Avoiding the Strap-On Tummy

I had a really depressing moment yesterday. I have admitted that my jeans are no longer buttoning, even though I don't really appear pregnant yet. But it just becomes super uncomfortable to sit with them buttoned. So I keep doing the rubber band trick, and so far my pants have not fallen off nor have I been humiliated in public. So hey, if it ain't broke...

But I realized that eventually, none of my pants are going to fit. Now Peanut, your mom likes to think that she is pretty well-dressed. I'm not shopping on Rodeo Drive here, but I have nice basics that keep me looking professional and neat. I have great suits from Banana Republic and Anne Klein, great wide leg pants from the Gap, etc. And the thought of not being able to wear those babies for the next year is really depressing. Just yesterday, another mom of a 15-month old was telling me that she just now made it back to her pre-baby weight because she got a stomach virus and barfed for a few days.

So I broke down and decided to go shopping just to see what was out there. Passing by all my favorite stores made me wish I could run in there and pick out whatever I thought was cute, not just the things that I can tolerate. Everyone says the rule for maternity clothes should be that if you wouldn't wear it before you were prego, you shouldn't wear it now. Don't settle for mumus! But the reality is that all of the cute things that I really like are expensive. Is it worth it to buy nice clothes that I will keep and probably wear for these long months and possibly again in the future?

So after wandering around Macy's uneventfully (with a gift card burning a hole in my pocket) I gave up and went to Motherhood Maternity. My only joy came when I found a pair of super stretchy pants that had no tummy panel! They just looked like normal pants, but you could unbutton these panels inside to give them more room. But here is my problem - obviously my stomach is not going to be the only part of me to grow.... So if they fit me now, they probably won't fit me later. But the next size up was falling off of me. There was even a scary strap-on tummy in the dressing room. I just couldn't bring myself to see what I will look like when I am officially humongous.... So the only thing I bought was a black tulip skirt. Hopefully I can still feel cute when I start to really fill it out!