Olivia Jeanette

When you first discover you’re expecting, not sure any of us are experts on how to prepare our bodies. Each day brings something new. Every morning I wake up and love looking in the mirror to see how my baby belly has grown with my little blessing inside. It’s still fascinating to me that we create and nurture a life inside of our own. If you think about it, it’s really incredible.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve had several newly expecting mothers email me and ask for some clothing recommendations, so I wanted to share some of my favorites. Please leave your recommendations and experiences below. I’d love to hear how you’re adjusting to your pregnancy.

Dresses

Now that I am pregnant, my wardrobe has seen a rise in the number of dresses.  H&M is easily one of my favorite places to pick up dresses for my ever-changing body. Including the dress that I’m wearing today, I also have this dress and this dress from H&M. The price point and return policy are two huge factors in why I’ve enjoyed shopping at H&M. The pieces I’ve picked up were reasonably priced, especially considering I’ll wear them a lot over the next few months. Also, for the things that didn’t fit, they have a flexible return policy (be sure to leave the tags on till you wear the item) that makes buying and returning easy for everyone.

A couple of my other favorite shopping spots (now that I am showing) are Topshop and ASOS. Both have maternity lines that will be accommodating for the last trimester of pregnancy. Some of you might remember this blush pink wrap dress from Topshop. It comes in regular and maternity sizes. They have an assortment of wrap dresses that are flattering to a woman’s body. Check out this wrap dress as it is perfect for a night out with your honey. As for sizing, I usually order a size up for wrap dresses. I want to make sure they go around my tummy and don’t show much if any leg. I love ASOS, but we can probably all agree, things sometimes look different when they arrive at your front door opposed to the photos on the website. Be conscious of this when ordering from the site. If you’re unsure about a size, order in two sizes and return if it doesn’t properly fit. The maternity clothing from ASOS have ruching on the side and seem to be made for women further along in their pregnancy. I’ll probably start buying and wearing more maternity pieces in months eight and nine. If you’re at the beginning of your pregnancy or carrying smaller, I’d recommend regular sizing from ASOS. When it comes to maternity clothing, the only fabric I try and stay away from is 100% polyester as there tends to not be much room to move or breath. However, I did recently purchase this dress, but I ordered a size up and it fits great!

Pants

It has become difficult to fit into denim these days. There are only a few that still fit me. If I’m going out for dinner though, I try and wear a dress for the growing belly. If you’re less apt to wear dresses and love your denim, try the belly band and the rubber band trick. These are great ways to get the most of our your current wardrobe. Over the last month, I’ve been periodically using the rubber band trick as it works great with a hair tie or I’ll carry one in my back pocket. Really comes in handy after a meal when your tummy may get a little uncomfortable. I also bought the belly band (size small) from Amazon and today was my first day wearing it. I love it! If you want to skip all the tricks when it comes to buttoning your pants, try the maternity boyfriend denim from Topshop. They have small elastic bands on each side making it a tad bit easier to pull your pants over your growing belly.

Vest, blazers and cardigans

Vest, blazers and long cardigans have been a heaven sent throughout this pregnancy. They’re super versatile and easy to style with a fitted dress and can be worn with flats or heels. The vest I’m wearing today is from Zara and looks stylish with a fitted dress or with a cami and denim. The same goes for blazers and long cardigans. They’re easy to throw on with almost any length dress. Similar to dresses, my favorite places to shop for these pieces are H&M, Topshop and ASOS. Loving this one and this one from Topshop. This front wrap blazer (also from Topshop), looks great with leggings and boots. Check out these three ways I wore a slip dress with a blazer, cardigan and jacket. That was taken during my fifth month of pregnancy.

Shoes

I still wear heels when going to dinner, meetings and other events. However, if I’m running errands around the city, these flats from J.Crew or these flats from Talbots are typically what I’ve been wearing. Someone asked if I’ve had swelling in my legs or feet but I’ve been lucky and haven’t had any swelling yet(knock on wood). I’d imagine if and when this does happen, I’ll buy a pair of shoes a size larger to get me through to December. I’d also recommend trying out online consignment shops like Poshmark and threadUP. You’ll be able to find a variety of shoes from flats to heels that are brand new or lightly used.

Look forward to hearing about some of your favorite pieces you have been wearing during your pregnancy. Hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend!!

Dress | Vest (old, similar) | Bag | Watch | Flats

xo, Olivia