Was I expecting to be expecting at this time in my life?

No way!

I had a five year plan, and it did not include shocking pregnancy tests, roller coaster rides of emotions and sickness, motherhood books, birthing classes, belly bands, and bigger bras (but I’ll take the latter if I have to 😉 )

Nevertheless, here I am preggo with a tiny bump to prove it at 17 weeks.

I didn’t know what to expect my body to do in response to the hormone influx, increased blood flow, and growing baby’s body. All of that is a lot of work! If you haven’t experienced this yourself, trust me, it does take a toll on the mother’s body. It’s as if the main body says, “Forget about you. I’m gonna put all the energy of your body and every resource and piece of nutrition you get into this teeny tiny little body. You’ll probably survive …” To be fair, some women don’t experience early pregnancy that way, but, boy, did I feel like Starvin Marvin and Sicky Sue all the live long day for 12 weeks straight! It was just down right awful.

But I did survive.

My mom wore complete maternity outfits at 10 weeks gestation with her first pregnancy. She also retained a lot of fluid with each pregnancy. Since I have no sisters and my grandmothers have passed, I didn’t know what to expect, but I sort of expected my body to do the same thing as my mother’s. As soon as I knew I was pregnant, I started frantically searching for maternity clothes online. I buy all my clothes online, because it’s quite the challenge, even in our fashion centric society, to find pants and shirts long enough for a 6’1″ female body that has slender shoulders, tiny waist, round hips and legs that go forever.

Ian was sweet about it, “I understand that you feel like you’ll have nothing to wear. Find what you can and buy it. But please don’t redo your entire wardrobe.”

So far, my favorite finds have been at Target (summer items don’t have to be long 😉 ) and at the Gap. As noted above, sizing up non-maternity clothes has worked for now; I find that I like my clothes looser and have been most comfortable wearing low-band maternity pants since 6 weeks preggo. For now I wear the same size pants as prior, but I have sized up in a few cuts just to make room for a bulging belly and butt. Some guy said to me recently, “Oh! You’re almost five months? You’re still getting away with the ‘taco belly.'” That was funny! I do feel like I just look bloated instead of pregnant. Only for so much longer, I’d imagine …

If you haven’t already discovered the belly band, it’s a great item – suits those hard-to-button-but-fit-everywhere-else-bottoms and even suits the post maternity belly bump.

And, of all things that change with pregnancy, let’s not forget “the girls.” Those things rose up out of nowhere and after two weeks of being preggo I turned around to Ian and said in shock, “Do you know where these things came from?” To which he replied matter-of-factly, “Yes I do. It’s nice to meet them, and they’re welcome to stay for as long as they like.”

I’ve pretty much always been a AA bra size. It made me sad that I couldn’t be voluptuous; my genes don’t allow for it. BUT pregnancy does! And I am happy to say that when I started busting out of my 34A bras I happily yet hesitantly traipsed off to the nearest Target in search of better undergarments …

I am proud to announce that I found a few super comfy, cozy, cute 36B cups! I just had to pass on the good news. My favorite brand is now the Beyond Bare line which has smooth fabric and great shape for any size bust. Go check them out if you’ve always had a hard time finding those damn things to hold up ’em girls …

I’ll post more pics of fun sale finds from the Gap including my favorite long-enough black leggings ever! As well as pics of this bump and the story about the bump in the road …

Ah well, life is an adventure. At least I have clothes to wear for it 🙂

In the hands of the potter,