This post includes a list of things I absolutely swore by during the first 12 weeks of my pregnancy. Many have continued to be favorites into my second trimester as well, but for organizational purposes, we’ll call this list my First Trimester Pregnancy Favorites!
I’ll be sure to share second and third trimester favorites in the coming weeks, should there be any new additions I think are worth mentioning in the future.
And for the mamas/moms-to-be out there, I’d love to read about your pregnancy-related favorites as well, so please feel free to weigh in below in the comments section of this post. I’m absorbing all of your pregnancy advice and insight like a sponge these days!!
First Trimester Pregnancy Favorites
These delicious candies were a lifesaver for me. And they’re popping up first on this list for a reason! (<— Pun = Intentional, as always!) My mom surprised me with a package of the lozenges soon after I told my family I was pregnant and I figured they were some gimmicky candy that just tasted good. Not the case. At least not for me anyway. The drops, developed by healthcare professionals, really, really helped keep my nausea at bay and I now always have a few Preggie Pop Drops in my purse and even have some stored in the center console of my car just in case.
Prenatal vitamins are HUGE and for the first few weeks, I took the giant pills with a glass of water after breakfast in the morning. And then I discovered gummy prenatals. Hallelujah! The VitaFusion prenatal vitamins taste delicious and make taking my prenatal vitamins 10,000 times more enjoyable. Over the weekend, I picked up the VitaFusion Fiber + Calcium Prenatal Support gummy vitamins at Target and love them as well!
Bless you, Quease Ease. This is a simple nausea remedy that really helped me more than I could’ve imagined. You simply breathe in the aroma of Quease Ease – a wonderful blend of spearmint, peppermint, ginger and lavender formulated to relieve queasiness associated with motion sickness as well as post-operative recovery, chemotherapy and morning sickness.
I carried Quease Ease in my purse and while felt like a total nut job when I basically inhaled it every 5 minutes on the plane when I traveled a bunch during the moth of February, when you’re feeling unbelievably nauseated, you’ll do anything to try to help keep that pukey feeling at bay. It is also really helpful during longer car rides which, for some reason, during my first trimester almost always made my stomach turn.
I downloaded this free app after one of my girlfriends told me there are tons of pregnancy apps out there that you can use to help track your pregnancy. I love it and always look forward to the updates. There are daily updates, but I really like the weekly updates that go into greater detail and tell me what’s going on with our baby that week and what I changes I can personally expect each week as an expectant mommy. I was surprised when Ryan began asking me to read him the baby’s weekly update each weekend! He’s really into knowing what’s going on with our little one and loves the concise summary and the way the app compares the size of our baby to fruit or veggies which makes it easier to picture how big our baby is each week.
Another app that’s highly recommended by a bunch of my girlfriends is the Sprout app, but I haven’t downloaded that one just yet… Although after looking over it for this post, I think I may have to immediately!
- Saltines
Saltines seem to be a big-time favorite among many pregnant women and I’m definitely one of them! I’ve never experienced anything in my life like pregnancy nausea and, during the first 16 weeks of my pregnancy, basically had to find something to eat immediately in the morning or I would start dry heaving. Saltines became my bedside best friend! They’re bland enough to always sound appealing and the sprinkle of salt on the top satisfies my constant craving for anything salty. Another easy-on-the-tummy favorite: Oyster crackers.
- Leggings
My intense love for leggings climbed to new heights during my first trimester when I was feeling bloated all the time. The thought of wearing skinny jeans or a skirt with a tight waistband sounded horrible so I wore leggings almost every single day. Actually, I still do. No shame. I prefer low-rise leggings that don’t cut into my stomach/sides. Favorites: Lululemon Wunder Unders (Lululemon’s In The Flow crops stole my heart over the past two weeks), Reebok One Series Capri (<—very forgiving waistband that still stays up!) and Fabletics Salar Leggings
A Child Is Born is my favorite pregnancy-related book I’ve read so far! It includes in-utero pictures captured with endoscopy and three-dimensional ultrasound technology that are absolutely fascinating, especially for someone like me who is very visual. After reading so many pregnancy updates that said things like “Today your baby is the size of a radish,” I was dying for some real images and this book delivered! I also loved all of the scientific information.
What To Expect When You’re Expecting has a ton of information… it’s actually somewhat overwhelming at first! I found the book very informative and enjoyed having a bunch of information ready at my fingertips during the first few weeks when I felt like I needed to read everything about pregnancy and wanted it to come from a reliable source.
Our insurance company actually sent me the Week by Week pregnancy book and I loved the way it breaks everything down and gives you bits of valuable information in a less overwhelming way.
I also recently ordered Panic Free Pregnancy and have very high hopes for this book, as it’s been recommended to me a few times.
- Sparkling Water
I read a ton about increased saliva during pregnancy, but I had basically the opposite problem. For practically the whole time I’ve been pregnant, I’ve experienced an almost insatiable thirst and plain water just wasn’t cutting it for a while and seemed almost off-putting. Thank goodness for sparkling water! I started loading up on liters of the stuff early on and still swear by it as a great way to help keep me hydrated during both my first and second trimester.
Your First Trimester Pregnancy Favorites
Early last week, I put a call out on the Peanut Butter Fingers Facebook page and asked you guys to share some of your first trimester pregnancy favorites. Below you will find a handful of your recommendations, some of which I also shared above!
Nausea Helpers
- GinGins
- Mint Tea
- Ginger Altoids
- Sea Bands
- Preggie Pop Drops
- Vitamin B6
- Naps (<—This made me laugh!)
Stretch Mark Preventers
Feel-Good-In-The-Tummy Foods
- Bread
- Eggs
- Jolly Ranchers
- Saltines
- Sparkling Water
- Gummy Candy (Oh yesss!)
- Salt & Vinegar Chips
- Simply Lemonade
- Mint Gum
- Dried Fruit
- Peppermints
Shop My Pregnancy Favorites
Question of the Afternoon
- Mamas/Moms-To Be: Are there any foods/drinks/products/clothing that you swore by during the first trimester of your pregnancy?
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Although I’m not a mamma nor a mamma-to-be I’ll be bookmarking this page for that day (hopefully soon)! You do an amazing job of giving your true opinion in your reviews and it’s definitely refreshing to hear! La Croix is still one of my favorite everyday drinks! So many great flavors, but the peach pear currently holds the #1 spot! Glad to hear your are feeling more and more like yourself! 🙂
Love La Croix.. and for some reason when I’m super thirsty sparkling water is SO much more appealing. This will all be good info for me SOMEDAY 🙂
Yes!! It’s the best!
I always had (have) a tumbler and la Croix with me because that thirst gets worse while nursing. I loved Apple cider vinegar for nausea and the snoogle is a must!!
We used the sprout app after my daughter (now 6.5 months) was born to track feedings and diaper changes. My husband and I both have it on our phones and it syncs up so I could quickly check to see when he last fed/changed her and vice versa. My 7 year old son has it on his ipod touch and he takes pictures of her and updates the “Memories” on the app (First food, First Stroller ride, First Snow, etc.) It’s adorable!
I had to go on Zofran for nausea, it was awful for 6 months. And because of some awful side effects I stopped using it and went back to being sick 24-7. I couldn’t hold down water, ice pops, life savers etc.. The ONLY remedy that worked, and by worked I mean gave me relief for about 20 minutes to half hour was Celebration ginger peppermint tea from whole foods. I didn’t know of quick-ease, I wish I had tried it. I also opted for gummy vitamins after 16 weeks, but my first trimester I only took folic acid chopped up in powder form, there was no way my stomach would accept the a whole vitamin!
saltines, pretzels, toast, and bagels were all i ate first trimester!
Do these prenatals have iron in them? I have been looking for a gummy prenatal that includes iron but have thus far been unsuccessful. Thanks.
I was also going to comment about the lack of iron in the gummy vitamins. I don’t think any have iron, so I take the gummies plus an iron supplement (I am 34 weeks). The iron pill is small at least, and I still prefer taking two gummies and a small pill to the GIANT prenatal capsules.
Also, I can’t sleep without my body pillow. I even named him.
I had “all day” sickness from about weeks 6 to 13. I felt queasy pretty much anytime my stomach was empty, so I basically snacked every 15 minutes or so. Fun! I fell in love with Jolly Ranchers, goldfish, and wheat thins. They seemed to help keep the nausea at bay. Ginger ale also seemed to help too!
I ate a lot of saltines to deal with the nausea when I was pregnant with my son. When I was pregnant with my daughter, at the first hint of nausea I sent my husband out for some. When he got home, I took one look at them and thought I would throw up. Could not bear the thought of them the whole first trimester.
I loved citrus smoothies during my first trimester and even into my second (specifically the immunity booster smoothie from Jamba Juice!) The citrus flavor always sounded good and they were easy enough to get down when I needed to eat and solid food was just not going to happen!
These are great tips, definitely going to check out those drops & the quease ease if I have another baby!
love your blog name! so cute! 🙂
Just had my first child in November. During my first trimester I had a lot of nausea. Ginger candy actually helped a lot as well as lemonade (which you have listed!). I also ate saltine crackers with peanut butter. For my skin I used Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula for Dry, Itchy Skin Soothing Oil. My skin never got itchy or dry but I loved rubbing this oil on my growing tummy at night time and I never got stretch marks…whether or not the oil helped with that, who knows but I will use it again with the next pregnancy!
Reading your posts makes me miss being pregnant and I actually look forward to being pregnant again some day, its just so fun and exciting!
+1 to gummy vitamins. Whether you’re pregnant or not, take medication in gummy form whenever possible.
Absolutely!!
Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy was hilarious!! It was the only pregnancy book I read but I loved it. I read it right around the halfway mark in my pregnancy and found it was relatable at that time. Love reading your weekly updates!
My go-to drink for the entire pregnancy was fresh/no pulp orange juice. I wouldn’t really drink it on a regular basis but when I was pregnant I bought gallons of it every week. I’m not sure what it was but the citrus taste at the time was the best thing in the world to me!
I wanted salty chips all day every day during my first trimester. I also had a hard time drinking plain water and was thirsty all the time so orange juice, ginger ale and drink mixes became very popular in our house. Thankfully the second trimester is making it easier to eat fruits and veggies!
Leggings are definitely a must for sure! And sparkling water<—that was super important for my first tri with my 1st pregnancy!
Wish you had a baby at the same time I did, these tips would’ve been helpful since I had morning sickness until about 25 weeks! I also used the gummy vitamins, but just be aware they don’t contain any iron so I also took an iron supplement. I just had a boy in December, congrats!
Congratulations to you, too!!!
I second the In the Flow crops but what is just as awesome if not better are the Wunder Under pants *cotton* ROLL DOWN. They also come in crops. AMAZING.
I am a sparkling water drinker myself, although I am not preggers. I don’t know what grocery stores you have over there on the East cost, but here in Colorado I buy all my sparkling water at Safeway. I took the liberty of looking up the affiliate stores so you can try their brand of sparkling water if you like. I love it because it is super cheap $2.69 for a 12 pack. It has zero calories, zero artificial sugars (in fact no sweeteners at all), zero sodium, and comes in several flavors. There’s unflavored, raspberry, mixed berry, mandarin orange, grapefruit, lime, and lemon. They are sold under the store brand name “Refreshe”. The stores that are affiliated with Safeway are; Vons, Genuardis, Tom Thumb, Pavillions, Carrs, Dominick’s, and Randall’s. It is sold by the soda.
I drink Refreshe as well, Jillian! I would love to try La Croix, but the Safeway by my house only carries the lemon flavor and I’m not a big fan of lemon. I drink the Blackberry Refreshe and really love it! Thanks for providing some of the nutritional facts as well because I always worry about artificial sweeteners so this was helpful. 🙂
Isn’t it great, we are litterally drinking straight bubbly water with a little flavoring! I even asked my dr. because I really drink a lot of it…more than still water lol, it is perfectly fine, nothing bad in it especially without the sodium and sweeteners.
Thanks for the info!!! That’s great!!!
oh this is awesome!!
I thought you would appreciate the info 😉
We are currently trying, and I read the Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy when we started. So informative. Things it would never have occurred to me to learn or ask! And the attitude of the book is just plain reasonable. First and foremost it’s encouraging and even-keeled, but it doesn’t shy away from realistic information about complications, etc., which come toward the end of the book. But it’s all with the aim of preparing you to make informed choices, so it doesn’t seem scary at all. I don’t know if I’ll even read anything else!
Sparkling water and leggings..daily staples even when not pregnant 🙂
Carbonated or sparkling beverages really eased my tummy when I was feeling super sick. I would also keep lemon heads with me to suck on.
I had to stop wearing most of my work jeans and switched to leggings and loose skirts because the bloat is no joke!
I just entered my second trimester and hoping things ease up soon!
Not a mama yet, but this post is a great resource for the future! Thanks, Julie. 🙂
Granny Smith apples! They definitely helped with my nausea.
Oh my gosh, apples were a huge thing for me when I was really nauseous, too!
Frankly, I discourage new moms from reading the “What to Expect” books–they are so mainstream and fear based. If you are more into natural health (which I assume from your blog you are), I would recommend Shonda Parker’s “Naturally Healthy Pregnancy” book.
I have actually heard this from a number of people about the What to Expect books!! And thank you for the book recommendation… I will check it out!
Mac n’ cheese with ketchup on top! No rhyme or reason, but it’s all I wanted. Then after about 10/11 weeks I HATED it. Now I’m 27 weeks and it’s been on my grocery list the last 2 weeks…go figure!
Haha!!!
I haven’t been pregnant yet, but I am a nurse anesthesia student, and we have our pregnant patients smell a rubbing alcohol swab when they’re feeling nauseous, especially during Csections. Apparently it really helps keep the nausea at bay. Just a tip in case you don’t have your Quease-Ease! 🙂
Thanks for sharing!! And thank you for the work you do! <3
Hi love this post. I am 26 weeks on Friday with my second child and have been documenting each week since we had our first trimester scan. Have loved every minute of this one and documenting it all on my blog is a lovely way to remember it all as I have forgotten a lot from my first one which was less than 2 years ago. Have a great day xx
http://www.fitmumdiary.wordpress.com
I second the gummy vitamins!! Also, I’ve been loving the Pregtastic podcast and also Pea in the Podcast. Lots of information!!
Glow Nurture app, you can track symptoms and also get updates on baby’s development! It’s my go to for my first pregnancy!
Sparkling water is a life saver! I know what you mean about plain water being unappealing. Sometimes when I feel nauseated sparkling water settles my stomach too.
Quease Ease sounds amazing. I am going to have to try that.
So excited for you and your family 🙂
Ginger ale! Specifically, Bruce Cost original ginger ale, which is THE BEST.
Those lozenges are a great idea! I love gummy vitamins- always look forward to them!
I loved the book “Expect Better”. I’m a very fact oriented person and it delved into the facts and stats behind many of the pregnancy related recommendations in regards to food, exercise, health care, delivery, etc.
As my pregnancy progressed, I also found a maternity support belt helped a ton to stabilize my hips and help me stay comfortable exercising longer.
Lastly, by the third trimester I found increasing my protein for the day was necessary to have the energy to do anything physical.
Hope some of these tips help you! Congrats 🙂
I devoured those pretty pops! And when I ran out of those I was sure to keep a stash of jolly ranchers nearby!
I just wanted to add one of my favorite funnier/light-hearted pregnancy books which was “The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy.” One of my girlfriends gave it to me when I was pregnant with my first, and it actually gave a lot of info on what to expect, especially in the later stages/birth part of pregnancy, but in a blunt, realistic and hilarious way. I giggled through a lot of that book!
Also loved “The Girlfriend’s Guide”! A fun book to balance out all the serious, informational books we all devour when pregnant.
Always order a lemon at a restaurant. If you can’t handle a smell all of a sudden, sniff that lemon. A lifesaver for me.
Clothes: moving comfort sport bras (Fiona style) this is more of a later pregnancy and after delivery advice.
I love using Earth Mama Angel Baby morning sickness tea!!! I get the variety pack. Also love Baby Booster protein powder! Favorite flavor is kona mocha 🙂 mmm Gotta try it!!
Love the nausea tips…I have been struggling with all day nausea from about week 7-present (10wks). I am going to order the preggie pops tonight! Does anyone recommend a prenatal that doesn’t bring about SO much constipation? I am on one a day prenatal and it is killing me which = a ton of bloating as well!
Ginger was a lifesaver for me. I have a juicer, so I would make some fresh juice with ginger and that helped big time. Now I can’t stand the thought of ginger. I hope I can handle it the next time around.
Have you gotten a body pillow yet? They help so much later on for sleeping. I would recommend the u shaped one if you have space in your bed. Also, keep ant-acids every where! There will come a time when you’ll need them constantly!
1st trimester for me = all. the. cheese. Seriously…I ate string cheese sticks like it was my job:-)
Belly band, the book The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy (don’t read the delivery chapter too soon), and a small note pad and pen on you at all times. Baby brain is some serious business! It Turns into mommy brain, eventually.
Will definitely keep the lozenges in mind with my second. Thanks!
Saltines in my night stand were my life saver! I never threw up, but just had the worst dry heaves. I also ate peppermint candy non stop. That helped as well!
Oh and I craved cheese fries. No idea why, but my husband went out on many a trip for them!
Hey Julie! Congrats on your pregnancy. Tummy sleeve also known as belly band was a must for me in 1st and 2nd trimester! It lets you wear your regular jeans without buttoning them up 🙂 That way you can make the most of your regular clothes and no one would ever know :)))
love these posts! Just wondering how the “in the flow crops” fit/run size wise? I would love to purchase a pair for myself.. I’m currently 28 weeks! I absolutely adore sparkling water along with the passion iced tea from starbucks since it’s caffeine free & low in sugar!
Just wanted you to know that I am really enjoying your pregnancy posts! I am not pregnant right now, but one day I hope to be. And I am so excited for you guys!
This is great! I have a couple friends trying to get pregnant (one currently trying; one will be in a couple months), and these will be great tips to share, or might even make a cute little momma-to-be gift.
Pineapple! I swear I ate a an entire pineapple almost every 2 days while I was pregnant last summer. I craved any and all fruit as well as carrots (weird I know) almost the entire time, until the last trimester when all of a sudden all i wanted was chocolate ;0)
Congrats on your upcoming arrival!
These are all great items and several things I used/liked too. Some of my pregnancy favorites have been Belli elasticity belly oil (http://www.belliskincare.com/products/belli-protect-elasticity-belly-oil-30478.asp), Bravado seamless nursing bras (so comfy and will be helpful after the birth too), Gin Gins, Trader Joe’s sparkling water, Old Navy maternity tamis tanks (long, comfy and no ruching down the sides), a new/extra pillow to keep me from rolling on to my back, and bigger unders. You won’t need bigger underwear just yet, but as you continue to grow, it might feel comfy to size up.