Best Pregnancy Tools

I would like to share with you some of the best items I used during pregnancy. As a first time mom-to-be, many of these I either had no clue about or didn’t knew they could be such great tools for pregnancy! Before pregnancy, I dealt with scoliosis, and it sometimes causes me pain when my muscles are tight and pulled in those awkward positions because of my curved spine. I always dreaded pregnancy because of that. I knew it would be painful and didn’t know if I could handle carrying a baby. Well, I did! I suffered A LOT! But I did it, and these things helped!

Seat Cushion

After a while, with all of the extra weight I was beginning to have to carry around, sitting became more and more uncomfortable. I didn’t know if they made anything to help for that, so I just searched the car section in the store! I knew there would be seat cushions there that go in your car. Well, I needed one not only for the car, but for every else I would sit down. I needed something I could easy carry with me from place to place, like work, church, restaurants, etc. Especially when the baby got bigger and bigger and then dropped and was pressing on my tailbone, that seat cushion came in handy! Standing too long gets tiring and painful, but so does sitting too long!

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Fetal Doppler

Now, I’m not sure how medical experts feel about this, but I couldn’t stand not knowing how my little AJ was in between doctor visits. I figured there had to be a way to check up on my little one while in the comfort of my home. Well, I searched online and came across the heart dopplers. I read up on them and watched videos that demonstrated how to used them. I HAD to get one!! I could listen to my baby’s heart whenever I wanted and measure his heartrate and stay assured that everything was okay. I ordered the ______. I believe it cost me around $40.

I read and saw a lot on how it can be difficult to find the heartbeat and it takes practice, but I was determined. I had lost two babies; I needed something to keep me at ease through this pregnancy. Plus, I figured I could learn quickly how to use it. When the doppler came in, I was so excited! I ripped it open, put it together, and started using it right away! It wasn’t hard to put together, just plug the wand into the speaker and put the batteries in!

I rubbed the gel on my abdomen and placed the wand over it. I did it very close to the bottom of my abdomen because I was still early in the pregnancy, about 15 weeks. So, I wanted to make sure I had a realistic position. I didn’t want to have my nerves all shot because I didn’t put the wand in the right place! Well, as soon as I placed the wand, there it was……that sound……MY BABY’S HEARTBEAT!!!! It was one thing to hear it at the doctor’s office, but to be in my room on my own bed listening at my own free will just made it such a wonderful bonding moment! I FELL IN LOVE all over again with that little angel in there! Such a STRONG heartbeat!

I would listen to AJ’s heartbeat everyday when I came home from work and every night before I went to bed. Eventually, I didn’t have to listen to the doppler as much because he would move around and kick and punch so much that I knew without a doubt that everything was okay. I even tried it out on him after he was born, and there was that SAME SWEET SOUND!

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Pregnancy Pillow

This pillow did wonders for me! Sleeping was so dreadful while pregnant. Trying to find the right position, one that’s not on your back, definitely not on you tummy, not on you right side, and where the belly can be supported because laying down with a belly leaning to the side is EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE and sort of creepy!! So, I started searching for what would help with this and came across the pregnancy pillows. I told my husband about it and told him which one I wanted and came home one day to a pillow that I just fell in love with!

I had support under my growing belly and for my back! The pillow kept my legs separated which kept my spine straight which helped keep my back aligned during the night. It got to the point that I also took that pillow just about everywhere with me! Just in case I needed to lay down, pop the trunk and grab my pillow, wrap up in it and I’m out!!! I got the ______ pillow and even when I had to move to the recliner to sleep, that pillow was with me!

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Tennis Balls

OH MY GOSH! My husband learned about using the tennis balls during out birthing class, and I LOVE THEM!!! The tennis balls, with the right amount of pressure, were perfect for my achy areas. My husband would roll the tennis balls along my mid-back, lower back, and even the bottom of my feet. The just felt wonderful and I wished I had come across the idea earlier in my pregnancy. I had sciatic pain and dislocating hips A LOT through my pregnancy with AJ, and massages with the tennis balls was such a relief. My suggestion would be to lean forward, either sitting or standing, while someone massages those muscles with the tennis balls. I still use them when I get achy in places!

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Exercise Ball

This was another life saver! Sometimes, sitting in a chair or on the couch does not feel well late in pregnancy. Especially, (TMI) if you’re dealing with hemorrhoids! With the pressure of the baby on you pelvic area, sitting and rolling on a big exercise ball helps relieve that. Later in the pregnancy, I had tailbone pain from the baby’s head putting pressure on it. The exercise ball was perfect for that. Honestly, as I’m writing this, I am still having tailbone pain (6 months post-pregnancy), and the exercise ball is my new office chair because it is the only thing I can sit on that doesn’t hurt.

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Recliner

I got so sick of the recliner, but it worked. I got sick of it because it became not only my recliner, but my couch, my dinner table chair, even my BED! I could no longer sleep in my bed as the baby began to get bigger and it was too hard for me to climb into the bed. It was too painful to sleep on the couch, and so that left me with the recliner. I could easily get up, I could put my feet up, and if I needed to lay on my side, I could. The recliner was in the living room so the living room became my bedroom and kitchen too! I also was VERY HOT during my pregnancy, so the recliner was placed RIGHT UNDER the ceiling fan, in the MIDDLE of the living room!!! But no worries, my living room is back to normal now…well besides being taken over by baby toys and blankets and bottles!!!

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Cane (LOL)

My husband got me a cane. I saw this as a cruel joke. He claims he was serious. And so what if I used it a few times to get up or to make my way around the house when I could barely walk, and maybe, JUST MAYBE it wasn’t really a joke, and MAYBE I really did need it…anyway, moving on!

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Smart Water

This water helped me out so much. It was actually recommended by my chiropractor. I had mentioned my leg cramps (which are the most horrible thing) at an appointment, and she suggested Smart Water. She recommended this because she said cramps come from the lack of hydration and potassium, which is lost from sweating (because I was so hot). Smart Water has electrolytes (potassium, magnesium, calcium), plus it’s water so this was the perfect remedy for my leg cramps. It beat trying to choke down bananas all day. I like bananas, but for some reason they make me nauseous and that’s not a good combination when you’re pregnant and have 50 other things wrong. I drank 4 33.8oz bottles every day. I’ve never drank water like that before, but with how hot I was, I was dying of thirst! I drank those 4 large bottles with NO problem. My cramps stopped, but it didn’t help my constant peeing problem!

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These were my favorite tools during pregnancy, and they provided me with so much relief during this hard, new, and very rewarding time in my life. This was my first (successful) pregnancy, so there will be others, so if you have any favorite items that helped you out in your pregnancies, please share!!