First Close Interaction with Maternity Clothes

When I started the blog, I had blogging about maternity fashion in my mind. While it was not until this Sunday had I had the first close interaction with maternity clothes.

Honestly and shamelessly, the first thing I was worried about when I first got to know that I was pregnant was not about how to be a good mom-to-be, instead I was wondering what I was going to wear during pregnancy, how to keep in style with a growing belly, how to be hip instead of boring…silly me, hah? Anyway, researching on maternity fashion turns out to be a good distraction from the notorious hardship of the first trimester so far. With so many brilliant maternity fashion companies and designers offering beautiful maternity clothes, we are able to indulge ourselves a little bit on clothes while going through this tremendous “project”. It is a privilege, I declare.

A month ago, immediately after the pregnant test, screaming and laughing, XJ and I went to Amazon.com and ordered seven pregnancy books, four of them are about maternity style according to my requirements. I have finished all style books and am still working on those books with REAL stuff. What can I say? It is just easier for me to read the style books. (Sometimes, I feel I am really a superficial person. Luckily, XJ thinks it makes me a very interesting person. ) And reading those books did make me enjoy my pregnancy much better. I was amazed by the autobiography written by the founder of Mother Works Inc., Rebecca Matthias, how she turned a simple idea to a business, how she found a niche market and built a successful public company based on it. It is absolutely inspirational. Also, I enjoyed Expecting Style by Lauren Sara. It tells you can be much more creative and fashionable than you could imagine during belly days. It also makes me feel less guilty to care about the appearance because some people out there make it as a career.

This Sunday, when we drove to Boston via route 9, we made a stop at the Destination Maternity store. The moment we drove to the parking lot, we “smelled” something different. All the cars in the parking lot are either SUVs, or Volvos, a.k.a safe cars. Our compact, fuel efficient car easily tells that we are yet serious, responsible parents. Upon entering the store, XJ and I quickly located our separate destinations, with him settling in a big sofa with a big flat TV screen broadcasting sports events and I heading to racks and racks of maternity fashions. As usual, I picked out what I liked, went to fitting room, put on every piece and showed them to XJ. It is our shopping routine that I always get his second opinion because I am a big spender and he pulls our wallet string. Today, I picked three winners and he killed one. I ended up with bringing home two pregnant dresses without a showing belly yet. And here they are:

The Word For You Is To CHILL

It has been several days since my first nurse visit. I should have written something about it but the pregnancy fatigue hit me so hard and I feel like doing nothing these days, even sitting in front of the computer makes me sick. I am in my ninth week pregnant. Hopefully the nausea and other discomforts will magically disappear as the second trimester sets in like they said in books.

Usually, the first hospital visit is with a nurse. I guess the doctor is too busy to see me and I am too insignificant to be seen by a doctor in current stage. Basically, it is like a meeting and greeting experience. We are supposed to ask the nurse a lot of questions and be drawn A LOT OF bloods to be tested for various items. I was drawn EIGHT tubes of bloods that day.

The nurse is very amiable, and knowledgeable. She is a like a pregnancy cheerleader trying to cheer you up. You can feel the professional fake underneath it but what do you expect instead, a cold shoulder? During the visit, we found out my exact due date – 11/30/08. XJ had a lot more questions to ask than I have. He appeared more concerned than I was. At the end of the appointment, the nurse asked me to relax, live as usual and enjoy my pregnancy. She turned to my husband and said: “For you, the word is to CHILL.” We all laughed.

Find The OB and The Hospital

I never imagined how much work to do to pick an obstetrician and the hospital to have the baby. The reality is there are a lot of due diligence to do.

Like choosing any products or marketing a brand, word-of-mouth is the king. By week 5, we started asking around, friends, colleagues, friends’ friends, friends’ colleagues…Basically, anybody with experience we can reach.

For hospitals, it boils to down to two – Newton Wellesley and Brigham and Women. XJ and I decided to check out the location and neighborhood of the hospitals before we choose an obstetrician because we need to choose an OB who is affiliated to the hospital we want to deliver our baby in. On Saturday, we drove around, checked the routes, traffic, the hospital buildings and parking lots, you know, all kinds of superficial stuff. We still couldn’t make our decisions after the visits. I started to call my friend who had an adorable baby again and during our conversation, the light hit me, why not to use her OB and the hospital she went to. It was that easy. I later checked out her OB background and found that she is overall the most impressive. Brigham and Women’s Hospital is also the best women’s hospital in United States. Why not to take advantage of it since I live so close?!

My conclusion is if you want to make your life easier, follow the choice of your friend who you know well and trust. The reality is, s/he has done all the due diligence as you would do.

.Com Rush

My American friend told me an expecting website: What to Expect. While I was exclaiming how great and helpful this website is and how genius the business model is and how can I transfer this business model to China, my Chinese friend informed me a very popular Chinese website: 摇篮网. They did everything exactly I wanted to do. No matter it is born separately or imitation, I can’t help but wonder how fast the new information travels around the world. The world is not only flat, it is literately a dot! Anyway, individuals benefit most from this rapid information spreading. I registered on both websites and enjoy the good of both sides.

A Tea Solution

I have been trying to drink water for several days. Old habits die really hard. My daily fluid intake has been significantly reduced because water just tastes so plain. I can’t help but start to find green tea alternatives. Then Teavana (www.teavana.com) came to my notice. They sell caffeine-free loose tea leaves! XJ and I went to the nearest mall immediately and bought their most popular caffeine-free tea for pregnant women – Blueberry Bliss Rooibos Tea mixed with Peach Tranquility herbal Tea. Even though these flavored teas can’t compare with the natural fragrance and bitterness of green tea, it is so much better than water. I feel I have found the perfect drinking solution for my pregnancy. If I get tired of this flavor, I can always go back to get another flavor. They seem have many varieties of caffeine-free teas.