My Maternity Must Haves.

Navigating maternity fashion is tricky. You kind of have to decide which way you want to go with it. Do you want to 1) go all in and do everything maternity 2) try to go as long as possible (maybe the whole time if you are a skinny minnie) without buying a stitch of maternity 3) mix and match.
I went with #3. For me personally, a lot of maternity clothing looks... too.... maternity-ey. It just isn't my cup of tea. I knew that eventually I would have to let go of the idea of not wearing maternity wear though because of some major factors. I have a large chest. Yes. Very quickly, I got to the point when my chest took up too much of my regular shirts so that my growing belly had no extra room and shirts got really short in the front :) I also had a little bit of flub in the tummy area already (don't get me started) so by the time I was about 10 weeks pregnant I needed me some maternity pants.
Here is a list of my must haves from the past 10 months...

1. Treat yourself to a good bra. As said above, and as those of you who know me personally know.... I have a top half. The most drastic change that I noticed right away in my pregnancy (beside the morning sickness) was in my chest. I very quickly grew 2 bra sizes and was left in the lurch when it came to bras. Over the holidays I treated myself to a bra fitting at Intimacy. My new bra size surprised me, but it felt better than any bra that I had ever owned. I used Christmas $$$ to make my purchase, and while the cost was steep... it is WORTH it.
I chose this bra by PrimaDonna. I love it... it is the best bra that I have every owned.

2. Try layering non-maternity with maternity. I loved the ribbed, ruched maternity tanks from Old Navy. I have them in a multitude of colors because they are so affordable... and yes I am STILL wearing them 8 weeks postpartum because they are great.

 

I would often layer non-maternity cardigans, sweaters, and shirts over these. They are especially great because they are longer.

3. Maxi everything. I was able to wear maxi dresses and skirts, and they are still a huge staple for me. They are basically like the comfort of wearing sweatpants but not looking like a slob. Anything in a cotton jersey with some stretch that you currently have in your closet will probably work!

 

4. At least one good pair of maternity jeans or pants for when you can't fight it any longer. I had two favorites pairs of jeans, one boyfriend style and one regular plain old bootcut in a dark wash. I tried the pants from Old Navy since I really liked their tops, but they were... strange. A lot of times the full panel was too small and the fit was off. My favorites ended up being from Motherhood.

 Not only were these really comfortable, but the panel was made out of really nice, breathable material that totally covered my bump. I may or may not still be wearing them.

5.  I of course, needed to rock some maternity concert black. I worked until I was 36 weeks pregnant, at which point I started having some contractions and decided to stop making my 90 minute commute to Vegas to play oboe... probably wise :) In the time that I was pregnant and working though, I needed some black. In the beginning, empire waists and flowy tops were enough. However, around 6 months I needed some legitimate maternity concert black. I got all of my pieces from Motherhood. I really liked these black pants. I wore the you-know-what out of these, since I prefer to wear pants when I play. Pants just work better for me, I am almost always playing both oboe and English horn, and when I play EH I feel like floor length black skirts get in my way... they literally have before on my low B key in Nutcracker! I did have a few glitzy tops from Motherhood that they no longer carry, but generally just used another black Old Navy tank and cardigans that I already had. A Pea in the Pod has a ton of cute, but pricey tops like such:

For me, the big purchase was my black pants :)

These were really just my basic must haves. The things that I am so glad that I had, that I wouldn't be able to live without. There are SO many places that you can shop maternity out there. Another fun place that I stopped by for a few maxi skirts and tops was PinkBlush Maternity. 

They have some extra special, cute clothes if you are wanting to look cute over the holidays, for a big date night with your husband, or have a special dress for your shower! Their things are really reasonably priced, they have fast shipping, and they accept PayPal. I love PayPal for it's convenience. It isn't always the best thing for my wallet, but it is so much less of a hassle than entering all of your info online!

I hope that I will have time to do a maternity post about all of the more fun and flashy things you can shop for... but in the meantime this will have to do :)