Womb to Bloom - Maternity & Beyond

Okay, I just have to ask: was anybody else terrified that her husband wouldn’t want to have sex with her anymore after watching the birth of the baby? Not to mention after watching my now-65-pound larger rear-end struggle to fit into jeans again?

Here’s the good news: my husband did still want to have sex. (Apparently, they actually still love their wives even after seeing what they saw: and some love their wives even more!  Can you believe it?!) And he was way more concerned with my obsession about my weight gain than the actual weight gain itself. He knew I’d work to regain a healthy weight.  He just wasn’t that fussed about it. But I sure was!

As soon as you find out you’re pregnant, you immediately think about all of the very teeny and very cute things you can now buy for your baby. Hold on, sister! There are still a few things that you’re going to need for yourself to survive the next nine months in relative peace and comfort.

You’ll obviously need maternity clothes – some of us will need them earlier than others. When it comes to maternity clothes, there’s never been a better time to be pregnant. The maternity fashions are really in line with current trends and great pieces can be found anywhere from Target to designer boutiques to eBay.

Maternity clothes are fun and will keep you from running around naked or in clothes that don’t fit – but the prenatal purchasing doesn’t have to stop there, ladies! There are even more pregnancy products that will help you get through this very long forty weeks. 

While there are specialty stores with breastfeeding-specific clothes for sale, it doesn’t have to cost a lot to have clothing that is suited to feeding your baby. I remember perusing one of these stores and while several of the designs were gorgeous, they also cost a fortune. On top of that, many designs just plain didn’t fit my body type, especially with my currently enlarged breasts…

So, what can you do if buying expensive nursing tops isn’t an option? Fortunately there are lots of other choices out there. Most were never designed for breastfeeding, but that makes no difference when it comes to their usefulness. In fact, you can find clothes suitable for nursing in the sales aisles of pretty much any department store.

Most Americans are becoming increasingly conscious of the impact their lifestyle choices make on the environment. Everywhere we turn, we are encouraged to “reduce, reuse, recycle” and to decrease our “carbon footprint.”

Heck, I live in a very conservative, historically “red” state and even we recycle with the best of ‘em. Our society’s newfound focus on the environment and the “green” movement has definitely found its way to the realm of babies. And for good reason – yes, our eco-friendly choices help preserve the planet but many believe that they keep our smallest and most vulnerable family members safer and healthier.