I always carry big in pregnancy. Even from my first, I got all kinds of fun questions about how many were in there, when I was ready to pop, etc – and that was all before the third trimester! So, when I found out I was pregnant with #4, I figured I’d have quite a belly again. Still, it popped right out there before I knew what to do with myself, and left me with little in my closet that I wanted to wear. Oh, I could wear those giant ratty tshirts (that barely cover my belly) or stained leggings…but want to wear? Feel good in? Classify as “fully clothed” in?
In my moment of need, I was given the chance to review something from Boob Design, an awesome line of nursing bras and clothing (with a line that happens to work for maternity, as well) that was started by a Swedish woman who felt bad for her sister as she hiked her shirt to nurse in the freezing cold. Seriously. Oh, and went ahead and made the clothes out of recycled bottles. No, seriously. Go check them out.
I picked the Belle dress out of their maternity clothing line, and given my belly-to-body ratio, I was a bit nervous about the fit. In another store, I had to size up four sizes on pants, all a guess, just to get the right fit. Here, I went with my typical nursing size. Large: not too loose in the shoulders, but room for the soon-to-be-nursing boobs. I wasn’t super convinced that it would still fit the belly, though.
In a pleasant surprise, the dress turned out to be nice stretchy-but-thick cotton. Enough to grow with the belly without being thin and flimsy. I’m 30 weeks in this pic, and while I adore the dress now and will still wear it for special occasions, I’m most excited about nursing potential. So, I’ll probably save it for then (that big white belly is asking for stains). The nursing top design is actually pretty genius. See that drawstring? I can untie it to loosen the top-front of the dress. Underneath is basically a full panel – if the drawstring part weren’t there, the dress would be strapless. Make sense? So I can loosen up the drawstring, lift that part and drop the panel down to nurse. In a dress. Without flopping everything out over the top.
Normally, their price points would send me away, but I’ve learned something (by baby number four…go figure). It really is worth it to get some high quality pieces that will get you through the end of pregnancy and into postpartum. Avoiding the stress of crying at the closet because nothing will EVER fit me again cannot be quantified in dollars and cents. As they say on the site:
Growing curves do not need a new wardrobe, just the right one! Flexible maternity clothes that adapt beautifully to a changing body. We make maternity clothes that always work for you.
And supporting a company that makes eco-friendly clothing on top of it is just icing on the (organic, whole grain) cake.
In a few months, I’ll come back and let you know how the dress fits then – if the belly is stretched out, if it’s flattering on a mommy tummy, and how that panel actually works. For now, I’m eyeballing the rest of the maternity section. Kajsa, Yo-Yo Tunic, and Juno are looking pretty good. Run over there and look around, then come back and let me know what you think. What pieces would you get to cover your pregnancy and postpartum year?
Disclosure: I was provided the dress by Boob Design, but all opinions and svelt body shapeliness are my own 😉
