Being a pregnant lady has been a really special and surreal experience and I'm grateful I've had such a smooth ride with my growing son these past 39 weeks.
Like many pregnant women, I've had countless useless products marketed to me on Instagram over the past 9 months. Clothing. Vitamins. Lotions. Books. Massagers. Teas. But I'm here to tell you that you really, probably, definitely don't need a lot of what they're selling.
With that said, here are a few of my favorite things that *did help me* during my pregnancy. None of the following items were advertised to me and I'm not receiving a penny to tell you about them. In fact, I'd recommend anyyyyyy of these to my girlfriends and many of them aren't even pregnancy items!
Queen Rose Maternity Pillow ($38) - A close friend of mine gifted me her Queen Rose maternity pillow and it was key to getting a good night's sleep during these last few months. It hugs your body and helped keep me on my side throughout the night! There are several different colors, so you can pick whichever one is best for your bedroom set.
THINX Classic Thongs ($12.50) - I had a pretty easy breezy pregnancy, but I definitely peed myself on maaaany occasions from sneezes, laughs and coughs. HA! Anyways, I bought 3 pairs of these absorbent thongs to wear throughout my pregnancy and they were key to containing myself. Literally. They're usually $25 a pair (YIKES) but luckily, I managed to buy a few pairs when they were on sale.
Fractionated Coconut Oil ($13) - Receiving massages from my husband Josh was an amazing way to relax throughout my pregnancy and this fractionated coconut oil was perfect to keep on my nightstand. I never had significant body pains, but rubbing mahself down on the regular was a great way for me to connect with my newly acquired belly and baby bod. Pregnancy tends to be dehydrating, so it was nice to feel extremely moisturized and silky after using this oil! This oil is odorless and won't stain sheets or clothes!
Faux Lambs Wool Baseball Cap ($8) - I can't tell you how many compliments I've received on this random and inexpensive accessory I purchased when I went looking for a "white boucle style hat"on Amazon. I've been throwing my hair in a ponytail a lot the past few months so baseball caps have been my best friend. And it's been perfect to wear at the gym for workouts and been super cute on date nights too!
Canada Goose Bump Extension Panel ($195) - I wiffled and waffled on spending so much money on this, but it really came in handy. We had a chilly winter here in Santa Monica, so having this bump extension panel allowed me to continue wearing my winter parka for months longer than I would have otherwise been able to. Every Canada Goose parka style requires a different sized bump extension panel, so make sure you buy the right one!
Rock The Bump Belly Butter ($20) - My husband gifted this to me for Christmas and it was so nice to have when my belly really started to pop. It was also special for him to rub it on me at nighttime so he could connect with my growing belly too. The butter went on smooth, was never sticky and has lasted the perfect amount of time. My due date is in 11 days and it's almost gone now!
NIKIBIKI Bodycon Black Jumpsuit ($31) - I bought this black spandex jumpsuit yeaaars ago and it's been a true staple in my closet. It's comfortable, doesn't require a bra and has accommodated my body at every stage of pregnancy. I'm wearing it right this second and even wore it on a date to the comedy club last night!
Bravado! Nursing Bra ($38) - I bought two of these Bravado! Nursing Bras in black and white, because they're suuuuper comfy, have cute ribbed material and aren't ugly fugly. They're also pill resistant, so they've been easily machine washable. As my boobs have grown to DDD levels, these have been extremely comfortable at every stage.
Calendar ($8) - Keeping a daily journal about pregnancy felt really daunting to me, so I purchased a regular ol' hanging calendar and filled in just a tiny square of my experience or activities every day of my pregnancy. And when I fell behind, I could easily catch up! I was inspired by a nearly identical calendar that my Mom kept when she was pregnant with me, which has been really amazing and educational to read through to better understand her pregnancy and the weeks after I was born!
Nine Months with God and Your Baby ($14) - This was a really easy devotional book to read because there were just a few pages of inspiration, scripture and guidance for every month of pregnancy. I really loved it's honesty about the various stages and the length was absolutely perfect. It's packed in my hospital bag so Josh can read nice, peaceful things to me while I'm screaming my head off!
Sky Blue Maternity Dress ($33) - OK. OK. SO I DID BUY ONE MATERNITY DRESS! It was super fun to wear and looked gorgeous in photos that I took at 5 months pregnant (on the beach!) and 9 months pregnant (on the mountain!). I'm really happy we documented this special time and that I had something glamorous to wear. And to ensure it has a longer shelf life, the gown is already ready to be shipped to my girlfriend in Pennsylvania who will use it for maternity photos of her own!
That's pretty much it.
And once again, don't let clever (okay, they're geniuses) Instagram advertisers and well-meaning friends and family tempt you into thinking you need an entirely new wardrobe when you're pregnant. Seriously.
If you do need a few fresh things for your beautiful new bod, consider just buying a size up from your favorite brand so you can still wear it when you're no longer pregnant. The challenge of buying *maternity specific* items is that you can only wear them for a few months and it's usually a weird brand or style you'd never actually wear. Plus, there's usually a ding dong dumb pricing mark-up just because it's labeled as "maternity." It's like when "wedding flowers"are 10x more expensive than well, regular "flowers."
Don't forget to ask your girlfriends if they have any hand-me-down items you can borrow and then pass along. You can also look on Poshmark if there are luxury maternity brands you wanna try out without paying full price.
You got this, girl!