All My Pregnancy & Postpartum Essentials

Pregnant, now what?! While there are a few things you can do as soon as you find out you’re pregnant (here are 10 ideas) – one of my favorite things with both of my pregnancies was to start a shopping list of all the things I could buy to prepare for this exciting journey. It was so fun for me to research things that would help make me more comfortable and relaxed while I was pregnant. Today, I’ve teamed up with Traditional Medicinals to share a few of my favorite essentials for both pregnancy and the postpartum period.

So…here are a few of my essentials for pregnancy…

+A really, really comfortable body pillow. Don’t wait on this – get it in the early stages of pregnancy. Even though you may not have a belly yet, sleeping can quickly get uncomfortable quickly and this will help a ton!

+A large water bottle. Staying hydrated is so important when you’re pregnant and I found I was constantly thirsty. Get a large bottle to keep with you at all times!

+Nauseous? Try Traditional Medicinals Morning Ease Lemon Ginger Lozenges. When I was pregnant I purchased ginger candies to help combat morning sickness but wish I had these lozenges, which are specifically formulated with pregnant mamas in mind! Traditional Medicinals offers a wonderful line of organic products to support pregnant and new mamas – I heavily relied on their teas throughout both of my pregnancies and they have a few new exciting products, too! You can order their products on Amazon! These also make a great gift for a newly pregnant friend.

+Pregnant during the summer months? You may want a hand-held fan – my friend gave one to me and it was amazing!

+Loose fitting nightgowns. I don’t know about you, but I hated to have any restriction around my waist when I was pregnant – I wore nightgowns my entire pregnancies.

+ Pregnancy Tea. I had tea every night of my pregnancies; it became a ritual (after a hot shower) that I looked forward to. Often, I’d read in bed, browse Pinterest or occasionally work on my laptop while I sipped it. It was a nice way to wind down at the end of the day and Traditional Medicinals Pregnancy Tea is formulated with herbs, like Raspberry Leaf, traditionally used to support that growing belly. Their teas are available at most grocery store, but you can use their store locator if you need to find a retailer near you. They also have these yummy Mommy To Be Raspberry Leaf Chews to help support a healthy pregnancy and tone your uterus in the time leading up to giving birth.*

+Speaking of working in bed, if you do a lot of work on a laptop, I highly suggest getting a laptop stand from Amazon to use throughout your pregnancy and newborn weeks. It was a lifesaver for this work-from-home pregnant mama!

+Invest in a great pair of maternity leggings – that will hold up through lots of wear and wash. I loved this pair.

+Look for a mom community while you’re pregnant. Maybe that means joining some Facebook groups or downloading a pregnancy app and connecting with moms on that platform. Try attending a local mom meet-up for expectant or new moms. It’s so helpful to find this community before you give birth so you have a support system in place after baby is born!

And now for that fun postpartum period

There’s no way around it… postpartum is hard. And I don’t think first time moms are quite prepared enough for it, at least I wasn’t! I think the conversation about this difficult, emotional and amazing time is being brought up more and more these days which is so GOOD! Healing from giving birth, learning to nurse, trying to navigate raging hormones…. But thankfully there are a ton of products that can help make this experience easier on you. Here are a few of my favorite essentials & resources.

+After your milk is established and you’re in a good nursing rhythm many mamas worry about their supply (myself included) especially if you’re returning to work and need to pump to store milk for your baby. Luckily, Traditional Medicinals makes some amazing products to help support milk production! I swore by their Mother’s Milk tea while nursing both of my babies. 

+And on that note…it never hurts to have a batch of lactation cookies in the oven. I’ll never turn down an excuse for a baked treat. But it can be hard for a newborn mama to find the time to bake. Luckily, Traditional Medicinals also has a new bar with milk-supply supporting ingredients called Mother’s Milk Chocolate, Fruit & Nut Bars – they are so tasty.* Perfect for keeping in your diaper bag or nightstand for those round-the-clock feedings. The best part is that one bar is the equivalent to three cups of Mother’s Milk tea! They also have Mother’s Milk Lemon Chews , which pack all the herbal goodness into a chewy bite — and one chew is equivalent to 1 cup of tea!

• +Nursing pads are a life saver when your milk is coming in and in the weeks to follow (especially at night). I used both disposable and re-usable bamboo nursing pads.
• +Postpartum night sweats are a REAL thing and they aren’t fun. Swap out your sheets for lightweight, breathable cotton, and make sure you have a mattress pad down so you don’t stain your mattress.
• +And…. you’ll definietly want lightweight, nursing-friendly nightgowns on hand. And I suggest having a few in rotation since things can get messy (spit up, blow outs, leaky boobs oh my!!!)
• You’ve got this, mama!!
• *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
• *This post was sponsored by Traditional Medicinals, as always all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep The Mama Noes running!