1st and 2nd Trimester Favorites

I am currently 24 weeks pregnant and only a few weeks away from entering my third trimester! I cannot believe how quickly time has gone by! Over the last five months I have found a few items that have made this journey so much easier.. or at least more comfortable! I'd love to hear your third trimester essentials if you have any suggestions! That is the trimester I am most nervous about! 

First Trimester Favorites

Granola bars/ snacks and water- Most people think of nausea when they think about the first trimester and there is good reason for that. While I was lucky and didn't have the worst bout of morning sickness I did suffer some. I would not actually get sick (minus an isolated incident) but I would feel as if I was about to ALL DAY LONG. Seriously, gagging and feeling as if I could throw up any second all day long for weeks. I almost wanted to get sick because I thought it would make me feel better! Mixed with pure exhaustion it was not a fun experience. I tried anti nausea wrist bands (pointless), ginger-ale (normally my favorite but tasted like syrup and made me feel worse), and preggie pop drops (yummy, but expensive and didn't help). The ONLY thing that actually helped was eating snacks ALL day long and drinking water. I did not care if I put on 10,000 pounds at that point- I just wanted to feel better! Having granola bars, crackers, popcorn, almonds, etc on hand throughout the day is the only thing that made me feel better and got me through the day. 

Prenatal Gummy vitamins- At first I was taking a pill form of a prenatal vitamin and had no problems. Once the nausea kicked up though I could no longer swallow the pill without gagging it back up. Fun times... So I switched to a gummy and it made all the difference! Not to mention it is so yummy... I actually looked forward to taking it every morning! 

Books- Of course in the beginning ALL I wanted to do was read anything and everything I could get my hands on! I wanted to know exactly what was going on with my body, my babies development and wanted to answers to my million questions. I worried over every little thing and would always head to my books to find comfort or at least answers to my questions. Some of my favorites were What to expect when you're expecting, Your Pregnancy and Childbirth: Month to Month, and The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy. The first two are more educational and the last more entertaining! 

Second Trimester Favorites

Belly Band- I could not have gotten through the end of my first trimester/ second trimester without this! I am still using it for my work pants. It is essentially just a stretch band that covers your zipper/button of pants so you can wear your pre-pregnancy pants unbuttoned. There is a definite transition time where maternity clothes don't fit yet but your old pants don't fit either. This is where the belly band came to the rescue! There are tons of options but I used this one from Target and loved it. 

Maternity Leggings- While on the topic of clothes, maternity leggings. I thought my leggings would be a safe bet throughout my pregnancy because hello.. leggings- stretch, right?! No. I have two pairs of leggings that are still comfortable but my all of my nice black ones happen to also be compression. Great when you are not pregnant and want to suck in at all the right places. Not great when your tummy is growing and they can't provide the stretch you need. I picked up a pair of maternity leggings at Target and they have made a world of difference! 

Stretch Mark Cream- When I really started showing I picked up some Body Boost Stretch Mark Butter from Motherhood Maternity. It smells great and no stretch marks so far! 

Heating Pad- Recently I started experiencing some lower back pain and round ligament pain. My heating pad has really helped relive some of those aches and pains. 

Snoogle- My newest essential is my snoogle pillow. I was super hesitant to spend the money on a pregnancy pillow because I thought it was a waist of money and honestly there are a million baby items I would rather spend my money on! After two weeks of tossing and turning, ligament pain waking and keeping me up in the middle of the night I finally ordered one at 3am in desperation. Yes, 3am when I was wide awake on my phone, ha! I told myself I would try it out and return it if it wasn't worth the money. Needless to say it is not going back. I have slept SO much better with it and even use it at other times like when I'm watching TV or sitting up to read! 

Mamas- I would LOVE your suggestions on anything I might need for the third trimester! I'm so worried about being huge and uncomfortable!