happy christmas eve, my friends! and if you don’t celebrate christmas, happy tuesday! i’m happy to see that some of my pregnancy posts have been helpful, since this one was one of the most read posts of 2019.
so i’m through the first trimester, and this pregnancy has been a little tougher than my last, so i thought i’d round up a few things that have really helped me get through the first trimester [things i wish i would have known right off the bat!]
morning sickness
i wrote an entire post on this, but i had morning sickness from week 6/7 on. i was expecting it, because i had minimal nausea with my last pregnancy, and there’s NO WAY i was getting off that easy this time around. i had heard somewhere that nasuea is sometimes caused by a b6 deficiency, and when i asked my doc about it, she gave me a full on regimen of b6 + unisom to try, and so far it’s worked!
cottage cheese + yogurt has also helped me get my protein intake up and settle my stomach when i couldn’t keep anything else down [i’m one of the lucky one’s and tolerate dairy pretty well – lucky me!]. i also had to start eating earlier in the day [i usually practiced intermittent fasting by default — i was too busy for breakfast] to help keep the nausea at bay.
so let’s recap:
1. unisom + b6
2. protein-filled diary products [help settle my stomach]
3. breakfast
maternity clothes
this one has been harder than last time around. i’ve started to show a lot faster, so i’ve been on the search for work appropriate clothes as well as loungewear that doesn’t cut into my sides and make me feel even larger than i already am. at the end of the day, here are my outfit formulas that have worked for the first half of my pregnancy:
WORKOUT: LEGGINGS + SPORTS BRA
i have the luxury of working out at home, so i don’t HAVE to wear anything other than a sports bra + tank. my faves? these leggings [non-maternity!], these leggings [also non-maternity], and these leggings [maternity, but looking forward to wearing them post-baby!] and any of the joylab seamless sports bras. if i am going somewhere [say, a hotel gym or outdoors] to workout, i’ll usually wear any of the athleta speedlight or lululemon nulu tanks, since they are longer and i can get away with wearing them before/during/after pregnancy.
WORK: DENIM + TANK + BLAZERS // DRESSES + TIGHTS + BOOTIES
before i was visibly pregnant [and just bloated, but thought i looked SO huge], i was rocking a front tuck which i think carried me through longer than if i hadn’t. once i was visibly showing [and once my coworkers knew so it wasn’t that awkward “is kelsey pregnant, or did she eat a huge chipotle burrito?” moment], i wore these tanks with my j.crew blazers and low rise denim. once i could no longer get away with low rise denim, i then switched to the h&m maternity denim i had from last time around. i’ve also been wearing a lot of shift dresses with tights + otk boots or booties. depending on the day i’ll belt it above the bump, but a lot of times i just let it be.
AROUND THE HOUSE: MY HUSBANDS SWEATS + SWEATSHIRTS
i wish i was more glam on this one, but his college sweatpants and crewneck sweatshirts from places he used to coach are my go-to at night. my hope is that i class it up a little bit in the future, or at least on maternity leave, so i just ordered these pants. i also love a good wildfox sweatshirt [so soft!!]. so i’m planning on snagging another one [or two!] before we head to the hospital to have baby #2.
hair // skin
last but not least, wanted to link a few items i’ve been using for hair/skin. i always use my neutrogena tan mist, but it’s been a total game-changer in how i feel about myself. when your body is changing this much, it’s nice to like who you see in the mirror, and a little extra glow adds a little oomph. not to mention, it’s been freezing cold [#polarvortex, anyone?] and gloomy here in minnesota, so the little bit of color is WONDERFUL. i also have been using collagen since before i got pregnant, but prioritize it even more now [i literally have two containers sitting at my desk at work + numerous ones at home]. oh, and the burt’s bees belly butter — my husbands cousin gifted me this with my first pregnancy, and i used it religiously. i know genes really play a part in stretch marks, but i also like to think this helps
there you have it! i’ve been trying to keep a more exhaustive list, but these are the pieces i would say i can’t live without during this [and my previous] pregnancy. any other recos for me? i have a lot of pregnancy left, so send them my way! speaking of being pregnant, my 26 week bumpdate will be on the blog tomorrow.
thanks, as always, for reading!