If you've been following this blog for a bit, you may remember how I've been working to build a wardrobe that works for those transitional times - first trimester, post-partum, nursing all the time, etc...  (Missed it?  Here it is: Mom Style: How to Start).  And I've been kind of excited to see how my new philosophy of dressing (and my new wardrobe additions) ended up working in this first trimester of pregnancy.

Am I in the second trimester?  I think so...  14 weeks is 2nd, right?  Oh it all gets so confusing!

(P.S. If you missed the announcement...  Here it is!) 

Affiliate links included below:

Anyway, it seems like things are working really well!  I *did* go online shopping, probably the day we got that positive test...  I got a super-comfy maternity jersey skirt (similar to this one) that I know is going to last through this whole pregnancy, no problem!  

--1--

Tunics are terrific!

Yup, this was that first week...  With my stomach muscles the way they are, I could easily look pregnant in the right outfit, but I didn't *want* to look pregnant yet!  Belting a tunic over a pencil skirt is one of my favorite looks, and if you're a skinny jeans-wearing lady, it works great with skinnies, too.  Move the belt up  higher on the ribcage later in the pregnancy, and the outfit's still good!

(Just please don't wear leggings and call them pants.  They aren't.)

--2--

Scarves hide bellies!

Here's that skirt again, and me about 6 weeks pregnant.  Do you see what a nice slouchy sweater and scarf can do to hide a bump?  It's too warm here for sweaters now, but a nice drapey top will serve you well!  Dolman sleeves are my favorite, and banded bottoms work really well early in pregnancy and ESPECIALLY post-partum.

Sweater: Limited via Twice

Skirt: Gap Maternity (similar)

--3--

Full skirts are your best friend!

This skirt has served me well over the years (and it's on its last legs, sadly...) - full skirts are SO forgiving, and I love how all I have to do is hike up the waistband and suddenly it's a maternity skirt!  Because of the extra fabric, there's a lot of room for belly without it turning into a high-low skirt (I'm talking 30 weeks worth of twins room - it's magical!).  

Skirt: Forever 21 (similar, similar)

Shirt: Express (similar)

--4--

Don't be afraid of dresses!

Dress: J.Crew via ThredUp

Belt: Banana Republic via ThredUp

I can't tell you how many times I hear people say, "Oh, I never wear dresses because I can't nurse in them."  

NOT TRUE!!!  There are so many styles of dress that you can nurse in!

Look for: Surplice necklines

Wrap (and faux-wrap) dresses

Shirt dresses

Henley dresses

Steer clear of: 

Empire waists (unless you WANT to look pregnant)

Super-fitted dresses with no stretch

Anything dry-clean only

--5--

Try (and tie) a button-down!

 

Skirt: eShakti

Shirt: J.Crew via ThredUp (similar)

This is one of my favorite looks, pregnant or not - if you get a shirt in the right material, the long sleeves won't matter in the heat, because it breathes.  But you can find them sleeveless too, no problem!

Tie it over a dress, belt it over a skirt, do a half tuck with your skinnies or a pencil skirt.  This makes me feel SO much more put-together than just a simple t-shirt.

--6--

Belt it!

Dress: Gap via ThredUp (this popover tunic would be PERFECT for a similar look)

I used to steer clear of "shapeless" dresses, but now I gravitate toward them - they're so forgiving to a less-than-flat tummy, and all you have to do is hike your belt up to make it a maternity look!  It might even be worth going up a size if it means a dress will work for the first trimester AND post-partum, honestly.

All of the above outfits have proven to be nursing-friendly (even tandem-nursing!) and first-trimester friendly, which means that for me they're post-partum friendly, too!

--7--

Figure out where to shop!

I love eShakti and ModCloth for their vintage-style clothes, and I love that I can find the brands I love on ThredUp (they even have maternity clothes now!) without having to pay full price. Stitch Fix also offers maternity clothes now, and you can let your stylist know if you'd like outfits that can hide your bump for easy post partum styling, too! (Here's $50 towards your first fix!!) And you know what I love about all of it?  Not leaving the house!

There will come a time in your pregnancy when you need to buy some actual maternity clothes - check out my maternity shopping guide to find the best stores to try!

Five Favorites: Pregnancy-related and Random

Linking up with Hallie at Moxie Wife for Five Favorites!

Soooo before we knew we were having baby #5, I wanted to take some steps to make the early stages of pregnancy a little easier on all of us.  Things were BAD when I was pregnant with John Paul.  Not so bad with Cecilia, but really pretty bad again when I was pregnant with the twins...  I was researching what supplements to take to avoid bad morning sickness and I happened upon this blog post on the REAL cause of morning sickness.  It sold me!  I wasn't really willing to take a million different supplements, but magnesium oil?  I thought I could do that.

--1--



Magnesium Oil

I've been using this once or twice a day, and started pretty much right when we found out we were expecting.  I had read that you should start before you got pregnant, so I was a little concerned that it wouldn't make a difference.  But it has had a HUGE effect on my cravings, food aversions, and overall nausea.  It's not gone completely, but for the first time in ANY of my pregnancies, I actually want to eat meat.  And the smell of onions and garlic doesn't make me want to puke.

Come to think of it, I haven't puked AT ALL this pregnancy, and I'm 14 weeks along now!  That is some kind of miracle.

I still feel gross overall and have good days and bad days.  But it's SO much better than it has been in the past, and I'm convinced it's the magnesium oil!

It's a little sticky-feeling on my legs if I don't do a good job wiping it off.  But I'll take sticky over puking and confined to the couch ANY DAY.

Apparently you can make your own spray too, and pretty easily.  It's just a cup of Magnesium Bath Flakes dissolved in a cup of hot, distilled water.  Mix.  Spray.  Repeat.  Whenever my spray runs out, I'll probably make my own because it's cheaper.  But considering I've been using it for 10 weeks and have *maybe* used an ounce or two, I think it'll be a while!

--2--

I don't usually have problems with pregnancy insomnia, but for some reason it's been hitting me hard this time around.  So when Lisa told Ana about Sleepy Dust, I forgot about it for a while.  But then I remembered and I made it (okay, my own version which is just organic sugar with kosher salt because that's what I had on hand...) and it's been working great!

Easy fix.  And tasty, too!

--3--



Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate with Sea Salt and Almond

 A student brought me these the other day and ooooohhhh they are so good!  I want to eat them all immediately.  Right now.  I wish I hadn't left them in my office, and I may eat the rest of them tomorrow.  They are good.  Really good.  Really, really good.

--4--

Okay this one has nothing to do with pregnancy...




SpiceStack Organizer

It sits in my cabinet and ORGANIZES ALL MY SPICES!  I am totally incapable of remembering where anything is, but this makes it SO much easier.  And they have all different sizes for different types of cabinets.  The only problem is that I can't put Costco-sized containers in the slots, but I just transfer them to smaller containers and it works fine.  We've have the same one since we got married and it's lasted almost 6 years and through 4 moves and is still doing great.

--5--

And while I'm on an Amazon kick, have you used the website Camel Camel Camel?  I swear I've used this as a favorite before, but I keep forgetting it exists...  You paste the url of whatever product on Amazon to check price trends before you buy, so you know that the $10 measuring cup you need is USUALLY $4 and you just need to wait for the price to drop (or set up an alert so you buy it when it's your target price).  Amazing.

Thank you for anything you buy through my Amazon links!  I get a (very) small percentage of the cost of whatever is purchased through my links, which helps me buy books by other bloggers!

What They Said, Special Edition

The day we found out:

John Paul, to me:  You have a tiny baby in your tummy!
Cecilia:  No you don't!
Me:  Yes I do.

Yup, about that excited!

Cecilia, running to me after John Paul gave me a hug:  Da tiny baby in your tummy kicked Jesus!!! (John Paul was pretending to be Jesus...)

Absolutely that excited!

Cecilia, running away from a smiling Elizabeth:  She's smiling because dere's a tiny baby in your tummy!!!

Cecilia, welcoming the babies to her bedroom that same day:  May Cwaire and Ewizabif!  Are you so excited dat Mom has a baby in her tummy???

Does it mean we get to see Mom's belly button?  Because she NEVER shows it to us!

And in later days:

Cecilia: Mom, is da tiny baby in your tummy a girl baby?
Me:  We don't know yet, Cecilia.
Cecilia: If she has wong hair, she'll be a girl baby!

Well, we're 3 for 4 with girls, and 0 for 4 with hair, so it's not looking likely...

Cecilia:  Mom, why is your tummy hurting?
Me:  Because there's a baby growing in my tummy.
Cecilia:  In your womb.

Touche.

Andrew, reading some pregnancy handouts from the OB:  I think we should start writing letters to the baby (sarcasm here, sorry folks).
Me:  Or start journaling.  Perfect.
Cecilia:  What's "to journal?"
Me:  It's writing in a journal.  Do you want to write a letter to the new baby?
Cecilia:  No.  Um, yeah! A!!!

Me:  I got to hear the baby's heartbeat at the doctor's office today!
John Paul:  Is there only one baby in your tummy?
Me:  Yes, just one as far as we know.
Cecilia:  Why not two???

Well, I suppose in her world, babies only come in twos...

Cecilia, every day:  Is da baby in your tummy born yet???

Obviously.

Baby #5 (at least, we think it's just one...) taking over your computer screens November 2014!

Mother's Day, a Mary Garden, and a May Crowning

Basically, it was an awesome weekend.  We hit the farmer's market on Saturday and decided to pick up a flank steak as a treat for Mother's Day.  SO GLAD WE DID because it was seriously the most delicious flank steak I've ever eaten in my life.  

Then Andrew and the big kids went to the garden center to find a Mary statue and a few other things to set up our Mary garden.  They got it all put together in the afternoon (thanks to some leftover border pieces that we had discarded from another bed) and planted a bunch of seeds - I'm really looking forward to seeing everything in bloom!

Mary Claire and Elizabeth just keep running over and saying, "Hi, Mawwy!!!" over and over again.  

Then after Mass this morning (which went pretty well, even if Cecilia DID get upset after Communion because she wants to be "just wike Bwessed Imewda" and she didn't get to receive communion and die immediately afterwards) (yes, seriously, this is her current "thing"), we went home and made a crown for Mary out of random flowers around the yard, and did a quickie May Crowning, which the kids LOVED.

Random aside: You'll NEVER guess who we saw at Mass.  Seriously, NEVER.  It was Laura Pearl!  I was so sad I couldn't visit with her longer, but John Paul had run off to put money in the poor box and then go see the Mary statue outside and I wasn't exactly sure where he would end up so I had to dash...  But Laura, let me know if you'll be at our parish again!  We'll have to say more than a quick "hello" :)

Another random aside:  On the way to the Mary statue outside church, Cecilia was accosted by a random lady who didn't speak English who was just SO entranced by her adorableness that she just started hugging and kissing her and picking her up and kissing her some more and cooing over her.  Cecilia took it all in stride, but it was SO funny to me...  Thank goodness she's not afraid of strangers anymore, because she totally made this woman's day!

An attempt at a picture while staring into the sun...

And a somewhat decent picture?  Yes, Cecilia's wearing winter boots.  And you can't see it, but her dress has flowers all over it which makes it her "St. Ewizabeth of Hungawy" dress.  Yeah, I used to think John Paul was obsessed with the saints.  Now I'm pretty sure it's just all of our kids...

It's so sweet, they've been finding flowers all day and putting them in Mary's hands and at her feet.  Love it!

We took a walk to the neighborhood frozen yogurt place and then hit the playground, and then came home and grilled our tasty steak while the kids soaked themselves in the water table.  

Pretty much a perfect weekend :)  How was YOURS?

7 Quick Takes: Really Boring Garden Progress!

In which there is lots of brown, and not enough green...

--1--

Cari's garden post reminded me that I've been meaning to do one as well, just because I LOVE looking back and seeing how far we've come in a short time!  So here's where we are right now...

We made a teepee out of bamboo poles and I set the kids to work starting some snap pea seeds in a dollar store seedling container.  A week went by and there was no sign of sprouting...  Then I happened to notice a cluster of purposeful-looking plants in the bed that we had reserved for tomatoes - apparently they decided to plant every single pea in the same spot and had been dutifully watering them!

So I transplanted them and they're actually doing pretty well, despite being in a SERIOUSLY weed-ridden bed.  It's BAD.  But it's so much work to get rid of all those weeds...

And speaking of weeds, those of the flowering variety are ALL over the yard, so I don't feel bad about letting the kids pick as many as they want!

Yes, she found a random roller and insisted on putting it in her hair...

--2--

We planted the pole beans and bush beans last weekend in another weed-ridden bed, and they've just started coming up!

I pull up the stupid violets as often as I can, but the roots are DEEP and they keep coming back...

And SOMETHING has already started eating the pole beans.  Grr.

--3--

I was pretty sure I had read that oregano is an annual plant.  But apparently not, since ours has come back with a VENGEANCE!  Seriously, leaves as big as my thumb.  And the sage is back too, which makes me happy!  The rosemary died over the winter, but I picked up a new plant at the farmer's market this past weekend so once I get the basil planted we'll have pretty much the only herbs I use.

Apparently I'm allergic to getting the camera in focus these days...  Anyway, I'm trying my hand at splitting the sage so I have more plants, so I've buried the middle of a couple branches to see if they'll take root.  Fascinating, I know!

--4--

We also planted summer squash and zucchini last weekend, and I think every plant has sprouted and is looking good so far!

In that same bed we have a bunch of random marigolds that we started from a dollar store seed packet - the germination rate is ridiculously high, and I've already thinned them twice!

--5--

The strawberries are trying to decide how they're doing...  We bought a few different everbearing varieties last summer after the season was pretty much done.  Then we pinched off all the flowers until July or August (because you're supposed to do that to encourage greater production in later years), and it seems to have worked for some of the plants - you can see the two in the front are CRAZY, but there are some teeny tiny ones too...  So we'll see how those do!  Still need to find some straw mulch somewhere...

And there are teeny tiny little fruits making their appearance already!  Think we can keep them away from the squirrels?

--6--

The lettuce is growing slooooowly, and I started some more this past weekend.  We had a mishap with John Paul falling into the bed after using the side as a balance beam, so noooot a lot of the seedlings survived!

And I have onions from seed growing in the same bed - I don't anticipate that they'll get very large, but have you ever had grilled spring onions?  DELICIOUS!

Right next to those I have cucumber seedlings that we picked up at the farmer's market last weekend...

And carrots!  Probably time to sow some more...  A stupid squirrel started digging and disrupted a row or two :(

--7--

Tomatoes!  Some are still alive, since the squirrels seem to have given up on ripping the leaves off...

And the peppers are alive but not thriving - it was really too cold to transplant them, but they were NOT doing well indoors so I kind of had to!  Luckily I have a whole tray inside of seedlings that will be ready to transplant at the end of the month, so we should have tomatoes coming out our ears if those do well :)

I get such a kick out of this - some of our garlic started sprouting and the kids were pestering me, so I sent them out with a bunch of cloves and told them to plant them.  And they did, and they started growing immediately!  I'll be interested to see what actually comes of it...  But the cloves would have been composted otherwise!

Cecilia's working hard at identifying what qualifies as a weed, and is hard at work weeding for me.  Heck, the kids and I are pretty much at the same level of weed identification skills!

And John Paul helped me plant sunflower and zinnia seeds in the front yard last weekend, so we'll see if they actually sprout...  

The goal for this weekend is to get a Mary statue and maybe start a Mary garden!  What better way to celebrate Mothers' Day?

Check out more interesting Quick Takes at Jen's!

And go read her book, Something Other Than God, while you're at it!