Fashion Statement

Pregnancy sure changes your fashion outlook. Especially now at 33 wks my wardrobe consists basically of two little piles of shirts and shorts and some comfy sleepwear. I think I have worn my hair up everyday for the last 4 months because of the heat as well. These two factors are certainly not going to get me any fashion awards. I think everyone wants to look cute and pregnant, but at some point you outgrow everything and really just care about how comfortable you are in certain things.

Having said all of that I have added one new piece to my wardrobe bringing my whole fashion sense to an all time low.... low... low.... I got myself a new belt to accentuate my waistline. It is called a 'Beautiful Belly Belt'. You wear it to really show off that bump and your new waistline. I fell for the marketing line and just thought - why not wear a belt when you are pregnant. Belts are suppose to show off your womanly figure. It is a little thicker and white for summer. I know it is a bit of fashion risk and I only plan on wearing it if we go out to dinner or somewhere fancy. Take a look below - what do you think?? Quite pretty huh!

 

OK ok so I tease. I got myself a support belt. I am hopeful that it might help with the right side pain by taking the strain off of my ligaments, muscles etc. It sort of distributes the weight so all of the baby weight isn't just hanging/pulling down in the front. I have worn it a few days now and it is hard to tell if it will help with the right side pain, but at the very least I do feel like it is supporting my belly weight a bit better and can't hurt especially as I continue to grow. It is sort of uncomfortable when I am sitting down so I primarily wear it if I plan on being on my feet a bit. I don't wear it on the outside if I'm in public by the way - my shirts go over it! Don't you wish you had one?

Do I not look pregnant??

Ok, so I'm at the mall today (Using my $10 off $25 coupon at Macy's!!) and I decide to stroll to a few stores while I'm there.  After stopping for some pretzel sticks -YUM- I went to Motherhood Maternity.  

Quick tangent, it does feel a little strange to be in a tiny packed store with at least a dozen other pregnant ladies.  They squish an unbelievable amount of clothes in to that store.  It feels like a clique or cult or inner circle or something because everyone in there is at different stages of pregnancy all just bopping around in a blur.  I wonder how many actually feel good or are hungry or scared of what is coming...

Back to my story.  So I leave the Motherhood maternity store and walk about 15 feet.  This is when a guy from one of those vendor carts asks me, 'Do you smoke?' and I was like, 'No' and then as I walked off I looked down to see if I didn't look pregnant.  I am pretty positive I do and I just came from a maternity store.  I am thinking maybe the guy is just not observant and assumes I just eat too many pretzel sticks.  I start thinking to myself I wonder how many people can't tell I'm pregnant??  I feel like I bump out ALOT and my increasingly slow walk that sort of hinders on a waddle is kind of a giveaway too.  I did start to notice how many people wear baggier cloths or empire wastes and it does become a little hard to know which people are just wearing that style versus which of us have to wear that style.

Another quick tangent, I went in to Forever 21 to look for a stretchy summer dress - I was at least 10 years older than the oldest person in there (excluding the moms that were there to buy their high school or college aged girls some summer duds).  Wow, there wasn't one dress there I could wear I don't think... I guess I really CAN'T be 21 forever, at least not pregnant haha

Sheets and Pacifiers and Bottles oh my

Kevin and I browsed around BabiesRus today.  I started out strong and I ended hungry, dehydrated and ready to leave.  We have sort of focused on the major baby equipment so far (strollers, cribs, car seat, etc.) so today we thought we would glimpse at the other sections as well - you know the smaller items.  I can't believe how many options there are in some of these 'other' sections.  It is a little overwhelming the first time you look. 

First of all, we looked at mattress stuff.  After staring at the mattress pads versus the mattress covers we decided we could not tell any difference.  Did we need both?  2 pads maybe? It seemed ridiculous that you'd need a cover, than a pad, than a sheet, than a sheet saver... holy moly that is like 4 layers.  It is obvious I have never made up an actual crib before. 

After deciding to move on we headed over and saw the pacifier section.  WOW, who knew (unless you have a kid) that there are so many different kinds.  Not only are there all different shapes and sizes, but they have ages associated with them.  Huh?  All binkies aren't the same general thing? - that was eye opening!  I mean how different is your mouth between 3 months and 6 months.  I wonder if when I was a baby if they had this sort of selection, I'll have to ask my mom. 

Then that is when we noticed an entire aisle devoted to bottles.... I didn't even look.  I decided right then and there I needed to read a bit more on those and get some first hand advice.  This is a great chance to get advice and preferences from my friends. I mean there are freezer bags, sanitizers, warmers, bottles that are more like nature, short ones and tall ones and a gazillion choices in between....After today, I've decided I'd rather just pick out cute outfits and toys :) 

On a side note I finally made myself some banana pancakes this weekend - woo hoo!        

Such Cute Stuff

I haven't done any shopping for baby Hahm yet.  Kevin and I glance at some stuff if it happens to be around, but mostly we are waiting to find out if it will be a Boy or Girl before we really start to look at anything. 

Well today I met a friend for lunch and decided to look at the occasional dresses at another maternity store called Pea in the Pod.  This store is a little higher end and is located at a mall called Green Hills.  I ate lunch sort of by there so it was a perfect opportunity to look for a maid of honor dress.  Well, they didn't have anything, but..... I stopped in at Pottery Barn Kids since it happened to be just right there...

First off, this store has a secret bathroom in the back that is clean and nice.  This is something I will remember.  Second, I kept oohhing and aahhing at all of the cute things.  I had been in here once before with a friend (she went with a Dr. Seuss theme that turned out so colorful and fun).  During that visit I hadn't really been paying attention to prices or other items, but now I get the draw to this store.  They have lots of different kid themes, but more my style.  The themes aren't overdone for the most part, but understated and what I'll call *kid classy* (translation: some might find the style boring).  The only bad part is that it is pottery barn, which means it easily becomes pricey quick.  I do hate spending a ton on things that for the most part are for me since the baby doesn't care and probably won't remember :)  I'll have to think of some sort of compromise and find a few cute and key items from there and then fill in the gaps with some less expensive alternatives.  I really did enjoy starting to think about these things and looking at such cutesy stuff. 

Is it bad I thought about buying a Darth Vader beach bag for myself that was there - so cool (and yes possibly geeky) 

Pregnancy Patience Formula

Wal-Mart sucked every bit of blog inspiration that I had today.  I ran in there for a few items and I'm pretty sure I had a backwards makeover by the time I left.  I am usually the person in the crowd that says 'Walmart isn't too bad and at least it is cheap'... well it might be awhile before I even give that tepid review.  There were extra things in every aisle, it was like navigating an obstacle course - an obstacle course with random (let's just say inefficient) people thrown in to make you turn around and choose new paths.  The few items that I was interested in buying did not have a price anywhere in the vicinity of where I was looking.  Instead of going on a quest to find a price checker and adding yet another variable to my shopping experience I just cut my losses and either put the item back or I just figured I'd buy it at whatever price.  I was reaching the upper limit on the 'pregnancy' patience scale and decided to head to the check out. 

Pregnancy Patience Formula: pregnancy patience decreases as the rate of the following factors increases 1) need for bathroom break + 2) amount of germs + 3) amount of sick people + 4) annoyance level of environment    

Now I'm one of those people that park at the garden center entrance to avoid the bumper car part of the normal parking lot.  Not only do you usually get a closer, less aggravating, spot but you can quickly check out at the garden register.  As I approach the garden register I notice a line of 5 people - 5 PEOPLE!! After observing for about 2 seconds it is apparent there is a newly hired cashier... I decide, no problem, I'll give the guy a break and I'll just wait.  5, 4, 3 people to go ... I notice the people who checked out in front of me all coming back in.. weird.. I guess the garden doors are locked.  This voids some of the advantages of my parking plan - urgh.  I decide to cut my losses since this cashier is taking forever and I head to the front of the store.  I figure I have to go out this way now anyway so I might as well go to a speedy check out.  Au contraire, mon frere... I was there forever too.

I happened to pick the check out next to all of the 'as seen on tv' items.  Wow, is there a lot of crazy little things out there to buy.  For instance there is something called 'Easy Feet'... a product that states you will never have to bend down to clean your feet again.  When did we get so lazy that the general public can't clean their feet? Or there is a triangle piece of material that you can buy that fits in your bra and looks like you have a cami on.  Why are we not just wearing a real cami?  Is this the new age Dickey garment?  I could have bought an exerciser shaker, a more elaborate plane pillow, something to shave my heels (ick) and a myriad of other things that really started to crack me up. 

Waiting waiting waiting...needless to say, I was at the upper limit of the Pregnancy Patience scale.  I finally made it to my car and home and now have a freshly brewed french vanilla coffee and I'm starting to slowly return to normal life.

I hope my long unnecessarily drawn out account of a Walmart trip leaves you as equally uninspired .... misery loves company  ;-)

A new mall experience

I headed out to the mall today to go to our Kirkland's that is shutting down.  Everything in the store is 75% off so I figured I'd go check it out.  I got there only to realize the ENTIRE store was already sold out... so I decided not to waste the trip to the mall and do a little shopping around.  This is where things got a little strange for me.  I was headed to my usual favorite stores... GAP, Banana Republic, etc.., only to realize that shopping for clothes has become super lame.  I can't buy any clothes right now, not really now that I'm pregnant, not from these stores anyway.  I mean there is a shirt or tank top here or there that is definitely something I could **grow** into and would look cute, but overall my options were considerably limited.  I quickly changed my game plan and went to Pottery Barn, Williams and Sonoma and then left the mall.  I didn't leave empty handed I found some nice lounge wear (drawstring pants) that I can definitely use throughout the pregnancy, but the new spring fashions just weren't as exciting.  There were some spring dresses that might be great options as I get bigger, but I'll save those for later once I can try them on with an actual **bump** to make sure they don't look ridiculous :)  I guess the good thing about all of this is that I'll save some money by not shopping.