Holiday baking: Hungarian honey-christmas cookies

Almost ready for my long, 5 months absence at work! Next week 2 more days at work and then I'm off at 36 weeks pregnant. Up until now everything went perfect, no problems, pains at all. I was told by everybody that it is practically impossible to continue working as a nurse longer than 34 weeks pregnant, but I proved them wrong. Of course, not having major health issues and staying very active (plus not gaining a lot of weight) during my pregnancy was essential to be able to do this.

Stopped with running at 33.5 weeks, simply because my stride changed putting more pressure on the outer part of my lower legs which didn't feel right. Now I'm running up- en down the stairs at home instead... and of course, bike to work every day.

My new invention: this year's personal Christmas gifts: cookie jars, filled with delicious, home-made Hungarian honey-christmas cookies (Mézeskalács). The spices are very similar to pumpkin spice mix and also to the dutch 'speculaaskruiden'. Personally, I prefer to use the Chinese 5-spice mix instead because of the little kick of ground pepper in it! My icing looks quite basic and not as beautiful as those of the professionals, but I think it's just perfect for these home made cookies:

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. 

growing...

How to get rid of SI-joint pain in pregnancy!

I thought a little update on running might be interesting.
Yes, I'm still running at 26 weeks pragnant. Most importantly, I still enjoy running at 26 weeks pregnant! A few days ago I comfortably ran the 5 km city run and lost just 1.5 minutes as opposed to last year's time. Isn't that great? I certainly feel better about myself. Actually, it felt like having my own body back for almost 30 minutes. More about that in my next post.


The past month I couldn't run as often as I wanted. First of all, until a week ago the weather was too hot during the day, then around week 20 I caught a bad cold (though worked through it, I wasn't able to do much more after my work days) and I had a week of injuries: first SI-joint pain (=sacro-iliacal joint) and a few days into that I fell with my bike and luxated a finger on my left hand. It seemed like the end of the great pregnancy days but I'm happy to report it's all-right now! 

my story:
As a nurse I'm used to work hard: helping patients in and out of bed, lifting sometimes, we all have our own routines on how to do that. Up until the 20th week (the week when my bump 'suddenly' started to grow!) I didn't experienced any discomfort at work and I wasn't aware of the weakening of my joints and ligaments at all.
Sadly, because of this I didn't pay attention to my body and made quite a few wrong movements (like lifting heavy patients, not paying attention for my posture during activities and when standing still, doing to much bending movements...) which resulted in a terrible back-pain, with painful muscle cramps on the right side of my back (even while just sitting).

In the first few times I thought I just overstretched my back muscle and the pain would go away as usual. But the pain recurred and I've had those painful muscle cramps like 6-10 times a day. A few days later I've got lower back pain as well.
At a certain moment while I was biking home after my very last nightshift (at almost 21 weeks) I had a stabbing pain sensation on the right side of the lower back all the time. Honestly, I barely could make it home.
Because the pain was situated so high I thought that I had a kidney infection, rather than pregnancy-related pelvic problems. Another very typical thing was that I couldn't sit or lay down comfortably. Sitting on the kitchen chair was the most comfortable. This seems to be typical when having SI-joint pain (sacro-iliacal joint pain or posterior pelvic pain)

what is the SI-joint:
It is a strong and stable weight-bearing joint that permits very little movement due to its natural structure:


Hormones released during pregnancy relax the ligaments of the body to allow the pelvis to enlarge, in preparation for childbirth. As the physiotherapist explained to me, if you stretch the SI-joint too far, due to the relaxation it won't be able to retain it's original position and remains slightly overstretched, keeping the pelvic bones in the wrong position. As a nurse I know our bodies have the amazing, amazing ability to compensate everything that seems to be not normal in a natural way.
Our body tries to compensate the wrong position of the joint with muscle cramps above and below the joint, in an effort to pull the pelvic bones back to their normal position. (That was the reason of my returning back cramps!)

the diagnosis:
After an appointment with the doctor the diagnosis was easy: SI-joint pain, which is one type of PPGP or 'pregnancy-related pelvic girdle pain'. I haven't even thought about having that, especially so early in the pregnancy, with a relatively small bump! Of course, the size of the bump doesn't even matter that much if you do the wrong movements.

Getting diagnosed as early as possible can help keep pain to a minimum and avoid long-term discomfort. The doctor advised taking rest and painkillers. Well,  as we all know, the amount of painkillers which can be taken safely during pregnancy is very limited and after almost a week on Paracetamol for the flu that was the last thing I wanted to do. So I made an appointment with a physiotherapist, who is specialized in pelvic floor and pelvic support physiotherapy hoping for better advice and suggestions.

how to get rid of the pain:
I must say, after 4 appointments I was completely pain-free. I just wish I've had these suggestions much earlier in the pregnancy.
Here are the most important things:

• alternate sitting-walking-standing positions often 

This way you reduce the stress on the pelvic bones and the back. You'll see, standing still is the least comfortable position. In the beginning when you still have pain you need to lay down for about 20 minutes every few hours. This was an advice that really helped me!
Actually, I've had a few days at work when I did this and could work comfortably for the remaining hours of my shift. By laying down on a bed or bench you allow the back muscles to rest and 'recharge'.

• watch your posture when standing:

Squeeze your (remaining) stomach muscles to keep your back straight! This reduces the stress your bump puts on your back by pulling forward. I wasn;t conscious about this but such a simple thing helps a lot.

• choose a brisk walk instead of waggling:

'Waggling' stresses the pelvic bones and ligaments because you completely relax the abdominal muscles. Also, you allow your heavy bump to pull everything forward. When walking faster you'll be surprised that you automatically squeeze the abdominal muscles more and keep a better position of the torso. Just try!

• avoid the following activities:

bending too often, reaching over things in front of you, turning your torso too far to grab things, heavy lifting

• do exercise your abdominal muscles!

In contrary to what they say, you really need to exercise your abdominal muscles during the pregnancy!!! Of course, don't think in terms of situps and leg lifts after the 12th week, but there are exercises you safely can do and need to do. Just think of it: the abdominal muscles are the only support for your bump! The two parts you can exercise are the lower and the side muscles.

Lower abdominal muscle exercise:
Try to squeeze them whenever you can, when standing and when laying in bed. Of course, your bump won't be able to move, but what helps is to concentrate on 'sucking in' the lower part as if you trying to pull the zipper of your jeans. Then you should feel the tightening and relaxing of the muscle on the inner side of your pelvic bone in the front.

Side muscles exercise:
Modified Standing oblique-twist or ab-twist. You need a simple rubber resistance band to do this.
1. Tie the band to a stable object (somewhere between bust and waist-height)
2. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your knees slightly bent.
3. With the band on one side grab the band with both arms extended to one side, without turning your torso (this is the main difference with the original exercise!)
4. Tighten your abs.
5. Pull the band from one side to another in a horizontal line, until it is in front of you and then a bit further, keeping your head and hips facing forward (keep your torso in the same, straight  position at all times!)
6. do this slowly and try to do 3x10 repeats for both sides

• sleep with a maternity supporting pillow

From the 20'th week I sleep with my diy supporting pillow and I love it! The only thing I changed past week in my own version (as expected) is to shorten it a bit as the filling (made out of cheap IKEA pillows) has got compacter.

• wear a supporting (pelvic) belt from time to time

This is a controversial suggestion though. As my physiotherapist explained, wearing a supporting belt too often makes your abdominal muscles relax and by getting weaker they won't be able to perform their task anymore.
As long as you exercise your abdominal muscles you can wear a supporting belt occasionally if you need to do household activities or for fitness and running. Avoid wearing the belt too often or for longer time periods!
I have bought one and don't wear it really often.

• you can keep up with other regular activities if they aren't painful

Like running! While running you make completely different movements than when walking and as an extra benefit you exercise your side muscles as well.

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...