I just received an email from Babycenter.com about the top 10 basic items of clothing a preggy woman must have, and considering I have been struggling with this problem for over a month now, I instantly checked it.
You see, right now, I’m "in-between". I’m not big enough yet for maternity clothes, but my regular clothes don’t fit anymore! I don’t want to waste a lot of money on bigger size clothes or maternity clothes I won’t be able to wear again after I give birth, so I’m trying to limit my buying to the most essential pieces only. And in the meantime, I’m trying to make do with my regular clothes, albeit with some alterations.
Like yesterday, I insisted on wearing my soft, cream slacks and I paired it with a pretty long-cut blouse. I chose it because I thought it won’t hurt my tummy too much because it’s soft, and then I used a safety pin so I don’t have to button it up, and wore it with the zip half-open. Then I safety pinned the bottom of my blouse too, to make sure it doesn’t open to reveal my open fly. The result: a very uncomfortable day. Every time I stand up from my seat, I have to hike up my pants and pull down my blouse to make sure I don’t "show". And when I sit down, I have to open my zip a bit more to make more room for my lower abdomen. Worse thing was, I had to sit at a meeting yesterday, so of course I couldn’t open my zipper, so I had to endure an hour and a half of discomfort because of the tightness in my belly. After that meeting, I rushed to the bathroom to "free" my tummy and I swear, I could have heard my skin groan in relief.
So now, I’m about 90% convinced that there’s just no way around it – I really have to buy more maternity clothes. So far, I have bought 3 maternity pants for the office, a pair of maternity jeans, 3 dresses (2 of which I am imagining I can still wear even after I give birth), and 3 blouses. Listing it down now, it makes me think that that’s quite a lot already. But since I go to work 5 days a week and we only do laundry and ironing every 2 weeks, that number won’t be enough. Sigh.
For the weekends, I’m using some pants I got from my sister Lala when I visited her in Singapore a few weeks ago. The first time I looked at them I thought they were so big that I probably won’t be able to use them until after a few more months. But just this week, when I absolutely ran out of something decent to wear outside, I tried them on and was shocked that they actually fit me already! I guess I have been underestimating the additional inches I have gained thus far. :p
Now, back to babycenter’s list. I think I can survive without some of them, but then again I’m thinking maybe I should just take the advice of these experts instead of acting based on what I think because frankly, my ideas about this pregnancy have not been very accurate. And I really don’t want to face another I-have-absolutely-nothing-to-wear situation. It just isn’t fun, and it’s adding to the pressure this pregnancy and my new work has put on me. What do you think?
1.
Flat, slip-in shoes. I have about 3 pairs of this already, to my Nanay's constant annoyance (she insists I have way too many shoes and too few clothes), so, done.
2.
Expanding tank tops. I'm not sure I need these. Will I really wear them out? Babycenter is suggesting I wear them in layers for a more stylish look, but in this heat, who would want to wear layers?
3.
Wrap dress. I have 2 wrap dresses but both not maternity, meaning they wrap around right smack in the middle of the belly. I keep telling myself they would be fine, but looking at this picture now, I realize yeah, a dress that wraps right under the bust and on top of the tummy would probably fit and feel better.
4.
Tunic top. So cute, so yes, this definitely goes in my to-buy list.
5.
Leggings. Hmm, i'm not yet convinced. I've never enjoyed wearing anything that clings too tightly to my legs (thus, the wasted pairs of skinny jeans), so I really don't know about this.
6.
Drapey cardi. I like. I will buy. :-)
7. Dark boot-cut pants. Yep, bought one already.
8. Jersey knit skirt. This is cute too, but I haven't found any yet! Where can I buy this?
9. Yoga pants. Again, I'm not convinced. How different are these from regular jogging pants anyway?
10. Maternity jeans. I have one of those already, but maybe I can buy another pair? :p
