Wednesday 4 September 2013

Maternity Wardrobe: Eight Months. Plus Post-Natal Wardrobe Plans


A couple of months ago I shared the contents of my maternity wardrobe as it stood at six months for those who may be interested in seeing how much/little I've personally found is required to get by. Now that I am really down the 'business end' of this pregnancy (eight months / 36 weeks in) I thought another update might be of interest to those same readers. 

So you see my clothing rail pictured above? See the little chunk of clothes gathered at the far left? That is now what I can fit in. The similarly small chunk of clothes slightly to the right of that is the (all secondhand) knitwear that I can wear with my maternity garments. From the end of my first trimester, as my body started to change, I started to implement a useful piece of advice I'd read about removing the items from your wardrobe that gradually began to feel too tight so that dressing in the mornings doesn't get really difficult (not to mention a bit disheartening). I did that for a long time, but as you can now see, if I still did that my rail would be virtually empty and all my clothing would be stuffed in bags wedged into corners round the rest of our flat! 

Therefore whilst unpacking from our recent move, I decided to rehang any garments I theoretically think I might fit into again during the first few months after the birth, particularly items that I think I may be able to wear whilst breast feeding. That's what the larger chunk of garments on the right of the rail in the photo comprises of. Doing that has also had the beneficial effect of reminding me that colour and variety in dressing will soon be an option once again. I still have one MASSIVE storage bag full of lovely garments that I doubt will either fit for some time (if ever!) or be breast-feeding friendly, but that's fine: the selection to the right of that rail above is a veritable wardrobe feast in comparison with my clothing options right now. Plus, I've discovered during this pregnancy that working with a smaller than my previous selection creates far fewer headaches, especially if the colours of your items mix and match well.  

So back to what my eight month maternity consists of:

Tops:


  • Spotty dress-to-maternity T-shirt with gathered sides. This is a little bit too short so I have to keep yanking it down at the back. The neckline is a bit higher than the grey version and feels a bit frumpier.
  • Fancy sleeved maternity T-shirt, also with gathered sides. This is my favourite garment to wear right now, the fabric is so soft and it's so comfy to wear generally (it's a bit longer than its spotty predecessor). 
  • Striped Peter Pan batwing top, although it's been way too warm to wear this for ages. The mustard version kind of got relegated after the curry-down-the-front incident.  
  • Modcloth-inspired maternity smock top. This has been trouper of a garment. 

Bottoms: 



  • Blue treggings. For some time now I've had to wear these with the waistband rolled down at the front under my bump, but that is a small price to pay for how useful and how much wear these babies have been through over the last four or so months. 
  • Some secondhand Topshop maternity jeans that I've been leant. These really got me out of a wardrobe fix but now are starting to get uncomfortable as my greatly expanded bump pushes them down at the front so they dig in somewhat.

Dresses:



  • Nautical batwing jersey dress. This has been soooo useful. It can be worn on its own or as a tunic with bottoms. One day, when I'm done with breast feeding, I'll take it in a bit at the sides (assuming I'll need to!) so that I can get lots of non-maternity use from it. 
  • Black batwing jersey dress. This has been the garment that made me feel the nicest and least frumpy! The jersey has slightly less stretch than the nautical version so it is getting really tight now...
  • The modern muumuu. To be honest I haven't worn this since getting back from our holiday. A few commenters suggested that belting it would make it look less frumpy, and whilst I agree that the belted dress look often looks great on some pregnant women, I personally can't stand the feeling of a belt around my rib cage.  
  • Secondhand Topshop maternity tea dress (not shown because it's somewhere in the laundry process). As I previously stated, I wasn't planning on buying any maternity wear beyond bras, but when I saw a lovely light-weight maternity tea dress in a charity shop just before our holiday I decided to buy it. It's got a low-cut cross-over bust part that I think will also make it useful for breast feeding. 

Other garments:

  • My 'loungewear' still consists of two ropey pairs of secondhand jogging bottoms and some large baggy dude-T-shirts.
  • My sleepwear still consists of my biggest pyjama bottoms and more baggy dude-T-shirts.
  • I'm working with a limited selection of my largest undies, but I think I can get away with continuing to do so if I keep on top of the laundry (making some more in a bigger size would be pretty disheartening at this point). 
  • My usual selection of secondhand cardigans are seeing me through very well thanks to the seasonal weather. If I was heavily pregnant in deep Winter I might require some cardigans or warm layers that wrap over/cover the bump instead. 
  • One unpredicted maternity purchase that I did end up making was a secondhand maternity 'tankini' bought on eBay to wear on our recent holiday to Spain. I only wore it twice, but it's now been packed in my hospital bag as I'm hoping that water will be involved in my birth at some point and I may feel the need for a bit of coverage at least towards the beginning of labour. 


11 comments:

Miriana said...

As I approach the end of my second trimester, my options have shrunk dramatically. In the last month of my previous pregnancy, I was down to a skirt, a dress, some yoga pants and two tops, all of which I would have happily set fire to.

Karla Bryant said...

Still looking like a good variety to me! I was down to two dresses by the end of my pregnancy (thankfully it was summer). Whilst I hated those items of clothing it was so easy getting dressed without having to make choices. After baby came I actually missed them (they were both impractical for breastfeeding). I admit that for my second pregnancy I made more of an effort to find enough clothes that would see me through to the end and that post pregnancy bump.

eline said...

I love your maternity wardrobe, it's so stylish! I especially like the batwing dresses and T-shirt.
I fit again in my pre-maternity wardrobe six or seven months after giving birth, I guess. That is to say, the bottoms. Thanks to breastfeeding, some of my tops are still a bit on the tight side, hehe. So be patient, it's not a competition and you'll get there in your own time. It took me at least a year to feel 'at home' again in my own body.

Anonymous said...

I hate to bring this up, please feel free to delete if this is way too too much TMI, but do make sure you have some big frumpy pants you don't mind getting wrecked with heavy lochia. I had no idea and had to send my partner out to get a pack straight after the birth, my normal comfy pants could not really accommodate the massive pads!

Adrienne said...

Oh, you're almost there, Zoe. I can't imagine how you and Pat must feel right now -- anticipation, anxiety, joy...

Isn't it nice, in a way, to have such a limited wardrobe? I'm tempted myself to temporarily boil down mine to only a few outfits that I really really love. Minimalist dressing. And minimal headache. xo

Kathryn said...

This all sounds so familiar! Almost every day now I'm trying something on only to take it off and resign it to the pile to be packed away. However I agree with you that less clothes does make getting dressed easier and I'm hoping I can bcarry this over into my post-maternity sewing and be clever with what I make - matching colours, creating separates etc.
That's a great idea to start thinking about what will be practical post-maternity too and keeping those items out.

ari said...

So close! During my first pregnancy (I carry quite high) I could wear my skinny leg jeans (size 8 Australian) the entire way through my pregnancy and near the end just didn't do up the button or zip. With my second pregnancy, I had to stop wearing them at like 20 weeks because anything tight around there made me feel sick! ahha.

Keep a hold of your maternity clothes, my youngest is 1 and my body has gone back to what it used to be, but I still wear my maternity singlets because they're SO COMFY

Jen said...

I hope you get more use out of your maternity tankini than I did mine! I think I wore it 5 times total, but it wasn't for lack of trying to get to the pool! Now that baby's here I wonder if I'll still need it when I can swim again. Two weeks postpartum and I can almost fit in some of my pre-pregnancy pants, but not quite. Luckily I had some jeans that were a bit big on me before I got pregnant and they fit perfectly right now.

You must be getting terribly excited to meet this new little person! Starting to think about the post-maternity wardrobe is a good thing to do now, I think. Just make sure you invest in some good nursing bras - they can really be the best thing for making you feel better about your body afterwards, when you feel as though your pre-pregnancy figure is gone forever, especially since now there are some lovely options out there for nursing bras.

Unknown said...

You're so inspiring,sewing up a whole new wardrobe in only 8 months! I've only managed 1 T-shirt for myself this year and it was a mod from a baggy,old tee. Got to step it up I think!

Anonymous said...

Hi

Just letting you know that if you are planning on nursing your baby, you may have some leakage issues. Tops that are printed disguise that, and baby spit-up. Also, get some dark bottoms. Grey or brown bottoms don't look ancient after a few washes. (Black and navy tend to look old really fast) Dresses, not a plan! Unless you are ok with stripping completely every time your baby is hungry.

If you are planning on sewing for baby, I'd very much recommend buying a plastic hairband and a chunk of cotton and make yourself a nursing cover. Also, central/landmark sometimes has bibs that are towels. (ribbed neckhole, fantastic) Check out MotherCare, they've got nursing bras, pads for same, they've also got the large lochia pads.

The other anonymous commenters advice is also really good.
Don't kick yourself too hard if the weight takes months to come off. Some say nine months on, nine months off. True with my first one! Much longer with my second.

You have a pretty good wardrobe for being this far along. A lot of women find themselves down to 3 or so outfits in total. My first one gained one entire pound during the last week of pregnancy. Born on due date.

Not trying to make you feel bad, but you come across as a little unsure of what preparations to make. Just giving the advice I dearly wish I'd been given.
Mary in Thailand

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