I feel pretty lucky that my pregnancy has been relatively easy so far. Around week 8 I noticed I would start to feel nauseous in the morning if I didn’t eat something right away. I never used to eat much for breakfast, so eating something first thing in the morning wasn’t really appealing. I starting drinking orange juice the moment I felt the queasiness coming on, and almost immediately it subsided. From then on, I just drank an orange juice first thing in the morning followed by saltines and it always worked wonders. Now, even in week 21 I still drink juice every morning but I’ve upgraded my saltines to a bagel since my appetite has grown (10x!)
Early on, I would sometimes get nauseous later in the afternoon after eating lunch. I found these ginger tummy drops and they were a lifesaver! They are a little strong, but just one did the trick every time. I’ve kept these in my bag since then, and will probably continue to use them even after pregnancy. Tylenol has also been a lifesaver for me since I often get headaches from being in front of a computer all day. Luckily my doctor said it’s safe to use during pregnancy so I take it at least once a week.
Also around week 8, my skin started going CRAZY. A few years ago I started getting cystic acne near my cheeks and on my skin. Anyone that’s experienced cystic acne knows how painful the bumps are and how impossible they are to treat. They never really come to a head like a normal pimple, but just stay under the skin and form a hard lump. I have a great dermatologist that helped me get rid of them a few years ago, but unfortunately there are A LOT of acne medications not safe to use during pregnancy that I had to discontinue using. And all the hormones made the acne come back during my first trimester. I did a lot of research on remedies that were safe and effective during treating cysts during pregnancy and stumbled upon this buffering lotion by Mario Badescu. It’s a little weird to apply-it’s a milky texture that’s really liquidy so it runs down my hand when I try to apply it. But as long as you can get a small amount on the affected area and leave it on overnight, I’ve found it cut down the life of a cyst into a few days. It’s even thin enough that you could apply it beneath your makeup if you wanted to. After about the 13th week my skin starting calming down again, but I still apply the buffering lotion on my chin each night just to be safe!
Around 16 weeks is when I started getting an actual bump, I couldn’t button my jeans without extending them with an elastic band (and even that was getting uncomfortable). That’s also around the same time my skin started feeling really dry and tight, so I knew I needed to start a good lotioning routine to prevent stretch marks as much as possible. (Side note- I know most stretch marks are hereditary, but I still think lotioning helps.) I tried Burt’s Bees Mama Belly Butter and Palmer’s Coco Butter for stretch marks, but both left a really sticky residue. My favorite by far has been this Vaseline version. It smells like sunscreen to me, which I know is weird but I love it. I put it on my belly and legs before bed, and again on my belly before getting dressed in the morning.
Around the same time I thought it was time to finally invest in a pair of maternity jeans. I sit down at work a lot, and even if I wore a long shirt with my pants unbuttoned, they were still digging into my lower stomach and it would actually give me stomach cramps by the end of the day. I started at H&M and Target first. H&M had a bunch of cute options, but they weren’t fitted enough and felt like they would stretch out too quickly. The Target ones were inexpensive, but similar to the H&M jeans in that they were way too saggy.
Then I started my search online and saw that ASOS carries maternity clothes. I ordered a pair of over the bump jeans with an actual button in the front, and then a pair of black jeans with the side panels. The over the bump ones fit much better than the side panel pair- those I could barely get over my hips. I wore the over the bump pair for about two weeks, but then the button started digging into my lower belly again and I was back to square one. I started searching on Instagram, Pinterest, you name it for better options.
That’s when I found PinkBlush Materninty and saw they had tons of cute options. I bought these in size 25 and 26 and the 26 fit the best. I’ve been obsessed with them, they have structure, but are also stretchy enough that they feel like leggings. I like they they have real pockets, but no real zipper or button- so no digging in! But it also doesn’t look like you’re wearing maternity jeans. I went back and bought this pair too and they fit just as great. My only complaint is that they run out of sizes quickly, so I wanted to reorder the same pairs but they didn’t have my size when I went back to order. They offer free shipping which is great, but you do have to pay for your own shipping label if you need to return a size. The jeans are a little pricey ($68) but they often have a 15% off promotion running- and believe me they are worth every dollar!! They also have really cute delivery robes that I can’t wait to buy- just can’t decide which one I like best!
I haven’t had to buy any other maternity pieces yet- I honestly plan to just buy a size or two up in my dresses and tops so I can wear them after pregnancy too. I’ve always worn these tanks from Target, so I bought a few in size bigger to wear with sweaters because they have the perfect amount of stretch. I found theses stretchy crew neck dresses from Old Navy for $15! And only had to buy a size bigger to give enough room for the growing bump. Once the weather stays warmer I plan to live in these!
Okay now that you’ve read my novel- I hope you’ve found these things to be helpful! My next struggle will be finding shorts, so let me know if you have any good ones you love!
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