since I've been on maternity leave, I've had a lot of time to reflect back on the last 9 months and also prepare for what's to come. it's been lovely! it's also been a treat to be able to be cozied up at home (+ not have to wake up early to go to work) especially with this awesome cold weather we've been having! (less than 40 degrees yesterday morning -- say whaaa?)
before I pop, I wanted to compile a list of clothes that were so very helpful to me during my pregnancy. when I first got pregnant, I was actually pretty determined to not buy any maternity clothes. I've heard that there way ways to make your normal clothes fit/work, even without purchasing an entire new wardrobe. i.e. the rubber band trick:
also, because for work I only have to wear scrubs - I thought I could manage without anything new. boy, was I wrong! because of the lack of versatility in my closet and because every body type is different - I desperately needed at least a few essential items to survive. I don't think I purchased anything "maternity" until about 4-5 months because I was able to manage without. however, once I started wearing more maternity-friendly clothes, my life changed! I was so much more comfortable in my clothes and didn't have the desperate urge/impulse to cut up my pants + shirts in the middle of the day. I don't think it's necessary to stock up an entire wardrobe full of maternity items -- they tend to be on the pricier side and not all are so cute to wear sans baby bump. so, I wanted to compile a list of items that were 'nice to have' for me. (I opted to not call it must-have's because I don't think we really ever "MUST HAVE" anything -- except for one thing that I am particularly biased about...see below)
hope this is helpful to some of you!
1. belly bands - this is truly a gift of grace from God to preggo ladies. when I first started to 'show', I purchased these at target (one black and one white) to wear with my pants. this helped me not require any additional maternity pants for the first 4-5 months of my pregnancy. I used the rubber band trick and slipped these babies on over my pants to help hold them up. they are also relatively long so they are like a pseudo-undershirt if you like to wear long tanks under shirts like me. more often than not, I was wearing this instead of an entire tanktop under my clothes and I tricked you all. I also wore these to work everyday and didn't tie the ties on my scrubs and it was my saving grace!
2. long maternity tanks - I have about a thousand tank tops in my dresser. so I fought tooth and nail to not have to buy another tank top -- but the key to these tanks are that they are super long. I found some amazing pure body tanks at Gap for cheap and they were wonderful. the benefit of having these vs. your normal tanks are that they have seams on the sides that grow with your belly and allow it to stretch comfortably. and they are super long (did I already say that?) so no little unplanned bare belly reveals, which is always a plus!
3. maxi dresses - I really only bought 1-2 maxi dresses and didn't dress up all that often, but they are worthy of mentioning because they are non-maternity, but perfect for pregnancy! it contours the body well without making you feel like a ginormous dumpling covered in a piece of cloth, keeps your entire body covered (including legs/feet if you have bad swelling) and can be worn even after pregnancy! there were always a lot of pretty ones at h&m for cheap!
4. maternity leggings - so this is a must-have. sorry, I hate using those words but it's 100% true in this case. let it be known that I have only worn maternity leggings for practically the last 4 months of my life. I almost don't remember what jeans feel like. I also had to buy a few extra pairs because wearing the same ones everyday is apparently not sanitary. but THESE. I really can't say enough about them. wearing normal leggings with a growing pregnancy belly was basically the worst experience of my pregnant life (haha, sorry so drama). the moment I put these babies on, I seriously wanted to kiss myself for finding them. just trust me on this and stock up - you won't regret it.
5. cardigans, cardigans, CARDIGANS - I love, love love cardigans. even before baby. mainly because I cannot ever imagine myself wearing something sleeveless, even on a normal day. but the fact that I had so many cardigans stocked up during the course of my life was a reminder of God's sovereignty over all things (lol, sorry so drama again.) not only are cardigans warm and pretty - but most of them are long and so versatile. I could wear the same nursing tank and just change my cardigans every day and look like I'm wearing a completely different outfit. it's awesome. even if you aren't pregnant, start stocking up now, and invest in long ones!
6. long maternity tops with ties - last year, I signed up for a clothing subscription program called stitchfix. essentially, you get assigned an online stylist who sends you 5 different items of clothes based on your specific style-preference and you keep what you want and return what you don't want. when I told my stylist that I was pregnant, she tailored my "fixes" with things that were maternity-friendly and sent me a lot of great items that were perfect for my growing belly. one particular style I grew to appreciate were long maternity tops with ties. 'long' because you wanna keep that belly covered and be able to wear it with the essential maternity leggings (see above) and 'ties' because you don't want to feel or look like your wearing a poncho especially when your belly gets so big you can't see your feet and everything you wear makes you look like 1,000 pounds. ties are key.
---
I've found the most luck finding good maternity things at H&M (only online -- I was never able to find some stocked at the stores), Gap (baby Gap usually has the maternity sections -- and the clearance/sale racks are awesome. I found multiple things for $3-5!) and Target (but make sure to only buy a few things here or dig through the sales section because they are super expensive!)
A lot of women go through body image issues when they're pregnant. I know that I definitely struggled to embrace my growing body, too. Not being able to walk, or turn over to the other side in the bed or waddling around in clothes that barely feel right make you feel like a whale. (I was actually called a 'whale' once! haha.) but maternity clothes definitely helped me. I also learned just to embrace this season of growing a human being inside of me. The changes taking place in my body were moreso things to help protect and nourish the baby and (hopefully) not because of over-indulgence of cravings (I barely had any!) of bad-for-you foods. I will definitely miss my baby belly - itchy skin, brown linea nigra line and red stretch marks and all!
I'm thankful for a relatively smooth pregnancy thus far and am anxiously waiting for our little man to arrive. Hoping that I can enjoy the last few weeks of having him inside - regardless of how painful/uncomfortable it's becoming!
p.s. I got 'checked' yesterday at my 37 week appointment and found out I'm not dilated at all yet (whew!) Looks like baby will be staying inside until daddy comes back home after all :o)
No Comments Yet, Leave Yours!