Updated March 05, 2015.

Be serious, pregnancy is not the most comfortable you’ve ever been in your life. If you are being honest with yourself and others, you probably have moments where you feel like you glow and moments that you feel like one of those walking ten inch dolls whose legs can be pulled out of their sockets.

That said, there are plenty of things that can help keep you comfortable in pregnancy. Some are fairly obvious, but others are only found through the trial and error of mothers-to-be. The good news is two pronged – there have been plenty of mothers before you and there are new products being invented all the time. Here are a few things that really helped make pregnancy much more comfortable for many moms:

1. Yoga Pants

Sure, yoga pants get a bum reputation as being a lazy way to dress. There are many people who say that yoga pants only belong in the yoga studio, but they must not have ever been nine months pregnant. Yoga pants fit. They stay where you put them. They cover all of your parts. And you can move in only the way a very pregnant woman would move and not worry about stuff falling out all over the place when it shouldn’t. No wardrobe malfunctions here!

2. A Bathtub

Please notice that I did not say your bathtub. Quite honestly, some people are not blessed to have an amazing bathtub and may need to cheat on their bath fixtures. Find the deepest tub you can and relax! If you are doing this in someone else’s tub, you may need to have boundaries – otherwise, soak away! Be sure to not read the water bill for a few months – trust me, it’s well worth it.

3. Piles of Pillows

Yes, I am perfectly aware of all the specialized pillows out there for pregnant women, and I love them! But nothing says comfort that being completely surrounded by a nest of pillows in your bed. You’ve got something to prop every piece of your body. This is particularly true in labor, where even having to hold your own foot up can seem like a huge ordeal. So tell your mate to stick it – you’ve got a date with a pile of pillows and they can like it or lump it. (Have you tried the Snoozer Pillow?)

4. Chocolate

I’m listing chocolate, good chocolate mind you, Godiva Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Bark specifically. Finding whichever chocolate is best for you might be a chore, but it’s worth the trouble of slugging through some samples. In fact, you might decide that it’s not really chocolate, but chocolate ice cream. That’s okay. Remember not to have it for every meal, and maybe not even every day, but it’s okay to indulge every now and again in something really, really nice.

5. Hot Water Heater

Really, don’t laugh! If you have ever had a broken hot water heater, you will know the drama and the trauma it can cause in pregnancy. My poor husband was sent to not only fix our hot water heater but to get an upgrade by many gallons when our broke in one of my pregnancies. We will never take it for granted again.