Below are some of my pregnancy essentials (so far.)  I am currently 26 weeks with twins, and my belly is measuring 30 weeks.  When compiling this list, I asked my husband what he thought about when he thought about me being pregnant (other than the fact that my belly is getting HUGE!)  He said the number one thing he thinks of is the oil.  I put this Bio-Oil on every single night.  In the mornings, I use the St. Ive’s collagen lotion.  Supposedly staying moisturized can help with stretch marks; however, I’ve also read that if you’re destined to get them, you’re destined to get them due to genetics.  I use the oil and lotion for that reason, as well as once your skin starts stretching and expanding, it starts itching!  My skin itches so badly if I don’t keep it moisturized.  I also exfoliate once or twice a week and found this Dove body polish to not only do a great job, but it smells amazing as well.  I’m a wash my hair every 2 to 3 days, and occasionally will stretch it out to 4 (weekends….)  When I’m not washing my hair, I’ll usually take a bath and soak in Epsom salt.  This post refers to some of the ways that I destress, and Epsom salt is definitely one of my faves.  I also like to think it helps with the leg cramps in the middle of the night – oh they can be just dreadful!  I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know if the science backs this, but in my experience, it definitely helps.

I’ve never really had a problem drinking enough water, but now I feel dehydrated all the time.  Because of this, I wanted to find a way to track my water intake, and one of my coworkers, @lorifitlife, has several of the Camelback water bottles.  I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered 1, and boy am I glad that I did.  It is so easy to keep track of how much water I am drinking now, and I feel like I am drinking more than I was before.

Other pregnancy essentials: find a super comfy robe and pajamas.  I spend so much time in my robe at home (including right now while I’m tying this.)  I’m not sure why.  No, really, I can’t explain it.  I think it’s because clothes fit so weird and can be uncomfortable at times, so when I get home from work, if I don’t have any errands to run or don’t need to go outside, I just put on my robe.  Side note – robe can be interchanged with pajamas.  Comfy pj’s or robe – whichever is your preference.  Also, my undies started getting a little tight on me, and since this part of the post is all about being comfy, I found that ordering some new undies (and in a bigger size) that were maternity undies helped out with that.

Now, let’s talk support.  These leggings and tank top made by Blanqi are the bomb.com.  I wear both all the time for running errands, working out, etc.  In the pic above, I’m wearing the top in a size medium.  I also ordered one in a size large and can wear both of them right now.  Obviously the medium is a little tighter and offers a little more support, but I am not being naive about how big my belly will get, so went ahead and ordered a large as well.  If I’m at home and I’m not in my robe or pj’s, I’m in some sort of Blanqi wear.  They offer great support for your expanding belly and still have room to grow.  I was told by another twin mom around 22 weeks that I needed to start wearing something with support NOW.  Not only does it majorly help with back, hip, and all other pain, but it also helps with the stretching going on.  Just think of gravity doing it’s job…..and this same person told me sometimes things don’t go back into place as they should if they haven’t had support throughout the pregnancy…..so get some support.  The belt from Belly Bandit is a great option.  I’ll wear it under my dresses to work, around the house with my robe, and out and about as well.  My mom and husband both tried it on and actually said it feels good to them as well 🙂

Here’s something else – find some good and comfy house shoes.  I have tile in my house and with the added weight of being pregnant, my feet will hurt so badly by the end of the night.  Luckily, T has been extremely understanding of this and has been giving me nightly foot rubs.  I haven’t started swelling too badly yet, but my feet just plain hurt most of the time.

And, my last piece of advice that I literally could not live without while being pregnant – get some sort of maternity spanx type things.  I have the exact ones below from A Pea in the Pod and LOVE them.  I will not wear a dress without these being on.  They are incredible.  Any guys reading this, hopefully this isn’t tmi, but once I got to about 14 – 16 weeks, I had some major chafing occurring.  Like major.  Any ladies out there who have been pregnant in the summer time in Texas (or probably anywhere) know what I’m talking about.  And not only the chafing, but they help with smoothing things out and adding a little extra layer of support.

Hopefully you’ll find something useful from this post.  I would recommend asking your doctor what prenatal vitamin he or she recommends, but wanted to make sure to include them in my list.  I take mine every morning after eating first breakfast.  Yes, you read that right – first breakfast.  I usually eat two breakfasts – once right when I wake up and one when I get to work.  Again, these are all just things that I have found to be useful, comfy, and part of my normal routine while being pregnant.  Just click on the picture below to go to the website – enjoy!

Cheers – MP