My Pregnancy Summer Staples

So in a recent post I was moaning about a lack of nice clothes for pregnant women. I decided to go on the hunt with my remaining birthday money and stock up on some staple pieces for my summer wardrobe (hoping and praying the weather now stays nice!). The main things I seem to be wearing are floaty summer dresses and maxi dresses.

Summer Dresses

Although I do have some summer dresses from previous years which are suitable to be worn during pregnancy, these are my newest additions. The blue one is a maternity dress whilst the white it not. Both are from H&M.


Maxi Dresses

I loved maxi dresses in my last pregnancy and the great thing with these is that you don't even necessarily need maternity versions as most styles can accomodate a growing bump. Again, I have some maxi dresses from the last couple of years but these are my latest two. The floaty style is from a small high street shop in my local area whilst the block print dress is from Sainsbury's.

My Evening Maxi

On Friday I went out for my mum's leaving meal for work. It had been a hot day and I didn't feel like wearing my usual black maternity trousers for the meal so when I spotted this gorgeous leaopard print maxi in New Look I knew it would be perfect. Although it isn't from their maternity range, my growing bump fitted in fine and I felt confident I was less of a whale and more of a yummy mummy wearing it.

My new 'Heels'

The only problem with maxi dresses is how long they make them. I am by no means short at 5'6 but a few of my dresses do skim the ground if I wear my flats. Being pregnant I don't like to wear my heels even for an evening out as I feel off balance and uncomfortable so I decided to try and find a shoe in between. I saw these black wedges in Dorothy Perkins and was really pleased when I discovered they were in the sale for £20. They give me that extra lift I wanted whilst not being high. They are also casual enough to wear during the day if I wanted to. Love them!

I also took to the internet shops and am waiting on a couple of orders from ASOS and New Look Maternity. Here's what I ordered:

ASOS

I don't always want to be wearing dresses so when I went on a hunt for some maternity denim shorts that weren't knee length (surprisingly hard!). I fell in love with these ones and can't wait to pair them with vest tops and flip flops on the beach!


New Look Maternity



I wanted a couple of basic vest tops to wear with my new shorts or my maternity jeans if the weather turns colder but in my local New Look store they only ever had big sizes left. Online I found these bright blue and white ones in my size so had to get them. The Special Delivery slogan t-shirt is gorgeous and I love wearing slogan tops during pregnancy so it's great for me.

Maternity Mayhem

One of the most annoying parts of pregnancy for me is how hard it is to stay looking good. Pregnancy and fashion aren't really things that go hand in hand. It seems that most shops are under some misconception that all pregnant women are a) over 30 and b) have no fashion sense from the minute that second line appears. It is so frustrating to go clothes shopping, something I have always enjoyed doing in the past, and finding nothing even remotely flattering to wear.

Just because I'm pregnant, doesn't mean I want to dress like this....

As this is my second pregnancy, I started showing very early. By nine weeks I was unable to wear normal jeans as the button hurt my stomach. I reluctantly pulled out my leggings from my last pregnancy and sighed. Why should I have to live in leggings and baggy tops for nine months just because I am having a baby. It doesn't make me any less of a woman. Why can't I be fashionable too? Last time I was pregnant I didn't start needing to change what I wore until around five months. At that point I tended to opt for maxi dresses, leggings, long tops and my trusty Mothercare maternity jeans.

Heavily pregnant with Cameron in 2009

This time round, my bump is much more spread out than with Cameron and I don't feel attractive in maxi dresses. I have been getting by with wearing my maternity jeans, this time from New Look, along with my tops from before I was pregnant. The weather hasn't been helping as I have been unable to wear any of my more flattering summer dresses which I would have been by this time two years ago.

Pregant this time round, in my trusty New Look maternity jeans

Yes, there seem to be more flattering selections online (ASOS for example, who don't share the common assumption that pregnant women never go anywhere that requires more than a pair of leggings), but as I don't have that much money, I can't afford the risk of not liking the clothes once they've been delivered. It seems that I shall either have to get creative with my clothing, or resign myself to another summer of being frumpy....


Are you pregnant this summer? What do you plan on being your pregnancy wardrobe staples?