My Top 8 Pregnancy Must-Haves

I’m officially in my sixth month of pregnancy and I can’t believe it – we are only a few weeks away from being in the third trimester. It’s funny how pregnancy time goes. For us, the first trimester felt very slow because there was a lot of uncertainty. It was an anxious first few weeks. Then, the second trimester flew by. It felt like I blinked and suddenly we are nearing the third trimester. 

With that being said, there are a few things I’ve found to be absolutely essential – some all the way along, while others have proven their worth more so as my pregnancy has progressed. So, Let’s talk about my top pregnancy must-haves! 

If you’re newly expecting or trying, you likely already know that prenatal vitamins are a must-have. I really explored a lot of options when I started taking prenatal vitamins and I ended up taking and sticking with the Pink Stork Prenatal Vitamins with DHA.

I had started taking prenatal vitamins as soon as we began trying to start our family and I had switched around to different brands as I spoke to friends, family, and people online about the best vitamins out there. In general, it seems people tend to recommend Thorne, Ritual, and Pink Stork.

I ended up sticking with Pink Stork because it has DHA in it, and it was one that was most accessible to me. I just recently ordered the 180-capsule size (which gives me 90 days’ worth of prenatal vitamins) on Amazon. DHA is important for the baby’s brain development and health. While you can get it other ways, I felt most confident knowing that it was already in my daily prenatal vitamins. 

Early in my pregnancy, I had read that a pregnancy pillow would be essential after about 20 weeks and so I ordered my pillow around that time. I’m unsure if I needed it right around that point but it certainly was comfortable, and now at 6.5 months pregnant, I find it basically essential to sleep with. I have fairly bad insomnia at the best of times and pregnancy has certainly exacerbated that, but this pillow does help with that, and also seems to help reduce some of the aches and pains that can arise overnight. 

Another one of my top pregnancy must-haves: Maternity Leggings! I ordered maternity leggings very early in my pregnancy. Around 8-10 weeks, I was already feeling like my belly was growing bigger.

On the outside, to other people, I likely looked pretty much the same, but I was aware of my belly and quickly found a lot of my normal pants and jeans uncomfortable. Plus, wearing something tight on my stomach just felt counterintuitive. So, I ordered some leggings. I ended up ordering 3 maternity leggings over the course of a few weeks and I am really happy with two of them.

I have heard a lot of people say that getting a pair of Lululemon leggings in a size up is your best bet. I personally didn’t go this route because I don’t buy Lululemon often anyways, mostly due to their cost. I felt I could likely buy a few pairs from a different brand and like them as much.  

The first pair of leggings were from Poshdivah. These feel like high-quality Lululemon leggings. They are a thick and stretchy material and I have been so impressed with them. They’ve really been my #1 go-to leggings and I wear them most days.

The brand, Poshdivah, ended up seeing my posts about these leggings and very kindly sent me a few other maternity items including their fleece leggings, and I also really love those. We have had a few intense cold snaps here and the fleece lining has been so cozy and lovely. They also sent me their pencil skirt and I absolutely adore this and wear it all the time. I can’t wait until it gets a bit warmer so I can wear it even more. 

The second pair of leggings are from Foucome. These are more like lounge leggings. They are super soft and comfortable, but they aren’t that high-quality LuLulemon material and they don’t have that athletic stretch to them. Instead, they are light sweatpants leggings. For a cozy pair of leggings to wear around the house or to run errands, they are great. 

The third pair of leggings I ordered are these Motherhood Maternity ones, and they are fine but they are definitely at-home leggings. They can be a bit sheer, they faded very quickly, and the belly band is kind of a nylon-like material that I find feels itchy at times. 

I know that people say that stretch marks are genetic, and I get that, but I do think there is something to using body butters, oils, and scrubs to help reduce stretch marks. It’s always made sense to me that more moisturized skin is more resilient skin – it doesn’t crack and wrinkle the way dry skin does, and that’s how I think of body care when it comes to stretch marks.

Of course, a pregnancy bump is growing and stretching so some stretch marks may happen, but I think the body care products can help nourish your skin so that it stretches better than it would if it were dry.

Throughout my pregnancy, I have used the Saje Wellness Mother’s Wellness oil, Burts Bees Mama Bee Nourishing oil, as well as the Spoiled Mama Body Butter & Scrub. I’ve really loved all of these bump butters and oils. They’ve made my skin feel super soft and moisturized and I do feel that they’ve kept stretch marks at bay. I would definitely consider a bump butter or oil one of my top pregnancy must-haves.

This is an item that I just recently invested in, and I am so glad I did. Over the last couple of weeks, I began experiencing pelvic pain and it seems to be getting more and more intense. While I have done pelvic floor exercises throughout my pregnancy, I do think some pelvic pain is likely just inevitable as the baby & my belly grow.  

While a belly band isn’t an end-all-cure-all, it certainly does help take some of the pressure off of the pelvis. I don’t wear it all day every day (though, that may change if the discomfort becomes overwhelming) but I wear it for a few hours most days just to give my body a bit of a break. If you’re experiencing pelvic pain during your pregnancy then this may be something you want to invest in, but be sure to speak to your doctor as they may want to discuss this with you further.