16525 Tammany Ln

I was SO happy to finally have my appetite back at 14 weeks..it was miserable not wanting to eat anything. Even the first few weeks after not feeling nauseous anymore, I still didn’t really have any “cravings” for anything.

Around 20 weeks, is when I started feeling like I needed that cookie, or couldn’t turn down that chocolate cake. From there…there was no going back! CHOCOLATE. Probably my biggest craving. Milk chocolate specifically.

It’s funny because my sister-in-law introduced me to Boston Cream Pie…now I crave that all the time, too. The hard part is NOT over-consuming. I hear it all day long, “Go ahead and enjoy that you have an excuse, you’re eating for two!” Well, that is true, but I am definitely trying to be healthy (for the most part) during my pregnancy, and not get it in my head that I can eat everything in site if I want to.

Gaining weight is a good thing, but after talking to your doctor and reading pregnancy books, they have both told me you really shouldn’t eat DOUBLE the amount of food just because of the baby in your belly. So i’m eating treats when I want to and still being healthy with my food choices at the same time.

Other weird cravings that I’ve had:

-Salt and Vinegar chips, dipped in French Onion Dip 

-Pickled Okra

-cereal….this is weird to me because I never ate cereal before I got pregnant, but now I just want Special K Fruit and Yogurt all.the.time. 

With a growing belly week by week, clothing becomes a bit of a challenge, too. Maybe you’re pro at maternity clothes by now after a few kids, but this is my first and i’m definitely starting to figure things out.

1. Maternity clothes are expensive.
2. Maternity clothes can be unnecessary .
3. Maternity clothes can be totally necessary.

Luckily, I have two sister-in-laws and some friends that have shared their maternity clothes with me, which is HUGE, because I can’t believe how expensive it can be to buy them. I went into the pregnancy thinking, “okay, i’m going to need an entirely new wardrobe.” Definitely not the case. I have a few essential items that are maternity, that I definitely, at 32 weeks, could not live without.

It did take me a long time to start showing, but you do immediately start feeling bloated and pants feel tight from around 10 weeks and on. Have you heard of the hair tie trick?! That is what I used for the first 20-22 weeks with my shorts and jeans.  It saved me!  I was using a belly band, but got annoyed with it after a while and stopped using it. Also, no shame in un-buttoning the top button of your jeans and wearing a long shirt or cami over top of it. It works, too.

Once, my belly got to big to get away with the tricks, I finally turned to maternity pants. Jeans are amazing. But also expensive. I did find that Jessica Simpson’s maternity brand is affordable and they feel and fit great! I love the pants that have the band that comes up and over your belly, at 32 weeks, its all about support and that does help.

The nice thing about my pregnancy being mostly during the summer was that I could wear maxi dresses and summer dresses because I could just wear all of my own clothing without having to buy new maternity dresses. If I did buy a new dress to wear, I just tried to get one with some stretch (without sizing up too much) that I would still be able to wear after baby comes.

When it came to shirts, for the most part I have been wearing all of my normal clothing and just rockin’ the bump with it. Tanks are easy, t-shirts- I just wore my stretchier ones, and other tops I just wear a cami underneath if they flare out a little over the bump.

All in all, for me, just buying a couple pair of maternity jeans for when your belly gets bigger, a few dresses (that you can wear after baby) and some stretchy shirts are all that I’ve really needed. Otherwise, I’ve been able to make a lot of my normal clothes work….so far 😉

What works for you!? Let me know in the comments!

<3 Katie Ryan