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Jul 28, 2019 | What To Wear
Chances are you’re going to be working until your due date is just around the corner, which means you’re going to have to professionally dress that belly from now till maternity leave. Dressing for an office environment can seem a bit tricky—your around-the-house outfit of ultracozy leggings and XL sweatshirts might look out of place. Plus there’s some truth to that ol’ dress for success adage.
Here are some classic, easy-to-wear pieces that will make you feel profesh and comfy at every stage of pregnancy and beyond (cause maternity leave won’t last forever).
Every working woman should have a power blazer, especially a pregnant working woman. Our Adjustable Waist Ponte Knit Maternity Blazer fits that bill, and thanks to a hidden, adjustable back piece, you can work this look from the early days of pregnancy through the days of major belly. The jacket’s ponte fabric is soft, but still structured so you get a tailored style that’s still totally comfortable. Pair it with a nice dark wash denim (see below!) for something more casual, or our Ponte Pencil Skirt for the ultimate maternity-friendly power suit. Click to Shop!
Dark wash jeans can pull double-duty: casual enough for weekends but classic enough for everyday work looks. Our Maternity Skinny Jeans with Inset Panel is the perfect maternity pair—they sit just under the belly and the panels stretch as your body grows. Wear them with booties and a sweater or top for a reliable Monday-through-Friday go-to. Click to Shop!
Throw on a button-down and you look instantly put together, especially if it’s our Pintuck Woven Top. Pretty pintuck detailing in the front gives this classic piece a feminine flair, and you can wear the cuffed sleeves rolled up or long and buttoned. It’s got plenty of room for a growing belly but is tailored up top for a flattering fit. Wear it to dress up denim or with our Adjustable Waist Ponte Knit Maternity Blazer and Ponte Maternity Pencil Skirt for an unstoppable combo. Click to Shop!
Our Ponte 5-Pocket Maternity Legging with Bellaband Panel have a classic skinny fit and are made from our soft and stretchy ponte knit, but have the more structured, pocketed look of pants. They also feature a comfy seamless panel that can go over the belly or be folded down and it offers a bit of support for your lower back as well. These pants will be your best workplace secret: they feel like leggings, but are polished enough for the office. Click to Shop!
When you’re ready to show off that bump, our Pleated Maternity Tank Dress is another weekday staple, especially because it’s so dang versatile. Wear it on a Monday with a blazer and clogs, then wear it again on Friday with a heels and a statement necklace. Ruching around the belly and back make sure that there’s always room for your growing belly. Click to Shop!
An everyday top—one you can throw on with just about anything and feel comfortable but presentable—is another office must. Our lightweight Long Sleeve Smocked Woven Maternity Top has a relaxed mock collar with cute smocked detailing. French cuffs give it a little something extra. Click to Shop!
Of course it’s helpful to have a versatile bottom that isn’t pants or denim. Our Ponte Maternity Pencil Skirt sits just under the belly and can be dressed up with a blazer and heels for client meetings or dressed down with a sweater or top and mules for Monday through Friday. Click to Shop!
Every work wardrobe needs a wrap dress, and this is one you’ll wear throughout your pregnancy and post-baby too, like our Flutter Sleeve Knit Wrap Maternity Dress. It’s made from super soft fabric so it’s extra comfy, and the adjustable tie waist means it’s a flattering fit at every stage of pregnancy. (And the crossover neckline will make for easy pumping access post–maternity leave, too!) Click to Shop!
Speaking of pumping, our Kimono Sleeve Pleated Front Nursing Dress is a new working mom’s dream. Hidden zippers in the front panel mean you can discreetly pump without having to take anything off. But you’ll want to grab one early on in your pregnancy; cinching just above the belly makes this dress cute and comfy (not to mention totally professional), and kimono sleeves are universally flattering. Click to Shop!
Read Now
While assessing wardrobe requirements on a month-by-month (or week-by-week!) basis is fun for some, you may just want to stock up on all your maternity style needs now, in a single swoop, and know you’re good to go for the months (and growth) to come. We’ve curated this simple list that will get you through your entire journey, from that first belly pop to holding that babe in your arms. Of course you may find you want a little something extra when it’s time to pack for your babymoon, or if you need some additional work attire, but these are the go-to pieces that will cover just about every need you’ll have during the next nine-plus months into motherhood. Consider it an all-encompassing kit for looking cute and feeling comfy throughout your pregnancy.
You won’t want to go through pregnancy without it! This maternity style superstar will help keep you in your favorite pre-pregnancy jeans for months to come. Click to Shop!
If the Bellaband® is your prized possession during pregnancy (it will be!), the Afterband® is the new mom equivalent. It’s designed especially for postpartum use—soft and stretchy with just the right amount of snug. Use it to make your pre-pregnancy and maternity pants fit, for extra coverage while breastfeeding in public, and for super comfortable compression as your belly recovers. Click to Shop!
This supersoft basic will comfortably stretch as your belly grows, so you can use it for layering throughout your pregnancy. Click to Shop!
Our drop cup pullover bra offers awesome and comfy maternity support, plus you’ll be able to wear it right on into motherhood for the wild ride that is breastfeeding. Click to Shop!
This essentials set is a basics jackpot. These three buttery soft tees—a tank, a short-sleeve V-neck, and a long-sleeve scoop neck—will cover your casual everyday needs. Click to Shop!
This might just be the most versatile piece in your maternity wardrobe—dress it up for work, events, and a romantic date night, or pair it with sneakers and a sweater for everyday errands. You’ll especially love the flattering cross front neckline for ease of breastfeeding and/or pumping. Click to Shop!
Side pleats make this dress a perfect fit through every stage of pregnancy, and it’s just the basic you need for dressing up or down, on workdays or weekends. Click to Shop!
A pair of skinny jeans are a maternity must, and this pair’s got the perfect wash plus our patented Crossover Panel, which feels so good on a growing belly (and even supports your lower back). Click to Shop!
Our seamless sports bra is the perfect activewear foundation. It’ll support you through all your prenatal activities, and you’ll love its nursing functionality post-pregnancy too. Click to Shop!
These are the bottoms you’ll practically live in. Stretchy but opaque, these pants will get you through yoga and your errands. The Crossover Panel is just icing on the comfort cake. Click to Shop!
You’ll want to be cozy throughout your pregnancy, and even moreso after baby arrives—this wrap is the perfect fit no matter your belly size, and its snuggle factor is through the roof. Click to Shop!
You need a shower-worthy dress and this one will make you feel flawless—flutter sleeves, an adjustable tie-waist, plus maxi length with maximum movement. Click to Shop!
Jul 28, 2019 | Preparedness
Jul 28, 2019
You might be an expert at canvassing and collecting (good job! And more on CCEP here), but you’ve still probably got a few needs in your maternity wardrobe. Here’s where the enhance part comes in. Take a look at what you have, what you “found” (thanks friends!), and make a note of additional items you can get to fill in any holes for the nine months of pregnancy (and those first few months afterward).
We’ve got some suggestions, depending on the size of your belly, and the needs that go along with it. But here’s a sampling to get you started.
Bellaband®: If you buy only one maternity-related thing, it should probably be a Bellaband®. Here’s why.
Babymoon pieces: With all the items you already have and then collected, it leaves a little flexibility for getting a babymoon piece or two that will make your last couple’s-only vacay even more cute and comfortable.
Baby shower look: Your baby shower is the one day where it’s extra important to feel like your best self, wearing your best possible outfit, so you don’t have to worry about tugging or pulling or feeling self-conscious and you can instead focus on soaking up all the love and support for you and your coming babe.
Work wear: Even if you’ve got a couple of work-friendly pieces on hand, considering how much time you spend at work, you’ll probably need a couple more. We got you.
Activewear: With the sweating you do during prenatal yoga, and the regularity with which you’ll need a nice pair of leggings, adding some activewear (especially with the support of our Crossover Panel) is a good move.
Nursing: With leakage, and spit up, and diaper disasters, you can truly never have enough nursing bras, tanks, and camis. Adding one or two will save you some laundry days.
There’s one more step in our CCEP strategy: Pass-On. Consider it the “pay it forward” part, where you can thank the mamas who gave you items, by giving yours to the next pregnant friend in your social circle (once you’re done with them, of course!). This works especially well when it comes to Ingrid & Isabel pieces—these are quality items made to last for probably a lot longer than you’ll want to wear them (and we’re taking the postpartum period into account as well). So hang on to your items, and pass them on to a mama-to-be! What goes around comes around, in the best possible way.
Now that you’ve canvassed your closet and figured out which of your items will work with your growing belly, it’s time for the next step in the CCEP plan: Collect. Because here’s the thing about maternity clothes—you don’t need them forever! Mamas are always unloading items, most of which are in excellent condition, it’s simply the nature of products made for pregnancy (and babies, tbh). Even mamas who plan on having another kid pass pieces along, because they’ll surely come back around and who wants to store them in the meantime?
So tap the mamas in your life to see what you can borrow, which will leave you a bigger budget for the fun stuff (like your dream baby shower dress) and the regular use items (like a nursing bra and your everyday activewear).
There are a few key items that nearly every new mama will have worn during her pregnancy that she probably doesn’t have a need for anymore. Maternity jeans and work pants don’t have much of a closet shelf life after the fourth trimester, so see if anyone has a pair or two to give away. Certain tops and T-shirts are also pretty pregnancy specific, so see if you can collect a few of those too. Once you ask for one item though, be prepared to be offered others!
Start with your friends who have recently had babies. They’ll be the ones most likely to still have these items on hand. But don’t stop there. Tap any family members too (a sister-in-law, a second cousin, a young aunt perhaps?). From there you can hit up any co-workers who’ve returned from maternity leave, and guess what? Even strangers will be happy to hand over their pregnancy clothes, sometimes you just have to ask.
When it comes to friends and family, you might not even have to ask—mamas might just offer! But of course you can ask via text, email, or just the old-fashioned way, in person. The magic of the internet is great for putting your requests out there. Join a mom group or two on Facebook and post there, or simply use Instagram and Twitter, and don’t be surprised by unexpected responses, the sisterhood of motherhood is powerful!
Okay, so now that you’ve canvassed and collected, what’s next? Read on for the second half of our closet curation strategy, CCE.
There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to pregnancy, but one thing is certain: your belly’s only getting bigger, and a lot of the clothes you wear now will probably stop fitting over the next nine months. But that doesn’t mean you need to buy a whole new wardrobe! Here’s our gem of a closet curation strategy, so you don’t have to start with an empty rack.
And because every brilliant idea deserves an acronym, here’s ours: CCEP or Canvas, Collect, Enhance, and Pass-On
The first step is canvassing, and it’s actually pretty fun. Set aside some time and take a good look at your closet and the pieces you wear the most. While it’s true that your number one jeans probably aren’t long for this pregnancy life, you likely have a number of items that are, even though they’re not deemed “maternity” clothes. You just need to look at them with your new mama-to-be eyes, and see which items can make room for a little growth.
Maxi dress: The empire waist of most maxis make this type of dress especially reliable for easing into your pregnancy style.
Loose or boxy button-down: These beauties are great for getting dressed early in pregnancy (and you’ll rely on them again, when you’ve got a baby to breastfeed!). Any button-down that’s on the loose or boxy side can probably be worn untucked until you just can’t button it any more.
Sack dress: You probably rock a sack dress when you’re going out for a big meal, right? Which is what makes it absolutely perfect for dressing a brand-new bump, especially if you want to keep it under wraps for a while.
Drapey tee/knit: Tees that aren’t tight or knits that have some stretch to them will be some reliable go-to’s as your belly starts to grow.
Aline dress: Cute, comfy, and usually with just enough room for a belly that’s popped.
Loose jumpsuits: A one-piece makes dressing for the day so easy, which is exactly what you want during pregnancy. A loose or flowy jumpsuit fits this bill to a tee, and depending on the cut, you might be able to wear it right through to the end!
See? You probably have more maternity options than you thought, and now you know exactly what you need. But you still don’t have to hit “add to cart” yet. The next steps in CCEP are just as important, so click here to read about them!
Jul 28, 2019 | Health
It’s common knowledge that vitamins are an important part of prenatal care, but one look at the supplements aisle at your local Whole Foods and it’s easy to feel a bit overwhelmed by all the options. So what vitamins do you actually need, and when do you need to take them?
If you’re planning a pregnancy, start taking a prenatal vitamin before you conceive. This will help get nutrients to the egg as it matures. Think of it kind of like getting your house in order before a guest comes to stay—you want their visit to be as hospitable as possible!
Folic acid: At this point, folic acid is the most important supplement to take as it helps prevent defects—like spina bifida—in the neural tube, which develops into the baby’s brain and spinal cord. Take a folic acid supplement, or a prenatal vitamin that includes 400–600 mg of folic acid daily.
If you haven’t been taking a prenatal vitamin, don’t worry, it’s not too late. Start taking one when you learn you’re pregnant. In addition to folic acid, which is still crucial during the first 12 weeks, there are a handful of other vitamins that you want to be sure you’re getting.
Iron: Iron helps your body make extra blood for the baby, delivers oxygen to you both, and prevents anemia, which can make you feel insanely tired and also cause early delivery. Be sure you’re getting 27 mg per day.
Vitamin D: Our main source of vitamin D is exposure to sunshine, and since most of us use sunscreen daily, most of us are also vitamin D deficient. But because of its importance in supporting calcium absorption, you’ll want to make sure you’re getting at least 600 IUs a day.
DHA: DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid that helps support fetal brain and eye development. Aim for 200mg–300 mg per day.
Calcium: When you’re pregnant, your body is taking calcium from your own teeth and bones to help build your baby’s, so be sure you’re getting 1,000–1,200 mg a day.
Many prenatal vitamins don’t include this much calcium, so you might want to consider taking an added supplement.
After the first trimester, folic acid is no longer a crucial vitamin to take, since your baby’s spine has formed. If you’re taking a separate folic acid supplement, you can stop. If it’s included in your prenatal vitamin, it doesn’t do any harm to continue taking it. The other vitamins and minerals mentioned above should be taken throughout your pregnancy.
Though vitamin A is important to your baby’s development, ingesting an excess of preformed vitamin A (the kind found in supplements as well as animal products like liver and eggs) can cause birth defects. Pregnant women should keep their intake under 10,000 IUs, which, unless you’re pounding liver pâté shouldn’t be an issue (for comparison, you’d have to eat 40 eggs in a day to hit that max). The type of vitamin A found in fruits and vegetables, known as carotenoids, is A-ok, so feel free to knock back those mangoes and sweet potatoes like they’re going out of style.
When choosing a prenatal vitamin, be sure to source your supplements from a reputable source that is FDA approved, so you know exactly what you’re getting. While supplemental vitamins are helpful, nutritious foods are always going to be the most healthful way to nourish yourself and your growing baby—getting on top of your daily supplements doesn’t give you free rein to eat nothing but garbage day in and day out.
And while the daily allowances mentioned here are average amounts widely recommended by medical professionals and health institutions, it’s always helpful to check with your doctor, to address your specific needs.
