My top 3 breastfeeding essentials

Well, breastfeeding was no fun in during the first weeks, I had sore, cracked nipples and we couldn't manage anything even close to a perfect latch. Using a nipple shield made things even worse. The pain remained and our little guy couldn't latch on without that thing. I tried and I we both cried but we pushed through. After 6 weeks of nursing with pain things got better and since week 8 everything goes great!
I guess when it comes to breastfeeding you have to be determined instead of just 'trying' to breastfeed your baby. Sadly, in our society is formula the new 'normal' and people often find the idea of breastfeeding something weird...
Anyway, I'm planning to go continue at least for the first year.

• H&M nursing top

During the first weeks of nursing I was wearing a nursing bra at night and hated it (you just shouldn't sleep with a bra on). Now I wear this top instead of and it is really comfy. It comes in a 2-pack, white and black colors. Even if you aren't sure you want to continue breastfeeding these tops are a better investment than a nursing bra.

• manual breast pump

Though I have an electric pump, I reach for this one quite often. It is really easy to use and works great! I have a second hand Philips Avent 'Isis' (this an older one, now discontinued and replaced by the 'Manual Comfort'). It is safe to buy a second hand manual pump because every part can be cleaned and sterilized.

• reusable silicone nursing pads

I have 'Lilypadz' and wear it with a regular nursing bra instead of a padded one (somehow I'm unable to find a padded one that fits). No nipples visible under a t-shirt. Great!

What to wear when nursing in public?

For the record, just because supermodel Doutzen Kroes is spotted breastfeeding her daughter on the street in Amsterdam, it's not like breastfeeding in public is a common thing here in the Netherlands! In the contrary, I can't really remember ever seeing a woman nurse in public...
For the first time we had a family gathering, about an hour from home and at a public place, so I tried to figure out what I should wear.

Speaking for myself, I really wouldn't mind breastfeeding in public,but it's 't
he others' who are getting rather uncomfortable by the idea of watching me nurse. Of course, I could use nursing covers, scarves, blankets, whatever to 'hide' my baby's but I simply hate both the idea and the look of hiding! Especially because I'm convinced that nursing is a normal and natural thing to do...

I really don't like nursing tops which are all the same, mostly unflattering wrap-overs and screaming from miles 'nursing top'. I do have 2 roomy long tops which have a wide neckline which I can pull down. I like to wear them with skinny jeans and have already used it in combination with a nursing bra.
It worked well, when we had visitors at home and they weren't bothered by the idea of having a glimpse of my boob by accident. At the end of the day a nursing bra simply exposes everything, so it is far from ideal when nursing in public.

This is what I wear at home:


These tops are supercomfy! I discovered these at H&M, after wearing nursing bra's at night for weeks (!) which was really uncomfortable.
But, back to 'public':
There is one type nursing bra, from the quite expensive Belgian brand 'Mammae' which has a nice 'up-down' opening, but again, it is covered by a padded 'flap' which opens sideways:

Mammae nursing bra

While I like the luxurious look of this bra and do prefer the up-down opening of the inner layer I ask myself where you leave the outer, padded layer when nursing.

When searching the internet I've found this rather simple idea: 'Megan Nielsen's 'no-sew nursing top solution' and decided to try. I liked the idea of a cami which forms a sort of 'modesty panel' at the front, so there would be no cleveage visible above the baby's head. After a quick wardrobe search I decided to try it on an old cami which I wanted to throw away because it was too short. The fabric is quite stretchy, so my 7 cm diameter holes stretched out and became quite larger when I've put it on. (good to know for next time) I wore a non-padded nursing bra underneath.
I must say, it worked well!

Now, since this was a try-out I'm planning to make another 'set'. Just a few things to remember next time:
- use a nursing bra and a cami of the same color (this one seems a nobrainer, but still...for now, I only have white nursing bra's)
- start by cutting smaller holes at first and try it on a few times
I keep you posted!

Maternity photoshoot

Finally decided on having a professional photoshoot of my pregnant belly!
While we keep track on the progress with weekly 'shadow-pics' (and I don't feel radiant and pretty all the time) I knew it was now or never to have professional pics made.
In this stage of the pregnancy (32 weeks) some people prefer to spend money on 3d-echo pics of their baby, which is almost as expensive, but I my idea is: the baby will be here in just a few weeks, and my bump (with this baby inside) will be gone forgood...

I didn't want to wait for too long. They say the best weeks for a photoshoot is  between week 32-36. The last thing I wanted is to have expensive pics made of me with a huge bump, swollen ankles and face (you just never know...) so I had my pics made at 32 weeks. The bump is prominent enough by now, but the proportions seems still to be in balance.


Above part of one picture which I really like, to give an idea of the atmosphere.
I knew I wanted something different from the traditional 'casual' shoots (mom, dad, jeans, hearts and stuff) and settled on an etheric, fantasy-theme, inspired by Renaissance art (halfway between Botticelli and Michelangelo).
The photographer is a friend of us, and I knew she was good. She mostly does shoots with professional models and uses lots of accessories, make-up and Photoshop.

We used just a few accessories, I made a flower crown myself and there was some flowy fabric, with clean lines, simple white background and a minimum of make-up. I wanted just a slight amount of retouching afterwards, no more than slightly lightening up the pics, removing weird looking shadows and spots.

I must say, the finished pics look just like I wanted! Somehow they look incredibly tender and 'breakable', which is the reason I don't share them online.
A memory for a lifetime, for sure!

my top 3 maternity buys

Just a short list of 3 items I use now on a daily base and I think worth to buy. Probably not surprising, but 2 of the items I consider as my best investments during pregnancy are from the category underwear...

1st trimester: a good maternity-bra


While I was able to wear my own bra's during the first 10-11 weeks, suddenly around week 12 I needed to invest in a larger size bra.
I choose to get a very good quality and therefore not cheap bra which I can wear and wash on a daily base. It is a long-term investment because I will be able to wear it through both the 2nd and 3rd trimesters. (It is completely individual how much 'everything' grows during your pregnancy, so you might need to 'upsize' more than once in the nine months)
Mine is wireless and has an extra inner layer in the cups which is stretchy and easily can grow a size or 2 with you. When buying I choose a size larger cups than I needed at that time and I'm happy to report that this bra still fits!

2nd trimester: maternity support pillow


From the 20'th week on I sleep with my diy maternity support pillow and I can't imagine the nights without it! Normally I sleep on my belly, and with the pregnancy it is impossible after a while. Very annoying! Now I fall asleep on my left side hugging my support pillow!

3rd trimester: bump-supporting shapewear 

Since I work full-time as a nurse and I have to stand, walk around most of the time I noticed that my bump tends to feel heavier after a day at work.
Past week I decided it was time to buy a bump-supporting brief to support both my belly and back. There is enough choice from different maternity brands, but since normal shapewear was on sale in our local HEMA (a Dutch company) I decided to buy one of those for my last 11 pregnant weeks.
I choose a brief (for work) with a light support, and 2 sizes larger than I'd normally buy. Normally I wear size S clothing items, but for underwear size up to M anyway. The shapewear/supporting I've got now is size XL.
The price was just a bit more than 6 euro's and it works great! The 'supporting' upper part stretches comfortably over the lower part of my bump and while it doesn't squeeze, it really makes the difference at the end of the day!
Note: to keep my abdominal muscles active, I only wear it when at work and since today during running.

Second trimester - pregnant running experience

Above is the proof of my only race during pregnancy: past week at 25,5 weeks pregnant I've run 5km with colleagues during the yearly city run! I was just 1.5 minutes slower than last year and finished in 27 min 28 sec.
Entering the last week of the second trimester it is time to look back at the past months.

to consider when running pregnant:
Below is my own experience. I've been running (recreational) for more than 10 years now, doing an occasional recreational race once in a while. What I love about running is being active, being outside (love running in the woods), the fact that I can think over things or just not think of anything when running. I've learned to listen to the signals of my body and don't push myself to the limits.
I'm not an expert or an athlete, so my message is mainly: listen to your body, just as you always do! Important thing to mention: being pregnant it is not the moment to start with any physical activity, but if you were running before, you can continue safely to do so. I already wrote about exercising and the benefits of running during pregnancy and the 'official' guidelines you should take in consideration HERE.

on weight gain:
getting ready for a run at 27 weeks pregnant:

Before you ask: I haven't the slightest idea of how much weight I gained. After my 'thyroid crisis' back in 2012 (diagnosed with Graves' disease and was more than a year on medication) I gained weight while on medication and the bathroom scale had to go. Past years I was feeling like being myself again so basically I never looked back!

I believe that running during pregnancy (besides not 'eating for two') is the most important thin that helps me to keep my weight gain within normal ranges. Of course I gained weight, I can see (feel) that when looking at my face and upper legs, but I believe almost at the end of the second trimester it is a fairly moderate amount. Gaining weight when pregnant is normal, your body 'stocks up' on reserves while expecting. While my bump starts to 'get in the way' sometimes, I'm happy to report I can handle this size at the moment well.

The weird thing is that my first thought after finishing a run is: will I be able to do it again in a few days?... Up until now the answer was yes, but since the baby needs to grow 4-5x as heavy as he is now I wonder how running during the last next weeks will go...
By the way, while eating a lot of veggies, occasional baking & tasting doesn't hurt! This weeks chocolate-apple cake creation:

the benefits until now (I believe)
- overall: lots of energy (and speed) at work
- no 'waggling'
- no swollen ancles
- no extreme weight gain (of course, I try not to 'eat for two')

It is important that you 'recharge' after running! I do this with a protein-rich low-fat cheese. It contains way more proteins than milk of yoghurt (only 3-4 gr protein per 100 ml)

my favorite protein-rich after-run snack of this summer:
- about 200 gr of low fat soft cheese with a whopping 13 gr (!!!) protein per 100 gr
- with fresh seasonal fruit (last weeks I switched to 2 bananas)
- a handful of oatmeal (the rolled ones) for fibers
- and a handful of walnuts for essential oils
- 1 teaspoon of Nutella for some fast, after-running sugars

running - my first trimester
Before I got pregnant I was dreaming of being sportive and running through pregnancy. I wasn't sure how to approach it I just went with the flow.
If you can believe literature, blogs, personal experiences, the second trimester seems to be the easiest of the 3.
You've got rid of the worst first trimester symptoms and your energy levels should be rising. As far as first trimester symptoms go I really can't complain. I've been really, really tired, and had several weeks of 'blown up' feeling in my stomach, but the morning sickness remained mostly feeling nauseous in the morning and being okay for the rest of the days during weeks 8-11 (didn't have to throw up once!).
By week 11 almost all of those symptoms were over and I felt pretty normal again. Even on the worst days I tried to go for my run, every few days and it was worth it! By the time I entered the second trimester I was back into running 10km in every 5-6 days. At a slower pace, but still running the same distance.

running - my second trimester
Below the only pregnant picture of me in my running outfit (far left)
Proud with my 25 weeks baby bump:


I can be short about this: I managed to keep up with the same mileage as through the first trimester, running an average 10 km's in every 4-6 days. No walk-breaks needed (yet). Running went really well and I felt good. (Except for about 1.5 week due to having a bad cold and SI-joint pain (wrote about that here.)

pregnant running 'fuss':

Of course, there were quite a few challenges to deal with. While before the pregnancy I could go for a run practically any time of the day, any temperature, after my morning coffee or even a few hours after a meal. Right now, during pregnancy there are a lot more things I need to take in consideration before I even can leave the house:

• weather conditions

I can't stand the heat anymore! This summer the worst thing was the otherwise nice and hot summer with high temperatures during the day. Since I'm not a morning runner by the time I normally start (around 11-12 AM) it was so hot outside that I couldn't really enjoy running. My pace slowed down though running itself wasn't uncomfortable. Luckily we leave close to two walking- and running friendly woods, so once I arrived there after the first 3 km's things got better.
The few morning runs I did when it wasn't too hot yet, went much better. Now that the average temperatures dropped a bit and the fresh autumn days arrived I enjoy running a lot more!

• bladder and bowel urgencies

The worst thing for me was losing track of my bowel activities: my belly seemed to have an extreme reaction on running. Sometimes, suddenly after the 2 km's I had to head home with diarrhea. After that I could continue running without any problems, but it made me really conscious about making my toilet pit-stop before leaving the house.
I must say, the bladder problems weren't near that urgent until now. It was much more a mental thing for me. Not thinking about it all the time was the best solution to be able to run longer than an hour outside.

• no running with a too full or too empty stomach

While running after my morning coffee can be an option on some days, running to short after a meal is no fun. It's like digestion is sucking all the energy out of my body and makes me feel already tired after the first minutes.
As for running with an empty stomach, it seems like the feeling of being hungry can be so overwhelming (almost undeniable) during pregnancy that you almost can't function normally. A light meal an hour or 1.5 ours in advance will do the trick.

• start with 'circles' close to home

After a while I discovered the best thing was to stay close to home for the first few km's just in case of any 'emergencies' (bladder, bowel, baby-bump or other) and if that went well move further away from home. The thought of being close to home was comfortable.

• run for fun - easy runs are the best

I didn't have the urge to do tempo runs or intervals while pregnant. My pace slowed down during the first months and I accepted it. I was already happy about the fact that I could maintain the same distance as before.
Interestingly, last weeks 5 km city run at 25 weeks pregnant went really good, I was just 1.5 minutes slower than last year, even without interval trainings and only running long distances at an easy pace as preparation.

• take time to recover

Rather than running 3 times a week I run once in 4-6 days. I feel that I need a few more days to recover than I normally (=non-pregnant) do. The great thing is that I still can keep up with my mileage when I allow myself to rest between my runs. I consider to go for a more frequent but shorter runs when my bump gets heavier, but not yet.

• take it easy on running days

Important thing is to take rest on the days you plan to run! Working full-time as a nurse I try to plan my runs on days when I'm off or when I have an evening shift. In the last case I try to finish my run before noon and take a nap before taking the bike to work. By the time I get home after a morning shift (around 4 PM) I'm just too tired to anything at all.

• uncomfortable contractions during running

Strangely around the time I first felt the baby moving (19-20 weeks) I had a few runs when I experienced uncomfortable Braxton-Hicks contractions. Most of the time they occurred in the beginning of the run, after the first 2 km's and around the 7km mark. For me, slowing down and always helped.
I must say I start my runs at a slow and easy pace which I believe makes my baby comfortable. This way my heart rate rises slowly and is not 'racing' all the time (that seems to make babies uncomfortable because they are able to your heartbeat).

• drink a lot

This seem to be very important, but I must say I drink a lot (mostly water) anyway, so wasn't new for me. After the first trimester when I tried to limit my coffee intake to one morning cappuccino a day I went back to my daily routine of starting the day with 2 nice cappuccino's (bean coffee - love my Jura coffee machine!) and drinking about 2 liters of water during the day.
No sport drinks for me, they are only excess calories and certainly not a necessity.

• taking vitamins

You may or may not take vitamins during pregnancy.
They say you don't need them, but I choose to do so because I want to prevent infections, anaemia and simply want to feel as good as possible. I believe this helps me continue running as well. Pregnancy weakens your immune-system which makes you more vulnerable for infections. Once you are ill the number of medications you can safely take are limited and I certainly don't want any antibiotics in my body while pregnant! Here is my daily 'mix':
- I'm still taking a prenatal multivitamine-mix which consists of vitamin B's folic acid, iron*, vitamin d and some calcium. Remember, the baby needs calcium for developing strong bones and his source is your body's depots like your nails and teeth!
*Iron and folic acid are both essential to prevent anemia, and are essential for oxygen transport in your body which is essential for physical exercise!
- Around week 17 my nails started to break very badly so I added extra calcium with good results.
- Omega-3 oil seems to be good for the development of baby's brain so I take those too.
- Finally a slow-release 1000 mg of vitamin C to prevent bladder and other infections.

• running gear

- Up until now I was able to squeeze myself into my running shirts (actually quite like how the tailored Asics ones accentuate my baby bump). I'm afraid, after the second trimester I need to find other running shirts.
- Boob-support (double!): a combination of one bra + one comfortable running top do the trick.
- I have two 3/4 running capris which are low rise and sit comfortably under my bump. It appears baby doesn't tolerate any kind of elastics or tight things sitting higher than that...
- No extra belly-support needed (yet).
- I occasionally wear my pelvic belt - one day it feels fine, on other days it doesn't. 

diy: make a (giant) maternity support pillow

Since the 20th week of my pregnancy it is hard to find a comfortable sleeping position. My bump is getting bigger and I just can't sleep well. Now at the 21'th week I've got lower backpain too. I found out a supporting pillow might help.
There are maternity support pillows out there which are here in the Netherlands usually expensive. There are cheaper versions, which are shorter, have less filling, but I wanted a larger sized pillow which would give more support. A support pillow is great if you suffer from lower back pain or leg pain!

• types of support pillows:

Of course, there are the pre-shaped, 'larger-than-life' support cushions which will leave no room for anyone else in bed. I guess those are not so popular over here, but are all over the internet.
You have the shorter, usually donut-shaped feeding or nursing pillows and the larger sized 'body pillows' or maternity sleeping support pillows'. They can be both slightly curved (candy-cane shaped) or just plain, tubular with either cuved or just straight ends. You can 'cuddle' the pillow and tuck it between the knees which reduces the stress on the back and neck. Of course, it can be used as a feeding cushion too. Both are quite expensive, and you often need to buy extra covers, so you can change them regularly.

• type of fillings:

- one with lightweight polyester or polystyrene beads which shapes itself to your body, distributes warmth better but usually can't be washed and might be too soft if you are looking for support
- one with polyester fibers which is usually cheaper, gives more support and you can throw it in the washing machine if needed.

my diy version: 


The standard size of the larger support pillows is about 190 cm long and 40 cm wide. The IKEA pillows are 60x70 cm large. I decided to use 3 pillows for my project. (I always can add more if the fiber filling collapses over time.)
My pillow is straight but you can pre-shape yours as you want, like a slightly curved banana. The filling remains the same.

edit:
I love, love, love this pillow! Can't imagine sleeping without it anymore. The only change I made after a week or 3 is to shorten the cover by about 10 inches in the length. The filling has got compacter as expected. 
edit:
at week 37 of pregnancy:
I still love it! It's like the 3 of us in bed, but (still) can't imagine sleeping without it anymore!!! It's been in the washing machine and works great. Because of the shifting of the filling there is a place for my growing bump and it's nice and thick to give support for my legs.

material:
- 3 of the cheapest pillows from IKEA (Gosa Slan 1.99 per piece)
- an old sheath for the (inner) cover
- sewing machine

costs: 
5.97 euro's!

steps:
1. Attach 3 pillows in a row, by an overlap of about 4 in (=10 cm). Just pin and sew the sides:


2. Make your cover from an old sheath. The cover is a bit tighter which squeezes the pillow filling to make it firmer. Measure the length, it will be about 170 cm and for the width take about 100 cm. Fold and pin:


4. Sew together ends and the side, leave about 30 cm open in the middle of the seam. You can sew the ends straight or curved, as you like. Mine is slightly curved. I did this freehand but you can measure it out if you like:


5. Put your filling into the cover and test! If you aren't comfortable with the thickness of your pillow you can add more stuffing.

6. Close the opening (either by hand or with your sewing machine) I did a very quick hand-sewn seaming. If needed I can open it up and add more filling:


6. You can make a changeable outer cover with the same dimensions from a fancy fabric, either cotton or velours to your liking. Leave the opening in the middle longer and insert a zipper instead of closing it.
Sleep well!

Halfway!

baby-bump weeks 17-20

No pics before week 17 because there was no visible bum yet...

week 19 update knitting, running, clothing...

knitting for baby
Actually, I've made these little baby cardis when I found out I was pregnant. The pattern, Carole Barney's seamless yoked baby sweater and eyelet yoke baby cardigan are both great and free! It is basically the same pattern with different yokes and I liked it so much that I made 3 of them straight away. It only took a day or 3 to finish one and I practiced the stranded knitting method I wrote about. As you can see they are still 'gender neutral' type garments because we still don't know the baby's gender. (Hope to find it out later this week during the 20-weeks ultrasound) So no buttons yet...


I only changed minor things, like the underarm increases, which look prettier this way. I also collected a ton of cute animal patterns from the internet, like these elephants, to use on baby knitwear.

running

It seems like my baby-bump appeared overnight! Now, over 19 weeks it is obvious that I'm expecting. Still manage to run my 10 km every 5-6 days, an average of 70 km's a month. It takes me about an hour every time, since my pace is slower, though I'm able to keep the distance the same. I don't experience any discomfort whatsoever and (strangely) even manage to finish my rounds without any toilet stops...
Finally I'm at the bump-stage that I look like a pregnant woman running instead of a fat looking one!

nursery progress


Although I collected about 200 images for inspiration on Pinterest the nursery progress (up until today) is nothing more than this second hand IKEA Hemnes dresser, which has the perfect width and height (want to replace the knobs though). The room is definitely going to be bright and colorful! I love the navy-mustard-orange combo, with a green wall color like below in my little collage of inspiration (love the little crochet owls and already ordered the pattern!)


new maternity items
I still have a few pairs of jeans which I can wear with the rubber band adjustment, but this won't last long...

• maternity jeans - on sale! 

I picked this pair of 'Mama-licious' jeans up during the last week of the sales for 28 €. (original price 56 €!) While I don't need it yet because of the lightly stretchy fabric I bought a size larger which still fits great.

• H&M cotton blouse

Great for layering and another sale-item for 5 euro's! It has a few rows of shirring in the back which I don't like and want to take out to replace with two simple darts:

• 'Love2wait' maternity shirt - internet buy, 2nd hand 

A great internet buy. It is crazy how many women splurge on expensive maternity items and end up not wearing them because of being too small, or they had too many choices... The original price of this shirt was 36 € and I've got it for just 10 €.
I love the photo-print on the bump! It is a bit large on my belly right now and it is too long for my taste, but it seems that all maternity shirts are this long here in the Netherlands. The planned solution is adding two short pieces of elastics at the sides:


Still 5 months to go and it seems like I've only bought garments which I can't wear yet (because lacking a sizeable bump) but almost half of this amount was spent on a maternity bra which was the best investment up until now because I do wear it on a daily base!

vintage maternity fashion - how did they do it?

Another blogpost I had to rewrite after accidentally deleating everything, inclusive all of the pictures (and believe me, it was a picture-heavy post!). Frustrating, and it took me quite some time to rewrite it.
As I had many of the pics on my pc, I didn't have the sources anymore (most pics are from etsy, newspaper images from the AWW)

1930's
Overall, 30's garments weren't easy to convert into maternity versions. The fashionable long, statuesque lines of the dresses couldn't hide a baby bump for a long time. In the 30's pregnancy was also something a woman wanted to  hide, so there was not a lot of choice is specially designed garments. The fashion advise was to dress like the 'broader women' and try to cover up as much as possible. Below two wrap dresses which sort of could grow with the baby bump. The width could be adjusted at the side with ties. I can imagine that it worked for a small baby bump, but I'm convinced, with the shifting of the side seam the front part of these dress should get out of balance:




Entertaining and dinner parties were typical 30's activities for women. For those occasions pregnant women were advised to wear a house-coat with embellishments to take away the attention from the growing bump instead of an evening dress. Something similar to the house-coat below, which has draped sleeves, bodice and gathered front panels which could be adjusted:


1940's


The 40's were the war-years. There was not much money to spend on a full maternity wardrobe. Women had to wear garments which could be refashioned after the pregnancy. There are quite a few maternity dresses which look like a normal dress, just with extra width added at the sides of in the back.

did you know......that Veronica Lake was pregnant when filming the movie Sullivan's Travels? Her baby bump was carefully covered at all times, but you can see her expanding bust-line and rising waist line in the pictures below:

The ultimate maternity-wear is of course, was the wrap-dress. At left a 'from-beginning-to-end' garment which fastens above the breasts and can be opened up when the belly grows. At right an 'unusual wrap dress', I only don't know how it can be adjusted. Probably opening up the pleats which are initially sewn down? What do you think?


The wrap dresses below has a bodice with a fixed width and a gathered skirt that can be tied as needed:


The other simple maternity solution were wide dresses with front pleats in the bodice, and wide skirt. The size could be adjusted with a tie:


While most maternity dresses had extra fabric at the sides or in the back, these below have a fitted back and gathered front which can be adjusted with ties:


There were maternity frock and jacket ensembles too:


Also skirt and blouse combinations were popular instead of frocks, for the advanced stage of the pregnancy, because of more coverage. The set on the left features a wrap-skirt with a gathered, wide blouse. The pattern at right is interesting, because it features a wrap-style slipdress with a skirt made out of fashion fabric  in combination with a wide blouse which can be clinched in if needed with a belt:


Let's take a look at the skirts. How do you like this one below? Quite a construction, right? It has a cut-out part for the baby-bump? It is adjustable with a tie in the front and for added security it has built-in suspenders too!


Slips and underwear had a tied wrap-style too, often with an opening in the back or extra fabric at the sides:


In the 40's women wore pants and guess what, there were solutions for pregnant women too! At left an expandable front with adjustable belt and button closure. At right slacks with gusset-inserts. The width could be adjusted with buttons at both sides:


1950's


In the 50's matching sets of separates were very popular. Until the very late 50's we see more skirt-blouse or skirt-jacket combinations, rather than dresses.



Then there were the elegant coats (left) I love the simplicity and clean lines of it, without gathering and pleats! At right the 'glamorous, very versatile, all-purpose' duster-coat, which can also double as a dress:

The 50's were the era of the cigarette pants and pedal-pushers. Below two different options for the baby bump, the 'hole-in-the-pant' solution and the 'cover-flap'. I actually quite like the flap-idea, where the front flap sides form the pocket inserts. The pocket insides close with ties which can be gradually adjusted:


So, how about skirts? In the 50's skirts were made using either the cut-out or the flap-method to cover up the growing bump:


1960's


When thinking of maternity fashion we Mad Men's Betty Draper comes to mind. A great variety of dresses, combinations of tunics, skirts and pants were popular. I actually quite like the wide tunic-fitted skirt combination and the A-line dresses could be very flattering on a smaller size baby-bump imo:


Construction-wise there is not much excitement anymore when looking at maternity garments. By the 60's the use of elastics in pants and skirts was widely spread and also the elastic fabrics appeared on the market. Most skirts and pants had a belly-panel, similar to what we are used to nowadays, with an elastic casing or an inserted panel made out of elastic fabric:


The fun thing is though that in the 60's the sun-dresses and swimming suits appeared! The swimming-suit at left is made of cotton fabric. It doesn't look really flattering, does it? It looks like an enlarged version of a baby dress of that time. Can you imagine it being soaking wet after swimming?



After the 60's in the 70's the tunics and wider dresses were popular until we arrive to the fashion-disaster-era of the 80's, with very unflattering, high waisted and wide pants, dungarees and over-over-oversized dresses...