nate can rub one on the bottom of my feet or rub my back with two of them and it’s just like a hot stone massage. Loved this product before and love it even more now that I’m pregnant and achy. Again, you can click here and navigate to “Massage Oils & Accessories” to read more about it/get your own!

Is there anything you would add to this list? I’d love to try out your recommendations!