My favorite products + practices during pregnancy
Hello Beauties!!
Well babes, it has been a minute to say the least!! I am so incredibly grateful to get back into blogging because it is truly something I loved and enjoyed doing and I figured what better way to get back into it than with a blog post on some of my favorite products and practices during pregnancy!!
Yes I am a mama now, I know so crazy!! A lot can happen over a couple of years lol. My husband, Austin, and I welcomed our first baby, Isla, in December of 2021 and she is just the sweetest divine blessing!!
Being pregnant was truly one of the most magical, peaceful and divine experiences for me and I owe that to a few things.. one being my mindset, yes you read that correctly babe! Your mindset is truly everything!! But not only that, I also owe it to a lot of the products I used and practices I did throughout the entire pregnancy and that I still implement postpartum!!
So as you babes know I am all about thriving within the wellness for your whole body so I wanted to share some of my top things with you here!!
So beauties, lets dive in!!
Evereden Golden Belly Serum
This Belly Serum was my absolute FAVORITE for my skin while pregnant! It is infused with so many amazing ingredients like avocado oil, coconut oil and rosehip oil! It feels so incredibly nourishing on the body! I would lather this all over my belly, hips, booty, chest, literally all the things! I would even add in some jojoba oil and extra rosehip oil I had on hand for extra nourishment! I will link it here for you babes!
2. Beautycounter Countersun Mineral Sunscreen + Countersun Daily Sheeer Defense For Face
These two sunscreens were my go-to’s and honestly still are even postpartum. Your skin can be so much more sensitive to the sun while pregnant and these two products truly kept my skin nice and protected especially even more so during the hot summer months! They are both based with Zinc Oxide and full of clean nourishing ingredients like Vitamin E, Chicory Root Extract, Aloe and more! And the best part is even though they are a completely Mineral Based Sunscreen they don’t leave a white residue on the skin like some other mineral based sunscreens! Truly a win win because you are protecting your skin with safe clean ingredients and bonus, they last a super long time! I will link both products for you here Countersun Mineral Sunscreen + Countersun Daily Sheer Defense For Face! && if you want to support me as a Beautycounter Consultant please feel free to use my name Madison Loughmiller when you check out!
3. Primally Pure Jade Roller
This was one of my absolute favorite beauty tools especially the last month of Pregnancy when my face was a little bit fuller! The Jade Roller helps encourage circulation, cleanse the skin tissues, minimize puffiness and promote a balanced complexion. It is super easy to use and comes with a little guide on how to use one when you purchase it!! still one of my favorite skincare tools to use even postpartum! Primally Pure offers Facial Rollers in other stones as well along with a couple of different Guy Sha Stones as well!! I will link it here for you beauties and if you’re interested in purchasing anything from Primally Pure you can use my code : MADISONL10 at checkout for 10% OFF!!
4. Clean Beauty Skincare Products
If you follow me on instagram you know I am a huge advocate for clean beauty products that are made with safe nourishing ingredients not only for your skin but for the body as well! So during pregnancy this is even more important which is why I continued to fill my skincare practice with the most clean ingredient products! Some of my favorites during pregnancy included Tata Harper Superkind Fortifying Cleanser. This is a super clean and gentle cleanser for the skin. I would even double cleanse with Primally Pure Cleansing Oil (Normal Skin) to help get my makeup off first before I would go in with the other cleanser. My favorite facial mist to tone with was definitely Primally Pure Soothing Mist or Clarifying Mist, both filled with clean completely safe and natural ingredients. My favorite moisturizer was also one of Tata Harpers Superkind products, the Fortifying Moisturizer! and lastly one of my absolute favorite products was a DIY Glow Serum I made myself with high quality Doterra Essential Oils!! Obvisouly everybody’s skin is very different and can even change some during pregnancy so find the products that work for you, I would just encourage you to really focus on nourishing your skin with reputable clean beauty companies and ensure they are safe for pregnancy!! Some of my favorite companies definitely are Beautycounter, Primally Pure, and Tata Harper! Of course always check with your doctor if you have any questions about skincare and/or beauty products you’re using during pregnancy!
5. Foam Rolling + Stretching
I promise I am not exaggerating when I say I literally implemented a Foam Rolling and Stretching Practice every single day while I was pregnant! Babes, I promise you this is one of the practices that kept my body feeling so good while I was pregnant!! Foam Rolling is amazing for your body over all, it helps promote circulation, release muscle tension and just improve overall comfort and lets be real your body goes through so many changes during pregnancy so this can truly be a game changer. And like I mentioned, along with foam rolling I implemented a stretching practice following foam rolling. This was nothing fancy, I truly just did whatever felt good for my body, ex: cat cow stretches, hamstring stretches, adductor stretches, quads, etc. I really just tuned in with my body to see what it needed, however if stretching is something you have never done before I would definitely encourage you to reach out to a professional for some guidance. Foam Roller linked here!
6. Lululemon Align Leggings
Babes, this is literally the only leggings I wore to workout in while pregnant!! They are just so incredibly comfortable like buttery soft and the best part is they stretched easily as baby girl grew in my belly! Which I personally loved because I still wear them now even postpartum which to me was just a win win!! I personally wear the 25” ones because they hit me at the perfect length! The 23” are definitely a crop fit but the 28” is just a little too long for me! I am 5’5 for reference. They are a little bit of an investment but I have Align Leggings from 2016 that I still wear to this day, so they definitely last a long time! I will link them here if you’re interested.
7. Working Out + Daily Movement
One of my other favorite things during pregnancy was movement!! YES I actually looked forward to my movement each and everyday!! It truly made me feel so so good and allowed me to continue to stay feeling strong throughout pregnancy as well which was super important to me! I will say, I was active and worked out 4-5 days a week prior to becoming pregnant but regardless if you’re just starting out with a movement routine while pregnant or have been active for a while I would totally encourage you chat with your doctor about it and make sure all is well and good for you to start/continue on! But it seriously can be a game changer for how you feel overall!! I will say there are modifications that need to happen especially once you hit the second trimester so just be mindful of that and if needed look into chatting with or maybe highering a personal trainer that specializes in prenatal for some guidance!
8. Chiropractor Visits throughout Pregnancy
Chiropractic Care is something that I emplimented for years even before getting pregnant and is something that I totally would encourage to continue once pregnant as well! It truly helps keep your body in alignment because your body definitely shifts quite a bit during pregnancy to make room for baby. Not only does it help with that but it can have a really positive impact on the position for the baby as well! Literally after each visit I would have while pregnant Isla girl would move around a so much with all the room she would get from me receiving the adjustment!! Of course you want to ensure your chiropractor is well educated on how to treat pregnant patients for sure so definitely do your research and maybe ask your doctor for recommendations in your area. If you live in the Atlanta area please feel free to reach out and I have an amazing practice I would recommend!!
9. Pelvic Floor Strengthening
Alright babes, THIS IS SO IMPORTANT!! I started implementing Pelvic Floor Strengthening around 15 weeks pregnant but please hear me when I say this is totally something you can implement before pregnancy and postpartum!! It is truly so important to learn how to properly strengthen your pelvic floor muscles and properly learn how to relax them as well because both, YES both are important for labor + delivery and postpartum! I would highly encourage you to work with a pelvic floor PT because it truly is their specialty and it goes so much deeper than just doing kegels! I did all my sessions virtually with
Dr. Mae Hughes! She has literally been amazing!! You can totally give her a follow on instagram @dr.maehughes!
10. Perineal Massage
This babes can help so so much in helping prevent tearing!! I started implementing Perineal Massages around 36 to 37 weeks with coconut oil like I my Midwife encouraged and I truly think this helped prevent tearing is the perineum during labor + delivery! Totally recommend you asking your doctor/ob/midwife about this!! You can preform this massage on your own if you can or you can have your partner do it which is what I did because it definitely can be a little challenging once the baby belly is popping!! There are some great accounts to follow for this too on instagram so if you want some suggestions please feel free to message me on insta!!
11. Healing Oils for Hemorrhoids + Fissures
Alright ladies lastly, I know this is a topic that not every gal wants to chat about with pregnancy and post partum but it is a very real thing that can happen!! I got my first hemorrhoid around 20 weeks pregnant and thankfully it subsided after a week or so, but postpartum it was the real deal and I also had a fissure from going to the bathroom as well!! And if you have ever had one of these you know they are literallyyyy a pain in the booty!! I tried what felt like everything under the sun to help; sitz baths, tucks pads, preparation h (yes I didn’t want to but I was trying anything), even diaper cream and nothing was touching it! So I started doing some reseach for some alternatives and stumbled upon Healing Natural Oils - amoils.com and I ordered there H-Hemorroids Formula along with their H-Fissures Formula and I kid you not, after about 3 days it was like night and day different!! I was absolutely amazed! They have multiple different healing oils but these are the ones I personally tried! Of course always chat with your doctor and make sure it’s a good fit for you!
My goal with sharing this info with you beauties is for it to be helpful and a guiding hand through pregnancy because your body definitely goes through a lotttt of changes but of course as always talk to your doctor to see what would be a best fit for you!!
Obviously if you have any questions about the products + practices I implemented throughout pregnancy please feel free to dm me on insta @madisonloughmiller
I hope you babes are having a magical day!
keep blooming,