My Top 10 Natural Pregnancy and Postpartum Essentials

We have big news in our family! Can you guess? Today I’m sharing my top 10 natural pregnancy and postpartum essentials.

My top 10 natural pregnancy and postpartum essentials

We’re expecting baby number three! If you’ve watched my recent YouTube videos, you’ll have seen it: the baby bump is getting big!

Baby number three is due at the end of August. That’s just around 5 weeks or so from now! We’re all very excited. Like the last two babies, the gender is a surprise again. I was really tempted to find out this time. After all, this one is a tie breaker! But in the end, we decided to go with the surprise again. I do love the surprise. It gives me something big to focus on during labor.

I want to share with you what I like to use and the supplements I take during pregnancy and the postpartum period. There might be some things that surprise you!

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So what are my top 10 natural pregnancy and postpartum essentials?

Let’s go through them one by one! First we’ll talk about how I’m eating and the supplements I’m taking.

Nutrition – Good nutrition has to be the biggest priority for me. This goes for preconception, pregnancy, postpartum healing, and growing children! Good nutrition makes such a huge impact, for years to come. It’s not just about calories, it’s about getting good nutrients. I focus on following Weston A. Price or Nourishing Traditions style nutrition. My favorite resource for practical information is the book, The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby and Child Care. Three main principles stick out to me when I’m trying my best to nourish my body and my growing baby: Healthy animals fats are so necessary for hormone health, brain development, and so, so much more. High quality protein is important because I’m building an entire new human being! Fermented foods help to keep my gut health in the best shape possible. My gut flora will be passed on to this new baby, and I want to give them the very best start in life.
Prenatal vitamin – I don’t rely only on a very nutrient dense diet, I go ahead and take a high quality, whole food prenatal vitamin as well. This is like extra insurance to fill in the gaps. Even when we source the highest quality foods, our modern diet tends to still be deficient in some nutrients at times. I wouldn’t want to risk missing out on something my baby needs. The prenatal vitamin I take is called Baby and Me 2 from Mega Foods. I’ve been really happy with this one. It contains methylated folate instead of folic acid, which is important to me. Learn more about the importance of methylated folate vs. folic acid here. I keep up taking a prenatal vitamin for as long as I’m nursing.
Homeopathic cell salts – These help the body to absorb and use certain important minerals. I follow the protocol from Joette Calabrese that you can find here. Basically, I take different cell salts combinations depending on what month of pregnancy you’re in. I also continue these as long as I’m nursing.
Cod liver oil – This is something I take all the time, whether I’m pregnant or not. It’s a great source of vitamins A, and D, omega 3 fatty acids, EPA, and DHA. Those nutrients are all so important for my body’s health, as well as the growing baby’s development in so many ways. I take this virgin cod liver oil from Nutrapro International.
Beef liver and iron – I take either raw, homemade beef liver pills, or freeze dried beef liver capsules. I take raw beef liver pills all the time, whether I’m pregnant or not, but I find the freeze dried capsules a little easier to stomach during pregnancy 🙂 Liver has so many beneficial nutrients. It’s also a really good source of B vitamins, in a form that my body can easily use. I’ve also been taking an iron supplement from Standard Process. My midwife recommended it to boost my iron levels.

Moving onto skincare and such

Next I’m going to share some pregnancy and postpartum skincare items that I find really helpful.

Magnesium Lotion – My prenatal vitamins do contain some magnesium. But, like I’ve talked about before, magnesium is most readily absorbed and used through the skin. I find using magnesium on the skin, like with an organic magnesium lotion, which I show how to make here, super important. During pregnancy, the body uses so much magnesium. If deficiency happens, problems like leg cramps, restless leg syndrome, headaches, trouble sleeping, and other issues can happen. I am happy to report that I really haven’t struggled with these things at all, and I am certain it has to do with keeping up healthy magnesium levels. I also have handmade magnesium lotions in my shop. It is very, very important to keep up with magnesium on the skin after baby is born, too. Magnesium is so helpful in that delicate postpartum time when hormones are adjusting all over again.
Tallow balm – With a growing belly comes stretching skin! Tallow balm is my absolute favorite thing to slather on to keep my skin happy during pregnancy. I talk about all the amazing skin benefits of grass fed tallow here. I show how to make it here. Another great use for tallow balm is how it helps prevent soreness from nursing. I start putting tallow balm on a few weeks before baby is due, and it really does help minimize soreness. The unscented option (with no essential oils) is best for this. I continue to use it during the first few weeks of nursing to continue to prevent soreness, until my body adjust further. For baby, tallow balm is the purest, most gentle moisturizer you’ll ever find. It’s perfect for their brand new, delicate skin. It’s also amazing for diaper rash! Tallow balm is in my shop as well.
Postpartum healing spray – Right after baby is born, that area will be sore… a healing spray really helps to soothe and keep everything more comfortable. I like keeping it in the refrigerator so that it stays cold! If tears happened during delivery, it helps those heal quickly and prevents infections as well. My favorite spray recipe uses soothing aloe vera, cooling witch hazel, and essential oils of frankincense and clary sage. Those essential oils really help to speed healing, and clary sage has hormone balancing properties. I’ll be showing how to make this postpartum healing spray here soon, and I also offer it in my shop.
Natural makeup – I think it’s important to use only the purest, most natural products on my skin, and that includes makeup. That’s even more crucial when there’s a new little person growing inside me! Check out my 100% Pure makeup review here.

Staying fit and flexible

These last two items are my must haves for keeping my body flexible, strong, and in good shape. It’s really important, because labor is hard work!

Spinning Babies – My favorite resource for pregnancy exercise is spinningbabies.com. This website is such a valuable resource! Keeping the body in shape is crucial for getting and keeping baby in a good position for an easy birth. This involves keeping ligaments balanced, and keeping the body flexible. I highly recommend their daily essentials exercise routine. They’re also helpful for keeping the body comfortable during pregnancy as well.
Exercise ball – This is so much better than a chair! Especially during pregnancy, an exercise ball is perfect for keeping the pelvis in a healthy position for pregnancy and birth, and it’s so much more comfortable. Chairs are not our friend while we’re pregnant, but an exercise ball like this one is essential. I also like the ball for after baby is born. It’s great for sitting on and bouncing a fussy baby.