Pregnancy Archives - Wise Mamma

You are creating a new human in your body which makes you a total rock star! You have so much to look forward to as you are soon going to bring your baby-to-be into the world. However, no one needs to tell you that pregnancy is so hard! While you have the miracle baby in the making, your body is taking a beating - even if you are one of the lucky ones that have a smooth-sailing pregnancy. You are still going to be dealing with a lot of discomforts, aches, pains, and other issues while being pregnant. That is why moms strongly recommend a list of 10 must-haves that every pregnant mom needs to make her life easier. Let's go over those right now: Pregnancy essentials 1. Belly butter Your belly is going to stretch. And that means, you guessed it, STRETCH MARKS :/ Luckily if you get a good belly butter and start rubbing it onto your belly every day, you'll avoid them and keep your belly smooth and greatly reduce the chances of ugly stretch marks later. Our go to choice is Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter and is trusted by thousands of mammas already. It's fragrance free and contains all natural hydrating cocoa, shea and jojoba butters. 2. Body Pillow As your bump keeps growing, your discomfort will also become intensified which means finding a comfortable position will become more of a challenge when it comes to sleeping or just relaxing. This is why you will need a body pillow that you can put between your knees to elevate them and keeping them comfortable while supporting your growing bump. And you will want to get the body pillow sooner than the mid-second trimester when you start to really grow. If you are having a rough time in the first trimester, you can cuddle with it while laying down which will help you feel better! 3. Massage Lotion Or Cream for dryness You are going to experience dry hands, feet, and knees thanks to all of the active hormones while pregnant. And, you will want to keep massaging those areas so that the circulation keeps going. In order to do that, you are going to need the best type of massage oils or creams such as peppermint oil, cocoa butter, jasmine oil, or lemon oil. You will feel relieved and refreshed after having any of these lotions or creams massaged into your dry areas. 4. Massaging Water Bottle Let's talk about back pain! Yes, not a fun thing to experience and back pain is, unfortunately, a common symptom of pregnancy in all three trimesters! That is why you are going to want to make sure that you have a massaging water bottle so you can put it on your aching back! It will deliver you a gentle massage as well as heat that is soothing. The relief you will feel by using this smart item is amazing! And the great news is that you can apply the massage water bottle on other areas of your body that is aching as well! Another similar massage product that works well is this massage pillow from Amazon that's battery operated and has customized settings to tune the massage strength to your liking. 5. Candies Ginger Or Ginger Capsules Most pregnant moms deal with pregnancy-related nausea in the first trimester and a few of the unlucky ones may experience it throughout the entire pregnancy. And if you are part of the majority of women that do, you will want to stock up on ginger candies so you can chew or suck on them during any time of the day when you are feeling lousy especially. These candies will provide you with relief as ginger is meant to help relieve sickness and is a great natural digestive aid. Sure, you can take ginger capsules, but the candies may be more appealing and more fun because they are delicious. However, if you are experiencing sickness that is out of control no matter what type of remedies you are trying, and you aren't able to hold anything in - then you need to see your doctor as soon as possible. What you may be dealing with is not typical pregnancy sickness. You may have an extreme form of it called hyperemesis gravidarum, the condition that Princess Kate and Amy Schumer had. 6. Tennis Balls Tennis balls as a must-have for pregnancy? Say what? Yes, you read that correctly. If you have a few tennis balls on hand you can get your partner to rub them against your lower back when you are further along in the late second trimester and the entire third trimester. Have him roll it around that area firmly as the firm pressure will help provide relief from any discomfort, and these tennis balls are a must-have for labor as well! You could even use it yourself as well! However, if your partner is annoying you, count to 10 and refrain yourself from throwing them at him! It may be tempting but the reason that the tennis balls that are recommended as a pregnancy must-have are not for that reason! Yes, it is there to help provide you with the relief that you need, but not in that form! Not into tennis balls, then you could get these more stylish massage balls instead which work a lot better and are more effective. 7. A Stretchy Belly Band If you are about to whip out your credit card to purchase the most fashionable maternity pants around, don't make that purchase. Firstly, maternity clothes are quite expensive and you are going to need to save your hard-earned cash since soon enough you will have a baby to spend money on! Instead, why not wear your pre-pregnancy pants and use an elastic band to hold your pants up without it needing to be fastened (which you cannot do when you are pregnant anyway)? This elastic band hack is an easy one to utilize, and it will save you a whole lot of money! This is why this belly band is a must-have for pregnancy. 8. Kinesiology Tape It has already been mentioned that you are going to be dealing with a lot of aches and pains during pregnancy, especially during the latter part where back pain will be the norm. Even though it is safe to occasionally take Tylenol during pregnancy, it won't be enough to provide you with the type of pain relief you need. This is why a must-have for pregnancy is kinesiology tape as it will provide you with relief from pain and physical support that you need. It is also very easy to put on as when you put it on yourself you make a big X across your stomach, and it will support your backs and hips. It is also invisible underneath clothing, and will not cause uncomfortable sweating or irritation. It is also waterproof so you can take a shower with it, and wear it up to 5 days! 9. Lollipops Or Hard Candies If ginger is not your thing and you don't care for it, or you don't find it helpful to ease nausea, then lollipops or even hard candies can help keep the sickness at bay. In fact, many moms have reported getting relief when they tried those Preggie pops that are lollipops made with essential oils to help relieve nausea. Or, even hard candies can be helpful. It is a must-have even if it may not help with nausea too much in your particular case. The other reason to keep hard candies or lollipops on hand is that quite often with pregnancy, an unpleasant metallic taste is there that can be hard to get rid of. It is like you can't get the taste of old pennies out of your mouth. However, sucking on hard candies can help reduce that taste. You have to thank hormones for that as well. 10. Peppermint Essential Oil One of the absolute must-haves for pregnancy is peppermint essential oil as it serves several purposes. This essential oil can help relieve nausea, swelling, and headaches which also happen often with pregnancy. If you want to use it to help relieve either nausea or headaches, take a drop of peppermint essential oil, and rub it around your temples. In order to use it to help reduce swelling, add a few drops into a spray water bottle, and spray your ankles and feet. It will help keep the swelling to a minimum. Another bonus reason to have peppermint essential oil on hand is if you are heavily pregnant during the summer or if you live in a climate where it is hot all year round - it will keep you cool and refreshed so you are not going to be having to deal with heavy sweating all of the time. 11. Bra Extenders Do you remember how it was recently mentioned that maternity clothes can cost you an arm and a leg? The same goes for maternity bras. That means instead of going out and spending your money on maternity bras, spend a little of it on bra extenders instead. These will help your bra fit you no matter how large your girls are at any given time during your pregnancy. And you can get any color that you wish as bra extenders come in a variety of colors. 12. A comfy glider chair I know what you're thinking....."don't I only need a rocking chair after pregnancy when I'm feeding my baby?". Well yes, BUT trust me, you may as well get it early because you're gonna want to put your feet up way before the baby comes! No-one likes the pain of carrying 6-10 pounds around with you all day. So why wait, when you can get some glorious miles on that sucker by putting your feet up and relieving that ankle and back pain so long. We recommend the Odelia swivel glider chair if you're looking for something that is both stylish and comfy. Conclusion Those are your 10 must-haves for pregnancy so your life can be made a lot easier and in some cases, these must-haves will save you money! Especially when it comes to using smart alternatives to maternity pants and bras! Pregnancy is not an easy time and you are going through a lot while growing that new human (or perhaps two or three if you are doubly or triply blessed). Once you do utilize these tips and grab these must-haves, you will most certainly glad that you did!