Pregnancy is a strange time. Your body is ever changing, your hormones are all over the place, you feel like you want to burst into flames in the heat and if you see someone eat something, you want to mug them for it. So how can we make it easier? Here are the things that helped me but just a bit more comfortable and happy... hopefully they might help you too!
Cycling shorts and snag tights chub rub shorts!
Honestly - a total game changer. I am a steadfast skinny jeans wearer (rightly or wrongly) and so I clung on to them as long as I could. I even threaded a hair bobble around the button and through the hole. But when the time came to let my normal jeans go, I quickly realised that maternity jeans were not for me. I decided the stretchier the better. I'm still a chub rub shorts convert and I'll never look back!
A 2 litre water bottle
So I got pregnant, and I got itchy! After much googling (and realising that this was a terrible idea) I realised that I needed to up my water intake. Yes, it did mean I was peeing round the clock, but this will happen anyway, and it stopped the itching! Try it! (if you get itchy while pregnant and upping your water intake doesn't help, then speak to your midwife!)
A yoga ball
During covid times, my pregnant self was banished and so I had to work at home. Chairs aren’t comfortable for long periods of time so my yoga ball became my new chair. They are also nice to lean over when watching tv at night or bounce on if baby is in a funny position. They are great when you are in labour or in late stages of pregnancy and you want to help get baby into a good position. It is also entertaining watching your partner fall off it.
Epsom salts
I suffer on and off with restless leg. It got particularly unpleasant at night during my pregnancy. I was told that magnesium is meant to help and Epsom salts is a good source so I put a good dollop in the bath every evening with some lavender oil to help ease it. These doubled as useful for post-partum in a sitz bath to help my healing.
Fruit
I ate it by the truckload. I had to have fruit on my cereal every day for breakfast – I just felt like baby needed it! Plus I went right off cooked vegetables at dinner, so I also ate a lot of cucumber, tomatoes and cold chopped pepper! If you’re like me right now and feel like you would have to remortagage your house just to buy strawberries, maybe stock up on frozen fruit!
Giant pillows
Pregnancy pillows are amazing, and they seem to now come in an array of different shapes and sizes. I had a massive 12foot pillow that was like a long sausage that you could wrap right around you, plus I had a smaller v-shaped pillow. The 12ft pillow was great after I had given birth to get into a comfortable position for feeding or for supporting other little ones who want to hold baby. I took the v-shaped one into hospital with me!
A bump support
Sometimes you can get achey and sore (for some, that will be an understatement). I found that sometimes, a bump support helped. It’s just a stretchy band that you strap around the bottom of your bump and it just helps you feel more supported and comfortable. I bought mine off amazon for not that much.
Ice packs
You may find that even when it not hot, you feel roasting. An ice back is useful to keep you cool putting them on your neck. I found them most useful for my restless leg! if you get the ones that go in the microwave as well, the double up as a heat pack if you have backache!
The icepacks are also useful postpartum. I sat on mine to help with the soreness!
Pregnancy books
I get that when you have been at work all day and are sleep deprived from peeing all night, reading can seem like hard work. However, there are certain books that I'd really recommend. The first book I read was The Positive Birth Book by Milli Hill. It's very accessible and has been recently updated. It is also available in audiobook form! Also, Dr Sara Wickham has written a number of books on different issues surrounding pregnancy and has a very useful blog. All of her work is evidence based!
Hypnobirthing
I’d be an idiot not to mention this, and it isn’t just shameless self-promotion I swear. Hypnobirthing is an antenatal education that I feel all women should have access to as standard but don’t. I had no idea about how my body worked in labour, what my rights were, or how important taking time to relax and bond with my baby were. It also helped to relieve a lot of the anxiety that both me and my partner had surrounding childbirth.
I hope you find something on here useful! If you have a pregnancy essential I've not mentioned, then please let me know what it is so I can spread the word.