7 Pregnancy Must-Haves That Made My Life So Much Easier
Pregnancy is beautiful. Pregnancy is magical. Pregnancy is also spending 20 minutes trying to put on your shoes because apparently your belly has decided bending at the waist is no longer part of your skill set.
There are so many things I loved about being pregnant, but there were also plenty of moments when I thought, There HAS to be something that makes this easier.
Thankfully, there usually was.
After four pregnancies, I know that pregnancy is basically nine months of constantly adjusting. Your clothes stop fitting. Sleeping becomes an Olympic event. Your feet hurt. Your back hurts. Foods you loved suddenly make you gag. And somehow getting comfortable on the couch requires approximately 14 pillows.
So while I definitely don't think you need to buy every pregnancy product the internet recommends, there were a handful of things that genuinely made me more comfortable.
Here are 7 of my favorite pregnancy items that I would absolutely recommend to another mom-to-be.
The belly band was one of those things I didn't think I needed…until I needed it.
As my belly got bigger, the amount of pressure on my lower back and pelvis started becoming very noticeable.
Walking around the grocery store suddenly felt less like running errands and more like carrying a watermelon strapped to the front of my body.
A belly band gave me some extra support underneath my bump and made being on my feet for longer periods much more comfortable.
I especially loved it for days when I knew I'd be walking, cleaning, running errands, or attempting to be a productive member of society.
Why I loved it: It gave my growing belly a little extra support and helped make those long, uncomfortable days on my feet feel much more manageable.
There comes a point in pregnancy when your stomach starts growing at a speed that honestly feels impossible.
One week you're thinking, Oh, cute little bump!
Two weeks later you're wondering if your skin can physically stretch any farther.
Enter: belly butter.
I loved slathering belly butter on my stomach after a shower. Whether or not a cream can magically prevent every stretch mark is debatable—and genetics definitely have their own plans—but keeping my skin moisturized felt SO good when everything started feeling tight and itchy.
Why I loved it: It kept my belly feeling soft and moisturized, especially when my skin felt dry, stretched, and itchy.
If there was ever a time in my life when I felt like I deserved someone standing nearby feeding me grapes while I soaked my feet, it was pregnancy.
Sadly, no one volunteered for grape duty.
But a foot spa was the next best thing.
Pregnancy can make your feet feel tired and achy, especially after you've been standing or walking all day. Being able to sit down at night and soak my feet felt ridiculously luxurious for something I could do right in my own house.
Why I loved it: It was an easy way to relax at the end of the day and give my tired feet some much-needed attention.
A cordless heating pad was another pregnancy favorite because being able to use it without being permanently attached to an outlet was amazing.
Pregnancy comes with all kinds of random aches and soreness, and sometimes I just wanted a little warmth while I was sitting on the couch or moving around the house.
The cordless part was the game changer.
I didn't have to arrange my entire seating situation around the closest outlet or drag a cord across the living room like I was setting up Christmas lights.
Why I loved it: Convenient, portable, and perfect for those days when my body was reminding me that growing a human is, in fact, physical labor.
Listen.
There are regular leggings.
And then there are pregnancy leggings.
Once I discovered comfortable maternity leggings, jeans became dead to me.
A good pair stretches over your belly without digging in, squeezing you, rolling down, or making you question every decision you've ever made.
Pair them with an oversized sweater? Outfit.
T-shirt and sneakers? Outfit.
Hoodie and messy bun? Also outfit.
Why I loved them: They were comfortable, stretchy, easy to wear, and worked during basically every stage of pregnancy. If I could only recommend one pregnancy clothing item, good leggings would be very high on the list.
Ah, pregnancy nausea.
Nothing quite prepares you for opening the refrigerator and suddenly being personally offended by the existence of chicken.
During those nauseous weeks, pregnancy nausea candies were so convenient to keep nearby.
I could toss some in my purse, keep them in the car, put them beside my bed, or stash them around the house like emergency survival supplies.
Because sometimes nausea hits at the most random moment, and having something within reach was much better than desperately searching the kitchen while trying not to breathe through my nose.
Why I loved them: They were portable, easy to keep nearby, and gave me something simple to reach for when nausea showed up uninvited.
And finally…
The MVP.
The enormous object that will eventually take up approximately 72% of your bed.
The pregnancy pillow.
At some point during pregnancy, sleeping becomes less about actually sleeping and more about rotating between positions while strategically placing pillows around your body.
Regular pillow between the knees.
Another pillow behind the back.
One under the belly.
One under your head.
A pregnancy pillow simplified the whole situation for me because it supported several areas at once.
Was it enormous?
Yes.
Did it occasionally become the third person in the marriage?
Also yes.
Was I giving it up?
Absolutely not.
Why I loved it: It helped support my belly, back, hips, and legs and made finding a comfortable sleeping position much easier as my belly grew.
Pregnancy Is Hard Enough—Comfort Helps
You definitely don't need to buy every pregnancy gadget that pops up on social media.
Some things are useful.
Some things are unnecessary.
And some things will arrive at your house and make you wonder why you allowed a 23-year-old influencer with perfect hair to convince you that you needed them.
But these seven items?
I genuinely loved having them.
My pregnancy favorites were:
Belly band
Belly butter
Foot spa
Cordless heating pad
Maternity leggings
Nausea candies
Pregnancy pillow
None of them magically made pregnancy easy, but they made certain parts of it a little more comfortable—and when you're growing an entire human being, a little more comfortable goes a long way.
So wear the leggings.
Soak the feet.
Build the ridiculous pregnancy-pillow nest.
And enjoy that belly while you can—even if you haven't seen your feet in three months. 🤍
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