What not to wear
OK...I'll just say it. Maternity clothes. Getting used to the idea during pregnancy number 1 was not easy. I just wore stretchy pants and big shirts. It was not until December (baby 1 born in February) that I actually gave them a try. WOW! The truth is this...big stretchy clothes make you look BIG. Get it? Big clothes=big girl. Maternity clothes=pregnant girl. Do you really want people wondering, "is she fat or preganat?" Since you're not 14 and trying to hide it...wear 'em. Here is the fine line...when to start wearing them. Too early and you're a dork. To later and you get the big girl thing going. There is no magic date. I think your pants will tell you. If their too tight and the rubberband trick won't work...visit the maternity clothes department. What's the rubberband trick? Take a rubberband (kind you use in your hair), loop it through the button hole, then hook it around the button of your pants. Voila! pants (the waist) are now 1-2 inches bigger. Sorry, I don't having tricks for making the butt of pants bigger.
Speaking of pants...maternity pants are weird but loveable. I REALLY loved my last pair of maternity jeans. The weirdness comes in the the mystery "panel." A panel is a big piece...really big...like 12" x 12 "...of lycra (color coordinated with the pants). I still am weirded out by the panel. It didn't feel "right" until I was 9 months and then it was love. Maternity pants come in all varieties...scoop under the belly, panel, yards of fabric to cover belly. Adjustable waistband is a MUST! I opted for the 3rd pants option. It allowed for more flexibility in shirt choice. You can wear a shorter shirt and not reveal the freakish (but functional) lycra panel. Trying to buy maternity pants is torture. You have to buy pants for a body you don't know will look like in a week to several months. I LAUGHED when I tried on my first "panel" pants. ught I would NEVER fit into them. HAH!!! I did. Let me know how your first pants trying on session goes. Don't take Brad...maybe Michelle. You will laugh; you will cry; you will cry. A guy won't understand. Got any pregnant friends? Only they will understand.
Shirts? Much more flexible situation than the pants. Don't forget the big girl rule.
Luckily I was not pregnant-pregnant during the summer. You're on your own there. Don't forget the big girl rule.
Where to buy...Avoid, avoid, avoid Motherhood Maternity. Their return policy SUCKS!!!!! You basically can't return anything, period. Target is affordable. Old Navy is cute and trendy (and they have a great mail-order exchange program). Gap if VERY expensive. A rule of thumb is, "it's not worth the price." The clothes are not cheap and their so temporary. You want to have a few nice things; the rest you should get at a cheap store. Let's face it. You don't want to have to alternate between one pair of khakis and one pair of jeans for several months.
I hate to say this, but PLEASE for Brad's sake...no huge white underware. Underware does not have to cover you belly. The idea of "special" maternity underware is a marketing scam. This might be TMI, but I wore my same old, same old undies. I will save the discussion of the...gulp...nursing bra for later. This charming little item can't be purchased until much later.
I put of buying maternity clothes until the end of pregancy 1...couldn't wait to wear them in preganacy 2.
So, as Stacey and Clinton would say, "here are the rules."
1. Big clothes = big girl. Maternity clothes=pregnant girl.
2. Adjustable waistband
3. NO Mothernood Maternity
4. No huge white briefs (or any other color)
Gotta go but start researching this...progressive relaxation techniques and/or labor self-hypnosis (you might have "trainers" in your area).
posted by Suzy @ 8:39 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
We must be mentally connected. I was just looking at maternity clothes online yesterday, not to buy just yet, mind you. Just looking. I was hoping that someone would shed some light on the subject for me and you have beautifully.
One thing I'm thinking of is Sister-in-Law's wedding at the end of May. Will I be able to go with that fitted dress look, a la "oh look at her beautiful round belly". I'm guessing it'll be too early.
I don't plan on trying to make my clothes "fit". I'm too much of a dork to wear regular clothes when I could be wearing maternity clothes (you know this is true)! And thank you busting the big white panty myth. About bras though, I (ok Brad) can tell already that my boobs are bigger. And sore too, to the point that I've been wearing those shelf-bra camisoles to sleep in to avoid any unnecessary flopping. Do I just buy a bigger bra or just go with it for a while? I'm guessing there will be a point when my pre-pregnancy bras just won't cut it anymore.
Are there any "rules" about belly show off? Think Rachel in Friends? I'm geting ahead of myself (typical).
So, what can you tell me about morning (middle of the night) sickness. I've been convincing myself that I'm not having it, but basically if I don't eat every 2-4 hours I feel pukey- not actully getting sick, but just yuck. This is mostly happening at about 2 am, lovely.
Cute Brad moment... when we were falling asleep last night he asked me if I thought it was a boy or a girl. I said boy, for some reason that's what I think. He said this week he thinks girl, but last week he thought boy. So this may not seem all that earth shattering to you, but Brad really doesn't talk much about this kind of "stuff". So it qualifies as a C.B.M. Just thought I'd through that in there.
Thanks for the great advice!
I forgot to mention about the self-hypnosis. My friend Krassi who is also a yoga teacher has thought about becoming a doula. I'd like to work with her during labor for several reasons, most importantly she respects my opinion. I've heard that isn't always the case. Her knowledge of the body and relaxing it is also a big plus (from her yoga training). I'll definitely look into self-hypnosis, I'm sure it's big out here in Wheat Germ California (as dad would say).
I know that my opinions on this will change a hundred times, and really I don't know what I'm talking about at this point but...
I'm thinking that I'm not opposed to medication, although I want to be mobile for as long as I can for a variety of comfort and medical reasons. I know that having any hard and fast rules is a sure way to end up with whatever you didn't want. I'm sure we'll spend more time on this later. But of course I've thought about it.
There is no way to predict what you will or won't be able to wear for the wedding. No one knows how big you'll be by then. DON'T buy anything early!!! Your body will change overnight. As far as fitted clothes and showing the belly clothes...would you wear them now??? The problem with the fitted belly look is that the butt is usually also fitted. If you're ok with a fitted butt, then go for it. Pregnant bellies in reality are not always as cute as they are on FRIENDS. I see pale , white with funky stretch marks. Ohhh...pretty!!!
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