My 6 Pregnancy Essentials

I’ve put together a list of my top 6 pregnancy essentials to help you whether you are eight weeks or eight months along! While everyone’s pregnancy is different, each of these items genuinely made a difference in my own pregnancy.

If you are pregnant, postpartum or planning to start a family, make sure to check out my Postpartum Recovery Essentials & Newborn Essentials.

When you find out you are pregnant, a million and one things run through your mind, particularly if you are a first time mom-to-be! Not only do you think about the 40 weeks ahead, but what is to come once little one actually arrives, so it can be a little overwhelming.

Each week during pregnancy, it can feel like a never ending process of both mental and physical changes. Discomfort becomes commonplace as your body undergoes such a dramatic transition of literally growing another life! That’s why I’ve decided to put together my top pregnancy essentials that really helped me to hopefully save you time, energy and help you feel more comfortable during pregnancy!

I have shared some free or inexpensive options along the way to keep costs as low as possible. I also think this list serves as a great gift guide if you want to buy a pregnant friend or family member something and don’t know where to start.

Pregnancy Essentials #1 – Prenatal Courses

While I always pictured myself having kids (one day…), I had never given much thought to the actual act of giving birth! I took two online courses during my pregnancy which helped me feel more prepared. A prenatal course is top of the list for my pregnancy essentials. Here are the ones I took:

• The Baby Academy (Approx €99 but can claim back on most health insurance policies)
  • This was the first course I took about midway through my second trimester. As maternity hospitals were not offering any antenatal classes due to COVID, the main option was to source one yourself privately online. I found The Baby Academy on Instagram and started with their 2 hour free workshop before signing up for their day long course. It was extremely beneficial and helped me feel a lot more confident and capable about being a first time mom!
• The Positive Birthing Company (Approx €45)
  • I also came across The Positive Birthing Company on Instagram and was immediately interested as I had been looking for an online hypnobirthing course (again, no in person classes were permitted with COVID restrictions). I had heard many wonderful things from people about hypnobirthing and the techniques you learn (mostly relaxation, visualisation and breathing techniques) to help you through labour and delivery. One of my big takeaways from this course was that even if birth goes a totally different way to what you had hoped for – maybe you need an instrumental delivery or an unplanned c-section – you can still have a positive birthing experience when you are informed and actively participating in the decisions being made. 

Free options: Generally public maternity hospitals offer courses for free but not during COVID. I’m not sure there is a totally free way to replace all of the information you receive in these courses, but from my research these are very (very) reasonably priced compared to many options out there.

*Edit: The Coombe are now offering free online parent education classes. You can find more information about it here.

Pregnancy Essentials #2 – Books (Approx €10-15 euro each)

I am a big reader, so when I found out I was pregnant, my natural instinct is to buy a book on the topic! Some of the books I read were not worth mentioning here, but there are the ones that I found very helpful.

• Bringing Up Bebe
  • This book shares the advice from an American woman living in Paris. She details her experience about giving birth and raising her children in French society and how it compares to the US. She gives lots of tips and tricks on how to adopt some key French principles for better behaved children! It’s fun, lighthearted and gets you thinking about what type of parent you want to be.
• Yoga Mama Yoga Baby
  • A lovely, supportive book that walks you through the Ayurvedic perspective on pregnancy month by month. It shares the best yoga poses to try, meditations to practice, nourishing recipes etc. It’s the type of book you can dip in and out of as you please!
• The Contented Little Baby Book
  • This book is mostly for when baby arrives. It’s all about routines for eating, sleeping, feeding and playing for a contented little baby! However, I strongly encourage you to read it before baby arrives. The routines feel a little overwhelming for a first time mom so it’s good to understand the system before the baby brain kicks in!
    • *Edit: Turns out this system was far too overwhelming for me postpartum! I needed something simple so instead took the Taking Cara Babies Newborn Class as soon as I was out of hospital. It mostly focuses on sleep and routines and was the single best thing I paid for as a new mom. Despite it not being right for me, the Contented Little Baby system works really well for a lot of families and has tonnes of helpful information whether you use the routines or not.

Free option: Borrow any books from friends and family so you don’t need to buy new copies. Follow the authors on instagram or see if they offer free PDF downloads you can skim through. You can also try a free trial of Audible and get a complimentary credit!

Pregnancy Essentials #3 – Helpful Apps

While there are literally thousands of pregnancy apps, I think it’s better to stick with less is more. Pregnancy is a time when everyone will be giving you advice so keep it simple! Here are the apps that I found most helpful.

• What to Expect (Free)
  • I tried out one or two options for a weekly pregnancy tracker app but ultimately stuck with the What to Expect app the entire way throughout the pregnancy. Each week, new information about your baby’s development and the symptoms you may be experiencing become available. For me, a new week happened every Thursday so each week my husband and I would watch the short 2 minute video about what baby was up to before we started our work day which was really fun! It also helped to decipher which symptoms were normal and when it was worth calling your doctor. This is an American based app, so some recommendations/timelines will be slightly different to what happens in Europe, but I didn’t find this an issue at all.
• Calm (Approx €50 for annual subscription but can claim a portion back on some health insurance policies)
  • So not technically a pregnancy app, but one that definitely helped me! I downloaded the Calm app at the start of the third trimester. After taking my two birthing courses and reading a few books, I genuinely was not feeling overly anxious or worried about the pregnancy or birth (of course I still had the usual niggling concerns!). But at the time there were multiple other areas in my life that were highly stressful, and likely heightened due to my pregnancy (thank you hormones!). I probably used this app every other day rather than every day if I am being honest, but it really was very useful to start my days with a short 10 minute meditation and sometimes finish with a nice sleep story!

Free options: Most pregnancy apps I found were free. If you’d rather not pay for a meditation app, my favourite free one that I have used for years is called Insight Timer.

Pregnancy Essentials #4 – Pregnancy Pillow (Approx €55)

From the early second trimester, I started to experience intense hip pain. Once you reach the second trimester, it’s recommended to sleep on your side, not your back. As a primarily back sleeper, I found this a hard adjustment, partly on my shoulders but particularly on my hips. 

I would flip from one side to another and had a pillow between my knees as recommended, but nothing seemed to work. The pain got worse to the point where it was waking me up multiple times every single night. 

I spoke to my midwife and GP about it and was told it was all part of the normal process of your pelvis preparing for birth and adjusting to side sleeping. However, they said most people don’t experience it until much much later in the pregnancy when their bump is quite heavy (lucky me haha!). 

I had heard of pregnancy pillows, but honestly didn’t really see the point if I was already sleeping with a pillow between my knees. But as the pain worsened, my loving husband (who was getting sick of my complaining!) went ahead and ordered me the Queen Rose pregnancy pillow – it was a total game changer and definitely a pregnancy essential!

It keeps you in the right position for side sleeping, is super comfy, and when the third trimester arrives it also helps you sleep slightly upright to reduce reflux. It’s so comfy, in fact, that while I was pregnant my husband went through laser eye surgery and he had to spend a few days in a dark room and slept with the pillow himself!!

Free option: Use a pillow you already have between your knees. This was not enough for me but if you are in no pain it could be just fine!

Pregnancy Essentials #5 – Burt’s Bees Belly Butter (Approx €17)

With pregnancy comes alooooooot of stretching (and itchy skin – which no one seems to tell you about!). Whether you already have some stretch marks before pregnancy (like me!) or are just getting them for the first time, know that they DO fade over time, and are more than worth it for the little one you are bringing into the world!

I used a combination of Burt’s Bees Belly Butter and homemade body butter throughout pregnancy. It’s hard to say for sure if these are exactly what prevented me getting lots of new stretch marks, but they definitely helped my skin feel better particularly when the itching started! Also, while you can use every cream under the sun, you may just get stretch marks no matter what you do as your genes play a role too.

Free option: Use some olive oil or coconut oil you already have in the kitchen cupboard!

Pregnancy Essentials #6 – H&M Mama Leggings (Approx €20 for 2 pack)

Comfort is key at the best times in life, but when you are pregnant, particularly the later stages, it’s essential to make sure you have a few items in your wardrobe that feel comfortable! I suggest getting these H&M Mama Leggings in the second trimester so you have them as soon as you need them. I wore them almost everyday starting from the third trimester!

Admittedly, these are not the best quality (and the price reflects that), but really you will only be wearing them for a few short months so they don’t have to last forever and the comfort they offer is the biggest selling point. They are perfect with long jumpers or dresses or for just lounging around the house!

Free option: you can size up in leggings but honestly it’s not the same. Once your bump is pretty big you are going to want the maternity fit. You can buy one pair for just €10 or borrow a pair of maternity leggings from a friend or family member!

 

While pregnancy is a unique time in life, it undeniably comes with many physical discomforts and a whole new set of concerns you didn’t have before! Support yourself in any way you can to get through it feeling well, both physically and mentally. These pregnancy essentials are some of the items that definitely helped me the most, but you will know what is most important for you and your pregnancy!

Financial concerns often crop up during pregnancy as you prepare for baby so don’t put yourself under pressure to buy anything that is out of your price range. Focus on the free options shared in this post and borrow what you can from friends and family. I hope this post helps you during your pregnancy, and make sure to share with anyone you know who is expecting to make their pregnancy a little more comfortable!