Reached the official halfway point.  (OMG!)  So hard to believe.  Still so much getting ready to do….

Not much to report this time.  Starting to show enough that it’s obvious to people who know I’m pregnant.  I’m sure even strangers would suspect it now, but only that one guy I mentioned in the last post has had the nerve to actually say anything. =)

I finally broke down and bought some maternity pants.  Some that fit!  Well, they’re a little long, but that can be dealt with.  The short ones (they call them “ankle” now…how nice) were too short, and that is harder to work with.

I’m so happy.  In my online research, I discovered that Gap also has maternity clothes in a range of sizes (including smaller sizes).  So as a part of our quick weekend trip to Tulsa, I went to a Gap store that actually has a maternity section.  Generally speaking, the experience was horrible, but it was at least successful.  I started typing out why it was so horrible, but I realized it was going to be a really long, boring rant.  And tedious to type out.  So I’ll spare you.  I can summarize it in: poor layout, understaffed, 40% off one day only.  I am a FAST shopper, and I think I was there over 1.5 hours just in that one tiny little section.  Well, a good portion of that time was spent standing in line.  But anyway.  I’m still happy about saving 40%.  Especially in an expensive (for this bargain shopper) store.

I did two things I said I wouldn’t do, and those two things are kind of intertwined, but I certainly don’t regret it right now.  1) I said I wouldn’t buy stuff that I thought wouldn’t fit at the end; 2) I said I would only buy full-panel pants so they would work in the 3rd trimester.

Well, one of my initial frustrations was that I could NOT find any full panel pants in my size.  I wanted one pair of jeans and at least one pair of dress/work pants.  I finally threw my hands up in the air and tried on some demi panel jeans.  Oh my goodness, unless you have been pregnant before, there is no way to describe how INCREDIBLY WONDERFULLY GOOD it feels to put on that first well-fitting pair of maternity pants.  Crap, I almost didn’t want to like these that much.  But it didn’t gape in the back or bunch up at the crotch like a baby is supposed to grow in my groin.  So I hung onto those.  Even though they fit too well right now.  So soft and comfy….

Later, I did find some full panel jeans in my size that were hiding behind some misplaced items.  Woot, they fit too.  A little darker and nicer looking, but not as soft and cozy.  Ahhh a dilemma.

Also looked at the dress pants.  They only carry black.  And they only had my size in the demi panel (they had “ankle” ones in the full panel, but they were too short).  So I tried on the demi panel ones.  WONDERFUL.  Crap crap crap.  How long until I hate these?  But I love them now.  (Also, being mostly polyester, I can wash/dry/wear…no iron…BIG plus for me!)

Again, these fit a little too well.  I did try on the next size up, and they weren’t as terribad as the ones at Motherhood and Old Navy.  But they were a little bit grow-an-alien-baby-out-of-my-groin still. The belly part seemed almost the same.

So, against my better judgment, I bought two pairs of demi panel pants (one denim, one for work) AND one pair of full panel jeans.

Was going to only buy one pair of jeans.

Was going to avoid demi panel altogether.

Was going to buy stuff that was likely to fit later…even if it didn’t fit as well now. I’m sure I’ll be complaining later when my belly is huge, and other things have grown too…bigger butt, bigger thighs….

I just could not deal with the belly bands anymore.  Well, I probably could.  But they were starting to drive me nuts.  For one, it took me WAY longer to make a bathroom run.  I had to do sooo much tugging and folding and fidgeting to get them to work right.  And with as often as I have to pee, it was getting very, very annoying.  If I folded it, it wouldn’t cover my zipper and the top of my pants right.  If I didn’t fold it, it was still too loose at the top, too thin and lumpy looking around my belly, and the white one was too see-through.  Minor complaint, but I also missed having access to my pockets since I had to cover those up.

After I got home, I got online to see if the 40% off sale was online too.  It is not. =(  I really want to order some of the full panel dress pants in the correct length, but I’m going to see if I can hold out.  It’s more than I’d hoped, but I can stomach spending $36 to $40.  Especially when they work and they’re well made.  But $60…I might spend that for pants that I intend to wear for much longer than the duration of a normal human pregnancy.  I may end up spending it anyway, but I’ll see if I can stand my regular work pants a little longer (some of them are bigger), and I’ll see if I start to think going up to the next size would be a better idea. At least they don’t seem to be a style that will become dated quickly…so maybe they’ll still work next time around…heheh. =)

NOT RELATED TO PREGGIE PANTS BUT ALSO OF NOTE!  I can’t wait until Pete can feel little girl moving and kicking from the outside.  Tonight, she was really going to town in there for a little while.  So I put my hand up to my tummy just to see if I could feel it against my hand.  She socked me good once, and I felt it!  I squealed and told Pete, and he ran in and rested his hand on my tummy for a while.  But of course she decided to calm down then.  So cool though!  Hopefully he will feel her soon.  I’ll update again after he does. =)

Week 20 banana baby!

20 Weeks Pregnant