5 unexpected things you need when pregnant, and 7 things i thought i needed, but don't

There are so many obvious things you need to buy when you're pregnant, like maternity pants and tops, of course. But I'm talking about things that made life more comfortable, that I didn't know I needed until I was using it and realized I couldn't live without it! 
​

NEEDS

1. Towel Warmer
A tower warmer? How could this possibly relate to pregnancy you ask? Great question. It doesn't specifically, but indirectly makes you so happy. I will preface this by saying that I've had this towel warmer for years and have used it diligently in the winter. I never appreciated it, despite all this use, UNTIL I was pregnant! When you are achy and emerge from a hot shower to a warm towel and warm undies and socks and clothes, it is the BEST feeling. Like a warm hug you never want to end. Every day I looked forward to my evening shower because of that towel warmer. 

2. Food Delivery service
As I got bigger and bigger and movement and lifting things was more challenging, I realized that I needed help grocery shopping. Thank the lord that these days, there''s help with that! I personally used Amazon and Whole Foods, but I also use Thrive for most dry goods. Having the bags or boxes sitting on my porch was invaluable and so necessary! So this isn't available everywhere, but most places have some sort of service and Amazon and Thrive can deliver any dry goods. I found this especially useful for things that were bulky like paper towels or heavier, like a jug of vinegar. 

If you sign up for Thrive, use this link to get 25% off your first order!

3. Humidifer
This was a registry item that I received a little early-ish around month 6. I started using it in my bedroom because I have had a chronically stuffy feeling nose since the day I found out I was pregnant (or so it seems). This has been so helpful! I would say get one early and keep it on through pregnancy. I wish I had a more robust and larger humidifier! 
​

4. Glider
I have a post about my favorite glider and seating instrument ever, the Babyletto Kiwi glider. It also warrants a spot here because I really never thought I needed one of these until I had it and sat in it for the first time. I am often uncomfortable doing things like sitting on the couch or on hard chairs, but rarely am I uncomfortable in my glider. I can recline and usually get an angle that I am comfortable in. Also, it's easier to put on socks and shoes in because it tilts forward a little as you rock. It's also easy to get out of because you can rock yourself up and out in those final weeks of pregnancy. 

5. Water Pik
So this was something I had luckily and didn't appreciate it's awesomeness until I was pregnant. In the beginning when gagging was a frequent act, brushing my teeth was hard. Any flavor it seemed would just trigger my gag reflex. The Waterpik helped me pressure wash my teeth (at least the front ones!) so that I was getting some kind of cleaning action. Mouthwash was absolutely out of the question. It was water or nothing. I couldn't go too far back without gagging, but at least water was something I was able to drink anyway so it bothered me a lot less than toothpaste and mouthwash did! The actual Waterpik brand is a little pricy, but that is what my dentist recommended. The hose broke on mine after about a year, but I called the company and they sent a replacement for free! No trouble since! There is a smaller version of a water flosser that is good for travel too! 

---

Don't need

1. Pants Extender
This seemed like a logical thing to buy as my regular pants began to tighten. So I diligently purchased a well reviewed pant extender made of velcro. It's not that it didn't work, but it didn't work for me. I found it uncomfortable. I knew my pants were open and even though they weren't falling down and my shirt covered the band, I knew my pants were unbuttoned and I just couldn't get comfortable. I ended up not using it and just got maternity pants. You will need them eventually anyway.  Problem solved.

2. Belly Belt
I thought for sure this thing would come in so handy as I ended my pregnancy and I was about the experience the dreaded back pain. Well the back pain came in the form of upper back pain because of the new weight of my new belly. The belt, while a little helpful, was more cumbersome than anything. I will say that if you have lower back pain this may be better for you because it has a pouch for a hot/cold pack. 

3. Home Dopplar
It sounds like a great idea to be able to hear your baby and know there are still in there, but leave this to the professionals! The ones sold to the general public are not regulated at all. Also, you don't really know what you're listening to. Midwives and OBGYNs are trained to listen and know in 2 seconds if what they hear is normal or abnormal. If you don't have the training, you may be listening to nothing of importance. After watching them use a dopplar in the office, I can confidently say I don't know enough about what I'm hearing. In fact, I thought I heard static and she exclaimed "Wow! great heartbeat!"--- which to me sounded like nothing. If I did this at home it would have freaked me out and caused unnecessary anxiety. Plus, exposing baby to the waves emitted by devices such as these have not been fully tested. 

4. Pregnancy Journal
A journal of your pregnancy is special and adorable- if you use it. I ended up using Google docs to jot down things that were happening that I wanted to remember because I can access it from anywhere at anytime. I found downtime at work to write or late at night on my phone. I never felt like looking for the book and when the moment struck me to write, it was never available. So while it's great in theory and may look prettier, if it's empty it will be useless. 

5. Lots of books (Especially for your husband or partner)
When I got pregnant the first thing I did was go on Amazon and I bought a bunch of books that all claimed to be 'essential' for pregnancy, like more than I could read before the baby was born. I would suggest 3 books at the most. Overbuying in this department was unnecessary and redundant. Most books go through all the same information so I found I was skipping chapters and sections because I already knew it by the fourth book. The worst was buying books for my husband. Those have never and will never be touched. If they're really into it maybe get one, but I have a pile that will never be used. 

6. An EMF shielding blanket
This is something I originally thought I needed and something I wanted. I have a laptop and I figured what a great way to shield myself and baby from the unnecessary EMF coming out of the thing. I have my own person EMF detector (exciting, I know) and I of course tested the product that claimed to shield you from EMF. Well, it literally did nothing. I mean the numbers didn't even pretend to decrease a little bit. I called the company out on it and they agreed to refund me the $80. Just because a product makes a claim doesn't mean it's valid.  

7. Pregnancy Bras
I'm not saying you don't need these, I'm just saying you should skip right to nursing bras. I just felt that nursing bras did just as good a job as the pregnancy ones and the nursing ones had the added feature of being more accessible to baby post-partum. Don't waste your money and just stick to nursing bras for both!