My Pregnancy Must-Haves with Baby #2

I’m 31 weeks pregnant today and I cannot believe our sweet baby boy will be here in two months (or less!). I don’t think I’m having a baby shower but I recently added a few more things to my baby registry for baby #2 since it’s a good way for me to keep track of what I need. This pregnancy has definitely been harder than my first, but I’m older (39!) and I also have a toddler to chase around. Plus, I did fertility treatments for 5 months before I even got pregnant so I just feel like I’ve been sick for a very long time.

Today I’m sharing my pregnancy must-haves to help aches, the pains, the insomnia and the nausea.

*Update* Now that I’ve had Charles, I’ve shared my postpartum must-haves here.

My 10 Pregnancy Must Haves

1. Prenatal Vitamins

I took Ritual Prenatal Vitamins with my first pregnancy and while I do think it’s a solid option, it had a horrible fishy after taste so I didn’t want to do that again. This time, I started with the One A Day Prenatal but recently switch to these Perelel Prenatal Packs.

I have a reel all about Perelel, but in short, the supplements change as you progress throughout your pregnancy. And that’s honestly brilliant, since what you need in your first trimester is so different from the needs at the end.

2. Pregnancy Pillow

I didn’t have back pain early on with this pregnancy, thankfully, but once I hit about 25 weeks, I started getting really uncomfortable at night. While I kept this large U-shaped body pillow from my first pregnancy, I wanted to try something different and bought the Baby Bub. At first I didn’t like it, but now I can’t go to bed without it and have even packed it when I was traveling. Even though the width is adjustable, it was too big at first, if that makes sense, but as my bump grew, it supported my body well.

It’s similar to this this wedge pillow from Amazon that I used with my first pregnancy, but I do like taht the Baby Bub supports my back too.

3. B12 and Ginger

My nausea has been AWFUL almost my entire pregnancy. I was on PIO (progesterone in oil) injections for over 20 weeks and that definitely contributed to my nausea. But even after I stopped PIO, I still struggled with nausea and threw up almost every morning. Thankfully around 25 weeks, that stopped. I still have major food aversions and am nauseous but it’s not nearly as bad as it was.

During the first trimester, I ate these ginger chews all day, so much so that now I cannot even stomach the sight of them. I also found that eating straight fennel seeds helped my nausea. A friend also gave me some of these Pregnancy Pops with B12 and I think they helped some, even if perhaps it was only a placebo effect.

I’m also making sure to get enough fiber to keep things moving since constipation is common in the third trimester and can also lead to feelings of nausea. I’m craving lots of fruit and oatmeal lately, so I’m eating those often. And I’m also taking Balance of Nature fiber every other night, which has both psyllium husk and flax.

4. Sleep Aids

Sleep has been a major problem for me this entire pregnancy and it’s been especially bad the last few weeks. I’ve been up until 2 or 3 and sometimes even 4:30am so for about 3 weeks straight, I haven’t slept more than 3-4 hours. It’s AWFUL.

In the beginning of my pregnancy, I took Unisom but I felt SO groggy the next day, so I switched to taking 1/2 a pill. That worked pretty well for a while but eventually that stopped working.

So then I switched to Benadryl. That worked for about two weeks and then it had the opposite effect that it would make me wired and those were some of my worst nights. But, when I tried going back to Unisom that didn’t work either.

I talked to my doctor about my sleep and she called in a prescription medication (Hydroxyzine). That worked GREAT the first night and I slept 11 hours. But then the next 4 nights that I took it, I still couldn’t sleep. So now I’m back to Unisom and that’s worked for the past two nights!

I have taken Natural Calm magnesium for years, but I also tried Earthley Wellness magnesium lotion for my restless legs and Magnesium Glycinate to help with sleep and didn’t notice an improvement in either so I’m back to Natural Calm. I am getting an iron transfusion in a few weeks since I’m anemic and have been for quite a while despite taking an iron supplement. I’m hoping that helps with restless legs and insomnia too.

5. Water Bottle + LMNT

I’ve never really had problems drinking enough water but I’ve really struggled with it during this pregnancy for some reason. But keeping this Simple Modern water bottle filled with ice water and my favorite brand of electrolytes, LMNT, has helped. (I have a blog post about LMNT here.)

And while I typically don’t like ice in my water, it’s the only acceptable way to drink water during this pregnancy. I also drink a lot of Spindrift since a little carbonation helps me when I’m nauseous.

6. Safe Skincare + a good face oil

Most of my skincare routine is pregnancy-safe so the only thing I had to change was to swap my retinol oil for a safer option. I love the Beautycounter Overnight Resurfacing Peel and honestly think it works just as well as the retinol. (I have a review of the peel with before and after pictures here.)

So, I have noticed my skin is extra dry since getting pregnant so I’ve been diligent about using this Colleen Rothschild No.9 Facial Oil every morning and on the evenings that I don’t use the peel. And I’ve been using this Primally Pure Blue Tansy body oil on my belly since it gets dry and itchy. While I haven’t had many noticeable stretch marks, I believe that’s more genetics than anything. I do have a minor darkening of my linea negra but I have no clue if the body oil has helped with that or if I just got lucky.

7. Antacids + Fennel Seeds

Just like my last pregnancy, my heartburn has kicked into high gear since I hit my third trimester. I chew fennel seeds right from the jar and that seems to help. I leave some them in my purse. If it doesn’t, I take one of these Doterra Digestive Tablets. I also take Doterra Digestive Enzymes from time to time.

8. Working Out

My nausea is a LOT better if I work out, even if it’s just 30 minutes of getting my heart rate up. While I ran my entire pregnancy with Thomas, it hasn’t sounded appealing at all in this pregnancy. So, my workouts have been my favorite Peloton classes (usually Power Zone classes or bootcamps) or pilates. In my first and second trimester, I went to the pilates studio and now that I’m in my third, I do mat pilates classes at home, using videos from The Mat Society.

I haven’t bought many maternity-specific workout clothes since I had some options that worked well for most of my pregnancy. But now that my bump is bigger, I’ve switched to true maternity workout leggings and tops. You can see the affordable maternity workout clothes I like in this blog post. If you need a lot of support for your workouts with a growing chest, I highly recommend the SheFit Ultimate bra I reviewed in this post.

9. Maternity and Non-Maternity Clothes that are Pregnancy Friendly

I really don’t like spending money on maternity clothing so I didn’t buy anything specific for my maternity wardrobe until late in my second trimester. Also, I am working on a blog post of my favorite maternity jeans, but before then, you can see the list of my favorite maternity jeans here.

I used a Bella Band in my first pregnancy to make my jeans work for longer but given that it was warm in the spring and summer for most of my pregnancy, I just stuck to dresses. Now that it’s cooler and I’m wearing jeans in the winter, I need true maternity jeans.

Once my bump got bigger and I couldn’t get away with my regular tops and dresses, I fell in love with Pink Blush Maternity. This post has all the Pink Blush items I’ve tried with sizing tips.

I also bought a lot of clothes from Amazon that aren’t maternity-specific and just sized up and that worked well.

In case it’s helpful, this post has tips for choosing a dress for maternity photos. And I have a blog post with affordable maternity holiday dresses here.

These Bellevation support shorts have been lifesavers under dresses as well since they help prevent chafing.

10. Comfortable Bras

Once again, my chest size changed DRAMATICALLY within just a couple weeks of getting pregnant. I went from a B/C cup to a DD/E cup. I ordered my favorite Third Love bra in a larger size as well as some new Natori bras.

Also, I got some Neiwai bras. Unless I’m wearing something fitted, I am always wearing a Neiwai bra since they’re so comfortable. They’re stretchy and don’t have underwires, which is more comfortable! (This post has all my favorite Neiwai bras.) For strapless bras, I like the Neiwai Essential Support Bandeau Bra and SOMA Wireless Stay Put Multi-Way Strapless Bra.

11. Smoothies

I had a smoothie daily for the first trimester and many days well after that since it’s all I could stomach! Some days, I used one of my own smoothie recipes, but most days, I made a Daily Harvest smoothie. (I also received a box of Splendid Spoon smoothies as a gift from a friend, and those were great when I was starving since they came pre-blended, so you may want to consider that.)

This post explains Splendid Spoon and this post explains Daily Harvest.

Bottom line: Every pregnancy is different

Everyone experiences pregnancy differently, so you’ll have to figure out what works for you. That’s been very true with even my two pregnancies—they’re so different in terms of what I’m struggling with and what I’m experiencing. It may take a little trial and error, but I hope this helps you figure out some common woes if you’re expecting.

I’m about to start packing my hospital bag too, so I’ll let you know if I change up what I bring this time! Here’s a blog post about what I took to the hospital with us last time.

What were your pregnancy must-haves? If you’re expecting, what other symptoms are you experiencing? 

Note: This post is based on my personal experience and is not intended to be advice for your pregnancy. As pregnancy impacts everyone differently, always check with your doctor before incorporating anything new into your diet, workout routines, etc.!