I tried to hold out for as long as I could. But sooner or later I had to admit defeat and the fact that some of my regular clothes just aren't working anymore. It started with my workout attire and bras mostly because my chest grew first. So I simply delegated my workout tops that weren't fitting to the bottom of the drawer, bought a few new ones and bras and called it a day. I did buy two maternity shirts and a pair of pants before necessary from old navy and H&M just to get me excited about the pregnancy and have an excuse to go shopping. Now at 31 weeks I have found that not only does one have to surrender to the maternity tops because they are longer and stretchy and more comfortable but also to either going commando or wearing boy cut underwear. Lacy bits and strings on the hips just don't work anymore because, well my hips are disappearing and there is nothing on the sides to hold these things up. Fortunately for me it's winter here in Colorado so I can get away with wearing leggings day in and day out as opposed to worrying about jeans. I did buy a belly band the other day for my flight attendant pants because of the clasping on them otherwise a nice trick is looping a hair tie through the button hole of your pants and attaching it to the button. My skin is so itchy though that the more comfortable my clothing the better I feel so whatever feels good against my skin is what I'm wearing these days.
Maternity style doesn't have to mean wearing a tent around these days. Thanks to celebrities it has become status quo to dress your bump. Instead of being annoyed that some of my regular tops no longer fit I take it as a challenge to see how cute I can flatter my new curves. I'd like to share with you some of my favorite looks so far that I have created - all on a budget and all flattering to the body. I was blessed that I did not show until probably 6 months so all of my regular clothing worked until then. Here is me at 16 weeks:
As you can see, at 4 months there really wasn't a distinction between pregnant and not pregnant in my body.
I bought a white long sleeved shirt from H&M and old navy that I have worn countless amounts of times from week 20 on. The maternity shirts they sell in these stores have a little ruching on the sides that is meant to grow as you do and the perk of white is that it matches with everything and always looks crisp and clean.
At six months I could still layer a lot of my outer pieces with these maternity shirts like I did in the photo above and have no problem.
The leggings I am wearing in the photo above are NOT maternity but they are from old navy and are seamless and have a thick high waistband and are nice and long. The waistband is perfect because I can pull it above my belly or wear it below.
The shirt I'm wearing above is also from old navy and the pants are jeggings that I bought pre-pregnancy and have continued to wear. The top is not a maternity top it's just a size up from what I normally wear. You may think you can do this with all clothes but you would be wrong. The problem with that is that maternity wear is designed to fit your curves whereas being a size bigger usually puffs out at the wrong places. This shirt is loose enough to work however, and I added a belt to accentuate the bump. Belts above the bump are my new favorite way to play up the curves and make a distinction between boobs and bump which are gradually growing closer together.
Here I am wearing one of my 5 old navy maternity tank tops. These have the ruching on the sides, the fabric works well once I wash them and you can layer over the top with anything you like. I chose a denim jacket above (not maternity) and the same skinny belt.
My mom had gotten me the gray top above which I layered over a black maternity top. The patterns and detailing on it and the fact that its' a little shorter in the front than back make it work for this 31 week pregnant stomach.
Doing my hair is key at this point as well because it really pulls the look together and can make me go from feeling frumpy to polished. Thanks to pregnancy hormones my hair has grown longer and thicker in a short amount of time so I'm having fun playing around with different styles.
This black shirt came from Ross and paired with jeggings and a statement necklace works well from day to night.
My mom actually got me this shirt and it's not maternity but the flowy loose style worked perfect and I added a belt once again to give a distinction to the bump. In my first 6 months I spent time hiding the bump but now that it's apparent you want to highlight it so that people can actually tell the roundness is from a baby not too many cheetos.
Winter time means one needs a good solid coat to wear and I picked this white one up at old navy in a size larger than what I would normally wear. At 31 weeks it's still working for me! I figured I could wear it non maternity as well when I wear heavier sweaters underneath. My mom bought me a black old navy maternity jacket that is long and puffy which is what I normally wear on a day to day basis. This being a white jacket and wool it requires dry cleaning so I don't bring it out until night. I figure I can wear it unbuttoned too when the time comes for as long as I can.
Above is me around 5 months wearing the coat my mom bought me - it has cinching on the inside so you can make it hug the body more in the beginning and gradually let it out towards the end.
Ultimately maternity style is about what makes you feel comfortable. Truth be told when I'm not in my yoga clothes a lot of days I'm walking around with hardly anything on because a lot of fabrics just don't feel good against my skin anymore. I don't care how much lotion or oil you put on, that skin will still itch and when it's bad there's nothing I want touching me! I know in the next 8 weeks I will continue to grow as the baby does and I will update my readers with some more ideas on how you can find some style even when you feel uncomfortable and big as a house boat. Because yes I have those days frequently even now but I know it's not going to last forever so I may as well enjoy the perks of having an occasion to shop for!
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| leggings and tank top - perfect combo |
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