Do you enjoy walking around with your pants undone?
“Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch.”
Charlotte’s Web
I love being pregnant. I love my bump and I’ve even got a shirt to prove it.
During my first pregnancy I truly ‘blossomed’ and stopped counting after I hit the 20 kilo/44 lbs mark. I’d often get comments from my midwife like ‘I know it’s Easter but you can lay off the sweets now’ and ‘gee… most people put that on during their whole pregnancy but you’ve done it in 6 months’. I’d take all of this as a compliment as I do like to over-achieve.
At week 11 I was in maternity pants and by week 14 people were giving me a seat on the tube. Questions about the number of children I was carrying arrived at week 20.
My husband informed me that my majestic look was due to the fact that I ‘have absolutely no stomach muscles’. I would have been angry if it was not true. For the previous 35 years the only exercise that I’d done was reaching out for the Tim Tams and my first contact with any piece of sports equipment was with a pilates ball at age 35, I was 41.2 weeks pregnant and in the middle of the delivery.
At 13 weeks during my first pregnancy
And this time round it’s seemingly no different if not worse due to the fact that it’s my second pregnancy and hence my non-existent stomach muscles have already been mortified once. The ol’ maternity jeans of comfort were again pulled out at week 11 and at week 12, when I informed my friends that I was pregnant they all replied, “Well we know, it’s not really a secret” eyes flashing down to The Bump. Now at week 21 I do seem to have calmed down a bit and I do seem to be sticking to the standards curve and not creating my own.
Which brings me to my favourite topic, maternity clothes and my dear old friend, elastic waists. You see, not only do I love being pregnant, I love magazines too and have hence combined my passions. There are a lot of articles and advice out there and here is a summary of what I have found to be the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Good:
Don’t buy a whole closet full. Good maternity clothes are expensive. Instead select just a few basics tailored to your style.
Sage advice. Careful selections from your existing wardrobe + just a few good buys + use of accessories = can take you a long way or at least until your final trimester.
Maxi dresses, empire waists, wrap dresses and anything stretchy; once way back in your closet are now your new best friends.
- Accept all clothing offers. Family and friends usually are happy to pass their favorite maternity items along to a loved one.
Be a loved one. Beg, borrow, steal then smile. It’s no good wasting your precious dosh on clothes you won’t be wearing for very long.
- Check thrift shops or consignment shops. Maternity clothes rarely wear out in the course of a pregnancy, so there’s a lot of life left in these donated items.
Too true. Remember patience is a virtue and with continual and diligent resolve, you will find those amazing mamma-jeans for only 10 dollars.
The Bad:
- B
orrow from your partner. Wouldn’t one of his crisp, white shirts look great with your navy skirt?
Nup and I’ll tell you why. My partner is a six-foot Swede with broad shoulders and I’m a women with womanly shoulders whom prefers not to dress up as a circus tent.
- Wear non-maternity clothes, just buy them in bigger sizes.
Has this strategy ever worked before? Well if you like adding bulk and looking like a lunatic at the same time, be my guest.
- Loop a rubber band through the buttonhole and then wrap it around the button.
If you don’t mind feeling like you are walking around with your fly undone and occasionally flashing your undies, then I guess this can work for some. I tried it but had no success and only shocked my co-workers.
- Buy a belly band, a stretchy band you wear around your waist. The band holds up your jeans so you can leave them unzipped.
Again, these are designed to make your regular clothes last longer but only work if you enjoy walking around with your fly all the way down and not moving your arms or hands above waist length.
The Ugly:
- Flaunt your cleavage. Take advantage of this fortuitous occasion and wear scoop-neck T-shirts.
Please don’t.
loulouloves 
I always said if I ever became pregnant I would not become one of those women who only wears yoga pants through her entire pregnancy. Then I realized I wear yoga pants all the time at home (and of course my yoga cat pyjama pants) and I am not even pregnant. Ah well! 🙂
I love the sound of your yoga cat pyjama pants!
They are awesome! Bought them 3 years ago in US. 🙂
Totally agree with you on buying a few quality (or at least fun) pieces and then accessorize or add cardis (my fav). Actually, that’s how I dress most of the time, so no change, except that I’d spend $70 on maternity jeans and would faint at spending more than $50 on regular jeans. Go figure!
I shopped at a place called Marshalls once (they buy store brands/luxury items at fraction of cost and sell them). They had a tiny maternity section and I cleared it out. Turns out they were the only tops I wore! I also liked Old Navy for cheapo tshirts and elastic pants/shorts. I wore non-maternity stuff like you – stretch jersey dresses, floral tops, cardis! I didn’t get many great hand-me downs for maternity stuff though. Anyways, congrats on the 2nd baby and LOL about the lack of stomach muscles. I’m sure my belly’s going to pop out at 6 weeks with my second.
Marshalls sounds like a great place to shop! Glad you bought 70 buck maternity jeans….I absolutely love cardis too, pregnant or not 🙂
Another reason the rubber band/belly band doesn’t work is when your thighs blow out but your belly doesn’t catch up for 10 weeks.
Accepting offers works as lOng as the previous wearer (me in this instance) hadn’t dropped most meals on there.
Cleavage?!?! I wish
Maybe that was my problem too, blown out thighs ha har!