Guess what guys?!? I’m a Mama now! On September 20th at 9:50AM we welcomed a beautiful baby boy Gavin (who will be referred to now as Baby G) via C-Section! 

I’ve decided to include a few post-natal posts in my Pregnant Diaries series, looking back and this very life altering time in my life! I’ve decided to include some things that were absolutely essential in my pregnancy! 

1. Maternity Pillow – I got the Jolly Jumper Mama EZ Sleep pillow at the beginning on my second trimester, I NEEDED it early (or what everyone told me was early) because my body did not adjust to pregnancy very well. I wasn’t sleeping, I couldn’t get comfortable and my new belly was just in the way! Fortunately, that all changed when I picked up this pillow! Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who loved it, and I had to battle my dog Bomber for my beloved pillow! He even squished himself between me and the pillow overnight! 

2. Long tank tops/shirts – buying maternity clothes really wasn’t as fun as I thought it was going to be, and I bought a few items and then decided I was just going to stick to my own wardrobe for the most part. Here’s the kicker – none of my clothes were conducive to having a belly, so most of my clothes didn’t fit length wise by the time I hit my third trimester. I wore dresses as shirts with leggings, maxi skirts and long tank tops mostly, because nothing is worse than being at the store and realizing your belly won’t stay in a shirt that seemed to fit just fine at the house (yes, it happened!). So rather than investing in maternity clothing that isn’t really going to fit properly once your belly recovers from birth, invest in long tank tops that you can still use after! 

​​
3. Tums, or another pregnancy approve acid reflux tab – my body rebelled hard to being pregnant, muscles went out of whack,  ribs popped out, sleep schedule got ruined and I got acid reflux for the first time in my life! I couldn’t lay down without my head being elevated, and I was the type of person that often slept with a very thin or no pillow before my pregnancy, I was VERY uncomfortable! 

4. Good pain relief options – so, when you’re pregnant, you can’t have anti-immflamatories. That sucked for me. I battled tension headaches and sports injuries, I was pretty dependent on them at the time I got pregnant. So all of a sudden I couldn’t use Motrin, Aleve, Ruba535 or Voltarin, which I hate to admit were all part of my regular routine. Unfortunately, while my headaches went away pretty quickly, other pregnancy discomforts came into play – sore hips and back mostly. Tylenol, which is pregnancy approved, did NOTHING! And you need to be wary of essential oils and which ones need to be diluted during pregnancy/breastfeeding. Here were my top pain/discomfort relieving methods: 

– Chiropractor: honestly I would lay in bed crying if it wasn’t for the work I did with my chiropractor 

– Massage therapy: Jared’s cousin did pregnant massages for me and I am SO GRATEFUL 

– Yoga Therapy: now I only did this early in my pregnancy, mostly because I am on a really tight budget, but it was so effective! 

– Warm (not too hot!) showers and baths: relax the muscles, but while pregnant you can’t raise your temp too much 

– Heat pad/ice: heat for continual sore muscles, ice for newly popped out ribs 

– Stretching: a lot of my favourite yoga poses became danger zone when I got pregnant, which was sad for me but the ones I could do were SO helpful! 

– Drinking lots of water: the baby takes SO much away from you, and you need to hydrate your body, you need to up your water intake to compensate what the baby is using up instead of you. 

– Kt-tape: my ribs would not stay in place! This tape made it that they didn’t ‘click’ every time I stood up and sat down! 

5. Reusable Water Bottle: like I said above, the baby takes a lot away from you, and it’s your responsibility to compensate. Got leg cramps? Increasing your water intake will help with that, keep it filled and take it with you everywhere you go! Also dehydration is the worst, and might land you in the hospital mid-pregnancy. If there’s any way to prevent that, this is part of it! 

6. A good body lotion: it doesn’t need to be stretch mark cream or something specific to pregnancy, BUT your body is going to be stretching and pulling and (if you’re like me) itchy! I use Aveeno Frangrance Free Daily Moisturizing Lotion. Use it every day! Maybe twice a day if you feel like it! I actually switched to Aveeno Baby Lotion at the end of my pregnancy to get my dog used to the smell! 

7. Love and support: I don’t care who it’s from – the father of your unborn child, friends, mom and dad, brother and sister, other family, you need support! Pregnancy is hard but rewarding, and especially in your first pregnancy, you do not know what to expect or what is ‘normal’. The more support you have, the better! 

Mamas! What were YOUR pregnancy essentials? What products could you NOT live without? What was super unnecessary? Let me know in the comments! 

Until next time, 

Amanda, xo