POSITIVE Parenting

Read any pregnancy book and it will say something similar about weight gain in the first trimester: "By now you'll have put on no more than two to three pounds." If you delve into reading the stories posted on the Internet by other pregnant gals, they might tell you that they haven't gained an ounce or, better still, they've lost a few. When you reach month four, they'll warn you that you'll start feeling your clothes tighten around your tummy.

I was loosening my trouser buttons from six weeks and, by the end of month two, I was decked out in maternity clothes, having gained around eight pounds already! The feelings that came with this were twofold. The reality that I was carrying a baby inside was sinking in and making me grin. However, no one else had grown so quickly, and I knew that it wasn't the baby itself, who was tiny at that stage!

It wasn't just the expanding waistline that mystified me, but the ever-increasing size of my bust. We had not told our friends the news, but I was getting countless compliments, like "You look so healthy", while eyes flickered between my face and chest!

I packed my regular wardrobe away and started shopping for jeans with large elastic panels, extra-long and stretchy tank tops, hideous maternity bras and shapeless dresses. The only things I haven't had to fork out any money on are socks and panties. Though I have had to buy 'going-out' sandals, as walking in heels is like stepping on the heels themselves, and Jesus-boot style CROCS for my fat feet!

A word of advice when shopping for maternity jeans with those panels I mentioned. They might fit perfectly when you first pull them on, but halfway through the day they'll be dropping off you. So do not be tempted to get the bigger size because you want them to last the entire nine (and a half) months! The other night I wasn't aware of mine falling down until the top of the elastic panel was on my pubic bone and the crotch was at my knees. I hope no one noticed!

As for over-the-shoulder-bolder-holders ... don't go getting a ton of 34Ds because you've been told that you'll go up two cup sizes. You have no idea how big your breasts will be after 30 weeks, let alone when your milk comes in the 40th! Each person is different. Let me rephrase that. Each set of mammary glands has its own mind and growth rate. Brassieres are not cheap, so buy them on a need-by-need basis. They will blossom beyond your wildest imagination ... or not. There's simply no way of knowing.

Fashionable garments

The trouble with maternity togs is that they are like fashionable garments coming out of Milan and Paris. You won't wear them past this season, unless you have another child, in which case you can dust them off and make the expenditure on that cute blouse worthwhile! I told you, it's like fashion ... there's always one or two trends that make a comeback! This is where it helps to dispatch any pride you might have about borrowing and start asking mums if they have pregnancy clothes stashed away in their drawers. I've accepted 'charity' from five friends already. Well, what do you expect? My clothes don't fit me anymore!

Emmadaltonbrown@gmail.com