Notes on pregnancy
Although I don’t plan on becoming a mommy blog, the reality is that spending ten months pregnant was certainly a big part of my life over the last year or so! I didn’t particularly love or hate being pregnant: there were some times that it was more uncomfortable than others, and some times that it felt more magical than others (like the first time I really felt and could SEE the baby kick!). Looking back, it now seems absolutely crazy that I grew a human and that I’ll never feel those sensations again, but overall: I mostly feel very lucky that I had a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby without much struggle or fanfare.
And thus! Figured I would write down some of the products that I appreciated the most, and the sentiments that resonated the most, for anyone else out there who wants to have a baby but also kind of bristles at the whole pregnancy and motherhood industrial complex. (Note: I am also planning on doing a delivery/what I packed for the hospital post and a postpartum post, and then I’m hoping to catch up on some travel guides!)
There were three big things that I kept in mind throughout my pregnancy, and that I think helped quite a lot. The first was believing that I could still do a lot of what I wanted to do, and to ask *why* there were certain things that pregnant people ostensibly could not do. The second was taking the very good advice to invest in as much bodywork as I could afford: making the time and effort to make sure my body felt good and healthy made the entire experience much more pleasant. The last was to ask my mom friends for advice or insight on things that felt weird before I googled anything or went into an internet deep hole.
Books
To that point: there is SO much pregnancy content out there, and a lot of it really rubs me the wrong way.
I swore by Expecting Better by Emily Oster: she’s an economics professor who looked at a lot of the traditional American beliefs around pregnancy to see if there was any actual data to back it up. For example, she researched the conventional wisdom not to eat sushi: it basically comes from the fact that food poisoning, especially in the first trimester, can be very harmful to mother and baby, and raw fish has a higher risk of food poisoning. However! It’s unlikely that sushi from a high-end Japanese restaurant (that you’ve been to before, and never had any issues) will cause that sort of problem: of course, it’s a risk, but the ratio is much lower than say, gas station sushi that’s been sitting out all day. Using her economics-based decision framework and relying on a lot of the research Oster did, I ate good sushi and deli meats in good sandwiches and drank a glass of wine a couple of times a week and felt very confident in those decisions. It’s probably the number one book I recommend for anyone expecting, especially if you feel confident in making your own decisions and would prefer to not be infantilized! (I cannot get over how many things you will get told not to do when pregnant, just because there is a 1% risk of something going wrong or that there is a possibility that you could sue someone if it did go wrong.)
The other book I really enjoyed was Bringing Up Bebe: although it focuses on parenting beyond pregnancy, it puts much of what we consider “normal” in America into perspective. The biggest thing I appreciated was a general approach that having a baby can still mean having a life–it’s not the end of going out to eat or sleeping through the night. It’s a change, but one that can still result in a good quality of life!
Style
When it came to maternity clothes, I didn’t want to buy a million things that I would only wear for a few months. Instead, I tried to invest in a few key pieces that were super versatile and that could potentially work postpartum as well. On months that I was traveling or had a few more fun events, I did Rent the Runway Update (40% off your first month with this link!): it was lovely to wear some fun colorful dresses or bolder statement pieces that were either maternity-specific or just loose and sized up a bit. I especially loved this Peter Som puff sleeve tiered dress, this Vince velvet dress (for a wedding!), and this Show Me Your Mumu palm jumpsuit.
I definitely recommend a pair of Lululemon Align leggings one size bigger than your normal size: they were comfortable from the first trimester all the way through the third trimester. In cost per wear, these probably ended up being my best investment.
I also discovered the maternity brand Storq, which I loved: the pieces were simple, comfortable and versatile. I invested in the Anytime Overalls in black, the leopard Pencil Skirt, the Signature Bike Shorts in black, the Daily Tank in white (perfect for layering under tops that suddenly didn’t quite extend as far as before!), and the On Repeat T-Shirt Dress in black. They were all great to dress up a bit on the days I went into the office (mixed and matched with pieces I already owned), and were easy to wear when I was bopping around the house or running errands.
And my most surprising pregnancy clothing find? Maternity jeans from my high school favorite, Abercrombie and Fitch! I actually really loved the cut and fit of these jeans, and it felt really good to wear something *other* than leggings every day.
For a bathing suit, I bought a Hunza G suit: it was a bit of a splurge, but I love that it stretched to fit my entire pregnancy and I can still wear it now!
I’ve also been a big fan of compression socks for travel for a long time, and they were also great in pregnancy–especially in the second and third trimesters (although really tight ones can be tricky to get on at the end!). I especially love Comrad Socks for great pressure/comfort and fun designs (that link gives you 25% off your first purchase!).
Eating & Drinking
Although I didn’t change my eating or drinking habits that much, I did find the insights in Real Food for Pregnancy really helpful. I tried to focus on healthy fats and proteins, such as eggs, avocados, full-fat Greek yogurt and lots of fruits and veggies. I really did not subscribe to the “eat anything you want!” approach to pregnancy: I did not want to have extra weight to lose, and I also wanted to make sure I was nourishing myself and the baby, not taking it as an excuse to eat junk food.
To the point of staying hydrated, maybe the best thing I purchased in 2021 was a stainless steel tumbler with a straw. I LOVE extremely cold water, and this kept my drink very cold all day long. However, the real game changer was the straw. Because I didn’t have to screw open a lid (small task that might be), I just drank so much more water all day long. (I also was obsessed with it in the delivery room–I was craving cold water and this was so nice to have on hand.)
When it comes to alcoholic beverages, I did have an occasional drink. I felt pretty confident in my decision to have one glass of wine a week in the second trimester and beyond (and oh man did I savor it!). I’m also a big fan of Haus, which are lower-alcohol aperitifs: when I’m not pregnant, I drink it straight over ice, but I had it with a splash of sparkling water while I was. It was a very lovely end of day drink–I especially loved the Grapefruit Jalepeno and the New Fashioned flavors. And we also discovered The Athletic brand of non-alcoholic beers (thank you, Katelyn, for a great congratulations-on-being-pregnant gift!), which are excellent: David and I both loved the IPA! David trained for a half-marathon while I was pregnant, and he drank these just as much as me: they taste just like a beer, without the hangover (even now, David asks me to pick these up!).
And for caffeine, I cut myself to one cup of coffee a day years ago to deal with anxiety. I still had my morning cup of coffee, but did quit drinking caffeinated black tea during the late morning or afternoon.
I definitely had some nausea in the first trimester, and I made sure I always had Preggo Pops nearby (in my nightstand! in my purse! in my car). They also tasted just like a piece of hard candy, so not the worst situation.
Lastly, some of the best advice we got was to go out to dinner as much as possible before the baby comes. I made a bunch of reservations at several restaurants we’d been wanting to try, and it was so nice to have so many 1-1 date nights and to finally check out some of the new restaurants in San Diego.
Supplements
I’ve been a fan of Rainbow Light vitamins for years, so it wasn’t a big jump to take their Prenatal Multivitamin. I really liked that you didn’t have to take it with food–I always took it right before bed, which felt easy to remember in my nighttime routine.
Similarly, I had been taking a Nordic Naturals fish oil for a few years after my facialist recommended it. I switched over to the Nordic Naturals Prenatal DHA and was quite happy with that as well.
The one thing I added to my vitamin routine during pregnancy that I plan on keeping up after is the Seed Daily Symbiotic. Pregnancy constipation is a real and very unpleasant thing, and taking this every day REALLY REALLY REALLY helped. (You can use code CESTCHRISTINE for 15% off your first month!)
Also, given that I’m prone to nausea, my obgyn recommended that I start taking B6 as soon as I took my IUD out (aka before I was actually pregnant) and keep taking it throughout my pregnancy. Although it’s hard to know how different it would have been, I definitely did not have the debilitating morning sickness that some people experience. So if you are prone to nausea, not a bad thing to start taking right away!
Similarly, Unisom is the only sleep aid that is approved for pregnancy AND it also helps with nausea. Although I didn’t want to become dependent on a sleep aid, I noticed that I would throw up on the days following the nights I didn’t take it–and good sleep was harder and harder to get as I got bigger and more uncomfortable. (And the good news is that you are so exhausted with a newborn that you definitely do *not* need a sleep aid!)
Exercise
I did try to maintain my normal workouts as much as possible, as well as trying to walk 10K steps a day. I discovered Sculpt Society (that link will give you a 7-day free trial as well as one month free on the app!) during the pandemic, and I love that founder Megan Roup had a baby last year. She has a great selection of prenatal (and postpartum!) workouts, and I love that there are options from five minutes to 45 minutes. They’re super easy to do at home, and great to squeeze in even if you don’t have a ton of time (and holy cow they can really pack a punch in not a lot of time!).
Finding a weekly in-person prenatal yoga class was also a really wonderful part of my pregnancy routine. Having an hour every week to stretch and meditate was so nice for my body, but it was also lovely to have a space to meet other pregnant women and be a part of that community (Magdalena’s class at Trilogy Sanctuary in La Jolla had such a welcoming feel!).
I love Megaformer classes (40 minutes of super high intensity strength workouts!), and one of the best things that I did was invest in a private class when I was around 20 weeks to learn what I could and couldn’t do while pregnant. It made me feel so much more confident in knowing the modifications needed so that I could keep going to normal classes up until 36 weeks (and then I was just too exhausted!). If there is a specific type of boutique workout that you love, definitely recommending investing in a private session with a favorite instructor so that you can keep going!
I also discovered Insight Timer, which had some really lovely pregnancy meditations (including one by my prenatal yoga teacher).
One big thing we splurged on/invested in was a set of Normatec Compression Leggings. They basically give you a full leg massage at home, and were a lifesaver in my third trimester when my ankles started to swell. And in general, it was just a very nice way to wind down my day to use them when we watched TV in the evenings–definitely helped me sleep better! David also used them while he was training for a half marathon, and they made a huge difference. We’ll keep using them beyond pregnancy and training, but when we were discussing getting them, my big thing was if we were ever going to buy them, NOW was the right time since we’d get the most valuable use out of them–and I think I was right!
Bodywork
Monthly acupuncture with Nalu Healing Arts is one of the best things I’ve invested in for myself over the last few years, and I definitely didn’t change up that routine when I was pregnant (although there were sadly a few of my favorite points that Tiffany couldn’t access when I was pregnant). It was so helpful with stress relief as well as general neck and back pain.
I started going to a prenatal chiropractor in the beginning of my second trimester, and I’m SO glad I did. A lot of gals I met in my prenatal yoga class didn’t look for a chiropractor until late in the third trimester when they were super uncomfortable.
Prenatal massages were also a favorite splurge, especially when I was traveling. One myth I would like to bust: I feel like you always see massage tables with the hole in the middle for the belly in TV and movies, and those do NOT exist! All of the prenatal massages I had were on my side, which was *fine*, but truly, you can’t get that true deep tissue in your back and shoulders if you’re not on your stomach.
Travel
When it comes to travel, I can’t recommend enough taking advantage of the second trimester. It was the real sweet spot for me between the nausea and uncertainty of the first trimester and the discomfort and wanting to stay close-ish to a doctor of the third trimester. In hindsight, I really only wish I had traveled more although I certainly packed it in (two trips to New York City, one trip to see family in Washington DC, Paris, Finland, Kauai and Jamaica!).
If you’re on a long flight, highly recommend compression socks and a foot swing. I also packed my reusable hot compress for my lower back: if the room had a microwave, perfect. If not, I wasn’t shy about going to the front desk and asking them to heat it up for me!
I was generally able to travel in the same way that I did before, although I did try to take it a little easier and not totally pack every single day with 30K steps and a million stops. Certainly worth taking it a little easier and making sure you are packing super comfortable shoes :)
If you’re pregnant, are there any questions you have? And if you’ve been pregnant, are there any products or services you loved?
