Maternity Clothing...

Last Thursday night as I was preparing myself for bed, excited that Friday would be the last day of school for all the little school children, panic struck.

My last pair of jeans that still fit were in the dirty clothes hamper-- the hamper I intended to empty and wash and didn't.  I've been in the middle of moving my office, and wearing jeans on Friday-- the only day of the week that we can legally wear jeans-- seemed practical. 

So Thursday night, I tried on a pair of jeans that I thought might still fit.  They didn't-- unless I used a rubber band to loop through the button hole to keep them from gapping open.  I then tried on a few dresses.  They still fit and looked good-- but moving my office in a dress didn't seem like a good idea and I'd have to shave my legs.

So I dug down into the depths of the dirty clothes hamper and liberated the magical jeans that seem to always fit, no matter how big my belly gets.  I had no choice.  And I reckoned myself to the idea that it was probably time to go face my fear:  Maternity Clothes Shopping.

Because it was the last day of school, my principal let us out a little early.  So at 3:00pm Friday afternoon, my mother and I headed off to the shopping mall to find me some pants that fit my expanding waist... and maybe a dress because next weekend I'm directing a wedding and I'd like, very much, to not look frumpy.

The maternity store is much different than the stores I normally shop.  The stores I used to shop-- Before Baby Bump (BBB)-- were always nice to me and would always ask if I needed help or if I wanted to get a fitting room started.  But because I shopped there often, most of the time I didn't need help because I knew my size and what I liked and most importantly, I knew what looked good on me.

But at the maternity clothing store, the sales associates where interested in much, much more.  "When's your due date?"  "Is this your first time being pregnant?"  "What are you interested in purchasing today?"  "Let me explain to you how our sizing works."  And that was upon entering the store. 

Generally I like to get the layout of the store first... especially a store I've never been in before.  Then I like to make my first pass, making note of things I like-- things that strike me-- and then on my second pass I start to make my selections for either purchasing or trying on.  I like to have time on my own to think things out without much interuption. 

Before I knew what was going on, I was in the dressing room and feeling like a werido because all of the pants have this strange stretchy top and no buttons and no zippers-- none of the markings of real jeans or shorts or pants.

I used to joke about elastic waisted pants-- how silly they were-- and now that is basically all I have as choices... at least for the next little while.

I also have never been so attended while in a dressing room-- not even when I was picking out wedding dresses.  It seemed like every few seconds some sales girl was asking me if they could get me more sizes-- which was a joke, because everything was too big--even the smallest size.  They wanted to know how things were fitting... if it was too big or too small.  They wanted to reassure me that I looked good, even if I didn't.  I don't like being patronized...

So I came away with two rather attractive tops... a pair of Seven Maternity jeans and a pair of black maternity pants.  I'm not excited about wearing the stretchy top pants-- especially this summer-- but at least the tops are nice looking and stylish.

Now that I have my barings, I think I might be able to tackle shopping in the maternity department a little more often or even from the privacy of my home, thanks to the internet.  I'm still not out of my magical jeans, but when the time comes, at least I'm sort of prepared.

EWT