The Growing Caldwell Family

When I was pregnant with Sarah Graves I heard about Noppies maternity pants.  They were expensive, but I quickly realized they are worth it.  There is no seam going across the belly to make them uncomfortable when you are really big and the elastic going through the top has buttons so you can adjust the fit for early, late, and after pregnancy.  These are the Bengalin Seidel pants by Noppies.  Don't ask me where the names come from, I believe they are a Belgain brand.  With Sarah Graves I only had two pairs, but decided this time I could use a couple more.  I ordered a khaki color like the ones I had before and also tried a pair of black in a style called Lely.  The Lely ones are absolutely the most comfortable things you could imagine.  They are made of a soft knit type fabric and have a very stretch band that pulls over the belly.  I feel like I have on my pajamas when I wear these!  I won't waste my money on less expensive pants t...

I have a couple of dresses that I really like, so I picked up some tights to wear with them this Fall.  I was thinking that tights just would not work while pregnant because they would be, well tight.  I have to say that maternity tights are surprisingly comfortable. You know how if you have a tummy, normally tights or pantyhose will roll at the waist when you sit down, then you have to find an opportunity to straighten them out so as to avoid looking like the top area of your abdomen is a big mushroom?  Well, maternity tights come up somewhere just below your bra, so you don't have that problem.  They stay nice and high all day long. 

Over the weekend Atlanta experienced the first cool snap of the Fall.  This led me to need a few new things to wear.  We headed over to our local Motherhood maternity store.  This is probably the most convenient maternity store and the store manager, Amy, is the nicest person.  She seems to be working evey time we go in there and always remembers us.  She is great about listening to what I need and helping to pick a few items that match the criteria.  I could probably go other places and find more variety or better sales, but she makes it so easy that we keep going back.  This weekend the needed items were a shirt to wear under a jacket, a sweater to go with some leggings, and a pair of tights.  Have I mentioned how thrilled I am that leggings did not remain a fashion item of the late 80's?  They are so comfortable!  I wish I could wear them to work, but I save them for weekend casual. 

So, Atlanta is experiencing the first bit of cool weather this week and I am realizing that I am going to need more long sleeve shirts.  The idea that all pregnant women experience more warmth during their pregnancy seems to be false for me.  I do not feel any more warm now and I am still cold all the time at work.  That is ALL the time at work.  So, I need to find some long sleeve items.  The weird thing is that most places I visit online do not have a lot of long sleeves.  They have mostly short and 3/4 sleeve tops with a few long sleeve T-shirts thrown in.  Most years when I am shopping anytime in August and September it is swealtering hot outside and the stores are all decked out in layered looks with corduroys and tweeds.  I will just have to continue with wearing a cardigan most days; a look that Aaron commented makes me look like a factory worker.  Why wearing a cardigan reminds him of factory workers I cannot say, but I am going to make the leap that looking like a factory wo...

When I first found out I was pregnant, a friend of Jeanne’s recommended Noppies maternity pants. I looked in several maternity stores around Atlanta and never could find them, so I took a leap of faith and ordered them online. I have been very pleased with them. Most of the maternity pants that I have seen have a stretchy panel sewn to regular pant fabric. This creates a seam that I found uncomfortable. Noppies are not made like that. Noppies do not have a stretchy panel and the entire pant is made of a fabric that has some give to it. The nice thing about these is that the back has a sturdy piece of elastic with button holes throughout and on each side there is a button so that you can use the elastic to help cinch the pants up early on or let it out all the way toward the end. The one thing that I would mention about these pants is that they are meant to be worn all the way up over your belly. If you’re the kind of person who only wants to wear something under your belly,...

I have to show you the front of my T-shirt. I have seen women wearing these at LSU games, but of course had no idea where to go to find one. Well, Mom and Dad brought it back as a present for me from their trip to Baton Rouge! It is going to be a staple for my weekend wear this Fall. In case it's hard to read, it says, "Bouncing Bayou Bengal on da way"!

Although I am not really showing yet, my clothes have started to fit improperly. A friend of Jeanne's passed on the tip about the bella band. It's like a stretchy piece of fabric that goes around your waist that serves multiple functions. It can help to hold up pants that are too big in the waist, hold up your pants if you have unbuttoned them at the waist, hides the muffin top effect of pants that are a little snug, and it comes down long enough so that it covers up if your shirt is a bit short. Supposedly, it's very helpful after baby is born too and you can't get back into your regular clothes yet. I picked it up at Target and have been very pleased. My pants feel more comfortable and I feel like it smooths out the effect of having had a few doughnuts too many (that's how my belly looks right now, not exactly the desired look). Hopefully, this will help me while I am in limbo between wearing my regular clothes and needing the maternity clothes. Oh, and it's ...