~ Dressing the Bump ~

06/30/2012

When I first found out I was pregnant, after all the initial excitement, sheer
terror, and newness wore off, my thoughts started to drift towards maternity
clothes. Just the sound of it was enough to make me cringe, as I started
imagining myself in hideous tents with no style whatsoever.
It was completely
outside of myself, because I normally don’t put much thought into what I wear.
As long as it’s comfortable, pretty, timeless, or solid, I love it. Anything
more than that takes a lot of work that I wasn’t willing to put in.

So entering my 2nd trimester of pregnancy at 3 months, I knew it was time to start
paying attention to what I put on every day, or I would end up with low self
confidence and….a tent.
I was bound and determined to not buy maternity
clothes. I normally live in plain vnecks, dresses, and cardigans all year, so I
knew I could stretch some of those until the end.

At 15 weeks, I bought myself a Tummy Sleeve from Motherhood Maternity. It was just okay. Some women swear by
them, but I was so bloated as an early pregnancy symptom, that my old jeans just
weren’t comfortable anymore.
In your first trimester, a common symptom is
bloating. Don’t worry, you haven’t really gained 15 pounds, already. By week 18,
I felt like I had lost 10 pounds and found myself back in my old jeans, again.

So my 2nd maternity item I purchased were 2 pairs of jeans. Maternity
Full-Panel Denim Leggings, from Old Navy, and Loved
by Heidi Klum.

I will say, that the Loved pair are just about the cutest,
and most comfortable pair of Maternity Jeans I have ever seen. (I was
wearing them in these photos) I am actually not at all a fan of skinny
jeans, but I knew that being in my 2nd trimester during Fall/Winter meant lots
of boots, so I needed jeans that were easy to tuck in. These are cute.
Actually cute, not just maternity cute. Plus there is no hideous, giant panel.

The Old Navy jeans are very comfortable. They really do feel just
like leggings. Not as cute, but perfect for layering under long tunics with
boots. When only your knee is showing, they don’t have to look that good! Just do the job.

I bought my jeans around the same size that I normally wear.
In regular clothes (I can barely remember those days) I was a size 26, or 0/2
most of the time. So I bought all my maternity jeans in a 2 so I had a bit of
room to grow. They run very true to size, and almost always have some stretch to them.

After the jeans, I boycotted maternity wear. My sister got me some
corduroys for my birthday, and I added them to my small list of maternity clothes.
I actually had a few pieces in my closet from years ago that were
maternity. There is something about an extra long, empire waist-anything that
lures me in. So I got all those out, combined them with a few of my favorite
normal pieces, and learned to dress myself, all over again.

And by the end of the 2nd trimester, who knew, that I would end up buying a tent, after all.

Here are a few of my favorite outfits from the 2nd trimester.

Now
that I’m in my third trimester, it’s a whole new ball game. Baby joon weighs 4
pounds, and my belly is huge on my body. These days, tents sound pretty amazing,
and I’ve had to get more creative as everything gets tighter and shorter.
I
will do a few more outfits for the 3rd (and final) trimester in the next few
weeks.

Happy closet-shopping, Mamas to be! And please
remember that following a good diet and exercise are the easiest ways to still
be able to wear your clothes for as long as you can. Not only will it be better
for you& baby, but it’s better for your wallet, too 🙂