Yummy Mummy Part-2 (Style Tips)

By : Juhi Bansal

Pregnancy means dealing with a lot of things and one of the most important ones is your growing size. You’ve always dressed in a certain way and now you find it increasingly difficult to do so. You don’t have to be in perfect shape while you are pregnant but let that not be an excuse for letting things be…it’s more for your confidence than anything else. Also, please remember, looking fabulous doesn’t mean being uncomfortable or hurting the baby! As long as you are comfortable, there is no way the baby is not.

A lot of you have written to me asking me how I’ve been dressing up during my pregnancy. It was all here on the blog! Just to recap, here are the links:

Trimester 1

Month 1 | Month 2 | Month 3

Trimester 2

Month 4| Month 5- Look1, 2, 3 4, 5| Month 6- Look 1, 2

Trimester 3

Month 7- Look 1, 2 | Month 8

K & I went shopping as soon as my third trimester started to buy some new clothes for my belly. I remember trying something on and exclaiming: “I look so silly!” and K (in all seriousness) replying: “but you are pregnant, you are allowed to look silly”. Even though it was partially true (don’t we all think the same?), I was hurt. And, that’s when I knew I am not letting pregnancy get into the way of me looking fabulous.

Dress: Forever 21 (Buy)
Ear Cuff: Urban Turban
Metal Minaudiere: Fab India
Footwear: Charles & Keith

Let me share some bump shopping/styling wisdom here:

1. Buy clothes that define your best features- could be your legs, your shoulders, your arms or your neck. Very rarely would you put on weight in these areas.

2. As much as you may be fitting into your old jeans and trousers, make sure you buy some maternity bottom wear soon after your second trimester starts. Especially for work because you practically will spend the entire day in those trousers. I picked up a couple of formal skirts, trousers and yoga pants/shorts and they’ve lasted me all pregnancy. You can continue wearing your old blouses and shirts or just pick up a size bigger in the same brands.

For maternity bottom wear try Motherhood Maternity (they now deliver to India and are just the best!)

In India, Nine Maternity comes close in both their top and bottom wear. I wore this dress courtesy Nine Maternity in my last post.

3. Long & short dresses come in handy when running around for chores, meeting friends or going out for dinners. Empire waists for third trimester bellies and fitted lycras for when the belly is small (second trimester) would be good picks. These do not have to be maternity wear. Infact, just buy them at your regular brands in a size bigger so you can wear them later as well.

4. Hiding the bump or showing it off? That’s a million dollar question. For me personally, in the first two trimesters since I was hardly showing, I had more fun dressing around it and not showing it off. Especially at work. I would wear my maternity skirts etc but the bump wouldn’t really show with a loose blouse etc. Come third trimester, I’ve been wearing outfits that show off the bump in style.

Pearl Ear Cuff: Urban Turban

5. Also, somewhere in the latter part of the second trimester you may want to switch to maternity inner wear. It’s more comfortable. Buy them at Mothercare or Mom & Me.

6. Heels. Two important things- One, always go by what your doc says in this regard. Two, if you’ve never worn heels before, now is not the time to start. I was always super comfortable in heels, so I wore them occasionally till the fifth month. Make sure you wear your heels only to places where you don’t have to stand for long duration and may even take them off when you sit. Carry them with you to the car rather than wearing them all the way to the parking.

Remember to make the most of that pregnancy glow by dressing up and showing off that brilliant smile!