The Content That Got Me Through Pregnancy
Bump in le oven? Congratulations! But also: welcome to the world of being really fkn overwhelmed by all pregnancy and baby-related information out there - plus being smashed by targeted ads for all the things you didn’t know you needed/
During pregnancy I did a lot of research, built spreadsheets, listened to a lot of podcasts and consolidated a lot of recommendations from both friends and influencers… and there are still things I missed.
Here are my notes on what worked for us, what was worth the money and time, and what really wasn’t. Take it with a grain of salt, of course, as every baby is so different of course - but I hope it helps.
BOOKS
I borrowed a bunch of books through the Libby library app as I had my doubts about which ones were going to be any good. This was a great way to do it without spending too much cash (a precious commodity as you come into maternity leave).
My favourites were:
The Complete Australian Guide to Pregnancy and Birth - An excellent starting point, very straightforward, great intro to everything.
The Birth Space - This is SUCH a beautiful book, worthy of displaying when you’re done with it, and I loved the stories and little tips throughout.
The First Six Weeks - This has great, no-nonsense advice which I appreciated and my partner liked too.
The Motherhood - My friend Jamila edited this and, in all honesty, it had me panicking during pregnancy thinking “what have I done?” I came back to it day six postpartum, when we were killing time in the emergency room at midnight, trying not to panic/cry/scream. It helped. A lot.
PODCASTS
Mamamia’s Hello Bump podcast was a fab intro to everything - they have recently updated it with the latest and greatest info.
I’ve developed such an emotional attachment to the Beyond the Bump ladies, they honestly feel like my best friends, and they’ve covered every topic you can think of on their podcast.
A midwife also recommended The Great Birth Rebellion and I liked the episodes I listened to, particularly around exercise. It made me feel less guilty when I became a useless lump during pregnancy compared to pre-pregnancy!
BLOGS
Tori’s Baby Hacks over at Into the Sauce. Tori is a recipe developer/ mumma to Winter/one of my fav influencers and this blog is very, very helpful.
They are a few years old by now but I still really enjoyed reading Zoe Foster Blake’s baby lists for her first baby and then for her second baby.
The Memo has a very good, very thorough blog and excellent week-by-week newsletter with very niche comparisons to the size of your baby.
FIVE BONUS PREGNANCY TIPS NO ONE ASKED FOR
From all that content - here’s some of my own. The tips that really, really made a different during pregnancy.
The Lululemon Align tights or bike shorts are worth the hype. They are SO comfy, they dry quickly, they’re great quality, they’re not strictly maternity wear so you can keep wearing them after pregnancy, etc.
We did a registry through The Memo. I liked it because it has all the “cult following” highest-rated baby products in one place (it literally started from a memo being sent from mum to mum about what was best) and there are not heaps of options for everything, which eliminates some level of decision paralysis. They also send you a 10% off code for anything that ends up not being purchased off the registry so you can get it yourself.
A lot of people say “the shops are still open when you have the baby, don’t rush into buying everything while pregnant” - but I have a friend who bought very little due to budget constraints and ended up regretting it as she was always sending her husband out at 11pm to grab things they didn’t have, and often at inflated prices. For me, it worked to watch out for sales and grab a little of most things when they were a good price even if I wasn’t sure if I would use them - e.g. a few bottles even if you don’t know if you will bottle feed, a few dummies even if you don’t know your baby will take them. Baby stuff resells really well so it’s worth getting even if you aren’t 100% sure if your baby will like it.
That said, don’t buy any blankets - I could open an Adairs with all the blankets we were gifted (they are v helpful though, thank you to everyone who bought us blankets).
My bottom line? Pregnancy is wild, go easy on yourself! I was very grateful to be pregnant but in so much pain throughout and felt like I spent 9 months whining about different parts of my body hurting. It’ll get so much better and it’s true what they say - the relief is instant once the baby is out (even after a c-section).
With love and baby dust,
Nat x