Maternity Clothes

I went maternity shopping for the first time this week. That was not as enjoyable as painting the nursery or picking out a name. I had heard great things about Liz Lange clothes from Target, so I thought I'd give it a try. I started looking at jeans a couple of weeks ago and couldn't find my size, so I figured by now they'd have some new selections...not so. After trips to both the Bryan and C/S Target stores, I left completely frustrated and annoyed. Not ONE single pair in my size. They also couldn't tell me when they get more. If you have ever been pregnant, you know it doesn't take much to set off the horror-mones, and boy did it. I told the girl at the counter that I did NOT appreciate them having such a small selection of maternity clothes and I felt it was ridiculous that they had no idea when they would get more. I don't think she cared. 

I then headed to Motherhood Maternity. I had been to Motherhood earlier in the week and almost left in tears. Here's the deal: I am not exactly "showing" yet. Because of the extra padding I had to begin my pregnancy and because I lost some weight in the beginning, I don't really look very pregnant. But I AM pregnant and my jeans (the one pair I own) are very uncomfortable, particularly at the end of the day after a big meal. My goal was to find a pair of jeans that I can be comfortable in and that might expand with me over the next few months. As I was looking around, the sales clerk asked if she could help. I explained that I was looking for a pair of jeans and in a very insensitive tone (at least that's how I heard it), she proclaimed, "oh, you don't need THOSE...you just need a belly band. You're not even showing yet. This will hold everything in so you can wear your clothes longer." Now, I can appreciate her willingness to save me some money. However, "showing" is something I am really looking forward to...it's a rite of passage for a woman to have her big pregnant belly for all the world to see and the fact that I am 21 weeks and only Johnny and I can tell I'm pregnant is a source of annoyance for me. Also, don't you think that if a woman is in a maternity store looking for maternity jeans, she probably wants to show? I don't know...it's just what I thought. So there I was, in the middle of Motherhood Maternity, about to break out into sobs. I ended up buying the belly band as well as some giant pregnant lady underwear and off I went, feeling despondent at the thought that even the woman at the maternity store can't tell I'm pregnant. Horror-mones.

The next evening, I got hungry for fajitas and convinced Johnny to take me to Ninfas (it was horrible, by the way). I gleefully put on my belly band, convinced by my sweet husband that I do, indeed, look pregnant and there is nothing wrong with me, and slid into my jeans. We went, we ate...a lot...and as I sat there, my pants got tighter and tighter and my stupid belly band got more and more uncomfortable. When I explained to Johnny that the object of the belly band is to "hold it all in" he immediately exclaimed, "If I was a pregnant woman, the last thing I would do is to hold it in! Who the hell thought of that? What an idiot!" Then I thought, he's right. What pregnant woman wants to suck it in? Needless to say, I was back in Motherhood Maternity this morning buying the most amazingly comfortable pregnant lady jeans I could find. I wore them this afternoon and was the most comfortable I've been in weeks. Screw the sales clerk...I'm pregnant, little belly and all, and I deserve to be comfortable, too! 

The real test will come next week when I have to wear my work clothes full time again. I've tried on my pants and they fit when I first put them on, but I haven't worn them all day in two weeks. After I eat a couple of meals and sit down for a while, my belly expands and my jeans get really tight, so I'm hoping my regular pants have a little more give in them. I'm supposed to get some maternity clothes from my friend Erin in Beaumont, so I'm going to try to make due with the dreaded belly band and my old clothes for at least a couple of weeks. Wish me luck!