Pregnancy Essentials!

With less than 2 weeks until my due date I thought I'd take some time to reflect on my pregnancy and the things that I couldn't have survived without!

Palmer's Tummy Butter

I've been lathering this all over my stomach, hips and boobs since the day I found out I was pregnant and so far, so good.  I had real problems with stretchmarks during puberty and they've now faded but are still mildly visible, so I wanted to do everything in my power to prevent them this time.  It seems to be working but there's still time I suppose!  If nothing else, it's very relaxing having a routine where I go to bed every night and moisturise with this and I'm looking forward to it even more once my bump is a bit bigger.  It can be a bit greasy afterwards so I suggest wearing old pyjamas if you're bothered about them getting a bit messy - it does seem to wash out fine though!  You can buy Palmer's Tummy Butter online or from most supermarkets and drugstores - I got mine from Boots and I'm just under halfway through my third tub.  Obviously the bigger you get, the more you use.  I have no idea if it's actually helped or whether maybe just massaging and keeping good blood flow has been more useful BUT it's a great way of bonding with baby.

Brother Max Ray Bath and Room Thermometer

During the IVF I read in a few places that having hot baths after an embryo transfer isn't good for you as you shouldn't raise your core temperature too much and the same goes for pregnancy.  Therefore, I invested in this little guy.  He's cute, easy to use and doubles up as a room thermometer.  He'll also be a handy tool to check room and bath temperatures once baby is here.  Again, I purchased him from Boots.

Ginger Biscuits

These don't need a link as you can get them from any
local store or supermarket, but they were a livesafer in the beginning.  Ginger is well known for easing nausea and I found nibbling on a couple of these first thing in a morning to line my stomach a great way of fending off the morning sickness.  Oddly enough, now I can't stand the sight of them but that's probably because I associate them with feeling queasy.


Seven Seas Pregnancy Multivitamin

I was taking folic acid (with vitamin D) for well over a year in the lead up to starting the IVF process and I continued that until I'd had my embryo transfer then switched over to these, which are more specifically designed to support a growing baby.  They still contain all the folic acid and vitamin D you need, but also other recommended supplements (such as iodine - which I read about late on, panicked and then realised was in these anyway).  They also have a little ginger mixed in which may help with morning sickness.  They're a great way to make sure you're getting everything you and baby need during those first few weeks where you feel sick and your diet is mostly eating whatever you can stomach, whenever you can stomach it.

Pillows

A pregnant woman, especially one in her third trimester, can never have enough pillows.  I've been building myself a little fortress every night in an effort to get comfortable and I've started getting a little more sleep since I padded myself out with more pillows.  I use one between my legs to ease sciatic pain, one under my bump/ribs to ease rib pain and prop up 2 under my head.  It's also helpful to have a couple behind you so you don't end up rolling on to your back.  In the last week my sister-in-law has lent me her pregnancy pillow and it has been pretty useful.  However, I wouldn't say it's a necessity and normal pillow do the trick.  You certainly don't need one of really fancy pregnancy pillows that cost around £70, a cheap £20 will do just the same job!

Gaviscon

If I could only have one thing off this list, Gaviscon would be it.  I've had chronic heartburn from around 16 weeks and none of the self-help measures have worked.  I've tried cutting out spicy/acidic foods, eating little and often, not eating/drinking for a few hours before bed, keeping myself propped up at night and every other thing people have recommended but absolutely nothing works.  Gaviscon, however, provides instant relief and is perfectly safe to use regularly during pregnancy. I've got a selection of various sized bottles around the house, in my handbag and I kept one in my desk drawer at work!  FYI I was told that once baby drops down in late pregnancy the heartburn would go away - I'm now almost 39 weeks, baby is 3/5 engaged and I STILL have horrendous heartburn.

Exercise Ball

These balls are amazing - so much so that I bought 2 of them.  I have one in the living room which I use for sitting on in an evening when I'm watching TV and for stretching/exercising and I kept one at my desk to switch out with my desk chair when I was uncomfortable, which I found especially useful for tailbone pain.  The one I brought home from work is now safely packed away in my hospital bag ready for labour.  They're also great for helping baby to engage and turning breech babies apparently - I'll be bouncing on it a lot in the next week or two to try and encourage Pip to make an appearance.

Leggings

Black leggings from Pep & Co (usually found inside Poundland stores) have been an absolute life saver.  Every time I've got bigger I've just bought a pair in a bigger size and it's not broken the bank as they're around £2.50 a pair!  As I got rounder I found that my work trousers wouldn't fit and I couldn't fit any smart maternity trousers that I liked and that were a reasonable price, so I switched to wearing dresses and tights constantly.  Then, when I got to the point that getting tights on was just too much of a fight I swapped to wearing these under my dresses with a pair of black socks and nobody was any the wiser.  These are going to be perfect for after baby is born as well as they're soft, stretchy, comfortable and easy to get on and off.

Nursing Bras

Although these are more essential after baby is born, they've been brilliant for taking the pressure off my ribs which have been hurting for a good couple of months now.  Any underwired bra would do the same job and I spent most of the first trimester in sports bras when my breasts were really tender.  I bought a pack of 3 from Amazon seeing as I was going to need them after birth anyway and they weren't expensive at all.  They're incredibly comfy but I haven't posted a link as one of the straps on one has already torn so you might have to shop around a little!

There are various other things that I have really benefited from such as good apps on my phone (Pregnancy+ and Baby Centre are 2 of my favourites), slip on shoes over the last few weeks and, possibly most important of all, a good solid exercise regime but the above purchases were all well worth going out specifically to buy!

What were your essentials for pregnancy?  I'd love to hear about them - particularly anything a little unusual that people might not think of!