4 Outfits for a Body in Flux

And my rankings on my very own creations.

So, yeah. Surprise! I’m expecting a child, who shall arrive sometime in early February, if she feels like it. I’m 23 weeks today, which is wild—and my doctor seemed shocked that I could already feel the baby. I didn’t want to freak her out, but I was like, girl, I’ve been feeling this baby move since about 14 weeks. Only recently has it become a total dance party inside of me; she’s doing flips all day long.

I have some deeper thoughts on motherhood I’ll get to eventually, but today I wanted to keep it light for my own sanity. So I’m going to chat about what I’ve been wearing lately, as a pregnant person who is just now recently unable to hide the fact that she’s pregnant. I felt like I was showing weeks and weeks ago, but everyone told me I was incorrect. I think it’s supposed to be a compliment to tell a pregnant person they’re not showing, but I was thrilled for my bloated belly to mean something, as opposed to the before times when I was bloated and doctors didn’t care.¹

Anyway, these outfits run the gamut of my second trimester so far. I’ve mostly stuck with flowy clothes, as until this week, it was still hot and humid in DC. I basically wanted nothing to touch me, so the flowier the better. I have gone to Pinterest many times in search of cute maternity outfits, but as we all know, Pinterest has kind of gone downhill.² Still, I find Pinterest to be more of a jumping-off point rather than a one-to-one copy. Basically, it showed me a few outfits that involved large button-downs, and boom, I was on it. As you can see.

18 weeks

Do you like my clogs?? One of my best friends and I bought a matching pair when SeaVees (a brand Instagram threw at me) did a BOGO 50% off sale. I just loved the red! And then when I put them on, I was like, oh, these are clown shoes. But they’re so comfortable, and the brand actually is pretty reputable. I stand by the purchase!

For a while, I stopped doing fun hairstyles because I thought they made me look younger than I already look—but lately, I don’t care. I think braids are so cute and I really like them on me. The only issue is that I have to be careful what I wear with them; in this instance, the braids, the clogs, and the linen shirt together make me look a little bit like a gal-on-a-farm. But whatever. I accept it. I give this outfit four stars out of five.

20 Weeks

I wasn’t sure how this silhouette would look on me, but I actually really liked it. Flowy on flowy! I found this shirt at a crazy huge thrift store in Alexandria, and it’s become one of my most-worn items. I bought this skirt while thrifting with my sister in Oregon, and I’m so glad she talked me into buying it. The sandals, to me, pull it all together by making the whole outfit look more casual. I think I look like a European tourist here. Five stars out of five stars. Would wear again, especially as the baby bump gets even bigger. Though I’ll have to figure out what shoes to pair with it as fall/winter close in…

21 Weeks

This dress is one of the first “tight” items I’ve worn in public while pregnant. And thus, I do believe it’s the first time I’ve looked pregnant in public. Still, I had people at the event I went to telling me I didn’t look pregnant at all. Again, I think this is meant as a compliment, but like—it’s just true that I don’t look like this when not pregnant, so I don’t know what to do with their thoughts on my body.

Anyway, I like the look of the sweater over the dress, and the pattern mixing of the polka-dot socks and gingham. I feel like this outfit didn’t photograph as well as I’d hoped, but I felt great in it all night, even though it accentuates the hips that I always try to hide! A fun side effect of pregnancy for me has been indifference. I don’t know if that’s the right term exactly, but I will say my anxiety has plummeted, in the best ways. I just don’t care about the things I used to stress about—in this case, it was my hips. Four stars out of five, because something about these pictures is making me think I could have done something better…

22 Weeks

The clogs have returned! It was rainy, so they were practical, too, as they’re made of 100% rubber. I thought this outfit was fun, because from the front, I really don’t look pregnant at all. But then the side view gives it all away!

I was also thrilled that this skirt still fit me—it was always big around the waist back in the not-pregnant days. But it rode up a lot while walking and I think I flashed half of DC while out and about. You’re welcome, DC! I probably won’t wear it again until I’m no longer pregnant.

Also, why did I curl my hair when it was pouring rain outside? Your guess is as good as mine. I blame it on half of the gray matter in my brain disappearing due to this flipping (literally, as I write, she’s flipping inside of me) baby. Three stars out of five because the skirt really was that annoying. Otherwise, based on looks alone, five stars out of five.

Okay, props to myself. Big pat on the back. We’re making it through, and we’re doing it in style. How long will I be able to keep up any sort of sartorial creativity? Your guess is as good as mine. I’ll be back soon with more ~deep thoughts~ about pregnancy/motherhood, and I’ll also try not to make it my whole personality. Yay for internal pressure!

In ligament-specific pain,

Abi

1. (Seriously—I was ruminating on the whole “bloat” thing in the shower the other day. I remember sometime last year telling my doctor about myriad symptoms going on in my stomach, and only one of those symptoms was bloating. She referred me to a GI doctor, and when I called them they said they couldn’t see me. When I asked why, the person on the phone told me my note just said, “bloating” and they weren’t allowed to see people with bloating issues. Just bloating?? I wanted to scream. There were so many other things wrong with me, and the doctor had only written “bloating.” I called my doctor immediately and had them change the note. And also, a GI doctor won’t see people with bloating issues—which are often a physical representation of something deeper and more insidious going on inside of us? What is going on? Anyway, still no answers. C’est la vie.)

2. Great article about the breakdown of Pinterest here.