Day Forty-Six

This shirt and tank don't layer well together, but the colors are nice. The green shirt is actually a bit of a conundrum... the sleeves fall just to the point where they feel a little weird above the elbows but are just barely too short to comfortable cover the elbows. I think pretty soon I'll have a similar issue with the waistband, har har. With the F21 maternity jeans and monkey socks, $17ish.

Day Forty-Five

Bad hair and outfit day... it was time to bleach and re-dye a patch of hair, and I am horribly clumsy, so messy hair and slouchy clothes was in order. Layered tanks, skirt, socks, $15ish.

Day Forty-Four

This empire waist top was not bought at the same store as the bunch of long ones, and it does not last me nearly as long. It's already tight in all the wrong places, but I love the print, so I try to stretch out its usefulness.... literally. In other news, I've found a solution to the uncomfortable empire waist tie that always meant a knot right on my spine. I wrap the tie all the way around and make a tiny little knot in front. It's not the most elegant solution, but it's far less bothersome that way. The skirt is my most recent favorite thrift store find, and it's so much fun that I completely blurred all the gorgeous details by fluffing it around when the picture was taken. But I am pretty sure this will be featured again, possibly too many times. It's the perfect summer skirt, and although it's not maternity, it is made with little tiny buttons down the back.... which can be unbuttoned halfway down, switched to front, and folded so it fits around the belly just perfectly. Again, not the most incredibly elegant solution but a very practical and comfortable one. Shirt, skirt, and layering tee, $14ish.

And my hair is in tiny braids on one side because I wanted to have an idea of what streak of hair to dye but didn't have time to bleach it today. Kevin has been calling me Katara ever since.

Day Forty-Three

I'm not sure if I've mentioned this already, but I bought a half dozen of these long drapier empire waist shirts when they were being clearanced out of one of the teen stores. I hadn't ever been pregnant at the time, but I stuffed a balled up shirt underneath to guess at whether or not they'd work, and at $5 a pop they were a safe risk. Ends up that shopping a few months ahead was actually a very good thing, since morning sickness is the one thing that really takes away ALL my interest in shopping. With layering tank and knit skirt, $12ish.

Day Forty-Two

I've mentioned before that this shirt is enormous, and it's kind of ironic that it's not maternity but looks more maternity than most anything else I have. How do I know that? My mom likes it. :) With a knit skirt, $9ish.

Miss

Today, no effort went into my outfit or makeup, because I spent a good hour plus getting all the rats nests out of my hair. Ugh. The result is a big ball of frizz, but at least it's an untangled bunch of frizz.

Day Forty-One

I always forget that some (like this) otherwise awesome empire waist tops that seem like they would work perfectly for pregnancy have a fatal flaw.... the big buckle or broach thing on the band. Once the belly starts to infringe on chest space, there is no way that thing will stay flat. I'm not sure whether to break it off or just bear with constantly adjusting it. Top, layering tee, and maternity jeans, $21ish.

Day Forty

I am continuing to think that this stripey top is way better as maternity than as a regular top. It might not make it through to the very end, but it's cute and wraps around the underbelly so well. With knit skirt, $11ish.

Day Thirty-Nine

To those who are following this blog, I'm sorry for the slew of posts. Even when I succeed at taking the pictures, I haven't gotten into a habit of posting right away. Will try to not deluge as much though.

This little black dress was my uniform when I was first pregnant with Jack. I wore it any and everywhere, because it was completely unrestrictive and yet, with its asymmetrical hem and ruffled neckline, still semi cute. It would probably work all through pregnancy, but that nice bias cut that makes it so accommodating also means that as the belly grows, the hemline jumps. Even now the lining is a little short for my taste on the one side, and it's nearly impossible to bend over without putting on a show.

This is also a good example of why so many maternity dress photos have models with their arms wrapped around their bellies. Roomy dresses are comfy, but they don't really flatter the shape of the belly. There are just some days I decide that I will only look in the mirror straight on. Haha, well, here's the comparison.

And finally, here's the reason why people are so confident when guessing the gender of my unborn kids.

Total for the dress and layering shirt, $12ish.

Day Thirty-Eight

Why won't I stop wearing white?? Someone stop me! This white vesty shirty thing is one of the stretchiest things I own, and it is very comfy. Layered over a stretchy tee with ruched sleeves and worn with a smocked waist skirt for an outfit total of around $16.

Day Thirty-Seven

This looks kind of like someone who has fallen of the bandwagon, huh? Yep, that about sums it up. On the plus side, my house is beautifully clean, I'm actually sewing, I finally finished two books, and I even cooked dinner for the first time in.... I can't even remember.

This combo of oversized ladies' tee and foldover waist yoga pants ($13ish) is my attempt to at least try to not default into that very comfy cliche of husband's tee and sweats. Yes, I can say with experience that the two feel very similar. Baby steps. Baby steps.

Day Thirty-Six

It's one of those days, you know, when laundry is just coming out your ears. I normally kind of enjoy doing laundry, but a big belly makes lugging a basket up down and all around suddenly a much less pleasant task. So please excuse me if I look a little exhausted. Tee shirt with puffed sleeves and crocheted inset and smocked waist skirt, $11ish.

Day Thirty-Five

These jeans are weird. They are not maternity, but they have a low waist topped with a stretchy waistband with a tie, which makes them perfect for maternity. I found them when I was preg with Jack, but unfortunately it seems that they have shrunken while in storage. *cough, cough* Ok, this is a bad sign. Time to stop chowing down on the kit kat bars (I say as I munch on a reese's peanut butter cup). Oh dear. Ohhhh dear. Jeans + owl tee + layering tee = $13ish.

Day Thirty-Four

Thar she blows again. This was a case of trying to plan an outfit around a necklace. Always fun. I have no idea whether or not this skirt is meant to be maternity, but it has a very awesome stretchy foldover waist. $14ish for the outfit, including the layering turtleneck and knee socks.

It's rather annoying to plan an outfit and then discover that it's so cold that said outfit will now be mostly hidden from view by bulky jacket. I'm big enough now that my regular lightweight jackets won't button up around me, so this $5 thrift store find was a nice addition to my "real maternity" stash. Even if it looks blah on me, there is definitely a place for warmth over style. Um, literally, I guess.

Day Thirty-Three

No, I didn't actually wear the infinity dress today, even though it was Kevin and my 5th anniversary (yay!). Jack and I actually spent the day in San Francisco with my mom and a friend, and for the unpredictable weather by the bay I chose my good ol' mavi maternity jeans, a layering tee, and an empire waist top ($17ish), supplemented with my $8 thrifted silk/angora wrap cardigan for the inevitable chilly times. I assured my mom that I would be fine walking around town, and no I would not go into premature labor, but dang. I completely forgot to factor in how much she likes choosing the steepest streets just for fun. I'll probably want to go back there for some more dizzying vertical strolls closer to the due date in the hopes of inducing labor. Good thing there was a yummy lunch in Chinatown and, when we got back home, an amazing dinner with my still-seems-like-newlyweds husband.

An Infinity Dress

Infinity dresses always looked to me like the perfect dress for pregnancy, but when I tried the one I own on while I was pregnant, wow, whale city.

One of my pet peeves is wearing maternity dresses that drape so much that I have to walk around with a hand tucked under and/or over the belly just to give it any definition (though I admit they are super comfy, I do love them for home wear). I decided to try to make an infinity-style dress with a belly panel, which worked well, but I didn't have enough fabric for real straps that would to more than one or two looks. So after much trial and error, I finally figured out the measurements for a multi-wear dress that would actually flatter a pregnancy belly.

I'm 22 weeks right now, so I'm not sure how this will work full term. Hopefully will have a report back on that soon.

Being rather an unadventurous person when it comes to necklines, I can't imagine that I'll wear this dress to the extent of its abilities.... or even to the limit of the possibilities I've pictured here. But it sure is nice to have the option!

Can you tell I'm not really a natural in front of the camera? Oh dear.

There. Stretchy fabric, a sewing machine, lastin, and about 15 minutes of sewing (and about 40 of fabric cutting, hahaha)!

Day Thirty-Two

I'm ridiculously excited to have actually won a prize in a giveaway, and to have won something that I have wanted for a long time. Since it's probably not obvious, my prize was a teething bracelet. It is pretty darn awesome, and I can't wait to let my next little razor-toothed kidlet loose on it. In the meantime, I'm wearing a tee shirt and smocked waist skirt... $9ish.

Day Thirty-One

So, it seems that Forever 21 makes maternity clothes now, but not in any of the stores near me, and there are never more than a few items on the website. I found a pair of their maternity skinny jeans on ebay, and lo and behold they fit decently! But to my chagrin I discovered they had a thick elastic band in front. Ugh. I don't know how on earth this works for other pregnant women, but it certainly doesn't for me, because from the very first weeks of pregnancy I cannot stand to have anything remotely restricting on my belly. I mean, if a fitted tee shirt makes the underbelly feel repressed, you can bet that a three inch band of heavy duty elastic is unbearable. Instead of sadly passing these jeans on, though, I decided to try a little surgery. Elast-ectomy. I made a tiny snip in the inner part of the fabric band on either side, inserted the scissors, and cut the elastic, which then slipped right out. Granted, they won't stay up as well, but I'll take comfort over that any day.

This shirt was also the victim of my scissors.... crew necks just don't look good on me. Now the neckline is low enough to layer nicely over tanks, which brings the total for this outfit to around $19.

Day Thirty

This is what happens when I wake up 15 minutes before my appointment with the midwife. And yeah, my appointment was at 2pm, so now you see why I'm in a rush picking my church outfits. I promise when I'm not pregnant I don't sleep in quite as late.... quite. *cough, cough* And no, I don't think we'll luck out and have another child who sleeps like a college kid.

In case it's not obvious, this shirt is from the kids' section of the store, and the colors are really not me, but it was just so cute an whimsical I couldn't resist it. Worn with one of my knit skirts and a pair of foldover waist velvet leggings, $18ish.

Day Twenty-Nine

Even though our church meets at 2pm, I always end up picking an outfit in a rush at the last minute. This one included a long sleeved tee under a transparent blouse under a lined dress with a belt and purple knee socks. $26ish? I am not including and haven't mentioned shoes, because I don't wear them often, but for some reason I do wear them to church. ;) These here are comfy short leather boots that were about $6 at the thrift store.

Day Twenty-Eight

It was going to be a boring monochromatic day, but then so many people mentioned wearing yellow that I decided on a sunny burst in the form of an actual maternity shirt for my layering rather than plain black. Shirt, tank, knit skirt, $13ish.

Day Twenty-Seven

Lazy day, lazy outfit of simple tee and smocked skirt. Easy and comfy and about $9.

Day Twenty-Six

It's a cruel irony of life that the one time I'm desperate for comfort enough to actually put my sallow, jiggly, stubbly legs on display is the particular time in life when said legs are even sallower, jigglier, and stubblier than normal. This $6 outfit doesn't go outside except to feed the animals, but people who come over to the house might find themselves scarred for life by the sight of me in it... and thanks to the wonders of the internet, you can be too.

Day Twenty-Five

This top was garage saled, stuffed into a bag with a bunch of other stuff at a flat rate, so it probably totaled about $.25, which is lower than you will ever find at a thrift store in this area, ever. The sleeves are pretty much the awesomest ever, and I love that the empire waist tie is long enough that the knot or bow can be in front rather than right on my spine waiting to cause discomfort any time I lean back on anything. Worn with the black palazzo pants that were on me pretty much every other day during the third trimester with Jack. I feel a little bad for breaking them out this early, but hey, they are super comfy. $11.25 for the pants, shirt, and layering tee.

Day Twenty-Four

Oof. When I'm pregnant, I start grunting and saying things like "oof" all the time without even noticing it. So ladylike. Lugging laundry around suddenly drops from a chore I rather enjoy to a task to be avoided at all costs. You need a clean undershirt? Check the pile of baskets in the other room. I probably only actually do laundry at all because underbelly maternity underwear is supercomfy, and I don't own enough of them to not have to wash regularly. Har har.

The shirt is actually maternity, but I bought it off of the regular racks and wore it pre-pregnancy before I noticed the tag and thought that Motherhood was a strange name for a regular brand. Just call me Sherlock. It's some odd concoction of several layers of pink mesh, and it seems awfully short already. Worn over a tank and with one of my nice smocked skirts. $12ish.

Day Twenty-Three

This is the time when I feel like I'm busting at the seams and lugging around a bowling ball tied to my front, but really the growth has only just begun. Lovely. See how the hemline of this dress is all askew? That's only just begun as well. Dress, body slip, and tank, $14ish.