Pregnancy is difficult! I know! This is my fourth time being pregnant. And while I love my children and could snuggle a newborn all day long, being pregnant isn’t one of my favorite parts of mommyhood.
There are so many, many ailments and discomforts that accompany the sweet flutters. And since I’m in the midst of all these discomforts and not exactly “glowing” I thought I’d share with you some things that have made this fourth pregnancy a bit better than the previous three.
1. A Pregnancy Pillow
With my first pregnancy, I had no idea! No idea how hard sleeping would be! It is so uncomfortable to sleep when you are pregnant! I suffered through it by using several pillows tucked all around me. It was hot and hard to shift sleeping positions.
With my second pregnancy, I thought I would really spoil myself and went out and bought a body pillow! That was so much better! With my third pregnancy, I’d heard about body pillows designed specifically for pregnancy but thought my normal body pillow was good enough. I didn’t think the pregnancy one was worth the money.
Fast forward to fourth pregnancy. The husband buys the wife a Snoogle. Wife has the best night of sleep EVER! And not just one night, months worth of glorious, beautiful, comfortable, back soothing sleep! Wow! This is no normal body pillow! This is the ONLY pillow you need! No piles of regular, flat pillows tucked every direction taking up 83% of the bed. No more trying to shift and twist a body pillow to fit my pregnant body.
The snoogle fits me perfectly. It fit even before I had a bump. Normally, I would never spend that much money on a pillow. But now that I have slept with one I definitely think it’s worth every cent! I highly recommend a pregnancy body pillow
2. Exercise
I am not one who loves exercise. I have never (nor do I plan on) running a marathon. That doesn’t sound fun to me, it sounds like torture. However, I know exercise and movement are good for me and the baby. As much as I HATE admitting it: I feel a lot better on the days I exercise versus the days I lay on the couch. This was especially true for me during the 1st trimester. My husband even got a few dirty looks from me when he pointed this out. But he was right. The days I was active didn’t bring near as many waves of nausea as the days where I did nothing.
There are two tools I have used to help me stay active during this pregnancy. The first one is a Garmin Vivofit. This is basically the exact same thing as a Fitbit. It keeps track of how many steps I take each day. I can set my own goals (10,000 steps a day). It syncs to my smartphone but I rarely do because the Vivofit displays everything for me (including date, time, steps, steps until a goal is reached, miles, and calories). It can also track my sleep patterns. This has been helpful for me so I know exactly how lazy or active I’ve been and if I need to get up off the couch! It’s also helped me be more productive around the house! “Oh my! I’ve only gone 3,000 steps today, I better go to the basement and do some laundry…that’ll get me several hundred steps in just a few minutes!” It’s like I’m in competition with myself.
Without a Vivofit, I would honestly sit a LOT more than I do. It really does motivate me to get up, walk, and be more active.
3. Lavender Oil
Lavender Oil is my favorite of all the essential oils! I use it the most often for the most variety of uses. My favorite use for it is to help me fall asleep. Yes, we are back on the topic of sleep. Pregnancy makes you exhausted and when you try to rest you can’t fall asleep! It’s really not fair. I don’t use it every night but on the particular nights when insomnia hits hard lavender oil is always on my nightstand waiting to lull me to sleep. It’s no wonder they make baby lotion with a lavender scent.
4. Magnesium Oil
Last fall, I read this post by mommypotamus.com. Before I say anything else about the post she wrote, let me say that I LOVE mommpotamus! She is by far one my favorite bloggers. I’ve read almost all of her blog posts. So when she wrote this post about magnesium oil claiming that it would take away morning sickness I was all on board and willing to try! I bought a bottle off of Amazon and started using it right away. Several months later I was pregnant and sick! What! It didn’t work! I was disappointed.
But I didn’t stop using the Magnesium Oil. I noticed that it prevented my legs from getting restless. When I am pregnant I get Restless Leg Syndrome bad! It runs in my family and it’s genetic so I’m sure as I get older it will only get worse. But when I am pregnant it is horrible in the evenings. I survived my last three pregnancies by taking a hot shower right before bed which seemed to help a little bit. Sometimes I would even have to get up in the middle of the night and take a hot shower to help me fall back to sleep. I haven’t had that issue ONCE since I’ve used magnesium oil. I have woken in the middle of the night and reapplied the oil but that’s it. I have used magnesium oil at least once a day every single day (I take it with me on vacation) since last November and I still haven’t gone through a whole bottle. So if you’re hesitant– it lasts a long time and you’ll get your money’s worth! I don’t know why it works–I just know it does work!
Disclaimer: These are all my personal experiences. I am NOT a doctor. Please consult with your doctor before changing anything about your prenatal care. Please read our medical disclaimer.
What are your favorite things for pregnancy?
Anna
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