This pregnancy, at about 15 weeks it was time to pull out the maternity clothes. I now have 2 pairs of jeans and three pairs of leggings that fit as far as pants go. And that's it.
I'm very self-conscious, not about how big I am now, but about how big I might get. I'm 5'4" and have a short torso so I ended up pretty oblong by the end of my previous two pregnancies (and I've never been more than 38.5 weeks pregnant). I feel like I wake up in the morning looking one way, and finish the day looking a good 2 weeks more pregnant. In the past, pregnancy has gone very smoothly and I've enjoyed being pregnant. This time has been a little rougher. Not sure if it's because I'm four years older, have two kids to chase around already, or because I'm on my feet running around the kitchens all day at work. I'm sure a combination of all of the above.
I'm not ready to officially say this is our last pregnancy...but I will say it
most likely will be our last.
I started out very nauseous and very, very tired when we found out we were pregnant. If you know me at all, you should know that I'm a night owl. I get my second-wind around 9pm and tend to have my most productive time of the day from 9pm-midnight. The first few weeks of pregnancy were characterized by eating food all hours of the day to keep the nausea at bay and going to bed around 8:30 every night. Not my normal routine, for sure. The laundry piled up, the house was a mess, the DVR filled up, and I often talked myself into letting the kids put themselves to bed. (That never really worked, by the way.) Once the second trimester hit, it was like an instant change. The nausea went away and I had energy again. I didn't have to eat a seven course breakfast and I could stay up past 9pm again. I've had heartburn from the start, which I had with Cade and Reese also so I expected it. Tums are my friend.
I'm trying to be creative with the maternity staples in my wardrobe. When I cracked open the maternity tub I found myself not wanting to wear any of it, as most of it was purchased about 6 years ago. Luckily, my mom with her amazing fashion-sense swooped in and bought me some new pieces and showed me how to jazz up my older outfits. I mostly wear leggings and cotton dresses, cardigans and scarves. Or jeans and tops I can wear my chef coat over at work. The belly is actually poking out quite a bit in my chef coat and I foresee a day when it will be a very tight fit!
17 Weeks: I wore this gray dress from Old Navy with Cade and Reese. I don't think it actually is a maternity dress but it's super comfy and works well with layers over it.
This shirt is not a maternity shirt, but I ordered it a couple months ago when
Pinterest Told Me To, told me to. I love it! It's so long...surely it will fit the entire pregnancy?!
This is a maternity shirt I ordered from Old Navy. I like it, but just wish it was a little longer in the front.
I purchased a few poncho-like sweaters to try to hide under. This one is a one-size-fits-all from Dillards.
18 weeks: Poncho-like sweater #2 from Nordstrom Rack
It's hard to see, but this is a deep purple cotton maternity dress from Target that I love! I bought it when I was pregnant with Reese. It's so soft and comfortable. Again, I always wear a cardigan and scarf. This is in my weekly rotation, just changing up the scarf and cardigan.
MaKenzie got me this shirt for Christmas (that I originally thought was a night shirt) but it has come in very handy as it's long and loose and soft. She also gave me this blanket scarf, and while I don't feel like I don't really know how to wear it I do like being able to hide under it.
19 weeks: This is not a maternity shirt, but it's long and it has short sleeves so hopefully I'll be able to wear it now with a cardigan and in the spring without one.
Same deep purple dress, just changing up the scarf and cardigan, and the cutest photobomb by early-morning-Reese.
T-shirts getting a little tight...
This was my first time EVER wearing leggings as pants, which I'm usually very against. (As in, I ordinarily only wear leggings with a dress over it, but this time it was just a long shirt). But the shirt was very long, so I deemed it okay, even though I did have the occasional feeling that I just forgot to wear pants.
20 Weeks: I wore this dress with the previous 2 pregnancies. Same story, I like it with layers over it.
So that's the basics: long tops, cardigans, stretchy dresses with scarves. Repeat over and over and over!
22 Weeks: Long Kut from the Kloth shirt, not maternity, from Nordstrom Rack.
I noticed I wear the same shoes, pretty much every single day. They are flat, cognac colored booties that I picked up at Old Navy on the clearance rack for $6! Kinda makes me wonder what I used to wear before I randomly bought these since I now wear them every day! They are very comfy...and sadly my tall boots are very snug around my calves right now.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm nothing but thankful for all my pregnancy-related ailments and happy to be able to expand our family...even while it means I'm expanding...
everywhere. I would just say that the day-to-day of this pregnancy has not been as enjoyable as in the past.
