No Britney belly for me

Like most other women out there, I enjoy going shopping for new clothes, just not maternity clothes. It's hard for me to spend money on something I know I'm only going to wear a short time before they either get donated to a friend or put into a box to store for the next child (and we don't know which will be the case yet).

I had been doing so well in stretching my non-maternity wardrobe as long as it would last, and then when that was no longer an option, I was content to just wear my maternity clothes over and over again. Well, while we were staying in Austin after Ike came through, it quickly became apparent that I was going to need more maternity clothes...not because I was tired of what I was wearing or because I didn't pack enough clothing, but because suddenly only one of those shirts was still completely covering my belly. And frankly washing that one shirt over and over again each day was enough to motivate my tired bum to pay the mall a visit for some additional clothes. No way was I going to start imitating Britney Spears at 8 months pregnant.

Ok folks, the blog has officially hit a new low with that reference...

Anyway, I decided for the sake of comfort and anticipated belly growth that I would go ahead and buy a size larger than I usually wear with the hope that this would be my last maternity shopping spree. This worked well for the shirts, not so well for the pants. The belly band in the pair of pants that I bought feels great, but the legs themselves are so large that they rival the MC Hammer pants from the early 90's. Oh well, comfort is the name of the game at this point!

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I moved all of the clothes in our master closet to one side of the closet to start preparing to put furniture in there for Anna. And yes, it's ridiculous that I can put everything in that closet (including a chest of drawers, a file cabinet, and paper shredder) to one side and still have the whole other half of the closet free. We've also finished the nursery more or less, so I'll try to get some pictures put up this weekend of both rooms.

Mission Accomplished!

Just a short update: Bob and I ran out for dinner tonight and decided to walk some of it off in the Woodlands mall. Since I've been on the lookout for ways to avoid wearing maternity clothes while I'm still not really showing and a new bathing suit for the summer, I decided it might finally be time to break down and visit Motherhood Maternity, land of cute pregnancy clothes, but not always the best prices. Bingo! After checking out a number of other stores, I got a belly band (thanks for the suggestion Rebekah!) so I can continue to wear non-maternity clothes a while longer, and also found a pretty cute bathing suit that was reasonably priced. It's always nice to knock out several to-do's in one try!

I know everyone reading this was just on pins and needles wondering "When will Kate find a bathing suit, the suspense is killing me!" Consider your suspenseful wait over now :)

Big Tent Revival

For me the most awkward time of pregnancy is that approximate 10-14 week span (give or take a little depending on body type) where you start getting uncomfortable in your regular clothes, but don't quite have the cute belly going yet to start to fill out maternity clothes. As a result, you look like you either a) have never looked in a mirror, b) don't know how to size your clothes correctly, c) take "comfortable clothing" to an extreme, d) prefer wearing a tent, or e) some combination of the above.

I'm approaching week eleven and yes, the clothes (really my pants, jeans, etc) are starting to get a wee bit tight. So my big-tent-revival moment came this past Sunday morning when I hauled out my box of maternity clothes that had been blissfully stored away in the recess of my closet. Of course right now, just about every one of those shirts looks like a fancy tent with a tieback just hanging off my body. Am I really going to fill these things out again?

Thankfully tentware has come quite a long way since our moms had to wear it. At least now we can looked reasonably stylish throughout pregnancy, well, most of pregnancy! After nine months you're just big, and there's no getting around that fact with cute clothes. But until that time, once you begin to really look pregnant, at least there are a lot of options out there to help you feel a little less moo-moo-ish.

I didn't try the belly bands when I was pregnant with Jack...anyone out there have good luck with them? I might just have to invest in a few pieces of regular clothing a size bigger until I get more of a belly :)