Pregnancy shopping checklist: First trimester

How are you feeling? What are you thinking? Jot down your emotions, thoughts, or questions in a pregnancy journal. It can help you feel connected to the little person growing inside you and will be a one-of-a-kind keepsake after your baby is born. Journaling can also improve your emotional well-being. This pregnancy journal helps track key milestones – like how far you are into your pregnancy and what size your baby is – so you can look back and remember everything… and then pass it on as a special family heirloom one day.

When you’re growing human life, it’s extra important to get a healthy dose of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. If you haven’t already started popping prenatals, now’s the time. Perelel’s trimester multivitamin packs give you everything you and your baby need through each stage of your pregnancy. The 1st Trimester Prenatal Pack contains five pills loaded with the essentials, like folate, which is particularly important in early pregnancy for baby’s brain development, and DHA, which is thought to be good for brain and eye development. A huge bonus: There’s an anti-nausea formulated pill to soothe your stomach and support digestion. We have great news, too: Right now you can score 20% off your Perelel order with our exclusive code BABYCENTER20.

Even if you're not noticing a baby bump quite yet, your pants may be feeling a little extra snug thanks to a healthy bloat. Yoga pants and leggings are your friends, but you can also try a belly band or waistband extenders to make your jeans and other pants more comfortable. This super-stretchy nylon and spandex wrap-style belly band is a good buy, since it’s highly versatile. Use it over your jeans now to conceal any open buttons, use it for extra support later, or slip it on postpartum to keep things feeling a little more snug. 

Taking a snapshot of your baby bump from week to week is a super sweet way to document your pregnancy, plus a great way to track the subtle physical growth you don’t notice each and every day. But if you don’t label those pictures, you’ll have trouble remembering which picture belongs to which week of pregnancy. A cute rustic-inspired letter board provides the perfect way to get all the details down, plus can be used in your pregnancy announcement or in your baby’s monthly photos later. 

Thanks to hormonal changes, about half of pregnant women experience pregnancy gingivitis – red, swollen, tender gums. Whether you have these symptoms or not, it's important to take extra-good care of your teeth during pregnancy – and Oral-B's electric toothbrush makes this easier. It removes more plaque along the gum line than a manual toothbrush, and an indicator tells you when you're brushing too hard. It also works with an app on your phone to remind you to brush for the optimal amount of time, and it notes areas on your teeth you might have missed.

Your breasts are probably feeling more tender now. And while you may not be ready for a maternity bra, a sports bra or comfortable cotton bra without underwire will give you gentle support and ease discomfort. Even better, buy a quality nursing bra that’ll gently support you during your pregnancy, then make breastfeeding easy after you have your baby. The Bravado Body Silk bra comes in beautiful colors that'll make you feel cute, without any uncomfortable wires or hooks. 

Your skin may feel dry and itchy, and this will intensify as your breasts and belly grow and your skin stretches. Find a good all-over moisturizer that you can slather on now and throughout your pregnancy. With organic oils in a shea butter base, Mama Mio The Tummy Rub Butter is the soothing — and not at all greasy or sticky — solution you've been looking for.

A go-to for many pregnant moms, these delicious candies contain “botanicals and essential oils,” including ginger, citrus, lavender, and mint, the brand claims to relieve nausea. It’s worth noting how wildly popular these lemon-, green apple-, raspberry-, and tangerine-flavored suckers are. Do other sours, like green apple Jolly Ranchers, work just as well? The jury’s out. And if sour doesn’t do the trick for you, you can always try tummy-settling ginger. 

A cult favorite for pregnant moms, this pregnancy pillow is designed to support the back and belly while raising your head to help combat pregnancy symptoms like congestion and heartburn. Sure, you might not need a pregnancy pillow for all of its benefits when your bump is still relatively non-existent, but it’s nice to have on hand, should you pop earlier than expected. Just make sure you have the room — if there’s one thing these pillows aren’t, it’s small.