More Familiar Territory
I ventured out last weekend to buy more maternity clothes, after feeling half-suffocated by my bella band at work. Honestly, that thing went from being a good friend to a tormentor. Jake was tired of my bitching and was doing all kinds of prodding to get me to go out shopping. Normally, I'd be giddy to have him encouraging me to blow money on clothes, but I'm really hating the maternity thing. Besides always feeling like a lesser member of The Club since I'm still hardly showing, I hate being restricted to stuff I wouldn't normally buy, but have little choice but to buy since the maternity selection around here is pretty pitiful.
I did a little research online the night before my excursion, trying to find anywhere besides "Motherhood" that I could go. I really hate that place. I get all claustrophobic, and it's disorganized and set up stupid. They've got casual stuff and work stuff all mixed in together and none of the prices are consistent, in addition to just having a weird stigma that still makes me uncomfortable going in. I decided to shoot for The Gap and JC Penney, and I'm happy to report I was much less repulsed by the experience. The Gap's selection wasn't great, since they're actually discontinuing their maternity line, but I got a couple cute shirts. They continued their Gappy tradition of never having pants I like in anything over a size 4, so I left there pants-less.
JC Penney had a much bigger selection, and everything was on super-sale. That makes the spending a little easier to swallow, if I at least can feel like I stuck it to someone by getting a hot deal. You know, "I'm buying this crap, but I'm not paying full price! AAAAIIIEEEEE!!!" I forced myself to buy some pants there, but they suck. It's not the pants themselves that inherently suck, but the fact that I had to buy them a size too big in order to be comfortable. The first pair of jeans I bought (you know, the foxy jeans?) looked good, but have become reeeaallly uncomfortable on my stomach. The stretchy band part just feels so damn tight and is actually painful after a few hours. So, I bought all the new pants in a size too large, and they feel great. I look like a complete sloppy slumpadink, but at least I'm comfy. See that? Not even a full-fledge mom yet and I'm already trading in looks for comfort. What's next---a friggin mumu?
The best part about shopping at these two stores was that I felt really, really NORMAL and that felt great. I didn't feel excluded, or like anyone was judging the size of my whimpy bump. I just went about my business, feeling at ease in stores that I had frequented pre-baby. It wasn't like venturing into alien territory, or breaching enemy lines. Here are some pics of my favorite shirts I picked up. I'm still not quite big enough to wear them, but at least I've got them at the ready. I'm not posting pics of the pants because they're boring-ass and not all that cute:
And, though it's not much to impress, here's my 15-week belly pick. The jumbo roll is finally starting to fill out from the bottom, so it looks a little less like a spare tire. Now, it just looks more like I'm extremely bloated (which is, actually, fairly true most of the time.) Don't let the pudge scare you away:
I did a little research online the night before my excursion, trying to find anywhere besides "Motherhood" that I could go. I really hate that place. I get all claustrophobic, and it's disorganized and set up stupid. They've got casual stuff and work stuff all mixed in together and none of the prices are consistent, in addition to just having a weird stigma that still makes me uncomfortable going in. I decided to shoot for The Gap and JC Penney, and I'm happy to report I was much less repulsed by the experience. The Gap's selection wasn't great, since they're actually discontinuing their maternity line, but I got a couple cute shirts. They continued their Gappy tradition of never having pants I like in anything over a size 4, so I left there pants-less.
JC Penney had a much bigger selection, and everything was on super-sale. That makes the spending a little easier to swallow, if I at least can feel like I stuck it to someone by getting a hot deal. You know, "I'm buying this crap, but I'm not paying full price! AAAAIIIEEEEE!!!" I forced myself to buy some pants there, but they suck. It's not the pants themselves that inherently suck, but the fact that I had to buy them a size too big in order to be comfortable. The first pair of jeans I bought (you know, the foxy jeans?) looked good, but have become reeeaallly uncomfortable on my stomach. The stretchy band part just feels so damn tight and is actually painful after a few hours. So, I bought all the new pants in a size too large, and they feel great. I look like a complete sloppy slumpadink, but at least I'm comfy. See that? Not even a full-fledge mom yet and I'm already trading in looks for comfort. What's next---a friggin mumu?
The best part about shopping at these two stores was that I felt really, really NORMAL and that felt great. I didn't feel excluded, or like anyone was judging the size of my whimpy bump. I just went about my business, feeling at ease in stores that I had frequented pre-baby. It wasn't like venturing into alien territory, or breaching enemy lines. Here are some pics of my favorite shirts I picked up. I'm still not quite big enough to wear them, but at least I've got them at the ready. I'm not posting pics of the pants because they're boring-ass and not all that cute:
And, though it's not much to impress, here's my 15-week belly pick. The jumbo roll is finally starting to fill out from the bottom, so it looks a little less like a spare tire. Now, it just looks more like I'm extremely bloated (which is, actually, fairly true most of the time.) Don't let the pudge scare you away:
posted by deanna at 8:16 PM
14 Comments:
Thanks for the belly pic. It's cute!
Very cute tops...I think I might have to make a trip to Penny's. Target is good for tops too. I've been having the same problems, I just can't find pants I like.
And I love the belly pic ;)
Cute belly pic:) You might want to try Kohl's, they had some cute stuff when I was pregnant 2 years ago:) It's another place you can be without feeling like you don't belong.
Leslie B.
Aww, you look cute! :)
Miss X
Your Penny's must have had a better selection than the one I went to. Hated everything there. The only places in my town with maternity are Target and Wal-Mart. Otherwise I have to drive an hour to Old Navy (haven't done that yet) or Penny's (wasn't worth it).
Your bump is adorable!! I'm sure your maternity clothes will look fabulous and I am in love with that green and white top.
Kohl's is my vote - it's great for sale maternity stuff. And I'm such an asshole becuase I owe you my big box of stuff, still somewhere in the unfinished area of the basement in which I won't go becuase I'm so afraid of spiders. So Paul has to find it for me, which means I have to remember, when he's home, to tell him to get it. I'm so sorry I've made you wait.
Yay! Baby bump!
Those tops are very cute. I'd wear them myself.
such a cute bump! :) And, cute tops! They look just like the style last summer, when everyone was wearing maternity tops. :)
I totally agree about Motherhood. Yuck. I loved JCPenney, also Kohl's and Old Navy. Target never did much for me. Old Navy is good b/c once you figure out your size, you can order stuff online. I also bought a bunch of things off ebay. Good luck finding pants - I wore a lot of dresses b/c there is nothing pressing against your belly. I don't think I've posted before, but I've been reading since iparenting.
MARY: Hi, there! Thanks for de-lurking to say hello! I love knowing there are still some iparenting readers out there. If you blog somewhere, please let me know! Take care!
I am loving your taste in clothes! Kinda makes me wish I was pregnant so I could wear those cute tops again... I could wear them now but they would just make me look, well, pregnant :)
I think it's an adorable baby bump!
I hated Motherhood when I was pregnant with my daughter. Their stuff was so traditional maternity looking...loud prints...and their pants were too short for me.
I can't believe Gap is discontinuing their maternity line! I wonder if that's just in stores or online as well. I bought all of my pants from their online store.
This time I found a lot of cute tops at Ross, but I've yet to find a single cute skirt or pair of pants anywhere. I was going to try a bella band this time, but you've talked me out of it.
CHAS: Don't pay too much attention to my Bella Band rants! There are some days it's a great tool and other days it feels like it's cutting off my oxygen. I think it just varies depending on the whole bloating thing, and depending on what I'm trying to accomplish with it. Since I've bought a few pairs of rather loose maternity pants now, it's becoming a friend again by helping to hold them up. Gone are the days of using it to get just one more use out of my pre-preg pants, though. I nearly turned purple trying that last week!
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