Carrying a 3 kg baby in your belly 24/7 is pretty darn tiring, and having to carry around additional weights from your handbag or purse can be such a burden which is why it’s important to streamline the contents of your bag and choose a bag that’s very lightweight.
My favorite type of bag are sling or crossbody bags because they’re small and lightweight, and they stay on your shoulders and won’t slide off. My favorite bag at the moment is the Rebecca Minkoff Five Zip Mini Crossbody, which unfortunately is no longer available, but the Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC Convertible Crossbody Bags are just as great!
As for the contents…
Here are my pregnancy handbag essentials – aside from the obvious keys and phone of course!
- Card Holder: To save space, I ditched my wallet and opted for a cute metallic pink card holder from Harrods. I only carry bank cards and ID cards in this, and usually $50 cash.
If you have lots of loyalty cards, I recommend getting an app like Stocard where you can store all your loyalty program details and cards in your phone!
- Pocket Tissue: Most women get stuffy nose during pregnancy, and mine was surely stuffed and runny for the whole 39 weeks. Also, my hand-eye coordination seems to be a bit off during pregnancy and mealtimes can be a bit messy – “pregnancy brain” to blame?
- Hand Sanitizer: Some women have lower immunity during pregnancy, making it easier for them to get sick from viral infections and what-not, so it’s very important that you keep your hand germ-free during pregnancy! My favorites are of course from Bath & Body Works!
- Bluetooth Earphones: Pregnant or not, I think everybody needs one of these especially with the headphone-jack-free iPhone 7 coming out! The Sudio VASA Bla is a bluetooth earphone so you don’t need to plug it into a jack, and it’s also the lightest earphone in the market today, weighing only 14 grams! Plus, isn’t the pouch super adorable?
(They have fast and FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING and you can get them for 15% off using the code beautybucketeer!)
- Hand Cream: Dry skin is almost always inevitable during pregnancy, so I always reach for my hand cream right after I wash my hands to avoid having gritty, cracked skin. I love Lollia hand creams because they smell so incredible and the travel size ones fit perfectly in any small purse.
- Multipurpose Balm: Still on the “dry skin” front, I always carry a multipurpose balm for me to slather all over my lips, cuticles, any dry patches – even on cuts and bites. My favorite is the Lanolips 101 Ointment in Strawberry flavor!
- Perfume: Another inevitable woe pregnant women have to deal with is body odor. Yuck, I know. So make sure you always have a mini perfume handy. I love the Philosophy Amazing Grace so much!
- Panty Liner: TMI but the amount of vaginal discharge you get during pregnancy is just ridiculous, especially in the last few weeks leading up to labor. Keep it fresh and clean down there by changing your panty liner every time you go to the bathroom. I love Moxie liners because they’re so soft, they adhere to the fabric really well, and they come in such an adorable tin box!
- Notepad & Pen: I might be old school, but having a good ol’ pen and paper can be really handy. I have all important phone numbers and details in it in case my phone dies, and during the last few weeks of pregnancy, it’s handy for writing down the timing of your contractions.
- Emergency Kit: Lastly, I have a tiny Hello Kitty coin purse that contains all of my “emergency” stuff like medicine (pain relief, antacids, lozenges – just one of each), bandages, feminine wipes (extra discharge during pregnancy, remember?) and a hair tie. I’m currently loving the Invisibobble traceless hair ring so much, it doesn’t leave dents on my hair and it doesn’t tangle up my hair when I sleep with it on.
Those are my ten must-haves and essentials, especially during pregnancy. Other things I occasionally carry with me, and that I also recommend for other expecting mamas out there, are snack bars (eating for two so we’re always hungry!), a portable charger (only on days when I will be out all day), a lip color, and a compact powder.
What are YOUR handbag essentials? 😉
Disclaimer: Some of these products were sent for consideration, however all opinions expressed are unbiased and of my own. No payment was received for this review and no commission will be received from discount codes mentioned.
