Week 19: Maternity clothes and the growing bump

By Published On: October 21st, 2014

I have a love/hate relationship with maternity clothes. I LOVE […]

I have a love/hate relationship with maternity clothes. I LOVE that they are oh-so-roomy and non-constricting (Do tight clothes make anyone else feel sick to their stomachs when they are pregnant, or is that just me?) But, I hate that they are usually so dang expensive, and you only get to use them for a short amount of time.
IMG_20141017_165549I know there are lots of lucky ladies who are able to wear regular jeans well into their second trimester. However, I am not one of those people. It feels like I develop a baby bump within minutes of seeing a positive pregnancy test.
This time around, I gave into the pregnancy pants pretty early (ahem, barely out of my first trimester). Then, as I sifted through the maternity clothes I had from my first pregnancy, I realized two important things.
First, I was pregnant in the complete opposite part of the year last time. Boone was born in September, so I was getting especially round at the end of hot, sticky August. But this baby will be appearing hopefully in early March, so most likely I’ll be rocking long pants and warm sweaters. Ugh, why didn’t we plan little better?
Second, I realized I would have to buy a dress for a few evening events in the coming weeks. I tried to figure out if a sundress or billowy shirt and leggings would work, but no such luck. So, I decided to bite the bullet and head to the maternity store.
The sweet ladies working at the shop buzzed around me like the birds from Cinderella: measuring me, suggesting colors and bringing enough options to line my dressing room. Methodically, I tried on each option and looked in the mirror and … shrugged. It wasn’t that they weren’t beautiful dresses, because they were and everyone fawned over each choice as I came out of the dressing room, but I guess I didn’t recognize myself in the gossamers of fabric.
Nothing fits like it used to or looks quite as sleek as before. Sometimes, it is so easy to wish that I could still run four miles a day and have my pre-pregnancy toned arms. Then again, before pregnancy, I wasn’t growing a human being in my belly, and I couldn’t feel my little girl squirming and wiggling around as I do now. I’m doing important work over here, and this body is doing amazing things. Plus, my mom is quick to remind me that back when she was pregnant with me, the choices for maternity fashions were really slim. She remembers everything looked like a circus tent trying to hide and completely disguise a growing bump for the full nine months. Now, most maternity fashions celebrate a pregnant gal’s changing and growing body. What a concept!
So, here’s to embracing our baby bumps and our ever-expanding bodies. Let’s rock those A-line dresses and elastic-front jeans (I found an awesome pair of skinny jeans on my shopping trip to the maternity store. Woohoo!) and embrace the new body you see developing in the mirror.
Do you mamas out there have any tips for finding reasonably priced, cute maternity clothes? How do you handle the concept of your changing body that you don’t quite recognize?