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When you are pregnant, it is easy to get enticed by the hoards of products available for the mommies-to-be. While some of them will be genuinely necessary, others can burn a hole in your pocket without being helpful. And the unmindful shopping might shoot your pregnancy budget over the roof making you cut corners for your baby. If you don’t wish to be in that situation, then you must make a wise choice regarding what you buy during your pregnancy. Here’s a list of the most essential stuff which you will need while you are pregnant.
1. Full-Body Pregnancy Pillow
During pregnancy, you might want to make the most of the time by sleeping whenever you can. Because once the baby arrives, sleepless nights would be the norm. It’s common knowledge, though, that as your body starts growing, it’ll hinder with your sleep postures, making it difficult for you to get a peaceful night’s sleep. This is where a full-body pregnancy pillow comes in handy. It adapts to your growing body and makes it easy to move in your sleep. Even after childbirth, the pillow can double-up as a breastfeeding pillow. All this makes it a useful buy.
2. Prenatal Vitamins
You cannot do without prenatal vitamins during your pregnancy. These vitamins usually contain more amount of iron and folic acid than regular vitamin supplements. Folic acid helps to prevent serious abnormalities of the spinal cord and the brain. Whereas the high amount of iron supports fetal development and growth (1). Therefore, never compromise on this one.
3. Maternity Undies And Maxi Pads
Soon after you deliver, you’ll bleed for a while. This bleeding is heavier than your regular periods and consists of mucous membrane and blood. For this, you’ll require bigger pads to absorb the heavy discharge, at least for the first 2 weeks (this may differ for each woman) (2).
With bigger pads, you’ll also need bigger undies. Your regular undies might make you uncomfortable as they cannot accommodate the big pads. So go for maternity undies made of mesh or disposable material. You’ll be glad you got them after you realize how comfortable they are.
4. Pregnancy And Birth Class
Usually, most hospitals where you seek an OB/GYN consultation might offer you free pregnancy and birth classes. However, if your hospital is not offering one or is far from your home, do enroll in these classes even if it comes at a cost. Here they teach you things like deep breathing to ease your labor, handling a newborn, and provide other related information. There are orientation classes for the soon-to-be dads and siblings as well. In short, these classes can prepare you for what’s coming without scaring your wits out.
5. Belly Band
You might be among the lucky few who could fit into their old jeans even after the bump started showing. However, if your belly has started showing after 12 weeks of pregnancy and you don’t wish to invest in expensive maternity wear, then go for a belly band. Just leave your jeans unbuttoned and wear this belly band over it. And behold! Your old jeans will fit like a breeze. This little trick helped me through most of my pregnancy and after delivery too, without costing me a fortune!
6. Sticky Notes/Notepads
Remember pregnancy brains? With so much going on in your life, you might forget important things. So, keep these stick notes and notepads at your arm’s length, like at the side of your bed or the refrigerator. This way, even if you remember something important in the middle of the night, you can just wake up and jot down the thought in a jiffy. It’ll also be helpful after your baby arrives. You can note down follow-up appointments, medicine duration, and even feeding schedules and stick them from where you can easily see. It’ll go a long way in helping you be organized.
These were the simple yet important buys that will make a whole lot of difference to your pregnancy journey in a positive way. So, if you are on a tight budget, work around eliminating other, non-useful stuff and get a hold on these essentials. You’ll be amazed at how helpful they prove later on.
