Maternity Clothes

Let's talk about maternity clothes, shall we?

I think it's safe for me to say, after I have analyzed my thoughts lately, that I am obsessed with maternity clothes.

Who out there thinks that there are such cute choices these days? I can't even remember if I wore maternity clothes when I was pregnant 19 years ago with Russell, but I can tell you that maternity clothes have come a long way!!

I had a small stash of pregnancy clothes from Lucie's pregnancy 5 years ago, and when I got pregnant after Lucie, well, having twins just changed my body shape permanently and those clothes that I had saved from Lucie's pregnancy fit for the first 6 weeks, then they were too small! So, I gave them away to a friend.

And now, I have no maternity clothes.

So one day recently, I went online and commenced window shopping for cute and useful and comfortable and nice looking pregnancy clothes.  

I found Old Navy online.  They have such CUTE stuff! I browsed for at least an hour on that site.  And, just to be fun, I began to fill my online cart with clothes.  I put anything I wanted in my cart.  I thought of the things I'd need, but I also thought of what was cute and versatile and even things that would work after this baby is born and that I could wear as regular clothes that didn't look like pregnant lady clothes.  I found tons of stuff.

33 items, to be exact.

I listened to my inner gal and picked whatever stood out to me, and I picked whatever colors appealed to me.  There are a lot of sunshiny, cheerful colors in that cart.  There are a lot of really sweet dresses in there.  I simply adore cardigans, so I put whichever ones I liked in there too.  The whole cart is filled with things that this formerly conservative, frumpy and boring mama would never have worn in my early days!

It was so fun filling that online cart! I've never done that before, just throwing caution and frugality to the wind like that.  I acted like I was a millionaire!

I'm usually a thrift shopper and a resale and Goodwill junky.  All of the maternity clothes I have ever had have been second-hand.  I've shopped the resale shops around here and exhausted their supplies of maternity clothes.  Truthfully, the maternity clothes in the two resale shops that sell them are very, very small and it seems that all of the items are either black or gray.  I shopped and looked and felt like everything was so gloomy and sad and plain.

On a bit of a side note that isn't necessarily a rabbit trail, I'll be turning 40 next months (I'm having to practice saying that so I can get used to it) and I'm undergoing a metamorphosis lately.  I have always had a bit of an unusual, unique streak of funkiness or hmmm, eccentricity, and I have noticed that it's coming out a bit more lately, as I get older.  I have always denied that part of me before, thinking how unseemly it is and how a mama with as many kids as I have had should be staid and solemn and serious.......but I can't help it now! My head is being turned by a bit of glitter and glam and unusual colors and styles that I wouldn't have worn 5 years ago! Sassy nail polish, big dangly earrings, bigger hair, a bit more makeup with colors I wouldn't have worn when I was younger.....you get the picture.

Ha, you must be thinking that I now love to dress like Cindy Lauper at a costume party!

Not quite.

I have noticed that I have refined my own personal style and you know what? I like it!! I'm getting a bit more adventurous in my older age now.  My online cart on Old Navy reflects that.  

The thing about all of this is, now I need to figure out how I can get those things in my cart.  I literally have not one piece of maternity clothing! I'm wearing my only nursing bra, and it's from when I had Sofia, who is now 7, and I won't even describe the condition it's in!! I've been wracking my brain to try to come up with ways that I can purchase those things, short of selling one of my kids. I do think about the super pretty stuff in my online cart a LOT......thus I can conclude that I'm totally obsessed!

I think I covet.  I try not to!! I know it isn't good.  But when I notice my regular, everyday elastic skirts getting tighter and tighter and my normal shirts displaying more than is good for anyone to show, I do covet!! The Lord knows that I'm bereft in the clothing department.  He knows I'm struggling with coveting.  He cares about that.  He cares about those little things that nibble away at us daily.  I believe that! 

I know there is going to be a way for me to be fully clothed and secure through this pregnancy.  So I'll just wait and hope and try not to let that full online Old Navy cart of gorgeous clothes sneak into my dreams!!