PREGNANCY BLOG & SOME AUTUMN MATERNITY OUTFITS

NOVEMBER 2020

I have been meaning to write a pregnancy blog for a while now, but time seems to have really flown by and I didn’t get around to do it. It seems like I have been busy with everything but the pregnancy, such as my new job, however lately my body has been giving me clear signs that it is time to focus on the little baby that is growing inside of me. In this blog I will explain a bit about how I have experienced this journey so far. Of course I will also write about my maternity outfits, as finding cute maternity outfits was kind of a struggle when I first started showing.

Discovering that I was pregnant

I immediately knew I was pregnant because of some changes in my body. I had never felt my breasts before I was pregnant, so they tipped me off that I was pregnant. To be honest, I was kind of procrastinating on taking the actual test, because I was so taken by surprise and I wanted to ignore the news for a while. Hielke and I had been discussing whether or not we wanted to have kids for a while. I have never been the kind of person that knew I wanted to have kids from a young age and we contemplated not having kids at all. We are pretty happy with our life in general and having a child would be a big change that mainly I didn’t know I was ready for. I guess you never really know when you are ready, but the COVID-pandemic definitely sped up our decision. We had to put so many (travel) plans on hold and we didn’t want this year to go to waste. Hielke was finally able to convince me with the argument that having a baby also meant having a new travel companion to enjoy life with, which I found a super sweet thought.

How has my pregnancy been so far?

So far, my pregnancy has been pretty standard. I was able to feel what I needed to feel at the right time and I generally had not had too many inconveniences. From week 8-12 I felt very nauseous, but it wasn’t so bad that I needed to throw up. I do find it very wonderful how your body will force you to slow down and to prepare for the newborn that is about to enter your life. From that moment on I have felt very good, I was able to do all things I usually do and I have even climbed a mountain while being 22 weeks pregnant. Until a few weeks ago I was able to eat everything I usually like and had no issues while drinking my morning coffee. Hielke says I haven’t been overly emotional, but I had to take some precautions to stay sane. I still try to avoid the news and depressing movies, as all the negativity can really affect and sadden me.

During week 16 we found out that we were having a little boy. Somehow this was something I didn’t expect, even though I knew rationally that the chances were pretty high 😉 I have to admit I had to get used to that idea for a while, as it means that we are probably not going to twirl together and that I will not be handing over my vintage dresses. Right now, I am just very happy that he has been growing so well and that all the tests and ultrasounds have had positive outcomes until now.

Lately, I am having to adjust to some changes again as I am having some pelvic pains and heartburn since week 25. I originally didn’t know I was having pelvic pains and that they could have to do with my pregnancy, I thought I was just having a sore bum because of working from home so much. Somebody told me that sitting on a reverse neck pillow really takes the pressure of your bum and I am feeling much better now I am doing that! Unfortunately, the heartburn doesn’t seem to get any better, even though I am avoiding lots of food that could potentially trigger it. Currently, I am a bit less mobile as my tummy sometimes starts to hurt when I am going on a walk. If I walk really slowly, it usually is alright but that does make me feel like an elderly woman.

One thing I really like about the pregnancy is that it can feel really cosy. Huug (our working title) usually starts moving when I slow down in the evening and I really like that it gives me the opportunity to start bonding with him already. Until now I have also been able to sleep really well at night and I do not have to get out of bed constantly to pee (yet).

Being pregnant during a pandemic

On one hand, it is really convenient to be pregnant during a pandemic: you don’t miss out on parties, you shouldn’t travel to tropical locations and you can work from home and take your time to relax and sleep. On the other hand, it also seems like your pregnancy flies by without people knowing you’re pregnant, I do find it harder to share my pregnancy when I do not have to come to work and don’t have big get togethers with friends. As your colleagues don’t see you, they cannot know you are pregnant when you don’t tell them. I sometimes don’t remember who I told and didn’t tell I was pregnant, which lead to some uncomfortable conversations like me asking colleagues if they have heard that I am pregnant and then having to tell them that I would start my maternity leave in two months… which I found a bit embarrassing.

I also had to do my pregnancy course online, I planned a full day hypnobirthing course which had to be online as the teacher was having a cold. These kind of things make your experience very impersonal, while they should be a celebration. I also decided not to do a weekly yoga class, as the classes constantly get canceled or have to be given online and you also risk being placed in quarantine when someone in your class has COVID. I am working behind a screen each day already and I don’t need any more screen time at night!

Overall, I think that a pandemic in general is still good timing to be pregnant, as long as you don’t lose your job, you don’t have any issues while giving birth in the hospital and you don’t get COVID around the time you have to give birth. I hope that Hielke will still be allowed to join me for the next ultrasound, fingers crossed!

Maternity clothes

I quickly couldn’t fit into my trousers anymore; I usually wear high waisted trousers and jeans and they immediately put too much pressure on my tummy once I was pregnant. I think I couldn’t wear them anymore after about four weeks. Luckily, I was working from home and the weather was fine during summer, so I still had lots of dresses that I could wear. When the weather got worse in September it was getting hard to get dressed properly, so I had to buy some maternity clothes. Until now, my body looks the same as it did before, except for my belly that couldn’t be ignored anymore from around week 20.

I was a bit disappointed by pregnancy clothes when I started searching; why do we all have to wear these basic black stretchy pencil skirts? They make my hips look huge and I feel super uncomfortable in them, I had to send them back right away. I was also really scared by the way that pregnancy jeans are constructed, why do they have to consist of two pieces that look like they don’t belong together? The placement of the buttons is just too much to handle when you are used to wearing high waisted jeans.

After a lot of searching and sending back items I was finally able to put together a maternity wardrobe that I was satisfied with. I didn’t want to spend too much on clothes you only wear for a short period of time, so I bought a few statement items and supplemented with vintage items, heavily discounted maternity clothes and borrowed clothes. Special thanks to Ellis who borrowed me her range of maternity jeans!

My favorite items are:

Bohemian dresses: I found a really cute, wide leopard dress on Asos, so I actually have a twirling item. I also discovered that I could still fit into my H&M x Johanna Ortiz dress and I was able to find the yellow version second hand on Vinted.

Bias cut satin skirts: I found some satin maternity skirts on Asos, Zalando and Topshop. They are a really easy way to make your pregnancy look contemporary. They are sold in lots of different colors, make your bump pop a little bit and are nice to combine with short sweaters (so you don’t have to buy new ones).

Colorful long sweaters: You absolutely need a few long sweaters, to cover the aforementioned two piece jeans. I bought a super cute pink sweater on H&M and a purple one on Loavies and they really elevate the happiness factor of your pregnancy look! I want to keep this blogpost autumnal, but will post some colorful sweater maternity looks on Instagram soon, so follow along there.

Sweater dresses: Sweater dresses really show off your bump and they are super comfortable and warm, so they are perfect for the upcoming winter season. I bought them in a few neutral colors, so I can match them with fun shoes.

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