16 Things I Bought on Maternity Leave!
I like to think of myself as minimal, but I feel like I shopped my way through maternity leave way more than I normally do. Adjusting to a new season of life we budgeted extra for purchases to make life easier but I’m also still very careful on what we bring into our home in terms of it’s affect on people, planet and personal health.
So here are the things I bought on maternity leave and why I chose them.. and now, it’s back to our regular budget!
PLACENTA PILLS
Yes, I encapsulated my placenta and I”m eating it. This was the biggest spend of them all. I didn’t consume my placenta with the other two pregnancies and after a wild hormone ride in pregnancy I was happy with a pricey gamble based on anecdotal evidence. I checked with my midwife and she said “worst case scenario you get some extra iron” so I went for it. They arrived a few days after birth (after the courier was initially given the wrong placenta by the hospital!) and I’m popping them daily. Verdict so far: I feel much more stable than in pregnancy but I have no history of PPD/PPA so we really will never know. I used Placenta Plus (HERE) for being lab based and the most stringently tested, and I chose the Steamed Method.
FORM PROTEIN POWDER
I haven’t bought protein powder for years and will always favour real food protein. In this season where I’m building muscle again after 2 months off, and also breastfeeding and eating a limited diet for baby, I wanted something I could add in. It’s vegan, heavy metal tested, the protein is organic, and it comes in compostable sachets so I grabbed it on sale at Planet Organic to try out. Verdict: It’s ok. I’ll eat it for the help with my diet, but it’s not an exciting addition aside from credentials. The sweetened one was a little to ‘fake’ sweet so next time I’d go with unsweetened. Find it HERE via Planet Organic in the UK
VITAMINS FROM WILD NUTRITION
Jared has been using Wild Nutrition for a while now and I’ve been using Wild Nutrition through my second two trimesters and love their ethos, sourcing, and compostable packaging. After seeing a nutritionist (see below!) I ordered a lot more and am still taking their prenatal while I’m breastfeeding. We also all have their probiotics. Find them HERE via Planet Organic.
ORGANIC BONE BROTH
I didn’t get to making my own broth pre birth but I really wanted good organic broth for this time of my body healing. I have a general personal rule I don’t buy food in plastic but this was all recyclable, a great company and for a limited time so I bought some. I’ve been eating it with organic beef and veggies in a soup. It’s delicious and a more pricey but easy alternative to making your own. Verdict: In a pinch it’s fantastic as a shop bought option. You can order direct or add it to an Abel and Cole order.
Find it HERE via Abel and Cole if you want to add it to an order or try it out, or HERE from the Borough Site
MONTEZUMAS 100% DARK CHOCOLATE
I wanted to keep my sugar intake low, but I “need” chocolate every day and so I ordered some of Motezumas zero sugar (which isn’t sweetened with anything like stevia either.) Their 100% dark range is the BEST sweetener and sugar free chocolate plus being fair trade and in compostable packaging. I got the buttons and the orange one. Start with the flavoured ones if you’re new to 100%! You can find them in major supermarkets.
JUDE’S ICE CREAM
Listening to the Chinese Medicine (and many other cultures around the world) I tried to eat warm foods and warm drinks so early on I didn’t eat ice cream. Once most of my 40 days were up, I started eating some ice cream and then having cut dairy for Isla, I got the Jude’s vegan range. I think their Oat based once are the tastiest and we love the cartons being recyclable and it being a carbon negative, local B Corp.
GOOD CLUB + ABEL AND COLE + MILK AND MORE
These delivery services are how we eat right now and you can read my breakdown of them all HERE! I’ve been using Abel and Cole for a while, and I’m now adding a once a month order from Good Club for rice, musli, chopped tomatoes, fair-trade cocoa powder, tamari, oils, and lots of other kitchen staples so I can be home. You can save £15 on your first order with THIS link, and they also send a parcel to a local food bank when you order through that link!
MATCHA + GREEN TEA
In the most shocking move of the year, I quit coffee. I’ve switched to matcha and green tea and I’ve been drinking this one from Pukka. They’re the only true plastic free and organic tea and they have fairly traded and sustainably harvested ingredients. We LOVE them.
UK amazon | US Amazon | Abel and Cole | Good Club
DUMMIES/PACIFIERS
This was an “emergency” week 2 purchase – which proves the point you can buy things as you need them rather than getting a lot in advance that you might not need. Isla was struggling early on and took to a pacifier quickly and it really helped her and us. I like a natural rubber one – there are a few good brands, we’ve been using the ones below.
UK amazon | US Amazon | Via Kidly UK | Ethical Superstore UK
OVERNIGHT RESURFACING PEEL
I didn’t wear any makeup for about 8 weeks after birth and it was gloriously slow and simple. Skincare though, yes. I stocked up on Beautycounter’s Overnight Resurfacing Peel when my parents in law came from the US. It’s a breastfeeding safe, gentle but massively effective AHA/BHA peel that I swear by. For context on price, the glass bottle lasts me about 9 months used twice a week.
HERE in the US | HERE in Canada
ROTHY’S
These are my school run to chicken coop shoes and sadly they don’t ship outside of the US anymore. My parents in law brought them over with them and I’m thankful cos I live in my other pair for day to day life. Really comfy, I can toss them in the wash, ethically made of reclaimed ocean plastic. They come at a higher price tag but mine look unworn after 18 months of hard use. Get $20 off HERE.
BODY CREAM FOR MY TUMMY
My tummy skin has been SO dry and I’ve been slapping this on morning and night to hydrate and love it as it changes shape again. It’s a skincare company I love (the 360 range is the one for maturing skin and I love the vitamin c booster!) and this cream has been so great for my tummy.
Find it HERE for worldwide delivery.
SIMETICONE/INFACOL
A few weeks of Isla crying early on was really making Jared and me struggle emotionally. After our journey with Roey it was very triggering and we needed a solution if we could find one. The midwife suggested Infacol and used twice daily it did help a bit. After adjusting my diet she’s now off it and the diet does more but it helped early on. It’s sold as different brand names but Infacol is the UK brand.
A SESSION WITH A NUTRITIONIST
I knew my body needed extra help to recover from everything and so I booked in with a nutritionist. I have seen and really believe in the power of food to help with health, alongside modern medicine, but I also knew I needed more specific and personal professional direction. Clare was very science and evidence based (I’m not sure what I expected!) and gave me an easy to follow plan. She talked me through the top priorities and the extras so it didn’t feel overwhelming. It left me feeling equipped to really help my body recover as I fed myself.
DIAPER/NAPPY CREAM
I hadn’t bought one of these pre birth so a few days in I grabbed this one with great ingredients from Weleda which also has a non plastic tube.
UK via Ethical Superstore | US via Credo Beauty (a great and useful store if you don’t know it!)
GRASS FED + FINISHED BEEF + MARROW BONES
One of the diet recommendations was to up the red meat in my diet to a palm sized amount daily. I do eat meat but I’m very picky about what we get. I think it’s one of those choices where you do the best you can, and if you can find/pay for meat that cares for the environment it’s responsible to do that. We have this local to us so it’s all we do. Organic, grass fed and finished local beef that is raised to the highest standards for animal and environment. We love it and put in a quarterly order. This time I added bones to make my own broth too.
If you’re in the UK look at Knepp Meat HERE.
