Hello! Welcome, welcome. I’m impressed with myself that I started this Substack a few months ago, as opposed to my other Substack,
, which I started in 2019 and didn’t write my first post until… 2021. Such is life.I thought I’d be a cool, possibly somewhat aloof mom, but I’m approaching month four of motherhood and if I were to do that meme where you share four fictional characters who represent you, right now, all four would be Beverly Goldberg of “The Goldbergs.” Which, coincidentally, took place mere minutes from where I grew up in the ‘80s.
If we don’t know each other, hi! I’m Amber Katz, a writer for brands and publications, a content creator, a former O.G. beauty blogger (est. 2006) and a new old mom. I’m 43 and the mom of a nearly four-month old baby named Reid.
I was totally overwhelmed by everything I needed for pregnancy, the fourth trimester and beyond, so I sort of lived my life in one-month increments, buying what I needed along the way. It was a long process, but I also ensured I only bought what truly worked for me.
And with that? Here’s my list of pregnancy essentials. Stay tuned for baby month one, two, three and beyond in the coming installments of this Substack!
Ginger Chews For first-trimester nausea. I also kept Saltines on me constantly. It’s totally nonintuitive that eating will make you less nauseated.
Prenatal Vitamins With Iron These are my favorite. Eventually I got pregnancy-related anemia, so I had to supplement with Slow Fe iron supplements.
Unisom My pregnancy sleep was absolute dreck the majority of the time. A half a pill four times a week helped immensely.
Motherhood Maternity Leggings So cheap. So stretchy. So good. The brand name is deeply redundant, but they forgot to consult me, so whatevs.
Beyond Yoga Maternity Joggers I still wear these to bed. They’re beyond comfy.
Beyond Yoga Maternity Sweatpants These were key during the winter months (I had Reid in mid-January).
Madewell Maternity Jeans I wore sized-up regular jeans until maybe month six. After that, it was all about these, which are super comfortable and affordable. I wore this pair constantly until I gave birth.
Seraphine 3-in-1 Black Down Maternity Coat I wore this constantly the last three months and with Reid for walks after he was born. I put off buying a maternity coat for way too long because I was sure I could make it with my regular one the whole time. NOPE.
Bernardo Hooded Quilted Jacket Speaking of, this coat sized up did the trick until perhaps month eight. I’m still wearing it postpartum. It’s cute and inexpensive.
Pregnancy Wedge Pillow I bought this month five and then proceeded never to spend one night without it. I brought it everywhere — to my parents’ house, to my mini honey/babymoon in the Dominican, to my in-laws’ Catskills home. I like that it’s small and isn’t one of those gigunda full-body things but does the job. There was no way I could get a wink of sleep without it by the third trimester. Once I had Reid, I used it for nursing, as well.
Pregnancy Band This helped me deal with gravity (LOL) in the last four-ish months and was also helpful postpartum for getting my shape (somewhat) back.
RMed The Complete Collection I had to give up many of my go-to skincare products during pregnancy. I missed my retinol, but this pregnancy-friendly trio from Goodskin founder Lisa Goodman contains bakuchiol and an EGF blend that made my skin look glowy and smooth. I’m still using it while I’m nursing. Use code AMBER for 15% off.
Skims Tanga Undies For the first and second trimester, my go-to underwear, these cute ones from Skims, worked well.
Maternity Under-The-Bump Undies For the third tri, I could only use these. I bought two packs. VITAL.
Spanx Minimizer Bra This was my favorite pregnancy bra for the second and third tris.
Naturium Glow Oil Body Wash I minimized stretch marks by washing with this every day of my pregnancy. I was lazy about lotion. But it worked!
Varley Jessie Jumpsuit No lie, I wore this in a size medium up until the day before I was induced. Size down if you’re not pregnant. It was like I was all the sisters in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
Slip-on Adidas Sneakers I found these to be vital even before pregnancy but during? There’s no way I was lacing anything.
That’s it for today! All picks are by me or a guest editor (stay tuned for those!). Some links are affiliate links, which means I may make a small commission should you purchase via one of my links. Nothing is sponsored and everything is something I’ve bought myself — as a new old mom, unless otherwise indicated.
Have questions? Send me a DM and I’m happy to answer in a future newsletter.