Pregnant Archives – Corporettemoms.com

Why You Shouldn’t Buy a Fancy Diaper Bag When You Find Out You’re Pregnant

01/18/2017 by Kat 68 Comments

Here’s a fun question for you guys: what would you tell new moms NOT to buy? What did you buy that was a waste of money or a mistake for your family? For me, the big answer to this question is a fancy diaper bag — I now advise all of my friends to NOT buy a fancy diaper bag when they find out they’re pregnant.

(Pictured: a lovely $1400 Burberry diaper bag to consider if you don’t want to listen to this advice!)

All of my friends and I made this mistake: the second we found out we were pregnant we started looking for fancy diaper bags. Resist the urge to do this! At least until after the kiddo is born and you’ve been using a diaper bag for a little bit of time and have a better sense of your needs (and the level of grossness that often comes with babies). For example, the one that I bought (a very nice Rebecca Minkoff one that’s still available) I ended up hating, because I didn’t want a two-handled tote bag — one handle would fall off my shoulders, and I felt like the whole thing threw my balance off further, particularly if I was babywearing. It also didn’t fit neatly over the stroller handles (or underneath in the basket) — in short, I used it about three times.

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Filed Under: Gear, Postpartum, Pregnant Tagged With: diaper bags, posts

Budgeting for Your Maternity Wardrobe

10/25/2016 by Kat 22 Comments

Behold: a chart of what I spent on my maternity wardrobe during my first pregnancy.

I share my maternity wardrobe budget not because this is the definitive list for maternity clothes (trust me, it’s not), but simply for shock and awe value, at least for newly pregnant moms. You’re going to be amazed at a few things here: a) how cheap everything was — nothing designer, nothing fancy, all bought on sale, b) how many pieces were gifted (usually by my mother sending me something in the mail), and c) how small my collection of maternity clothes was, and d) how I still managed to spend almost $900 on maternity clothes that were only worn for about four months. For most moms-to-be that is not an insignificant amount of money, so budgeting of any kind can be very helpful. (Stay tuned for our upcoming post on how to save money on maternity clothes!)

I recorded my thoughts in 2011, during my first pregnancy, as well as during my second pregnancy, in 2014 — note that I was still working as a lawyer during much of my first pregnancy (my final day was in May and my son was born in August), and that for my second pregnancy I barely gained any weight at all. (I did buy a few more tops and warmer bottoms for my second pregnancy — those totaled $138 — but by and large I wore my maternity clothes from my first pregnancy.)

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Filed Under: Maternity Fashion, Pregnant Tagged With: budgets, maternity wardrobe, posts

General Advice for Maternity Shopping for Work

09/28/2016 by Kat 11 Comments

It’s been two and a half years since I wrote my little ebook on Dressing Professionally for Your Pregnancy, so I’m in the midst of revamping it. Here’s an update on my general advice for maternity shopping for work. (Pictured — for more specific pieces to buy, don’t forget to check out our Guide to Maternity Workwear.) Ladies, what are/were your best general tips for maternity shopping for workwear?

Some of my best tips on maternity shopping for workwear include:

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Filed Under: Maternity, Maternity Fashion, Pregnant Tagged With: maternity workwear, posts

Maternity Clothes You Still Wear

07/06/2016 by Kat 27 Comments

Here’s a fun question: Is anyone else occasionally still wearing maternity clothes, many moons after your pregnancy ended? I’ve graduated from my maternity jeans but I still find myself pulling out maternity t-shirts for sleeping or working out. After my recent ACL surgery I wound up wearing my maternity yoga pants because all my newer workout pants were too tight-fitting at the knee and the thought of being in PJs for weeks bummed me out. (I thought I’d donated the vast majority of my maternity clothes, but nope — I was happy to find I still have a few odd pieces.)

In addition to my maternity yoga pants and maternity t-shirts, I have a few nursing things I still wear, too — namely some of my nursing bras for sleeping. My favorites are my Bravado bras, but I have a random nursing bra from Destination Maternity or one of those mall stores that I bought during my first pregnancy and still find myself wearing if everything else is dirty. (I’m such a fan of the Bravado bras I’m even considering buying one or two new ones to keep on hand in case my older ones die on me.)

So let’s hear it, ladies: Have you held onto any maternity clothes to wear even if you’re not pregnant anymore? Do you do it because they’re functional and on hand (e.g., a t-shirt to sleep in), or is there something you prefer about maternity clothes? (I will admit, part of the reason I like sleeping in my maternity t-shirts is that they feel vaguely fitted but nice and loose in the tummy, which isn’t my favorite body area.) I know a few of my girlfriends who had C-sections preferred maternity jeans for a long while after birth — while still others stayed in maternity clothes for a long time postpartum because those clothes fit (and their old, non-maternity clothes did not).

(Pictured: My maternity yoga pants are from Gap and somewhere like Destination Maternity, but if I were looking today I’d be mighty tempted by these affordable yoga pants at Amazon — some colors and sizes are as low as $9.99 and eligible for Prime, and they have hundreds of positive reviews.)

Filed Under: Maternity Fashion, Mom Issues

The Hunt for Stylish Maternity Suits — and What to Wear Instead

05/11/2016 by Kat 14 Comments

Over at Corporette, we followed up on our recent roundup of suiting brands for women with a “Part 2” post of suiting in specialty sizes — including maternity suits. As we all know, maternity workwear can feel really limited, but stylish maternity suits are particularly lacking. The options we noted:

Eva Alexander
Maternal America (this blazer in particular has been around for years and often has matching pants and skirts — pictured above in the middle. Don’t get us started on the styling there.)
A Pea in the Pod (in-house line)
Figure 8 Maternity (ever-changing selection of brands)
Isabella Oliver (sometimes has suits or suiting separates)
Don’t forget to check eBay for maternity blazers and suits, particularly for hits from the past like maternity suits from Theory.
Also don’t forget to check Etsy for vintage or new finds that might work, such as Etsy seller Miss Juliette.
(Pictured above: Maternal America skirt suit / Maternal America pants suit / Eva Alexander pants suit)

But I thought it would make a good topic for discussion over here. For those of you who needed a suit while pregnant, which brand was your favorite? If you cobbled together a mismatched suit from separates, what are your tips? I bought some maternity blazers in my first pregnancy, but in my second pregnancy (where admittedly I only gained the minimum weight), I found that my regular, non-maternity blazers fit up until week 38 or so.

Commenters have discussed this topic in the past, as well, coming up with the following ideas:

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Filed Under: Maternity Fashion, Pregnant, Working Mom Tagged With: posts, suits, workwear

OB-GYN v. Midwife

03/02/2016 by Kat 37 Comments

Here’s a fun question for you, ladies: how did you decide between having an OB-GYN or midwife? Who did you want to deliver your baby; who did you ultimately choose? We’ve talked about birth experiences before (here’s my long story — with tips based on what I learned — from the birth of my first son), but not this. OB-GYN? Midwife? OB-GYN with Doula? How heavily did the place of the birth influence your decision (did anyone want a home birth?)?

For my $.02, for my first son, I didn’t strongly consider it either way — I already had a gynecologist I liked, so when we got pregnant I was happy she was an OB as well. I had no reason to distrust my OB-GYN or a hospital experience, and I didn’t even strongly consider a doula.

A lot of those statements fell away for my second birth — I felt totally betrayed by my OB-GYN’s total absence during my three days in the hospital (across the street from her office, for what that’s worth), and I hated the hospital after my lousy experience there. So for my second child I absolutely would have considered a midwife — but by that time I was 36 (37 for the birth), putting me in “geriatric pregnancy” territory, and I worried I might have a problem with blood clots based on some genetic testing we had done — so I wanted to be at the hospital in case anything went wrong. I found a new doctor’s office and a new hospital, and soldiered on; I consider myself lucky that I had a much better experience the second time. Still, my second OB-GYN employed several midwives, several of whom I met during the course of the many (many) prenatal appointments I went to — everyone I met seemed knowledgeable, trustworthy, experienced, and ultimately I would have been happy to have them in my corner when it came time to deliver the baby.

(As for the doula, I wanted both my mother and my husband in the room with me too much to ever really consider a doula — if I hadn’t had such a strong desire I think a doula would have been awesome.)

Ladies, how did you choose between an OB-GYN or midwife? What would you advise new mothers?

Pictured.

Filed Under: Pregnant Tagged With: doctors, hospitals, labor, posts