Even though I loved being pregnant, I spent a lot of my pregnancy justifying purchases for myself because I felt sorry for my tired and ever-changing body. “I’m exhausted all the time and my body is growing by the week…I deserve this maternity dress!!” Looking back, here are some of my must haves that I wouldn’t change if I had to do it all over again.
This post contains affiliate links but all opinions are my own.
First Trimester: Plain Carbs, A Comfy Bed & Support from Loved Ones
There really wasn’t a ton to buy during the first trimester. I might have felt a little puffy but most of my clothes still fit decently and even though I was exhausted, there wasn’t a lot to buy to solve this. The only thing I really had an appetite for was plain carbs – basically anything fairly bland with bread. I never wanted to leave bed (although if you know me at all, that’s the case even when I’m not pregnant…) so a comfy pillow, blankets and Netflix were a must for me. The biggest thing was support from my husband and family. We were moving out of our house during my first trimester so my husband definitely carried us through that. I was so wiped out that I felt useless and even small tasks seemed insurmountable. After we told my family the exciting news, it was so priceless to have my sisters to ask a million questions: Is this normal? Do you remember feeling like this? When should this start? Having trusted loved ones to help you out in the beginning and put your mind at ease makes everything so much more doable!
Second Trimester: Belly Band & Maternity Clothing Basics
Everyone’s bump shows at different times so this may fall under “first trimester” for some folks, but for me, a Belly Band was a second trimester necessity. I remember being in tears in the Target dressing room because my regular clothes weren’t fitting or looking right, but I wasn’t big enough for maternity clothes yet and I just felt so defeated. Enter the Belly Band, which allows you to keep wearing your jeans or pants but gives you some wiggle room! It also saves you from having to buy clothing in a ton of different sizes as you grow.
This is also a great time to start thinking about what your maternity clothing basics will look like. My staples were a pair of maternity leggings, a couple pairs of maternity jeans, maternity tanks & tees in black and white, a couple of black dresses that could be dressed up or down, and lightweight cardigans. I loved the Target tanks because they were not ruched, so I can still wear them as undershirts now that I’m no longer pregnant!
Another great thing that I loved during the second trimester was this fetal heartbeat monitor. We purchased ours on Amazon but it looks like it’s no longer available except through the company’s direct site. I think about 16 weeks is when we consistently could hear the heartbeat but it can sometimes be hard to find on yourself so if you feel that this will make you more nervous than you already are, purchase with caution!! For me, it was comforting to be able to hear the heartbeat before I could feel the baby moving and my husband liked listening in as well!
Third Trimester: Body Pillow, Wedge Pillow & Nursing Bras
If you have not purchased a pregnancy body pillow yet, stop what you’re doing and get one right now! This was the best purchase of my pregnancy. Sleep is so hard to come by when your body changes shape, especially at the end of pregnancy, and this pillow helps SO much. If you are a back sleeper (which apparently is a big no-no after the first trimester), this is great because it can keep you from rolling onto your back in your sleep. A wedge pillow is great for adding belly support OR for helping with acid reflux if you suffer from that. PRO TIP: Use the pregnancy pillow for your doggies for continued use after you have the baby 🙂
The hardest thing for me to deal with as far as my body changing during pregnancy was how big my chest got! I’ve never had this problem before and the big belly was expected, but this was not!! I went ahead and got some nursing bras to wear in the third trimester. They are so much more comfortable and can grow with you–and of course you’ll get lots of use from them after baby arrives, if you plan on breastfeeding.
I’m sure there are other things here and there that I picked up along the way (like dozens of bags of Trolli Crawler gummy worms and lots of Chick-fil-a) but these are the big things that looking back, I felt were my best purchases! Anything I’m missing??
amydazzo.com 