Unsolicited Advice - Vol. 1: Maternity Clothes

My brother and his wife recently announced that they are expecting and I am SO thrilled! They are going to be the best parents.

I love giving all kinds of advice regarding children, but I have learned that timing is everything. So, I'm going to do a series of postings over the next couple of months BEFORE the blessed child makes his/her appearance. No one likes unsolicited advice when they are going through the pains of child rearing.

Anyway, here goes - Vol 1: Maternity Clothes

Buy your own good, basic maternity pieces now, while you still have the money. I would recommend a few pairs of jeans, some nice dressier shirts, a sweater or two and one nice, little black dress. In the beginning, you should be able to get away with buying the size that you are right now. So, if you are a medium, buy a medium. However, you probably won't be able to fit into medium in the last couple of months. Even my skinny friends had to go up a size in the end. Large is nothing to be ashamed of.

Try your best not to flip out on the young girl who directs you toward the plus-size section when you expressly asked where the maternity section is. She is ignorant and has obviously never been pregnant, so she has no idea how offensive that is.

Borrow the rest of your maternity wardrobe, but only from people who won't freak out if you stain their clothes. (Rachel, I saved all of my cute stuff for you!)

T-shirts are cheap and they get stained, so don't spend more than $10 on a t-shirt. You'll have to replace them for your next pregnancy anyway. Oh, and nursing shirts are pretty ugly. Don't bother. We will cover nursing gear in a later posting.

I wish I had known about the belly band. Apparently it makes your regular pants last SO much longer, plus they look sort of cool peaking out underneath your shirts. Buy one in basic black or white. Maternity camis are great, too. Your chest will grow, and it is nice to have a cami to rein them back in under your button-up shirts (otherwise you get the peak-a-boob effect). These should be extra long because your torso grows a bit (understatement) and unless you like the look of stretch-marked belly peaking out underneath the shirt, you will want to cover it completely. (By the way, if you DO like the look of the stretch-marked belly peaking out, we need to have a prayer meeting . . .)

Figure out your pants-preference. A word of caution, though: If you like the idea of below-the-belly pants, imagine what it will be like when your belly is larger. I do not have a flat backside, yet my below-the-belly pants refused to perch on my built-in shelf and were totally falling down by about 6 months. Borrow these. As much as you HATE the idea of the panel, you may change your mind in the last couple of months. Of course, at the VERY end, you won't want ANYTHING pressing against your tummy, so buy them in Large. (I had cute jeans in Medium for the first part of pregnancy, then Large, ugly things for the last half.) You can always stick with the stretchy pants. They are cheap and look cute under your tent-shirts (blah!).

You do not need maternity underwear. However, you do deserve new panties, so go on out and buy some bikinis. Then, buy new ones when the baby is born. You deserve it.

Don't buy any new shoes right now. It is a sad fact that feet typically grow a bit during pregnancy. I used to be a size 7 and now I am a size 8. Argh. Of course, you can get flip-flops and slippers. (I kept slippers under my desk at work.)

Come back for more unsolicited advice! My mind is whirling with "mommy-wisdom" and I just want to puke it out. (Oh, maybe not such a good thing to mention at this early stage, huh?)