Oh, Please
Some people want to be good so badly that it hobbles them…that is, they want to do the right thing, but they are also spineless nincompoops. Here’s a great example from Slate’s Dear Prudence column (which I try to ignore but do read sometimes, if just to feel smug and superior in my own life, which is a mess itself at times.)
The lady in question is unsure if she and her husband should wait to conceive because her sister-in-law just had a miscarriage. Well, you can guess my opinion: um, no. Prudie usually gives good advice, and I think she’s spot-on this time.
In cheerier news, I found some old dress patterns that I should be able to adapt to maternity wear. This is why I stockpile fabric: you never know when the sewing itch will strike. My hope is to buy as few actual maternity clothes as possible, since I hardly buy new clothes to begin with. Probably once I get too big to pull of unbuttoned jeans I’ll just wear the same 5 outfits over and over.
Downsizing Stuff, Upsizing Me
We no longer own this plastic polar bear that poops out jelly beans. We are making room for our baby.
Last week we took 4 bags of books and clothing to the Goodwill. That’s where a lot of it came from in the first place, more or less: garage sales, used book stores, thrift shops, rummage sales.
Having a baby is a stuff-intensive prospect. A crib, stroller, changing table, breast pump, car seat/carrier, poopy diapers, clean diapers, diaper bag etc. will be joining our household, which is already full of junk.
So we’re weeding out what we don’t need. I already have a new pile going. De-junking in stages appears to be a good strategy. I feel more free with each pile gone.
Possessions take up emotional space. We don’t have a lot of money, true, and we can’t always be in control of that they way we’d like. But we can clear out things we don’t need, and that opens up our capacity for mental well-being.
Where will this stuff go? My roller skates (cheap, they didn’t roll well), Vic’s Star Wars paperback novels, the decorative candles shaped like bon-bons I got on sale because they gave me a kick: someone will use them.
Meanwhile, the less junk we have, the bigger I get. I can’t suck my stomach in anymore. Odd feeling.
Vic’s older sister will be giving us a crib; her youngest daughter is about ready to move to a big girl bed. My hope is to get hand-me-downs from friends and family, which, I suppose, makes me and Vic leeches. At least we are giving some cool stuff away to people who otherwise might not be able to afford it. Things like bon-bon candles. Those could vastly improve some stranger’s life.
Wardrobe Adjustments
Bring on the pregnancy-related spending! The other day was an inaugural shopping trip, the first occasion of non-medical pregnancy expenses: clothing.
Gone are the days when I can wear just anything. In this limbo between knowing about our pregnancy but not telling everyone, I’m at the point where looser shirts are a necessity.
I’m fairly thin, and I prefer to dress to accentuate my slender waist, one of my favorite features. Narrow, fitted shirts and dresses make me look like I’m gaining weight in the tummy region, which I am–not a lot, but enough so it shows. Maybe in the winter I could get away with wearing sweaters, but it’s summer.
Target to the rescue! I walked to the closest Target one sunny late morning to sniff out their bargains. Here are my Target tips:
- Until it’s undeniably time to go to the maternity section, steer away. The flowy, empire-waisted tops in fashion these days make it very easy for a lady in the family way to get some budget wardrobe extenders.
-If you are pretty skinny like me, even when pregnant you can go to the little girl’s section and get a pack of cheap little girl cotton bikini underwear (size 14/16, XXL.) I get a 10-pack every two years or so. My old ones were starting to fade/stretch/look very nasty. I also got an XXL cotton dress to wear as a top over leggings. It’s pink and orange striped (see above) and has a smocked front. The arm holes were a little tight, but I stretched them out and it works fine. At $8, it was cheaper than a similar item for grown-ups.
-Only buy stuff on sale. Duh.
Three tops and the underwear came to about $25. I needed some new clothes anyway (why is it that all of my clothes seem to wear out at the same time), so I don’t feel too badly. And my days of combing the Goodwill for clothes are over. The stuff at the Portland Goodwills is overpriced and dowdy-looking.
