Well essentially this is it - but it's more along the lines of how clothes online don't always look like that in real life. Duh. So I am returning aforementioned ham sandwiches - not all of them mind, the snakeskin booties and polonecks made the cut, as did a white shirt.
That is me in the white shirt.
It's maternity and quite sack-like but it's very comfortable. There's something about a classic white shirt that makes you feel a bit back to school, but alas it's probably one of my favourite items in my newly reformed capsule maternity collection.
As I mentioned before, maternity clothes aren't cheap but there is a definite requirement for them. I've decided to refine my approach to the sartorial challenge and wear as many non-maternity items as possible whilst I can. And only buy maternity bits because the non-maternity equivalent just won't do; for instance, jeans or bras. This is also because I'm starting to realise that I need to easily get my booby out when the child has arrived and my money would be better spent on a nursing bra and shawl, compared to another jersey dress that clings onto the bump in all the right places because it says maternity on the label.
The next black hole of mama fashion that's crossed my mind - albeit way too early: maternity wear postpartum.
I am very much 'just bump' so far in my pregnancy, and bearing in mind how much my body weight has changed over the years with all the different meds and generally my Crohn's Disease, I was ready to expand everywhere. I'm also aware that when my baby comes out of my body I expect to look down at my newly scarred tum and see a somewhat deflated balloon (a final visual for the pregnancy wind, perhaps).
Like I've alluded to before, I am in utter awe of the body and what it does during pregnancy and I don't see why that would change once the miniature person is out of me. If anything I think I'll be taken aback even more so. Because they made it out. The human will be out of my body and in my arms. I don't want to feel the societal pressure of snapping back a la every single celeb in the sidebar of shame on Mail Online. Your body changes for 9 months so I'm expecting at least 9 months for it to return to its 'normal'. And if it doesn't, who cares?
On that basis alone, I imagine that me and my maternity jeans and booby-bearing nursing bras will remain pals for a good while after birth. And that is fine.
I've still got a lot to do before then anyway. You know, like stay being pregnant for another 12 weeks and survive this mini heatwave again.
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