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outfit posts maternity: pink drapey cardigan, white maternity tank, black cropped maternity pants, black wedges

By

(16 Weeks)
Inspiration – Kim Kardashian

Little bit wordy to catch you guys up to speed…

Recap of weeks 1-15:
Symptoms – My major pregnancy symptom from the very beginning was fatigue. I got home from my back-to-back trips to Thailand and Philadelphia at the end of May and felt incredibly jet lagged. I rested, slept and took it easy but no matter what I did I woke up every morning feeling like I just got off an international red-eye. Or hit by a truck. I slept a ton and did the best I could to muddle through long busy work days without screwing too many things up.

I’m thankful that I didn’t have any other symptoms on top of the tiredness – I can’t imagine dealing with nausea too. Around week 14 the eternal exhaustion finally let up. Looking back, while I consider myself to be relatively mentally tough at pushing through life challenges and achieving whatever I set out to do even if I’m uncomfortable, it was a pretty difficult few months. That whole ‘creating another human being’ thing – it’s no joke. 🙂

Food – I tend to both overeat and eat junk when I’m stressed or tired. So being super tired for ten weeks I ended up eating a ton. Unfortunately most of it was junk food takeout. And I also started craving sweets which is unusual for me. My one specific craving was actually somewhat healthy – greek yogurt with banana, peanut butter and honey. (Which now I’m totally over.)

Exercise – I tried to complete a few normal workouts because I read exercise could help the fatigue. But I was so so tired and felt lightheaded if I pushed too hard that I pretty quickly abandoned my normal routine. I have instead tried to be pretty consistent on taking the dog on a really long walk everyday.

Clothes – Because of all the eating I basically immediately gained almost ten pounds. Most of what I read suggested you’ll gain at most 1-4 lbs in the first trimester if not possibly lose weight with nausea. Um, whoops. I initially thought that I would be able to still wear my normal clothes with maybe a belly band until around weeks 14/16. But by week 10 I was uncomfortable in all my pants (including my fat pants) and my chest has gone up two sizes basically eliminating the majority of my tops.

Weeks 8-15 were pretty weird dressing myself. I just looked like I put on weight and not that I was pregnant at all. And as I started purchasing maternity clothes the sizing recommendations on the websites said to buy your normal size but just in maternity. But because I initially got bigger in general – I have had to size up by two sizes for the clothes to feel comfortable.

Week 16 (current):
Symptoms – Feeling basically normal again. Yay!

Food – Eating has returned to normal – healthy with occasional splurges.

Exercise – Sticking with really long daily walks. Want to add in some light weight and cardio soon.

Clothes – Finally have a little pregnant belly instead of just a weirdly distributed larger body. And I have only gained 3 more pounds after the initial 10 so my careening towards turning into a giant marshmallow puff has slowed. I’m slowing acquiring a small collection of maternity clothes. Searching for & buying them without spending a fortune has given me new appreciation for those who are building a work wardrobe from scratch. Planning to do a maternity work capsule wardrobe around 20 weeks once the belly has popped a bit more.

Top:

Bottom:

Shoes:

Accessories:

Belly shot:
 Hidden maternity panel:

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Can't wait for more!!! I'll be saving these for inspo when I have my next one in a couple years 🙂

    You described my early pregnancy to a T. I wasn't careful and gained 55 lbs but was able to lose all of it. I strongly recommend mamma mio tummy rub- I ended with no stretch marks except my hips where I didnt apply it!

  3. Tips 1) buy maxi skirts the part you normally fold down works as a belly panel
    2) buy maternity tank top in several colors I got mine at target they work great with my pre maternity cardigans.
    3) try on things in pre maternity clothes to see if something might work. I found some cute tops at marshalls that had the elastic aide ruching that got to the end of my pregnancy. I gained 38 lbs.
    4)A open sandal wedge are your best friend! My feet were huge! And I couldn't fit in my flats. So my aerosols were my go to shoes for everything.
    5) Coconut oil works great for the belly

  4. I had the exact same experience in weeks 1-15 that you did, exactly. It was like walking through jello every day and my body held on to every calorie. I did gain a lot of weight towards the end (even though I was walking the track near my house every single day), but it did come off (mostly it was water weight). Every body reacts so differently to pregnancy so don't stress, it's all good. And I swore by Liz Lange for Target – great stuff! You look fantastic!!!

  5. Congrats! You look great! Random tip/warning: Buy “maternity” shoes, especially when your feet start to swell. I stretched out 90% of my favorites and had to get rid of them after the Kid was born, which still upsets me, 5 years later.

  6. I am going through the exact same thing! I'm 15 weeks and got by ok with a belly band and my regular pants but now they're just generally uncomfortable to wear and my shirts are all too short/too tight. I have the same crop pants from Target and love them!

  7. You look great!! I hear you on the maternity wardrobe… I ended up relying heavily on H&M's maternity line. I miss maternity pants now. They're so comfy around the belly. I really wanted to keep mine for holiday dinners and stuff 😉

  8. You look great!! My pregnancies sound very similar to yours. I gained about a pound a week from the start. Make sure not to compare yourself to all of those preggo websites. Your body will tell you exactly what it needs, when it needs it. Glad you're feeling reenergized. Looking forward to more of your maternity posts. 🙂

  9. I think you look great too! And I wanted to second the comment about shoes – my friend had the same issue and stretched out some of her faves. By the end of her pregnancy she was wearing the same shoes nearly every day and then just threw them out when she was done. I'm looking forward to your starter capsule wardrobe!

  11. You look wonderful and still very polished! I am 33 weeks (tomorrow) and noticed a big difference in my belly from 16 to 18 weeks. Up till then I felt like I just looked like I'd overindulged!

  13. I gained most of my weight in my first and second trimesters with both of my pregnancies! The only thing that kept me from being nauseous was snacking all day long! I always heard nursing helps the baby weight come off and I'll have to agree! I lost every bit of what I gained and even more with my second without changing any of my habits. Good luck and I can't wait to see more maternity looks!

  15. You look great! I'm 14 weeks and so glad to have a style blogger just a few weeks ahead of me to watch. And thank your lucky stars you didn't feel any nausea – I've lost ten pounds and that's way worse than gaining it.