Dressing for Pregnancy: Underneath it All

After I mentioned a couple maternity finds in my last post I got a few comments and emails asking for other recommendations, some more direction, etc. so I decided to do a short series of posts on how I dress for pregnancy. Let me put it out there that I am not extremely stylish or anything, but I keep covered and fairly comfortable so I'm willing to pass on the few lessons I've learned and resources I've discovered and hope that other women who have been there will share their own tips and tricks and secret maternity clothing places in the comments.



Before you can even talk about what to wear you have to talk about what to wear underneath. And before I talk about that I'm going to talk about what's underneath THAT.

Your skin.

Pregnant skin can be beautiful and glowy or, if you're like me, total oh-my-gosh-what-is-going-ON crazy. I don't remember how it was with Wes, but this time around my skin has been super break-out prone (I'm 24! Shouldn't I be over that??), razor burn prone (have NEVER had razor burn before), and ridiculously dry and itchy.

And the unfortunate thing about pregnancy is that you're super limited as far as what products you can use to combat those problems. When my skin went haywire a few weeks after I got the positive test I used this handy little guide on pregnancy safe skin care from BabyCenter to figure out what I could and couldn't use to try and get things back under control (turns out almost nothing I had on my bathroom counter was technically "safe"). I got myself some glycolic acid and it seems to do the trick most days (but some days the hormones win and there's nothing you can do about that).

I can state, however, that I have won the battle against my crazy dry itchy skin. Behold, my skin's new favorite thing:

I actually use the generic store brand, but you get the idea. Baby oil gel has been my skin's savior. I take a warm (not hot) shower every day (and ya, I finally invested in shower caps even though they make me look and feel like a 90 year old woman, but trying to keep my hair dry by just putting it in a clip wasn't working for me) and before I towel off I slather it all over. Belly, legs, arms, everywhere. Then I gently blot the rest of the water off and enjoy having perfectly moisturized skin the rest of the day. I do usually stay wrapped up in my towel for a few minutes while I do my makeup though so it has a chance to absorb and doesn't transfer to my clothes, in case you're worried about oily clothing. Thus far none of my clothes seem any worse for the wear.

Ok, now that we've talked about skin:

Underpinnings!

And by that I mean your bra. If you're not like me you probably end up with a bit more up top than usual. At almost 21 weeks I am still comfortable fitting in my regular (very small) bra, but whatever, YOU will probably actually grow.

Pregnant bra shopping feels like such a waste to me. You have to spend (possibly a lot of) money on something that you may not even fit into very long at all since you're STILL growing. However, you might be able to buy some time by picking up a bra extender. These handy little things give you some more leeway in your band and can actually see you through a whole 'nother cup size. They're super affordable (especially when compared to the price of a new bra or two) and you can find them at JoAnn's, among other places.

As for your lower half, I don't have much to contribute there. I just push my waistband down until it sits beneath my belly. As I get bigger I definitely go for my stretchier more breathable unders, but I make them work the whole time. I know that won't work for everyone since some people gain a lot more in their hips and behind. It seems like the super low cut stuff you can find at places like Motherhood would be the most comfortable since it's too low to dig in anywhere, but I don't know. Anyone have anything to contribute on that subject?

Next up: A Bit Bloated

(If you're LDS and have questions about maternity g's, feel free to email me)