All things maternity
Hi friends! I’ve been wanting to write this blog post forever, but the last few months have been really tough. Between working full-time plus my work became really busy post holidays and we were working lots of overtime + this winter has been a total bust! For sure it’s the first time I’ve missed living in Florida since moving back to Indiana 1.5 years ago – I forgot what endless cold and snow will do to ya! Anyway, I’m finally on maternity leave, counting the days til I get to meet our sweet little boy (D-day is Thursday!), and I’ve got a little mojo back into my step. I say that as it’s currently snowing, my belly is sitting on my thighs, and I think I maybe got 4 hours of sleep last night? Lol.
Anyway, as most of you know – this is my first pregnancy. I’m 42 year old. I’m a little crazy (lol), but my husband and I knew we were missing something in our lives and marriage and here is where we are – welcoming a babe into the world and will likely be grandparent stage when he is in high school. 🙂
That said, I wanted to share all of the things that helped me keep my sanity during pregnancy! Please note – I work from home, so most of everything clothing wise is casual dress + athleisure.
1st trimester:
Nausea – I am very thankful I did not have the steady stream of N&V my first trimester. I was very queasy, very hungry, and very bloated! I think I had indigestion more than anything? I leaned heavily on hot teas in the evening (I switched it up between peppermint, ginger, and chamomile) – I feel like too much of one thing can’t be great and if you go down the google search of teas (and really anything) you ingest during pregnancy, you’ll find at least one negative post. I consumed what I felt was right for me.
What helped me during the day? Ginger chews! I purchased this 2 pack from Amazon and still have plenty left almost at the end of pregnancy, but they did work for me! For heartburn I stuck with Tums as needed. Please note – the ginger chews are strong. They are kind of gross. But they work!
Sleep – At some point toward the end of the first trimester and into the second trimester, I started to get uncomfortable in the evenings. My heartburn would flare and I forget when my belly crossed that “threshold” of needing support, but it was earlier for me than expected. I purchased the wedge pillow right away from Amazon below, and I’ve slept with it ever since! I do use my regular pillow on top to sleep as well.
I also ordered these sleep “support” pillows for my sides. I sleep with the 2 larger ones on either side of my belly/back so that I don’t fall onto my stomach and it helps keep me in the right position. The 2 smaller pillows are kind of worthless lol – our younger dog has been sleeping tucked up next to me pretty much since the 2nd trimester, so I will give him the small pillows to use as a head pillow if needed. 🙂 There are nicer versions out there if you want to splurge! Thankfully this Amazon version is easily washable as well.
Another recommendation is to definitely have something for ‘in between your legs’ – it really helps during sleep! I ended up ordering this body pillow early on and I use it almost every night. It has a nice weight to it and it’s not overbearing. The more expensive version would be the Momcozy brand that wraps around your whole body – however, I prefer to sleep next to my pup, and I can’t imagine how much of our bed this pillow would take up! BUT, it does have great ratings. 🙂
Jeans extender – I did get some use out of this product in the first trimester before I gave up and ordered regular maternity jeans. It really only works if you have on tops that cover that area and are “flowy” or maybe a sweatshirt, but unfortunately will not work for anything tight. I would recommend this product, but just know it won’t work with every top in your closet.
2nd trimester:
I was thankfully able to wear my regular leggings during all of my first trimester and into the beginning of the 2nd trimester – I think it was around week 16/17 that I finally gave in and started ordering maternity clothing. Below are my favorites!
CRZ Yoga brand – hands down favorite most used purchase! Affordable and fits great! I think I purchased like 15 pairs lol. I had a couple pairs of these (non-maternity) leggings pre-pregnancy and now I’m absolutely sold. I also ordered their long sleeve tops, tanks with built in bras, and biker shorts! By far the most used maternity items in my closet. And I will likely keep purchasing the brand postpartum!
(I wore my regular size medium throughout the entire pregnancy)
(also wore a size medium)
They have a “Spanx” faux leather dupe version that I loved also (linked with the rest of the color options)! I wore these anytime I needed to get dressed to go out in public, but didn’t want to wear jeans. 🙂
(my regular size small worked entire pregnancy)
(I took a medium in these – mostly because my boobs got huge fast lol and I couldn’t wear my regular sports bras)
Jeans – Another blogger I follow recommend the 1822 brand from Nordstrom for maternity jeans and that’s what I wore the entire pregnancy! I ordered one pair of Old Navy maternity jeans and didn’t like how thick and stiff they were. I knew I didn’t want to spend a ton of money on more expensive brands, so the 1822 line worked great! They are more jegging like, so I can’t say they are the most trendy thing ever, but worked for me! Pre-pregnancy I wore a size 4 or 6 depending on the brand. I went ahead and sized up to a 6/28 in these jeans and I feel like while they maybe were a smidge big, my hips/butt grew throughout each trimester so I felt like it was the right call. Also – both the leggings and jeans I’ve shown here are the “full maternity band” – I rolled that band down halfway during most of my 2nd trimester until my belly grew big enough to need the full band. 🙂
My favorite options:
skinny legging/jeggings – worked great under knee high boots!
step hem jeans – these were my favorite! I loved the step hem – looked great with sneakers and flats.
distressed skinny jeans – also loved these for casual days!
gray step-hem jeans – another unique option that gave a little elevation to your outfit
The 1822 brand has far more options than skinny jeans also – this was just what worked for me. Going into fall/winter weather, I knew I was going to wear bulkier sweaters and the one pair of straight leg jean I purchased looked ridiculous on me. I’m also only 5’3″, so I require petite sizing in most cases and unfortunately when it comes to maternity jeans those are hard to come by!
A few of my outfits created using the jeans above!
Ribbed long sleeve tees – these long sleeve tees from H&M were my favorite go-to either under the sweater or by itself to wear with leggings or jeans! My regular size small worked great. You could easily size up though if you wanted. I purchased like 5 colors lol!
Basic tees – this Amazon set comes in a ton of different colors! I wore these a lot with leggings + cardigans on days I stayed a little warmer. The ruched sides are stretchy and worked great all the way through each trimester.
Joggers + sweatshirt set – these 2 items I did end up loving from Old Navy! I purchased multiple sweatshirts + jogger sets. I got sick of wearing leggings around the house each and every day and these were the perfect alternative! I took a size medium in the joggers and a size small in the pullover sweatshirt.
Pajamas – for the most part I got away with wearing oversized tees, nursing/sleep bras, and sized up in my regular underwear for sleep. However, I did want a few options that were more friendly out of bed that were still comfy pajama like options and these did the trick!
3rd trimester:
Nursing/sleep bras – I obviously cannot attest to how good these work for nursing yet, but for the sleep part – they worked great! These bras have 5 star reviews – I purchased all 4 colors. I started to get really warm in my 3rd trimester and sometimes I just needed to sleep in a bra + shorts. These worked perfectly! So I can imagine they will be great if I’m able to nurse and just lounge around the house postpartum as well. I did size up to a size large (I went from a 34C to a 36D during pregnancy lol).
Compression socks – hello edema! Yikes! About week 35 I started to notice my ankle/calf areas were swelling at night. No doubt it likely correlated with my lack of exercise from the cold weather + overtime at work, but it was a doozy. My face started to get a little puffy also and my hands are tight (I said goodbye to my wedding bands around this time also lol). I can’t say the compression socks got rid of the ankle edema completely (what works really well is walking…. lots and lots of walking + staying hydrated), but these socks certainly helped. These were the most affordable options I could find that fit well and felt good (I tried a few Amazon brands that I did not like at all).
compression socks – bright colors and neutral colors
Robe – I also had to switch over to a more comfy robe that I knew would get me through pregnancy and also hopefully in the hospital/nursing! This Amazon find worked perfectly. I took my regular size small.
What else worked for me? – anything labeled “oversized” but non-maternity! I purchased lots of tunic sweater/sweatshirts from American Eagle/Aerie, Old Navy, Amazon, etc in my regular size XS/Small and they got me all the way through 3rd trimester! These were my favorite purchases because I’ll be able to wear them post-pregnancy as well.
I also kept an eye on sales. I purchased a handful of sweaters from both Amazon and Target in a larger size then I normally would (non-maternity) that were nice to have on hand when we went out to dinner or I wanted to ‘dress up’ a bit and not wear gym clothes. Negatively, I will likely sell these on Poshmark soon because while they did accommodate the growing belly, the arms were huge on me and won’t work postpartum at all. I suppose that’s a petite problem though with my short appendages. 🙂
I also wore lots of boyfriend cardigans (in my regular size) since I was pregnant in the fall/winter. It allowed me to purchase my regular size and since it’s a cardigan I didn’t have to worry about stretching the fabric. That’s where those long sleeve tees above came in great for layering pieces! I also wore a lot of scarfs to keep the open belly warm!
As far as underwear goes – I just sized up one size in my regular underwear brand. I did buy a few options from Kindred Bravely to have in case of a C-section (they are highest waisted granny panty type), but I can’t say I like or love them lol. Maybe I’ll report back on nursing/post partum items once I’m living that life!
Winter coat – This was the only splurge piece I invested in and it was for good reason. We usually walk our dogs twice a day, everyday, all the way down in the 20 degree weather. A good winter coat was a must! This coat ‘grows with you’ with side-zip vents and I started opening up those vents in 2nd trimester…. and now I’m literally maybe a week away from the coat not fitting quite so well lol! I went with my regular size small.
I also purchased a couple of puffer coats from Costco on sale (32 Degrees brand) that are a little shorter and I wore those on warmer-ish days! I sized up to a large in these since they are non-maternity.
…. and that’s about it! While I did unfortunately have to invest in a lot of maternity friendly items, I felt like I got great deals from places like Amazon and Target to keep costs down. I have a feeling the leggings I’ll also be able to wear for awhile post-partum since I can fold the belly band down and will take me awhile to figure out if I can get back to my pre-pregnancy weight and also if my body type/shape has changed enough that I will need to go up/down in sizing.
I plan on utilizing that little jeans belly extender also postpartum with my regular jeans in hopes I don’t have to purchase a whole new wardrobe. It’s all going to be new territory for me in the next few months and I know it can take a good year or so to navigate your body after birth!
I hope for anyone that reads this, some of these items help you out with your closet! Each trimester you’ll go through changes and some things will continue to work while others don’t, but it’s thankfully only 9 months! Also, if you live in a warmer climate – you’ll find maternity life way easier than me! Negatively, I can’t imagine being hot in Florida right now, but dresses would have made my life a million times easier than jeans and belly extenders lol!
If you made it this far, thank you for stopping by and reading!
