9 Essentials Every Pregnant Mom Should Have
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Safe Cleaning Products
Harsh chemicals and toxic ingredients begone, especially when pregnant. I absolutely love the cleaning products from The Honest Company and regularly get their laundry detergent, multi-surface cleaner, and dryer sheets in my bundle. Bonus: they smell so good! You can even get a free trial of The Honest Essentials Bundle to try out their products.
Photo: The Honest Co.
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A Great Maxi Dress
My favorite maternity dress wasn't even maternity! It was comfortable, cute, and oversized, making it perfect for my grow tummy. But I could still wear it after I gave birth. There are lots of great options out there, but my favorite dress (pictured here) is from Roolee Boutique (and comes in three colors).
Photo: Roolee
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Nausea Helpers
During one of my pregnancies, I was very nauseated for about 20 weeks and pulled out all of the stops to fight the morning sickness. Some of my favorite helpers are: Preggie Pop Drops, Sea Bands for morning sickness, Peppermint Essential Oil (diffuse it with this or sniff it), a combination of Vitamin B Complex supplements, and Unisom at night (recommended by my ob-gyn, but check with your own doctor), and as much sleep as possible.
Photo: Amazon
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Belly Butter
For growing, stretching, and itching bellies, a belly butter is a must-have. My favorite is this belly butter from Zoe Organics. I'm also a huge fan of their Belly Oil (great for helping with any stretch marks). I love that the ingredients are all organic and it's a great mom-run company.
Photo: Target
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A Body Pillow Made for Pregnancy
This can help you sleep more comfortably, and it can help relieve hip and back pain. This body pillow from Bump Nest is beyond amazing. They also have an incline pillow that is tremendously helpful for reflux (which I had with baby #2).
Photo: Bump Nest
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A Good Prenatal Vitamin
A prenatal vitamin is so important for your baby. I prefer to take one that I know is full of the good stuff mom and baby need without anything they don't. My favorite is the Prenatal Complete from The Honest Company (again, check with your doctor before you take any kind of vitamin or supplement if you're pregnant).
Photo: The Honest Co.
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A Belly Band
Some people love em, and others hate them. I'm honestly not a fan of wearing pants of any kind when pregnant -- something about them (even the most comfortable ones) just makes my stomach feel uncomfortable. But sometimes you gotta wear pants! When you want or need to wear pants in the early pregnancy days, a belly band is key. It holds up the pants you can fit into but can no longer button or zip up. They also help make pants more comfortable after the baby is born but before you're back in your regular size (for like four months in my case...) This one is my favorite.
Photo: Amazon
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A Good Pair of Maternity Jeans
Once you've moved beyond the belly band stage, it's time to invest in a good pair of maternity jeans. A skinny leg with a little stretch looks and feels best, in my opinion. If you're looking for a great, low-budget option, I absolutely love these from Old Navy. And if you want to invest in pair that will last you for a couple of pregnancies, these are the best (and worth the investment if you're only buying one pair and have the money to spend).
Photo: Old Navy
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Safe Beauty Products
You may not know this, but there are very harmful ingredients in some of your favorite beauty products that you cannot use during pregnancy. Anything with Retin, Retinol, Retin-A, etc. should be avoided. Peptides are also often advised against. But your skin is so out of whack when pregnant that it is important to use good products and stick to a good skincare routine. Check with your doctor, but these are my go-to beauty products when pregnant: Vasanti Brighten Up Cleanser, Kate Somerville Goat Milk Cream (this is my favorite moisturizer and smells so good), Mario Badescu Drying Cream (one of the only safe zit zappers I could find and I still use it when I'm not pregnant because it works so well), Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Elixir (for those really weird dry patches -- thanks hormones!), Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Eye Concentrate (a safe and effective eye cream), and Juice Beauty's Green Apple Pregnancy Peel (an amazing peel formulated specifically with pregnant and nursing women in mind!).
Photo: Juice Beauty
