Maternity Clothes

They say the clothes make the man, or in this case woman...

I've struggled with clothes since my boobs came in when I was about 16.  Being overweight makes it worse of course.  So I was not at all looking forward to shopping for maternity clothes but it became a necessity.

I'm of average height (5'7"), weigh in at around 230, I'm short waisted, have an hourglass figure (with a few too many hours in it), am THICK in the thighs and calves (like really) and have huge boobs.

Pros of maternity clothes

• Stretchy waist don't hurt my oh so tender expanding middle
• You look MORE pregnant in maternity clothes, as opposed to just fat (more on this later)

Cons of maternity clothes

• Not made with the short waisted in mind, many of the stretchy parts of the pants come all the way up to my bra
• A lot of the pants have no pockets
• Many of the pants have a pleated look to them, not flattering
• The length of the pants seems to be oddly long
• The shirts tend toward empire waist but my boobs don't fit in most empire waist styles

So here are 3 pictures of me, all within 12 hours so no change in baby bump size, these demonstrate how different clothes make you look either pregnant or fat.

First of all the empire waist shirt makes you look very pregnant

Then I went home and put on my PJ's and just looked fat again

Today I put on tighter fitted maternity tank

16 week update

Well the 4 month mark has been reached. Baby is the size of a orange (or a soda can maybe).  Things are going pretty well overall.

I had an echocardiogram on Monday to make sure I don't have any heart problems associated with my Ehlers-Danlos I'll get the results of that when I go back to the MFM on the 18th.

Next week is the first ultrasound to check my cervical length, I'll have at least 3 of those a month apart, if its all good after those 3 then I won't have to have anymore.   I need to find out who will be doing my anatomy scan, the MFM or my regular OB.

Oh, AND!!!!!!! We found out we are having a girl!!  The results of the Panorama test came back and everything was low risk (woohoo!) and showed female!

I've been having continuing issues with my blood pressure which is causing the dizzy spells. I've started drinking half of my fluids in a day in Gatorade and that is helping a lot.  Last doctor's appointment my BP was 88/52 and freaked the doctor out. Last night I clocked in at 94/56 so its coming back up.

I'm officially DONE with pants that button around my waist, while I'm still not really showing they HURT me! I've started buying maternity pants and that suck, you have to buy shirts too to cover the panel, who knew???

It's starting to hurt to sleep on my stomach, my regular position, so I am not sleeping well as I try to find a new comfortable position.

Today is day 2 with NO unisom!  The nausea seems to have departed for the most part but my appetite has not come back without the help of the Unisom.  Current weight loss is 15.4 lbs.

Here is my 16 weeks belly.

 

9 week update

Sorry I haven't been posting much have been stupid busy at work and by the time I get home I am just done and can't really function.  So here is a breakdown of what's going on with me and baby

Weight: still losing a bit, not as fast though

Nausea: its been pretty bad most days, I've been dry heaving quite a bit, brushing my teeth is an exercise in self-control. I found that taking Unisom before bed helps with nausea the next day but I don't want to take that every night.

Boob soreness: this is starting to dissipate some, my nipples are still extremely tender and sensitive though.

Mood: still irritable as all get out, some of that could just be work stress though

Food Cravings/Aversions: Still off dairy it just does not appeal to me at all, not big on sweets for the most part. Salty carbs are what I eat the most of but I try to get some protein in when I can. I had two days where I craved buffalo chicken.

Fatigue: still present and accounted for, I'm in bed by 9pm most night but I'm not falling asleep at my desk during the day anymore, mostly because I've been too busy.

Digestion: I mostly still have the same digestion as before, 2-3 days of diarrhea followed by a day or two of not going at all.

Had my first migraine while pregnant the other day, was able to head it off by slamming down an extra cup of coffee.

My clothes are starting to fit differently even though I'm losing weight, my boobs are overflowing my bra and my lower stomach is pooching out a bit, especially at the end of the day.  I still worry about being one of those women that so fat no one can tell they are pregnant.

Bloat

So even though I've lost a few pounds my pants were uncomfortably tight this morning so I improvised.

My stomach has been very upset all day, I got hungry once and got a salad after a meeting but then after a few bites I had a stomach ache and had to stop eating. Then I had to do some research because the salad had gorgonzola cheese on it, apparently though the vast majority of cheeses, including soft cheese, in the US are pasteurized, its only high end cheese that is not, this was not high end.

I got my hair cut after work, and had to run pick up some prints,  I'm exhausted, can barely keep my eyes open, its going to be an even earlier night than usual I think