First Trimester Must Haves
My first trimester was so wonderful and exciting knowing I was growing our little one, but also a time of feeling nauseas and exhausted while adjusting to my already changing body. Here are a few of my first trimester must haves, which made me a feel a little better and ease the nausea.
1. Ginger Chews – These ginger chews were a lifesaver! They are a thick and tough gummy candy that is packed with ginger flavor, and would instantly soothe my nauseous tummy. I used these the most when I was in a situation where it wasn’t ideal to get sick, and I just had to power thru. They were especially helpful when we were filming weddings. Luckily my nightmare of throwing up in the bushes while they were saying their vows never came true! They sell these at Trader Joe’s, but if you can’t find them in store you can get them on Amazon.
2. Sleep Mask – My first trimester I have never been so sleepy in my life, and I’ve had mono! Some days I would come home from work, take a nap, wake up, eat some toast, then go right back to bed. The best was on weekends when I could take an extra long nap. My record was 3.5 hours! I love using this Lewis N. Clark sleep mask when I’m sleeping during the day. It blocks out all the light, so I can really get a good sleep in. It’s also thick and cushy, so it’s very comfortable to wear. I’ve had this sleep mask for years, and just love it.
3. What to Expect App – My girlfriend recommended this app to me, and it is so much fun! Every week it tells you the size of the baby, and common symptoms you may be experiencing. They even have a short video every week explaining the developmental changes of your baby. I loved watching them with Shawn in the morning whenever we started a new week of our trimester. There is also a message board of other women due your same month. But be careful reading them! A few of them can freak you out.
4. Sigg Water Bottle – This is my absolute favorite reusable water bottle. It holds an entire liter of water, and the metal doesn’t change the taste of your water at all, which I’ve had happen with other metal water bottles. And now that I’m drinking water for 2, I am trying to drink 2 liters of water a day. My Sigg makes this so easy! A little tip – rather than using the screw top that Sigg water bottles come with, which are a huge pain to screw on and off, get the Sport Top, sold separately. You just open the flap and push down, and the water streams right out. Plus, this makes it so easy to drink water in bed! I can hold the bottle completely upside down, and until I push on the sport top, no water comes out. I have 2 of these bottles, 1 for work and 1 for bed. Have loved it for years!
5. Comfy Sports Bra – While my belly wasn’t growing much during the first trimester, my chest sure was! Oh my word, were my boobs tender as CAN BE! And they seriously grew a whole cup size in a month. No wonder they hurt. They had to be supported at all times, especially during the night. I love this Champion Freedom Seamless Sports Bra, and wear it to bed every night now. The material is extra super thick, so I feel like I’m really being held in. And there are no itchy tags inside, so it’s very comfortable. I actually get these at Costco for cheap! I think I get a 3 pack for around $25? But you can buy them at Amazon too.
6. Mini Ice Cube Tray – This may have been a craving specific only to me, but I loved sucking on ice. It was great when I was feeling nauseous, it instantly settled my tummy. Or after I would throw up, it felt amazing to suck on cold ice. It was also great for when I had headaches. I’m not taking any medications during my pregnancy (even though my doctor said Tylenol is safe, I am choosing to not take anything), so sucking on the cold ice would help any headaches. Regular ice cubes were too big, but the ice cubes I get from these mini trays are perfect! They remind me of that delicious nugget ice you get at Sonic.
7. Travel Tooth Brush – I loved being able to brush my teeth after I would get sick. I kept a little travel tooth brush and toothpaste in my purse. If I didn’t have it on me, I would just rinse my mouth with water and suck on a mint or a ginger chew.
8. KIND bars – If my stomach was ever too empty, it would make me nauseous. There weren’t many foods that sounded good, but I could always go for KIND granola bars. I love that they’re really low in sugar, and have a ton of nuts and healthy ingredients. I keep a few stashed in my purse, in my car, and in our camera gear bags for when we’re filming weddings. I was so excited when Costco started carrying KIND bars recently!
That about covers it! Any other first trimester products you loved? Share!
I’ll be sharing another one of these at the end of the 2nd trimester, which I have a feeling will have lots of clothes recommendations since my regular jeans are getting a little tough to zip up, haha! If you have maternity jean recommendations, let me know! I’ll be on the hunt very soon : )
8 Comments on “First Trimester Must Haves”
I could have used the ginger chews myself. I was naseus the entire first trimester. Instead a bagel sted with butter helped me get through it. Awe Natalie I am so thrilled for you. This is just so exciting.
So many changes your body is going through! I love ginger chews for regular nausea, too. Such a great list you put together! It’s nice to see all the changes you’re going through, so when it’s my turn (someday) I’ll be a little more prepared!
Ginger chews and ice cubes helped so much with nausea. I lived off mostly cereal and oatmeal for most of my pregnancy and frozen fruit later for heartburn :) The WTE App was awesome too. It was so helpful (and yup, some of them a little scary) reading the message boards. So fun to see all the things that you love, can’t wait to see your next update! :)
I could’ve used those ginger chews with my first pregnancy — I was so nauseous the first 4 months! The water bottle and those mini ice cube trays are awesome, and I love KIND bar anything! That app sounds amazing too — glad you’re enjoying your pregnancy!
I don’t have much to add here, but I recently fell in LOVE with ginger chews! Sometimes I get nauseous from antibiotics (or randomly the combination of the heat/lights/computer screens at work) and those are the BEST. I always have a few in my purse! And I am so looking into that mini ice cube tray. Sonic ice is one of my favorites. :)
Yeeees, Swiss Sigg bottles rock ;) ;) ;) I couldn’t tolerate anything during my first 15 weeks but orange juice and cherry tomatoes. Sometimes broth, but not always. My mother-in-law asked me to buy an entire rabbit when we went grocery shopping together as I was about 7 weeks along. I never left a store so quickly, haha!
I loved the BabyBump app throughout my entire pregnancy, because there you can add pictures of your bump each week :) But neverrrrr read pregnancy forums, ever!!
One of my FAVE purchases were two BellaBands. They are not too cheap and I had to have them shipped over from the US, which basically doubled the cost. But they are AMAZING! I couldn’t tolerate pressure on my belly from ~8 weeks onward. They are so much cooler than regular belly bands because they have this kind of clingy strip on the inside that makes them stay exactly where you want. And hooray, I didn’t have to buy maternity jeans until way into my second trimester – even though my belly grew big really fast! Plus I used them for many months after giving birth. I didn’t bother with clothes made for nursing because HELLO expensive! So instead I always wore a BellaBand during the colder months to cover my belly/back and just pushed up my top.
As for actual maternity wear – I loved my H&M maternity jeggings (shhh… I’m still wearing them 10 month postpartum – so comfy!) because they made me look slim (nothing like that when you feel like a whale) and they’re cheap. In the third trimester you won’t want to wear anything but yoga pants anyways, so why spend a fortune ;)
It’s also always good got ask around if you can borrow maternity clothes from somebody you know. I did this with both my sister in law and a good friend and we all saved so much money on clothes we wouldn’t wear for a very long period of time. I did get a few special pieces (like a wedding dress ;) ) though to make me feel awesome on days that were completely bleurgh!