Staying Comfortable While Pregnant
Meesh
I was so excited to dress the bump but mainly for the cute fall clothes (body con dresses with the sweaters… you know.) but timing wasn’t on my side. I was early in my first trimester during peak fall fashion, so I had to let that dream go. However, with working from home, leggings and sweaters were my normal during the fall and winter months in Seattle so I didn't have to get too many maternity clothes during my first and second tri! I’d say around 12 weeks my pre-pregnancy jeans were uncomfortable and all the tricks like the hair tie, the band extenders just really weren't my jam. I ordered a few different types of maternity jeans, over the belly, below the belly and with my body type, i preferred the over the belly! Abercrombie had my favorite ones, they are a little on the pricier side but they were my only jeans so I figured why not!
As I got bigger through late winter into spring, I opted for dresses and maternity leggings/biker shorts from Blanqi and big baggy t-shirts. Comfort is key! When it came to comfortable sleep, that was a tough one for me. I was able to sleep on my belly until around 16 weeks but after that, I had to find some kind of pillow. I ended up going for a smaller leg pillow which was OK. It wasn't anything to write home about, but it did the trick! Finally, for great sleep, I cannot say enough good things about Unisom. It saved my sleep and during my pregnancy and postpartum. I love you Unisom.
Pregnancy Pillow
https://amzn.to/3tp8F6m
Maternity Jeans
https://www.abercrombie.com/shop/us/p/maternity-ultra-high-rise-ankle-straight-jeans-46802335
Pregnancy undies
https://amzn.to/3rEbHmU
Babyshower dress
https://amzn.to/3F1O3DM
Every day dress
https://amzn.to/3LPfmFo
Casual Jumpsuit
https://amzn.to/46AMDMn
Blanqi leggings
https://www.blanqi.com/products/blanqi-everyday-maternity-belly-support-leggings
Mon
By around 10 weeks I started wearing maternity jeans. I found a super cute and comfortable Levi’s pair on Amazon and just got them in 2 colors and then wore those or leggings and a sweater throughout fall and winter. I also really liked long maternity shirts with leggings and a sweater. I got a couple of skirts and dresses to wear with sweaters from Shein. My favorite leggings were from Blanqi because they supported my belly, but they got too tight by the third trimester. I had to get bigger bras in the first trimester because my rib cage expanded so much right away. The clothes were pretty easy to find but what people don’t talk about is the shoes. Caring the weight of twins my feet got pretty swollen and ached so badly by the end of the second trimester. My tennis shoes wouldn’t fit. The only thing that would fit were my Birks and my Tim’s boots. So my footwear was super odd. I wish I’d invested in a wide tennis shoe or something to make me more comfortable.
Staying comfortable is hard. I took lukewarm Epsom salt baths and got lots of foot rubs from my husband. I went to 3 different places for pregnancy massages and they were all awful. I think it’s just not comfortable laying there when you have a big belly and they seemed scared to touch me. One woman said if she rubbed my feet she’d put me into labor and all I wanted was my hips and feet rubbed :/. My best advice is to just rest a lot and let people help you.
Sleeping in the third trimester was hard. I knew I needed it and wouldn’t get much when the babies got here so the insomnia was frustrating. I’d wake up most nights around 2 a.m. and be wide awake. I’d go watch TV on the couch or read because there was no way I could sleep. Finally, I talked to my doc and she suggested a safe sleep aid I could take. I am so glad I did because sleeping through the night helped me feel so much better.
Maternity jeans levis
https://amzn.to/48CtuLY
Maternity shirt
https://amzn.to/48z6m0V
Epsom salt
https://amzn.to/45hjQeW
Grace
I started not fitting into my jeans at 11 weeks! I was just a little too bloated to button my high waisted pants. Most of the time I just kept them unbuttoned and wore a longer top so it was covered, but you can only do that for so long. I eventually had to get new bras because my ribcage was so much bigger and my boobs were huge! I just got a bunch of different nursing bras to wear since I would be living in them once baby came anyways. I remember once I hit around 13 weeks I could no longer fit jeans up past my hips. I got two pairs of maternity jeans that were different styles and I got a few pairs of maternity leggings. I mainly wore the leggings and sweats while pregnant but I did like wearing the jeans and comfy dresses when I left the house. As for shirts I got a few tanks and shirts from Old Navy and borrowed some from friends but I also just wore sweatshirts and my husband’s big shirts. I really just wanted to be comfortable because I was so miserable. I had Parker in October, so I spent most of the hot months here in Central Oregon being (or feeling) huge, which was miserable. If I was just lounging around the house most days I was just in booty shorts and a big tee. I did get a comfy jumpsuit that I wore ALL THE TIME because it was so amazing. I got most of my maternity clothes from Amazon or Old Navy. Old Navy always has great sales so I was all for it. I didn’t want to break the bank on Maternity clothes that I was only going to wear for a short period of time.
Staying cool in the summer could be difficult for me because I ran warm anyways. I got a cooling blanket to sleep with that I feel like helped and did my best to stay hydrated. I had an aversion to cold water towards the end though so water wasn’t giving me much relief. We just ran the AC a lot and I wore t-shirts and tanks with my athletic shorts under my belly.
When it came to sleeping I found the pregnancy pillow to be super helpful. I hate sleeping on my side and it made it much more comfortable for me. My dog also loved snuggling into my pillow. Sometimes I thought he thought we got the pillow just for him. Once I had Parker, my husband was pretty excited to rip that pillow out of our bed. I would sometimes get the night sweats but the cooling blanket seemed to really help. I was very lucky to not experience insomnia like so many women do! I never had to take Unisom or any sleep aid while pregnant. I usually was so exhausted from the day that I would pass right out but would wake up a few times a night to toss and turn because my hip would hurt so bad from being on my side for so long. There are so many different kinds of pregnancy pillows out there you can definitely find something that works for you if you want to try it. I also recommend talking to your OBGYN if you feel like you need a sleep aid because it’s so important to get that sleep while you can!
Cooling blanket
https://amzn.to/3PGTMny
Comfy Jumpsuit
https://amzn.to/3RLzGv3
Best Pregnancy Pillow
https://amzn.to/3RLa29S
Maternity Leggings
https://amzn.to/46Dsy88
Not maternity but stretchy and comfy
https://amzn.to/3LOuuTz
