I turned 12 weeks last week (I had my first scan on Friday) and am in that delightful stage where I no longer fit into some of my clothes (bye bye skinny jeans for a while) but am not looking pregnant. Family and friends are starting to notice the beginnings of a bump, that slightly rounded tum, but to anyone who doesn’t know I am pregnant, let’s face it, I just look a bit chubby!
Now, I have never been a skinny girl, I have big wide hips and a rather rotund bottom. I have always been a definite pear shape and while occasionally I could squeeze into size 12 trousers, size 14 (and sometimes 16) trousers have always been the norm for me. Top half though is more of a 10-12. As a teenager I hated my lower half, being given the nickname “thunder thighs” by one of my brother’s friends didn’t help with that, but as I got older I learnt to at least accept my body shape and be happy with what I’ve got. One of the benefits of being pear shaped is that I always had a fairly flat tum. I’m not talking washboard abs or anything, but I have always carried weight around hips and bum, rather than on my tummy.
So one of the things I find tricky to come to terms with when I get pregnant, is the expansion above the waistline. My boobs get a bit ridiculous really early on, I have another post about them planned but so far I have gone from a 32D to a 36E, last time I reached a 36G, bonkers. Anyway then obviously my tummy soon stops being flat. This seems to happen quite quickly for me, I guess it is different with everyone and must depend on your body shape but because I am used to having little in the way of a tum, maybe I notice it bulging sooner?
It’s not all from baby either, I am happy to admit that I am eating a little more than pre-pregnancy. Not loads, and I know the whole eating for 2 is a myth, but you know what? I find pregnancy tiring. Really tiring, so to get through the day I snack more than normal, and eat a bit more chocolate because it helps me feel better. And if there is one time in your life where you shouldn’t worry about a couple of extra pounds I feel it should be when you are growing another human being inside your body. I lost my baby weight after Monkey, (thank you WW) and so I know I can do it again. Plus I can’t be overeating that much as the only places I am growing is tummy and boobs, everything else seems about the same size.
The problem with all of this is flattering clothing. I love the look of a lovely baby bump, but I’m not there yet. It’s obviously too soon for maternity clothes, but I also can no longer wear many of my pre-pregnancy clothes, as my waistline is expanding. As a SAHM a lot of my outfits involve colourful skinny jeans and slightly loose longline tops, as I spend a lot of the time on hands and knees playing and I HATE the builders bum you can get in low-rise jeans! But I can’t get into those skinny jeans anymore, there would be no hiding the builders bum with the excess weight I am now carrying. Plus with morning sickness and the odd bit of heartburn I hate my tummy feeling restricted as I expand. So what do I wear?
Leggings and dresses. Lots of leggings and lots of tunics and dresses!! I took a trip to Primarni (Primark, just pretending it’s posher than it is) for a load of £5 tunic dresses the other day as while I had a few, I by no means had enough to be wearing one every day. And I honestly don’t know what else to wear!
A few of my dress combos, ignore the socks and slippers lol!
I’m not buying more jeans in a bigger size, because there’s no point, I will grow out of them super fast, and I hate feeling restricted. I have lots of maternity jeans and clothes from last time but it feels daft wearing them yet. Interestingly I had a conversation a while ago with an ex-friend who was pregnant, telling me that her clothes were too tight and she couldn’t do them up. I excitedly commented it may be time for maternity clothes soon, and honestly, the look she gave me! “Er no, I won’t be needing maternity clothes” as if I couldn’t possibly have suggested anything worse! Barmy really. Think she planned on leggings and jumpers/dresses for the rest of the pregnancy, but honestly, I am bored of this ‘uniform’ already and will be looking forward to some variety!
After all, this phase is just temporary, and when my current leggings get too tight I will break out the maternity leggings. Then will follow the maternity jeans and as I will be pregnant over the summer this time I may get some maternity shorts. It has surely got to be about comfort!?
But for now, I will stick to my routine of leggings and dresses, to hide the slightly flabby looking bump, until it starts looking more like an actual ‘bump’!
What did you find most comfortable when you were pregnant? Particularly in the early stages? Or did you manage to keep your regular wardrobe a bit longer than I have?
I found ‘bump bands’ to be great Caroline. Meant I could keep wearing my old jeans etc. but just undone underneath the bump. H&M do them I think. Leggings were always a winner! I have a couple of lovely JoJo Maman Bebe tops which I wore during the summer months too. X
Ooh interesting… though I think I’d be a bit worried about them falling down when I’m bending over or on my hands and knees, or are they tight enough to hold them up? Leggings are great and I think Jojo Maman bebe do lovely maternity stuff! xx
Dude, I would totally get in the maternity jeans! I would wear them now if it wasn’t frowned upon whilst not pregnant. Honestly, I lived in them and they were so comfy!
I also wore a lot of dresses with leggings but I also extended my current trousers using a bit of elastic – not the most comfortable thing but it does at least bridge that gap from your current clothes to maternity. I did a little post here (TWO YEARS AGO!), hope you don’t mind the plug xx http://www.mumsdays.com/maternity-clothes-retrofitting-your-old-ones/
You look lovely and as you say, it won’t be long until you’ll have a massive belly! Aww, I’m missing my bump now!
#allaboutyou
Lol, I know what you mean, I stayed in them for a little while afterwards last time lol! No problem about the plug, in fact I really enjoyed reading a lot of your maternity fashion posts earlier – I vaguely remember doing something similar with my work trousers last time, but it didn’t even occur to me this time! Thank you, I may try some elastic or a bumb band on my normal jeans, but if that fails I will break out the maternity jeans! xx
Nice post as I’ve been thinking of doing one myself on maternity clothes… as soon as I got started wearing maternity jeans I haven’t got out of them – will be a struggle to go back to normal jeans after!
You look fab in your new outfits 🙂
Thank you, ooh I look forward to reading if you do! Maternity jeans are fab, it definitely took me a while to stop wearing them last time! Aww thanks, feel so chubby at the moment so thank you! xx
Looking gorgeous, huge congrats too-I mostly wore Topshop Tall for my second pregnancy!
Thank you, ooh Interesting, and great idea, thanks! xx
I think you look amazing! Yes, I was definitely a leggings and dress girl when pregnant. Boots in the Winter, flip flops in the Summer 🙂 By pregnancy number three I had a Maternity wardrobe to rival no other! And I’m a pear shape too, and had a very obvious bump by 12 weeks all three times. It was one aspect of pregnancy that I embraced – a great excuse for stretchy waistbands and more yummy food! Loved this Caroline! Xx #sharewithme
Aww thank you, I’m not sure about amazing but will take the compliment and glad you enjoyed reading! I can imagine by number 3 you would have had an awesome maternity wardrobe, mine is definitely improving, love to hear you had an obvious bump early too – definitely a good reason to embrace more yummy food! 🙂 xx
You look fab!!! I lived in leggings when I was pregnant and my other trick elastic band through the button hole of my jeans so they could “expand” 😉 #sharewithme
Thanks lovely! Leggings are so forgiving aren’t they? I’, sure I did that last time and can’t believe I didn’t think to do it this time, d’oh may be a bit late for that now though :S xx
I think the outfits that you’ve come up with are pretty great. They are all cute, flattering and colorful. I also think it is hard to accept the changing proportions of your body during pregnancy but that you are being really positive. And you’re right…WW helped you loose the weight from the first and I’m sure you can do it again!
This is so exciting!!
Angie from reasons to dress, life as a North American mom in Italy.
Thank you and I’m glad you say that as I can and do find it hard to accept the changes sometimes, but it is all for a good reason so have to hang on to that and embrace it as much as possible! xx
You still looking stunning as ever. And you are tiny what are you talking about girl? I love the photos and I can’t wait to go through all the months seeing your updates photos and posts about it. Makes me want to be pregnant again. I loved having a bump Mostly I stuck to legging and long shirts or dresses for the first while until it was a good big bump then I wore tops blouses with maternity jeans or maternity shorts depending on the season. Leggings alot almost the whole time. I found maternity clothes are super expensive so I would got to H&M, Primark, Forever21 and buy cheap clothes but one or two sizes bigger. Thanks so much for the support and linking up to Share With Me. Excited for all your posts to come and your little addition. #sharewithme
Thanks honey and believe me I am not tiny, photographs can be misleading, I’m fairly in proportion but stand me next to someone who is petite and you really see how much bigger I am! Really glad you’re enjoying the posts, bit of a departure from what I normally write abut, but I am finding I have a lot I want to say on the subject! I definitely agree on the pricyness of maternity wear, definitely a good idea to get bits as cheaply as possible! Maybe that will be a subject for a future post!! Thanks for hosting your lovely linky! xx
I was extremely Lucky with Layla (my 3rd) that i still fitted in my normal jeans till about 20 odd weeks, but im all for comfort… so i swapped them for maternity ones, but i mainly lived in my PJ’s hehe #ShareWithMe
Wow that must have been so handy! Lol, don’t blame you for living in your pjs, got to be all about comfort! xx
I seem to remember a clever little gizmo (that you could possibly even DIY) which had a button hole you attach to your jeans button, and then a bit like the extenders in kids’ trousers, you moved the button hole along to allow your normal jeans to give until you can’t wear them anymore. Otherwise, I’d say bump bands, long vest tops to come down to hips to avoid potential builders bum, and of course, maternity jeans – make the most of them while you can! I liked the H&M ones best, totally lived in them and was really sad to stop wearing them! Thanks for linking to #AllAboutYou – and good luck, hope you keep posting your style pics as you grow – I started a whole new blog called Petite & Pregnant when I was to chart my progress. A bit shortlived, but you can’t do everything!
Aww lovely, I had thought about having a separate pregnancy blog, but not sure I could keep up with both so will just extend this one i think! Bump bands are a good idea, though I think I may be embracing the maternity jeans soon, I’d just be so worried that m normal jeans would fall down! I am sure there will be many more pregnancy related posts to come over the next 6 months or more! xx
I loved my maternity leggings and tunics 🙂 And, I had a great pair of jeans too. Bump bands were great, and I also had some of those extend the waist elastic things (a button on one end, button hole on the other?!) I have no idea what they are called, but they let me wear normal trousers for a while longer! I was working each time, so I had quite a few stretchy dresses/tunics and I was actually able to wear some of my non maternity dresses too. I was horribly bored by the end though!
Glad it’s not just me who gets bored of it – I keep seeing loads of lovely tops in the shops that I know I won’t be able to wear for ages! Will have to have a bit of a shopping spree afterwards or something 🙂 xx
The early weeks of pregnancy have always been frustrating for me because I’ve only really started to show around 20 weeks or so, but none of my clothes fitted. Neither did maternity clothes! Its horrid feeling clothes tight around the tummy and just not feeling right! Leggings are a god-send, eh? By the way I think you look fab 🙂
x x
#ShareWithMe
Leggings are definitely a god-send! Glad it’s not just me who feels weird around this time of pregnancy as nothing really seems to fit does it? Thank you, you are very kind! xx