Maternity Jeans Time

Okay y'all.  It happened.  I bought maternity jeans!!!  Here's how it went down...

Since I found out I was pregnant, I have just been wearing my normal jeans but using a hair tie to allow for a little more "give".  Well, it's been several weeks since I have actually worn jeans (I usually just wear leggings).  Last weekend, we went out to dinner to celebrate a friends birthday and I wanted to look at little nicer, so jeans and heels it was.  Well... guess I have grown more than I thought since I wore these last because this is what it ended up looking like...  

Yikes!  So I finally broke down and decided that I couldn't put it off any longer.  It was time for some maternity jeans.  So off to the Gap I went!  

I made my mom and sister PROMISE to take these away from me the second that Baby gets here.  (Okay okay, maybe the second WEEK.)  It's not that I am against maternity jeans.  It's that I'm worried I will love them SO much I will never get out of them.  (I mean honestly, why aren't ALL jeans made with an elastic band around the top?!)  See? It's a very slippery slope.

Anyway, I would also like to take this time to make note of how AWESOME all of the sales people were that I dealt with at the Houston Galleria this week.  When I got to the Galleria, I first went to normal-people Gap, which is attached to Gap Kids and Baby Gap.  (When I looked online it said that they did carry some maternity stuff there. [You can now "reserve in store" online at The Gap, so I could see which locations had maternity stuff available.])  I didn't really see much, so I asked an employee.  She happily told me that there was a second Baby Gap in a separate section of the mall and that there were even a few other new maternity stores in that area as well.  Awesome!  When I got to Baby Gap, the sales guy was super helpful and explained how everything worked.  For a first-time-maternity-jeans-buyer such as myself, it can be a little overwhelming, so it was great having an employee available (and happily so) to show me the ropes!  He showed me which jeans were "full panel" (where the stretchy part goes ALL the way over your belly) and which jeans were "demi panel" (that's where the band just stretches and supports underneath your belly), the different cuts and washes the had available, etc.  Well, I'm usually between a 2 and a 4 (my waist is a 2 but my thighs are closer to a 4.  Whoops!) so I grabbed both sizes and went to the dressing room.  Thinking that the 4 was my best bet, I tried those on first.  C-O-M-F-Y.  Perfect.  Didn't even need to try on the 2, as I assumed they would be too tight.  I went to check out with my jeans and a few workout tops and the 2 employees working behind the counter asked me which size I went with.  I told them 4 and they kind of gave me that "oh comeon girl!" look.  The lady said "Well did you TRY on the 2s?"  "No" I said.  They explained that while, the 4s were comfortable, after a few wears they would stretch out and turn into baggy mom jeans until the next time I washed them (because who washes jeans after EVERY wear?!  Not me.)  Okay okay I'll go try the 2s... Back into the dressing room and... They fit!  They felt exactly like my regular jeans in every way (in a good way), except comfy around the waist.  I am SO glad they made me go back and try them on!  Still feeling "cute" and good about yourself is always important, especially during pregnancy.  I would have been sad if I had brought these home, worn them once or twice and then had them make me look not so cute/like I have a baggy butt.  After I went back to the register, we kept on chatting and I was just so grateful for all of their help and friendliness!  Thanks Baby Gap!

A few doors down from Baby Gap #2 is Destination Maternity.  Destination Maternity is (I think - don't quote me on this) related to Motherhood Maternity, and is kind of like a big maternity mega store.  They have stuff from MM, A Pea in the Pod, among other maternity lines as well.  I was still on the hunt for a few more workout tops/leggings.  I walked in and made it all the way to the back of the store before seeing an employee.  She greeted me and then offered me complimentary water, apple juice or OJ.  I just LOVE when stores truly understand the needs of a pregnant lady (or really any shopping lady for that matter!)  She always came back to check up on me, helped me find the only pair of demi-panel black exercise capris and always made sure to take whatever clothes I had picked up to try on out of my hands (even took my other shopping bag to my dressing room for me so I didn't have to lug around that awkward-as-hell Gap bag). Usually, I prefer to be left alone by employees when I shop, but it was SO nice having the extra help.  I bought some capris and a work out tank.

I think something else that made such a huge difference (whether you're pregnant or not) is to do this kind of "first-time" shopping when you need a little extra help during off-peak times.  If you can go on a weekday during your lunch break, or way early in the morning on a Saturday or Sunday... it made ALL the difference having the help of these employees.  Way different than going at 1:00 p.m. on a Saturday when things are crazy and employees are probably hating life.  Again, I usually am a "get in, get out, don't really feel like talking to people" kind of person.  But it was definitely worth it asking for assistance this time around :)

Thanks Baby Gap and Destination Maternity for such POSITIVE maternity shopping experiences!

New workout outfit courtesy of the Gap (top) and Destination Maternity (capris)!