My Top 5 Pregnancy Products

This past week I finally packed up all my pregnancy clothes and put them into storage in our basement. Going through each piece and remembering when I was pregnant with Cole definitely brought up some emotions and made me miss my belly that Cole once called home. Being pregnant is such a special time and truly a gift, so if you are newly pregnant and reading this -- congrats mama, you are in for an awesome new chapter of your life!

When I first got pregnant I definitely spent a few days googling to try and find out what I would need to make it through the next 9 months. Turns out there are a heck of a lot of things marketed to pregnant women, most of which you probably won’t ever need. Since most women will experience very different pregnancies -- some may have morning sickness several times a day, while others may get nose bleeds all of the time -- I have not included anything on this list that deals with any one specific pregnancy symptom, but rather just my top general pregnancy products that every woman could benefit from having on hand. Of course, in the end it is entirely up to you to buy what serves you best and I encourage you to do so! If I missed any products that you found to be super helpful during your pregnancy, post a comment below so others can benefit from your experience.

Here are my top 5 favourite pregnancy products:

Blanqi Maternity Leggings: At a certain point in your pregnancy, leggings will become your new uniform. And at a certain point in your pregnancy those cute Lululemon leggings just don’t quite feel as comfortable as they used to due to your growing belly! Around the end of my second trimester I purchased maternity leggings by the company Blanqi. These leggings offer full coverage, over-the-belly support and light all-over compression that helped smooth everything out and made my belly feel like it was being wrapped in a gentle hug. The material is luminous but not shiny, so they worked great both dressed up or down. I bought two pairs so that I could use one pair for day-to-day wear and the other pair for my workouts. (I also purchased Blanqi’s Maternity Cami Slip and wore it to work almost daily paired with a nice blazer and some leggings -- ultimate comfort business attire!).

Pai Stretch Mark System: While I am totally cool with stretch marks -- they already cover my hips, thighs, breasts and many other places on my body and I always refer to them as my beautiful tiger stripes -- I figured a good proactive plan to take the best care of my belly skin would be to invest in a top quality cream. After searching online for several hours trying to find a good cream, I came across Pai’s Stretch Mark System, a 2-step pomegranate and pumpkin seed hydrating cream and replenishing oil that works to promote skin elasticity and suppleness to help prevent stretch marks. It’s also vegan, cruelty-free and free of essential oils and fragrances. I ordered it straight away and started using it right at the start of my second trimester -- once in the morning, and once at night. I must admit, never in my life have I ever been so diligent about moisturizing any part of my body! But all that hard work paid off -- after 42 weeks of pregnancy I can report that I did not get a single new tiger stripe on my body!

Body Pillow: Training yourself to sleep on your side, specifically your left side, is no easy feat when you are used to sleeping on your back or stomach. I started trying to sleep on my side a few weeks before my midwife made it a requirement so that I could get used to it before it became mandatory. Those first few weeks were probably the worst sleep I ever had! I could never arrange the pillows in such a way that kept me sleeping on my side and I would constantly wake up on my back. Also, trying to readjust 7 pillows after waking up a million times to pee in the middle of the night was a frustrating task! So after many failed sleeping attempts, I decided to bite the bullet and buy a pregnancy pillow. Most of them aren’t cheap (I never thought I would spend $100+ on a pillow!), but they are definitely worth every penny. After doing a bit of research, I opted for Leachco's Snoogle Pregnancy Pillow. It made sleeping on my side so much easier and I was finally able to get a full night's rest again. I will note however that if I had a larger bed (at the time I had a queen size), and my dog didn’t also sleep in the bed with my husband and I, leaving very little room for me, I likely would have opted for the much larger U-shaped pregnancy pillow by Leachco (https://www.amazon.ca/Leachco-Belly-Contoured-Pillow-Ivory/dp/B0002E7DIQ) as it offers all-around support so you don’t need to reposition it if you choose to switch sides while you sleep.

Olive Oil Butter: I first learned about this product from a fellow holistic nutritionist mama, Marni Wasserman. Her due date was just a couple of months ahead of my own and she had posted on Instagram that she was using Olive In The Raw’s Unscented Body Butter for perineal massages. At the time I had been seeing a pelvic floor therapist who had recommended starting perineal massages around week 35, and this product definitely came in handy for that! I really loved this product because it was clean, pure and natural, exactly what I look for in a product that I put on my body. In the end Cole’s birth was not vaginal (more on this next week -- I will finally be posting Cole’s birth story), so I unfortunately cannot say if all that perineal massaging would have helped with tearing, but maybe if we have baby #2 I can try again!

The Bump Method: I am so grateful that, with the exception of 2 weeks of nausea in my first trimester, I was able to continue my weight training throughout my entire pregnancy. In addition to my workouts, I decided to tack on The Bump Method, an online program that combines Pilates, functional movement and pelvic floor exercises to help women during pregnancy and also during postpartum recovery. There is a different workout for each of the three trimesters as well as a postpartum workout to help restore proper core function and re-train the abs to fire correctly after delivery. I loved this program because it helped me connect with my deep core muscles, and also helped me learn how to release my pelvic floor in preparation for birth. The creator of the program, Nikki Bergen, also shares several exercises on her instagram page (@thebellemethod) if you wanted to get a feel for the program before purchasing, however I truly believe that you won’t regret signing up for the online program. And it’s lifetime access, so if you do decide to have a second, third or fourth little one you can use it over and over again!

(I’m not endorsed by any of these companies, I just genuinely love the products!)