First off, Congratulations, Mama!! I will spare you the cliches, except to say they all are true. I do not have the words to adequately express what an incredible blessing it is to bring human life into this world. Truly the most humbling and yet rewarding experience of my life and a million times more fun than I anticipated. On behalf of this mother, know that you are not alone!

Now, onto the fun stuff. My background is in research and I literally LOVE researching anything and everything, so it was only natural when I got pregnant that I soaked in as much information as I could. My idea of pregnancy research was not deep into my physical changes — although I did love the pregnancy apps that showed my growing blueberry. Instead, I spent my energy researching how to ensure I was bringing my daughter home to SAFE environment, that the products for my body and nursery were toxic-free, and that I was prepared (as best you can be), for the ultimate job, motherhood.

Vitamins

• Prenatal Vitamin: Ritual. I cannot recommend this vitamin enough. Taste great, super easy to take on an empty stomach and it provided all the nutrients my growing daughter needed.
• I added Nested Choline for the additional brain support during pregnancy.
• Probiotic: Seed. This has been my go-to probiotic for years and recent research has shown a probiotic during pregnancy can help with nausea¹.
• This Earth Mama Pregnancy Tea helped to tease any symptoms. I love it so much that I still drink it to this day.

Beauty Products

• Face
  • Face Halo. Period. If you don’t own one, scoop a Face Halo up for yourself and a friend. I absolutely LOVE this product and would consider it my beauty #1 (pregnant or not). Environmentally sound, and simple – no cleanser needs, just water and boom you can take off your mascara, makeup etc. with ease. As a bonus – my toddler loves to use it in the bath (starting good skincare routines young)!
  • While I love clean skincare products, sometimes I use retinol – which is a big pregnancy no. In its absence, I added Dr. Gross DRx SpectraLite FaceWare (red light therapy). While a pricey investment, red light improves cellular function, increases collagen production and helps to maximize your skincare’s efficacy … plain talk, you get more bang for you buck out of your skincare!
  • I also loved using the Clarins Resculpting Facial Roller (which is sadly out of stock, but Skinny Confidential has a great alternative). I truly think these two items made a huge difference in my skin during pregnancy – bye, bye melasma, hello radiant glow!
  • My favorite clean, and pregnancy safe, beauty brands:
    • Kora Organics – Affordable and effective products! I always have the Rose Hydrating Facial Mist on hand.
    • Oak Essentials – Pricey, but a cult favorite for a reason. My go to in the winter.
    • Primally Pure – Homegrown in Southern California, great products that are ethically sourced, and effective.
• Body
  • I am frequently asked about pregnancy skincare and stretch marks. Unfortunately, stretch marks can be hereditary, however my best tip is to dry brush. I did so daily and think it helped my stomach postpartum – plus, as added bonus Baby Ward loved the vibrations it created. Blog post on dry brushing to follow, but this is the brush I use.
  • Always, follow with a quality lotion or oil. My favorite is Everyday Oil – can be used as a cleanser, a lotion and their Baseline product is baby safe!

Reading Materials

Truthfully, I found the plethora of pregnancy materials overwhelming. I ended up foregoing most direct pregnancy books and instead leaned into “trusting the process” that my body was going to naturally evolve. I then shifted my research efforts towards parenting books.

While 9 months seems like a long time, it does go by fast, and the 4th trimester is a whirlwind. I recommend all mamas-to-be read up on how they want to parent once their precious babe is born:

• Bringing Up Bebe – A fun read about French parenting styles. I’ve actually implemented a lot of tips into my own parenting style.
• Mom’s On Call – I feel so passionately about the sleep method in this book that I wrote an entire separate AWH post. If I had to recommend ONE book for your child’s first year of life it would be this one. It also uses parenting tips from Bringing Up Bebe and we followed the sleep schedule 100% and had a sleeping baby 7p-7a in no time. Trust me, this is worth reading — and memorizing — before giving birth. Will help you regain a sense of normalcy postpartum and have a happy, sleeping baby.
• Simplicity Parenting – a wonderful psychology read that helped me to set up my home, and expectations for parenting
• The Happiest Kids in the World: Dutch Parenting – Disclosure: I was born in Germany and have lived abroad so am attracted to European parenting styles.
• The only pregnancy book that I read and re-read: Hypnobirthing. Granted, it did not help me as much as I hoped when my delivery came, but I did find value in reading this while pregnant.

Nutrition

Please discuss any specific nutritional needs with your physician. The following is my personal experience.

The past 6+ years I have followed a plant-based diet which made pregnancy modifications easy. My major change was to cut back on some of the adaptogens that I normally take (Ashwanghda, Lion’s mane, etc.). I am not a big caffeine drinker except for the occasional Clevr Chai Latte, so the only change I made there was to switch to decaf tea when I wanted a morning drink (and yes, occasionally I did have my favorite, delicious Clevr Chai just 1/2 the normal amount to cut the caffeine further).

I love to eat real food and encourage you to source pre/postbiotics as naturally as you can. Prebiotics were covered with bananas, almonds, oatmeal, flaxseeds, asparagus, seaweed (now my daughter’s favorite snack), cacao powder (morning smoothie) and apples – see you probably are already eating more prebiotic foods than you realized!

For Probiotics I love coconut yogurt (favorite brand is So-Delicious, unsweetened vanilla, yum), sauerkraut, lemons, kimchi and pickles (love to make my own, or best tip – buy refrigerated pickles, and then when done, put some small pickling cucumbers in the brine and viola, you have new pickles).

I did lean into any cravings I had, which interestingly during pregnancy included re-introducing eggs, some meat and fish. I enjoyed occasional wild-caught salmon (Omega-3), grass-fed burgers, and eggs (choline for the baby’s brain function). If meat is part of your diet, I highly encourage sourcing the highest quality meat you can find, from trusted sources. The goal is hormone and antibiotic free so look for labels that have 100% grass fed, grass finished, or regenerative on the label.

Last Tip

TRAVEL! I cannot emphasis enough what a sacred time this is with your spouse, your partner, yourself prior to growing your family. My husband and I traveled throughout my pregnancy to as many places as I felt comfortable. If you do not have the opportunity for a get-away I highly recommend a dinner out with people you love, or “staycation” where you pamper yourself, connect with your other half and enjoy this “quiet” time.

4 months pregnant in Jackson Hole, WY

Dinner at Three Blacksmiths 5 months pregnant

The Spa at Primland Resort, one month before delivery. 

7mo pregnant date night at Amuse, VMFA

References

¹ Liu AT, Chen S, Jena PK, Sheng L, Hu Y, Wan Y-JY. Probiotics Improve Gastrointestinal Function and Life Quality in Pregnancy. Nutrients. 2021; 13(11):3931. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13113931

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