I’m glad there are so few photos of me from when I was pregnant with Ryan, because they would have revealed just how hideous Maternity Clothes were in 1996. I was working at the Credit Union then and we had a pretty formal dress code, so off I went to the chain maternity clothing store at the mall, and do you know what they had for “dressy” outfits? ROMPERS. If you aren’t familiar with it, a romper is a one-piece outfit sort of like a dress but that ends in shorts, and it buttons down the front. Which means every time I had to pee, I had to unbutton it and slide the whole thing down around my ankles. It was NOT pretty, let me tell you.

Now, we are done having kids for sure, so I’m not looking at this for myself, but for those of you readers who are or will be pregnant, and you’re wondering what clothing there is out there that you can wear to work or other dressy occasions, check out the Maternity Dresses sold at Belly Dance Maternity. They carry wrap dresses that can be worn while nursing, tunics that can work either as a top or a dress, and designers include Japanese Weekend and Liz Lange.

Oh, and you know what else wasn’t available when I was pregnant in 1996? Couture maternity! Now that it seems to be *cool* for celebrities to get pregnant, all kinds of clothing designers are coming out with maternity wear. Hot jeans designer Chip and Pepper makes great maternity jeans, and you can even get a maternity velour tracksuit from, you guessed it, Juicy Couture Maternity! If this is your first pregnancy and you aren’t sure what to expect as far as clothing goes, check out this great article on Chic Maternity Wear from AOL. Trust me, you won’t find ANY suggestions that involve wearing a romper.