Prego Picks: Edition 6

Have ya heard the word?

I'm going au naturel.

That's right, after my birth with Raegen I knew if given a "do-over",

I'd "do-it-over differently!" :)

I've had several friends, and even my sister, take the natural route...

and several have had their babies at home! {I wish!}

In preparation for my natural delivery, I've been reading a lot of good books

and

Billy and I are attending a Bradley Birthing Class.

The Bradley class is beneficial to all expectant mothers,

not just those that wish to go the natural route.

To find out more, click here.

Prego Picks: Edition 5

Let's play a game.

What's this?

l

l

l

\/

Did I hear

"it's a Leachco Snoogle Total Body Pillow!"?

YES, you are correct! It's also known as THE BEST INVENTION EV-AH for us preggy peeps!

I first heard about it from my friend Jodie, here.

I thought it looked fabulous, but I didn't think much of the price. boo.

Delight thyself also in the LORD;

and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Psalm 37:4

Well, the Lord gave it to me...for 88% off, less tax, carry the one...

Seriously, while at a consignment sale in the fall I "just happened" to notice the pillow tucked under a table in the back of the store. It was the last day of the sale and most things were marked half-off. When I saw the price, I knew that puppy was mine! I walked away with a $50 {at most retail stores} pillow for $12!!

Yee-stinkin'-haw!!

Thank you, dear Lord!

{a good wash in the washing machine and it was practically brand new!}

And look at all the fun ways I can lie...

Oh, the possibilities are endless.

Gotta run...I've gotta go practice sleeping! ;)

Prego Picks: Edition 4

Because it doesn't matter how you look on the outside, if you're not feeling great on the inside...

I wish I was kidding...seems a little early to be starting sour stomach. There's always a silver lining though...there's now a new "minty fresh" Zantac tablet!

I've been making lots of trips to the consignment shop lately...oddly enough, I haven't been buying maternity clothes, but rather consigning them! It's really quite embarrassing some of the "get-ups" I wore while preggars with Raegen...poor kid, no wonder he didn't want to face the world!

I absolutely LOVE being pregnant in the winter time. Just layer me up in sweaters and knits...the weather is just perfect for that sort of thing! The below picture was taken just three days before I gave birth to Raegen {I was 40weeks, 6days}. It was NOT a maternity sweater, but I made it one! :)

Photograph by: unknown, but no doubt someone less than 4' tall!

I tried wearing it the following winter {when I was NOT pregnant} and I LOOKED like I WAS pregnant! It was a tad stretched...or maybe a lot. It got tossed. :)

I have a few other sweaters that I was able to wear though they were also not maternity. For whatever reason, most maternity sweaters are 10x too big and long enough to be a dress! Shouldn't maternity clothing make you feel better, not bigger?
My point? Shop the sweaters in the Women's section first!!

~

The following is hands down my fave pick of the week...found at none other than, Kohl's! :)

It's an Apt. 9 Essential Shirred Turtleneck from the Women's department, not the maternity department.

Oh. my. dear. goodness. is it ever soft.

AND, it's the perfect length for a pregnant {expanding} belly.

It also comes in several colors and I'm not too proud to say that I bought it in

purple

brown

grey

and

black!!

Oh, yes I did!

Did I mention it's on sale for $11.99, plus my 30% off coupon, times two, divided by 12 = practically FREE!

It's THE perfect shirt to wear under fly-away cardigans and "normal" sized jersey dresses...like the one in this post.

Prego Picks: Edition 3

It's no secret.

If you've recently been or are currently pregnant, you've seen the "Secret Fit Belly" panel in maternity stores. A few weeks ago I showed you my brown leggings I purchased with said panel...oh, so comfy! The panel is also available for jeans, dress pants, and skirts.

I decided to splurge a few weeks ago and purchased these pants from Motherhood Maternity online. I'm not a fan of online clothing purchases, but I knew what size pants I wore from that particular store so I went for it.

They arrived Monday and I've been testing them out this week. When I put them on I instantly noticed the back pockets are relatively low, and I could feel them against my legs. Something I've never been fond of. However, the super comfy panel definitely made up for it, but it didn't take long for it to slide down, down,

d

o

w

n.

I was sagging so bad I could have made a gangster blush.
I've contacted Motherhood and they're going to let me return the pants. Thank you Lord!! :) I don't spend that much money on my normal pants!

I was discussing my dilemma with a friend, who has recently become such a fan of my fave Lee jeans that she is recruiting all her coworkers to try them too!, and she suggested I try a larger size of Lee jeans. Brilliant!! I had to go to Kohl's yesterday to get B some new pants so I grabbed about 15 different pair of Lee jeans for myself and hit the dressing room. I will spare you the gruesome details and just say it wasn't a match. :(

HOWEVER, Kohl's also carries the "secret fit belly" jean by "MOTHERHOOD" so I grabbed a couple of those to try on as well. When I tried on these, I knew I'd found a winner.

The pockets were perfect and the panel felt much more secure than the pair from Motherhood. I purchased them and plan on doing further testing today as I'm at home. I hope they're keepers!! I 'll let you know!

Prego Picks: Edition 2

I love being pregnant.

I loathe traditional maternity clothes.

Well, except for the comfy pants!
When I was pregnant with Raegen I made a lot of mistakes, fashion-wise.

I'll share one because we don't have all year...

Someone gave me a pair of brown corduroy overalls.

I wore them.

Once.

Never again.

I don't care who tells you you look adorable in a pair of corduroy overalls...

they're either lying or they never watch "What Not To Wear".

You should turn and RUN because they are not your friend.

The reality is you look like a five year old and it would be cute if you were five, but you're not.

What's worse is those shoulder straps leave you quite vulnerable, KWIM?

And, the last thing you want to wear when you make a trip to the ladie's room every five minutes is clothing that takes ten minutes to get off.

I did make a few good choices with my first pregnancy. I shopped the Junior's section.

GASP!

Now, before you run off let me explain. In 2006 the "tunic" style was just becoming popular and was found solely in the Junior's section. When you're preggars your tops need to be long, right? Who wants to see your belly panel sticking out? Tunics are perfect for that and I was even able to find some tunic sweaters with ruching on the sides. Do keep in mind once you wear these "normal" clothes when you're 9 months pregnant, they can no longer be part of your "normal" wardrobe...unless you like the stretched out mid-section look.

Have you heard of "fly-away" or "swing cardigans"...well, they were popular last year and even more popular this year! Perfect for the pregos!! I was able to score a lot of cute sweaters last year at the end of the winter season for major cheap...at of course, Kohl's! They are all a "cardigan" style and therefore will accomodate my growing belly.

Here are a few examples, just click on the picture to visit the retailer.

Prego Picks: The Premiere

It's fun being pregnant the second time around. I've tried to stay away from my maternity clothes until absolutely necessary, and I do believe I'm at that absolutely necessary point. Kibs returned my tub 'o prego clothes a few weeks back and it's been calling my name ever since.

It's time to dig through it and decide what's hot and what's not.

What was I insane to wear the first time around and what will I love forever?

For now though, here are some new items I've added to my wardrobe...

Here are my prego picks of the week:

NaturalSoul by Naturalizer,

available at Kohls

My feet have never had more comfort!

Secret Fit Belly™ Jersey Knit Stretch Fabric Maternity Crop Leggings,

available at Motherhood Maternity

I would rather wear these than pajama pants! They're perfect to wear under dresses or long tunics.

The "Secret Fit Belly" panel is available on jeans, khakis, skirts, you name it! I may never go back to "normal" pants! :)