The excitement that comes with the first trimester can be overwhelming to say the least. You’re creating a human being, after all! The life force that’s growing inside of you is a beautiful miracle – but changes come along with it. To help with the fun and not-so-fun symptoms, here are my must-haves that’ll take you through all trimesters.
Prenatal Vitamins
These are a given! The moment I found out I was pregnant, I went out to buy some nourishment for my new baby. I got to the prenatal aisle and froze. Not knowing exactly what to look for, I called my best friend and asked what brand she liked during her pregnancy. Those didn’t end up agreeing with my stomach, so I bought the same brand my sister used and they turned out to be a better fit for me.
Bumpin Blends Smoothie Cubes
Heavy meals were never appealing during my first trimester. I gravitated towards smaller meals in larger frequency instead; 6 small meals instead of 3 larger ones. This was much kinder on my stomach and allowed me to take down what I craved (sugar and carbs ha!). I loved Bumpin’ Blends because smoothies are life, and these flavors are so delicious! Pro tip: You def don’t have to be pregnant to have them delivered PLUS they aid very well in digestion since all of those changing hormones can cause some new found issues…
KitchenAid Blender
Being a nomad for the better part of a decade means that I don’t have fancy kitchen appliances hanging around…until now! I told my fiancé I wanted a blender for my birthday this year, and that’s exactly what I got. This KitchenAid blender now goes swimmingly with my mixer and creates the perfect smoothie!
Pregnancy Tea
I’ve been trying to drink more tea over coffee these days to curb my caffeine intake during pregnancy. I’ll admit that this has been difficult since I’m engaged to a coffee snob Australian who has turned me into one as well 🙂 I’ve had this brand as well as this one.
Ginger Tummy Drops
I didn’t have extreme nausea during my first trimester thankfully, but waves did come and go. These natural ginger tummy drops help with nausea, upset stomachs and digestion and are definitely pregnancy safe!
Doctor-Approved Medications
Doctor-approved medications for me, like Tums, definitely helped ease the little heartburn and upset stomachs I experienced in the first trimester. Talk to your doctor before taking any medication(!), but mine also approved Tylenol due to the sheer amount of headaches I was experiencing towards the end of my first trimester. I definitely took them sparingly, only when no other remedy worked.
Belly Butter
Towards the end of my first trimester, I had a good girlfriend tell me to start putting on belly butter to prevent stretch marks – even if I felt like I didn’t need it at the time. It would prep my body to grow with my baby bump. Know that most stretch mark prevention creams are generally made with similar ingredients, and while you definitely don’t need anything fancy, I love my Fearless Mama belly butter with all natural components. You can also buy pure coconut oil.
Snack Food
I’m always reaching in the carb/sugar cabinet these days for something to satisfy whatever I’m craving that day. So far I’ve loved Smart Food, Black Forest Gummy Bears, CLIF Bars and TJ’s peanut butter filled pretzels.
Pregnancy Flakes
Pregnancy flakes is just a fancy term for bath salts but with pure magnesium to alleviate pregnancy aches, pains, morning sickness and sleep. Magnesium also helps increase the amount of water to the intestines, aiding in bowel movements and thus, pregnancy constipation. I also love that it’s a female-owned and operated company with clean products only.
Throw Blanket
For those days when you can’t get out of bed or off the couch due to morning sickness or fatigue, a cozy blanket is the perfect companion. Personally, my pregnancy fatigue was REAL. Even in my second trimester, it lingers greatly. Even now, I’m currently writing this from my bed while enveloped in my pregnancy pillow. Speaking of…
Pregnancy Pillow
I wish y’all could see me right now, propped up on my big supportive pillow with one side curved over my stomach to act as a laptop stand. This thing is functional in sooo many ways! While I didn’t exactly need a pregnancy pillow during my first trimester to support much, I wish I’d gotten it sooner. It’s that amazing…and you definitely don’t need to be pregnant to have one 🙂
Bloat Pants
I’m not sure who shrunk my pants… but they definitely got TIGHT in my first trimester. I love these tapered maternity lounge pants from Nordstrom cut with an extra wide waistband for an over-the-bump fit!
Comfy Bras
With an expanding belly comes an expanding bust and rib cage for many. I have this bra in both Black and Naked, and it’s one of the only bras I’ve worn for years. While my breasts won’t be affected by pregnancy due to my double mastectomy, I still find my other bras to be too confining with a bigger rib cage coming in hot!
A Big, Big Water Bottle
I’ve always been bad a drinking enough water throughout the day, but I really needed to work on it during pregnancy. This water bottle (with a time marker!) makes it easy to know just how much you’re consuming throughout the day. If you fill it up twice, you’re doing great 🙂
If you have any first trimester tips – or any trimester trips for that matter – please add in the comments below!
I just want to know where your white dress is frommmmmmm