Baby or false alarm

Lovely readers,


I am afraid in the next few days this little blog of mine will be a lot quieter than usually. I have a great excuse though – actually the best excuse ever:

I think I am having a baby. RIGHT NOW!

I had contractions for the past few hours and I am at the point now, when I stopped smiling. And then it is a good idea to go to hospital, the midwife in our child birth class said.

I am excited. I am nervous. I am giggly. I am beside myself. I am incredibly happy. I am a bit frightened.

Anyway, this baby wants to get out NOW.

So I better grab my hospital bag, my lovely husband and get going. I’ll see you when I get back. Either in a couple of hours, if it was false alarm after all. Or in a couple of days when my little one and I are back home for the first time. How exciting!

See you soon!

Crazy bookworm

I have been to the public library this week to stock up on reading material. And boy, after I had all these wonderful books at home...

... there was no stopping me.

I finished the first book in one long night of reading...

... all 511 pages. The thriller was just too exciting and I just loved that feeling of getting lost between the covers.

So, hurray, I had a wonderful time and I ticked off no1 of my mat-leave-to-do-list:

1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover DONE and DONE again!!!
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut DONE
5. Make a dummy band DONE yesterday
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one DONE, DONE and DONE
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach DONE
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to DONE and DONE
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod

I have to say, I am really impressed on how many things I was able to tick off my list. Well, it wasn’t too difficult
a) because they were all nice things
b) because I had so much time and energy in the last couple of weeks.

Hope you got around to do some things you wanted to do for ages as well!

Quick changing mat cover

As I am still waiting for my little one to have her big entrance into the world, I thought you might want to know how I did the super-easy, super-cosy changing mat cover, which I showed you last week. It doesn’t really deserve the name tutorial, because it is that simple.

All you need is a standard, plastic-covered changing mat:

A soft, cotton fabric about twice as wide and a about 20cm longer than the changing mat:

plus needles, sewing machine and matching threat.

First you lie the fabric flat on the floor – right side facing up – (a little ironing wouldn't have hurt either ;-)), seam the short ends of the fabric (or use blankets that are already seamed like I did) and place the changing mat on top – roughly in the middle of the piece of fabric:

Fold first one side...

... and then the other side over the changing mat:

Pin upper and bottom ends of the fabric together (with the changing mat still inside) and make sure the seam is not too tight, then remove the changing mat and sew the top and bottom seams together:

Turn the finished cover ...

...and voila. You have a warm and comfortable cover for the plastic changing mat. They are super-easy to wash, so just make sure you make more than one. That way you always have one at hand if the first one needs a washing.

My creative space...

Another fun blog initiative. Every Thursday bloggers from Australia and all over the world show you their creative space and what they are currently working on. Join the fun at Kootoyoo (http://www.kootoyoo.com/). So inspiring to start a new project or finish the UFO (UnFinished Project) that has been lying about forever!

* * *

At the moment I am crafting up a storm. Maybe because I am afraid I won’t have much time for crafting once the little one is here. Maybe because my creative energy goes off, while my physical energy goes down. Anyway, that is my creative space today...

I am working on simple and clever and very yellow dummy bands. You’ll find the post with a detailed tutorial here next Monday.

Looking forward to seeing your creative spaces.

Wedding Shoes

On Wednesdays I share everything wedding with you: tips, projects, organisation, photos, faux-pas, fun things and golden rules I ‘learned’ from my own wedding. I feel I need to give something back to the fabulous blog community who helped me stay sane and enjoy every second of my ‘big day’.

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For many girls the shoes are the highlight of their wedding outfit.

I have to admit that for me they were less important. Partly because I am more into accessories than into shoes. Partly because my dress was very long and I knew that you would only be able to see the toe-cap of them.

Nevertheless I ended up with the two most beautiful pair of wedding shoes:

1. Pink Power at the registry office

The pinkest, highest, most extravagant, most comfortable and most special shoes of my life. A gift from my auntie. They were made just for me. They are one of a kind. Even buying them was such an amazing experience. We went to Schuh Hiegl in Munich and then we were in shoe heaven. This shop is full of beautiful shoes, but the most exciting thing is that they make all shoes themselves and that you can choose any combination of: style, height of heel, type of leather and colour. They also give you valuable advice on what works together well, what is comfortable to wear etc. We spent hours in the shop and it felt like minutes – so much fun. In the end I decided on a classic style with a playful little bow, smooth leader in a flashy pink and the highest heels I ever wore. But let me tell you, they are really comfortable. Obviously it has something to do with the gradient angle rather than the height itself. Anyway, the shoes arrived 2 weeks later, I wore them all day and felt amazing.

2. Dancing Queen on the big day

The story behind my shoes for the big day is considerably more profane. I had chosen the dress, I had a little sample of the fabric in my purse and knew that I needed to find shoes. The style was a bit secondary, because my dress would hide them mostly anyway. Still I wanted ones with a tip that was neither too pointed nor too rounded. I wanted them to be extremely comfortable but a bit more flattering than my usual ballerina. Finding white shoes in the middle of the Australian winter proofed to be somewhat of a challenge. But then a colleague gave me the crucial tip: Boyles on 460 High St, Prahran VIC 3181‎. They are specialised in dance shoes, which are the best wedding shoes in my opinion. Because they come in white and cream, in fabric and leather. Because they are super-comfortable due to cushions in high-pressure areas like the sole beneath your ball of the foot. Because they have heels but are not ridiculously high. So I spend the whole day in these shoes – from 2pm to 5am in the morning. I walked. I jumped. I ran. I danced. No blisters, no pain, no falls! Perfect!!!

The Girls are Back!!!

Pictures from here

Only two more sleeps and the girls are back in town, aehm in the city.

In two days ‘Sex and the City 2’ will be released in the US. In three days it will be released in Germany and Australia will have to wait until June 2nd. I might have to wait even longer, because sitting in a cinema chair for 2 hours is currently just impossible for me and my belly, not even for Sex&the City 2 ;-(

Nevertheless I cannot wait to see the girls again. When the TV series started in Germany, I just had split up with my boyfriend of eight years. I was 29, focussing on my career, dreading the lonely Sundays, getting slowly back into dating, puzzled and amused by the guys I met, interested in fashion and handbags, reading glossy magazines, travelling around the world (for my job and in every spare time), spending a lot of time on pampering, shopping and going out... in short I could have been one of them. If I lived in NY and not in Berlin, if I earned a fortune and not just a living, if I ... Anyway, I really felt close to the four girls. My girlfriends and I spend every Tuesday in front of the TV with bubbly and snacks, with gossip and our own ‘love stories’.

Now 5 years later, I just cannot believe how my life has changed. I live in Australia, I am married to the love of my life, I am about to be a mama, I love lazy Sundays, I still love travelling and fashion... All changes for the better, but I still miss these girl nights and my TV friends from NY.

So, see you soon, girls! I cannot wait to hear what happened to you in the last 5 years!

Changing Pad Tutorial

Every Monday I will post something related to babies: inspiration, craft projects, baby news, and discoveries I have made in this new and exciting world for me. I hope you come along on that rollercoaster ride with me.

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On Thursday I already showed you the wonderful changing pad and I promised you a tutorial. So here it is.

All you need is:

• a standard-sized towel

• fabric in the same size

• scissors

• sewing machine

• electric iron

• matching thread

First wash the towel and the fabric. Iron the fabric to get rid of any crinkles.

Cut thick hem of the longer sides and one of the shorter sides of the towel.

Pin towel onto fabric, so that both right sides face each other. Cut spare fabric off.

Sew towel onto fabric on both long sides and the short side, of which you cut off the hem. Leave other short side open. If you put the fabric on the bottom and the towel on top, it doesn’t get caught as easily in the transporter of the sewing machine.

Turn pad inside out through the open short side.

Iron in fabric side so that towel and fabric are flattened.

Pin towel to fabric with right sides facing outwards to make sure that the edges are exactly above each other.

Iron seam allowance of the towel and the fabric on the open short side inwards, then pin together.

Sew along all four sides of the changing pad, again with the fabric side on bottom.

Voila! Your changing pad is ready.

Since the towel is beautifully soft, you won’t need any batting. Thus the pad is really light, easy to wash, dries quickly and will feel great on baby’s skin.

Since both the towel and the fabric is 100% cotton it will be very kind to your baby’s sensitive skin and shrink evenly in the washing machine.

Isn’t it simple & clever, fast & fabulous, practical & well-priced, beautiful & baby-friendly? I really should have made a couple of them: one for the nappy bag, one for the washing machine, one for me, one for my friend, one to keep in the pram, one to keep in the car...

Rearranging my apartment for the baby – Part III

Of the three basic baby areas in our apartment, we already finished the first two
1. a feeding area
2. a sleeping area
3. a nappy changing area

So today the last task was to create a nappy changing area.

Because we don’t really have room for a permanent nappy change area, we had to come up with a simple and portable version. Here I put the changing mat on the ottoman next to the feeding area, but we can also put it onto out bed, into the bathroom, onto the table or floor. Let’s see what will be the most comfortable and practical solution for us.

1. a changing pad – I got this one from Target, but you can get them from everywhere, it is just a standard plastic one, which is water-repellent and can be easily wiped clean. Because I don’t want the little one to have to lie on plastic, I have quickly sewed a pair of covers made from super-soft cotton fabric. They can be thrown in the washing machine easily.
2. a toy – to distract the little one from having to lie still for a couple of minutes, maybe more important once they get a bit older, in the beginning they are happy to lie and watch you, aren’t they ;-) Or maybe this is just wishful thinking?
3. a box full of clothes – I have two boxes in total, one contains all baby clothes in size 0000 () and one in size 000. I hope my little one will not grow out of all of them in the first 3 months, because my plan is to buy all bigger clothes when we are back in Germany. Which will save us hopefully a lot of precious luggage space and weight on the flight home.
4. a toiletry box – containing hopefully everything you need for all kinds of nappy change challenges and which is portable as well, at the moment the following items are in that little box: nappies, baby wipes, nappy rash cream and nappy sacks. 

The only thing still missing is a mobile for entertainment and distraction during the nappy change. This will be my next crafting project. Apart from that...

... voila, the apartment is ready for you, little dottie ;-)

And no 6 is finally ticked off my mat leave to-do-list as well.

Rearranging my apartment for the baby – Part II

Saturday, the perfect day to do the second part of the apartment rearrangement.

After finishing the baby feeding area in our apartment yesterday, I looked after the sleeping area for our little one today.

 

1. a comfy bassinette – yes, it is the one from our pram, but we will also use it in our bedroom. You know, multi-functional is the motto when you are moving overseas in 3 months. When we are back in Germany she will get a beautiful cot, but in the beginning I think babies prefer the cosiness of a little bassinette anyway.
2. her cute and 100% safe sleeping bag – sent to us by her concerned nanna from Germany. As a paediatrician she knows that the safest way for babies to sleep is either to be swaddled or put into a tight-fitting sleeping bag like this one. Ahhh, I wish they would come in adult-sizes as well ;-)
3. the Pacific Ocean – a beautiful Aboriginal-art-inspired painting made by her dad. So she will have ocean view right from the start. Lucky little girl. I find the ‘monotony’ of the dots and the amazing blues, whites and sea greens extremely calming and I hope little dottie feels the same.
4. reading light – I heard in the beginning new parents tend to go a bit crazy over whether the baby is still breathing, fine, sleeping... and constantly want to check on them. The little reading light hopefully gives enough light for us to see her, but not enough light to wake her up.
5. tissues – another box of tissues cannot hurt, although Chris pointed out that might not be enough, especially for milk overproduction on mum’s behalf , I might have to deposit a few small towels there as well, thanks so much for the tip from an experienced mum of two.
6. mama – most important for baby’s good sleep as my best friend reassured me, she said as long as mama is near little babies can sleep everywhere, I so hope this is true.
7. colourful Japanese paper balls – very hypnotising to look at, make your eyes go droopy and baby very very sleeeeeeppppyyyy
8. her little fellas – Sammy the Tasman tiger and Greta her little mouse in the red checked dresses bought here a couple of weeks ago. Until she is old enough to treat them well, they will watch her from a safe distance though ;-)
9. more books for mum or baby – I am not sure how much bedtime reading there will be for me in the next couple of months, so maybe ‘Mother Tongue’ and ‘Wer bin ich und wenn ja wie viele?’ will soon be replaced by ‘The Going to Bed Book' and ‘Blinky Bill’

Tomorrow all I have to do is tackle the nappy change area and then we are really for baby to move in with us – that is a broad hint (or a ‘Wink mit dem Zaunpfahl’) for you, little dottie. We cannot wait to meet you!

Rearranging my apartment for the baby – Part I

I am sure you guessed it already. Nesting has kicked in. I cannot stop myself from sorting, washing, redecorating, cleaning, ...

Therefore today I started tackling no 6 of my mat-leave-to-do list. Andi and I rearranged our apartment to make room for our little one and all her wonderful cute little things.

We just have a small 2 bedroom apartment and for our remaining 3 months in Australia we won’t get something bigger, so it was a matter of refraining from shopping (esp. furniture) and trying to come up with clever, lightweight and transportable solutions. It seems to be a challenge at first, but I think in the end these restrains helped me a lot to ‘cut through’ all the clutter that baby magazines tell you are ‘essential’ when having a baby.

Because if you think about it, what you really need are three basic areas:
1. feeding area
2. sleeping area
3. nappy changing area

Because food is such an important and pleasurable part of our life, it comes as no surprise that we started with the feeding area ;-)

The aim was to create a pleasant, cosy, comfortable spot in our living room where I can feed the little one day and night. Plus use as much of our existing furniture as possible. Plus have everything within reach.

1. a comfy chair – with an ottoman in case it feels more comfortable to put your feet up while feeding, we have bought two of these chairs from IKEA about 2 years ago and loved them ever since for watching TV or reading, you can also take off the cover and wash it, which might be an extra bonus with a vomiting child ;-)
2. my wonderful breastfeeding pillow – it has a broad padded strap which goes all around your waist and can be fixed with Velcro, I hope it will be as helpful and comfy with the little one on it as I imagine it to be, I bought it from Target and its covers were pretty horrendous, but cutting up the old cover and using it as a template for a beautiful homemade version was very easy, I even made a second cover in case of needing to wash one
3. lots of cushions in different shapes and sizes – to be stuffed in my back, behind my neck, below the little one etc... I think you cannot have enough cushions to make yourself comfortable and I am determined to avoid the horrible neck pain I used to have from working at my computer at an odd ankle all day.
4. cosy blankets – to be thrown over my knees in case I get cold, especially at night I used to get really cold and it always started at my feet, at the moment I seem to have an extra burner inside me and now my husband is the one who begs to close the balcony door, but I know these ‘inner-heat-times” will be over soon ;-)
5. tissues – might come in handy for spilled milk, vomit or other liquid ‘accidents’
6. food for mum – I am always hungry and happy to nibble on something, I heard that breastfeeding increases this behaviour considerably, so I thought a big jar of trail mix and a bottle of water at hand cannot be wrong, hopefully it will last until the baby is actually here ;-)
7. a (night) light – actually the light looks a lot brighter than it is on the photo, I definitely want to have some indirect light: so that I can have a look at my little one or even read a little once we both got used to the whole procedure, maybe I have to find a dimmer for this lamp though
8. reading material – light reading material like magazines, short-stories,... everything that you can discontinue and restart easily, I have no idea whether that will work at all, but having time to read during the long feeds sound ideal to me at the moment
9. a dottie garland – the only thing I bought new for the feeding area, well apart from the tissues and food & drinks, it is meant to be knitting wool although I don’t have any idea how you could possible knit with it, as decoration it is great, it has a woollen pompom about every 3cm, it is my favourite beachy turquoise , it was dirt cheap (about $3 for 30m) and since dottie is our belly name for the little one, there was no way of not having it.

So that’s it: my feeding area. Anything I forgot? Experienced mums out there, please help me. Is there anything else you would recommend? My nesting energy is still high, so just let me know what I could do/ add/ improve.

My creative space...

Another fun blog initiative. Every Thursday bloggers from Australia and all over the world show you their creative space and what they are currently working on. Join the fun at Kootoyoo. So inspiring to start a new project or finish the UFO (UnFinished Project) that has been lying about forever!

* * *

As my due date is getting closer and closer, my creative space is taken over by baby projects. Today I worked on a changing pad for my improvised nappy bag.

It is a lovely project. Quick, easy, cute, practical, beautiful... very rewarding. Just the kind of simple & clever idea which I love so much.

I am going to prepare a little tutorial for you guys, which I will post next Monday. So watch this space. ;-)

But first I go peeking at your creative spaces for inspiring ideas.

Happy Thursday!

Please do me a favour

On Wednesdays I share everything wedding with you: tips, projects, organisation, photos, faux-pas, fun things and golden rules I ‘learned’ from my own wedding. I feel I need to give something back to the fabulous blog community who helped me stay sane and enjoy every second of my ‘big day’.

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When I started doing my research on weddings, I quickly came across a tradition that was completely foreign to me. Wedding Favours. Obviously in Australia, the UK and the US wedding guests expect that they get a little (or not so little) present for attending a wedding. Somehow this sounded a bit odd to me but somehow it was appealing as well.

I love to give presents – big and small, for special occasions or ‘simply because’. But wedding favours confronted me with a few challenges:
a) I don’t like standard presents – and finding special presents for each of my 80 wedding guests would have taken me at least a year and I would have needed to quit my full-time job
b) I didn’t have a big budget for my wedding – and even if you look for affordable favours, it adds up if you multiply it by 80
c) we just spend two weeks in Germany around our wedding – so we had to take all presents with us from Australia, within our 20kg luggage allowance

In the end we decided against favours for every wedding guest and opted instead for

• a better drinks & food package for everyone. I personally prefer a better wine, which doesn’t cause you a headache the next day, and an extra course at dinner over a personalised wedding napkin ring.

• an Australian plush animal for all children. Because nothing lights up the faces of little ones more and beats boring parts of a wedding better than a new furry friend.

• cuff links with the initials for our nearest and dearest male guests (fathers, brothers, best man, etc.) from qacreate found at Etsy. Because we wanted to show them how much we appreciated their help prior and at the wedding.

• beautiful little handbags for our lovely ladies (mums, sisters, maid of honour,...) from Olga Berg. Because without them organising a wedding from overseas would have been a nightmare or even impossible. 
• prints of the best photos of everyone. We sent those together with the thank you cards as a reminder how much fun we had together on the day.

Since most of my guests were not familiar with the tradition of wedding favours and because the wedding turned into a lavish party, no one really missed traditional bitter-sweet almonds, engraved photo frames, or matching ties. At least I hope this is the case – I didn’t hear any complaints though ;-)

Tick! Tick!

Today I managed to tick two more things off my mat-leave-to-do-list. A couple of strong contractions this morning really helped to kick my ass. They went away without anything major happening, but they were kind of warning shots that anytime now the real deal can happen. So I better get all the things done NOW...

1. Read at least one book with 400+ pages from cover to cover STARTED TODAY
2. Finish the embroidery on my baby quilt
3. Back a cake
4. Go to the hairdresser for a great haircut DONE
5. Make a dummy band
6. Rearrange the furniture in our apartment to have room for the little one
7. Have a Thai take-away dinner in our car at the beach DONE TODAY
8. Watch all the movies I always wanted to see but never got around to DONE  and DONE
9. Make a few warm baby jackets
10. Look for nice music to put on my iPod

No 1
I went to the local library and brought two books home. Not 400 pages each, but at least together 400 pages. The amazing thing is – they are German although the topic is Australian. So what, you might say, but for someone who gets German books about once every 6 months (if a dear friend or family member sends some from Germany or if an extravagant order from Amazon arrives) this is something special. Of course I can read English books and my reading speed has increased immensely over the past 3 years, but there is nothing more relaxing than bedside reading in your mother language. Ahhhhh, I cannot wait to go to bed today ;-)

No 7
The weather was amazing today and since my lovely husband wasn’t under the pump today, he took me for a wonderful Thai takeaway to our favourite spot on the beach. The weather was amazing – sunny but cool and the sea calm as a mirror. 1 hour lunch break that felt like a week of holiday.

Have a beautiful Tuesday everyone!

Essential Maternity Fashion

Every Monday I will post something related to babies: inspiration, craft projects, baby news, and discoveries I have made in this new and exciting world for me. I hope you come along on that rollercoaster ride with me.

* * *

When it comes to maternity fashion I am totally ambivalent. On the one hand it really doesn’t make sense to spend a fortune on clothes which you will be able to wear for 6 months. Or 2x 6months if you are planning to have 2 kids. On the other hand your pregnancy is such a special and unique time and you absolutely deserve to look and feel fabulous.

So basically my approach towards fashion in the past 9 months has been the following: as much as necessary to be happy and as versatile as possible. And this worked perfectly. So I want to tell all mum-to-bes out there, maternity fashion can be fun, affordable and not overwhelming at all.

With these key pieces you will manage to dress for all different moods, occasions and growing shapes during spring, summer, autumn and winter.

1. Jeans
I love my jeans with the broad comfy elastic waist band which goes right over your belly (yes even in your 9th month), because with them you can keep on wearing normal T-Shirts and cardigans. I bought 2 different pairs of jeans – one bootcut and one straight-cut. Mine are from Jeanswest  and were together an incredible $99. I think I could have done just with the slim style, because they are just so flattering and I love the contrast of slim legs and a massive belly ;-). Anyway you don’t argue with 2 for $100, do you?

2. Nursing Bra
I bought nursing bras as maternity bras straight away, because then I could wear them while breastfeeding as well. The key advantage is that nursing bras have a clip with which you can unfasten and fold down the front of the bra, which is very quick and convenient for breastfeeding. I also looked for extra comfort in bras made from natural breathable materials (cotton/ lycra) and without a underneath wire. I bought two classics in one size and one cup size bigger (12 C ->14 D) – a black and a white one from Target .

3. Bellyband
What a great invention. Basically just a little fabric tube, but it makes all the difference. It gives you extra warmth around that precious belly area. Avoids that cracks between trousers/ skirts and shirts. Looks so cool. Draws all the attention to your beautiful mid section. Is so easy to make yourself. My favourite was a very colourful one from Esprit. I also bought two simple black and white ones, but somehow I never wore them.

4. Skirts
I got two wonderful pregnancy skirts by Christoff as a present from my mum and I wore them ALL the time. Because they were stylish, comfortable and just so me. I had one jeans skirt which was ideal for all casual occasions. It has a broad elastic waist band, but otherwise looks like a cool jeans skirt. I also had a black skirt aka my office skirt. It has an invisible elastic insert in the upper front.

5. Shirts
I mostly wore normal T-Shirts throughout my pregnancy. The high elastic bands on my jeans and skirts as well as the belly band made it possible to cover my ever-growing belly and the shirts just slowly ‘crept’ upwards: from my hip to my waist. Since I didn’t mind to show off my big belly this look was fine with me. I also had a couple of tunica style shirts, which were a bit wider and longer and they worked fine as well. Plus I got a few shirts as presents from friends in Germany. I especially liked the Mama range from H&M (), because they are fashionable, not overly wide, but just a bit longer in the right areas. I also loved the nursing shirt from Fertile Mind, which I can also wear while breastfeeding.

6. Tops
Apart from my normal tops which I also kept on wearing, I also had one maternity top from Noppies. It was very simple – white cotton with a bit spandex – but had a bit of extra lengths in the front so it comfortably stretched over the growing belly. This was great, even more important than with the shirts, because when it is 40 degree you don’t feel like layering with belly bands. ;-)

7.Dresses
Although dresses are my favourite fashion items I didn’t buy a single maternity dress. Partly because I either found them pretty mumsy, too wide or incredible expensive. Partly because I was surprised how well many of my dresses fitted me throughout the pregnancy. Everything with an empire waist is great. Floating maxi-dresses are perfect. Maybe this is the time when it pays off to have an hour-glass figure ;-)

The biggest surprise regarding maternity wear for me was actually, how early I needed it. I did my biggest maternity fashion shopping after just 3 months. And I can tell you I am glad I did it, because I would have felt extremely uncomfortable with just unzipping my normal pants and trying to cover them with T-Shirts (let me tell you it never works and you just end up constantly pulling your T-Shirt down)

After 3 months:
- maternity jeans (more for the extra comfort than for the size, at that time my tummy wasn’t that big, but was already very sensitive especially to the pressure of jeans buttons
- maternity bras (my breasts just exploded over night and suddenly none of my bras fitted comfortably anymore)
As you go:
all other items (whenever you want something that is a bit roomier, whenever you feel like you need something new, whenever you see something beautiful , whenever there is a sale,...)

So, my advice with regards to maternity fashion is: Show off your beautiful belly. Go for comfortable and soft fabrics. Add sparkle with accessories. Steal from your existing wardrobe and buy pieces you’ll love to wear afterwards as well.