Yay for eBay!

Right after writing the last post a wonderful thing happened. I decided to check eBay one more time for the elusive 7 For All Mankind maternity jeans in my size and length and for a reasonable price, and miracle of miracles! A pair had just been listed in my size, with the original (34-inch) inseam, and for less than one-third what they cost in the store!

I was excited but didn't get my hopes up because there were several days of bidding left and I wasn't willing to pay the "buy it now" price. Yesterday, with just a few hours left in the auction, I finally put in a bid, still sure someone would swoop in at the last second and take them from me. But apparently most people in the market for these jeans really have shorter legs than I do because I WON!
I can't wait till they get here. I feel sure they'll fit because they're exactly what I've tried on in the store (and exactly what I wear in non-maternity jeans). But even if they don't, at this price, I'm confident I could resell them and break even, if not turn a profit -- although I might have to throw in a credit for hemming. :)

This afternoon we had our monthly doctor's appointment. It was completely routine -- all they did was check the heartbeat. And weigh me. Apparently I have now gained either seven or nine pounds (the scale flickered back and forth and I don't know which number the nurse went with), almost all of which came in the last month. Clearly I have a healthy appetite.

Yesterday was the first time a stranger commented on my belly, and it happened not once but twice, in Chick-fil-A and then at the new shoe store beside the new TJ Maxx. Amanda was with me both times. The woman at the shoe store also felt the need to inform Amanda she is in fact going to have a boy. Multiple ultrasounds? Whatever. She's carrying it like a boy. (No worries, she agreed that I'm having a girl.)

What to wear

Week 22 already! That's so hard to believe. This is my stomach as of last night:
People who know I'm pregnant keep saying it's really popping out, but I still feel like strangers might look at me and see a beer belly.

Last week I decided, with Matt's input, that rather than buying one pair of super-expensive 7 For All Mankind maternity jeans, I'd buy:

a) one pair of cheap jeans (these are from Motherhood Maternity and with a 31-inch inseam they're just long enough to wear with flats; hopefully they won't shrink AT ALL in the wash, but if they do, they'll make their way to Amanda's closet like countless other pants);


b) one pair of long dressy jeans (these are from GapMaternity and I LOVE THEM. They are long enough to wear with heels or wedges and I can dress them up or down);
c) one pair of casual, lightweight pants that will be good with a T-shirt and flip-flops -- as comfortable as sweatpants, but cuter (I haven't bought any yet, but these are from GapMaternity);
d) and one pair of black dress pants (so far I haven't found a single pair that fits right -- they're all short and baggy).

All of these will add up to less than one pair of designer jeans (crazy) and I think I'll be happier with several options rather than just one perfect pair. I might be wrong about that, but I can say for sure that I LOVE the long Gap dressy jeans (which I'm wearing today). While I don't love the way these "everyday" jeans look on me, they're good enough ... I think.

Loving the band

My stomach continues to grow and I'm going to assume that Claire's to blame, not Girl Scout cookies. (WHY does no cookie manufacturer copy and sell Samoas?!)

Yesterday I wore work pants to church, as usual, and they were uncomfortably tight. I couldn't wait to get home and trade them out for pajama pants. So today I used the belly band with my work pants for the first time. Love it! It's not "the" Bella Band, just a generic I found on eBay, but it works great. In fact, I think everyone -- man or woman, pregnant or not -- should own a belly band for fat days.

I don't know how long it will let me postpone real maternity pants. Carrie didn't like the band, but Amanda used it for months, and they're about the same size (before and during pregnancy) so maybe it's just personal preference.

Speaking of maternity pants, last week we were in Atlanta and our hotel was one mile from A Pea in the Pod, so I decided to bite the bullet and buy the 7 for All Mankind maternity jeans I've been lusting after. I'd seen on their website that the style I wanted was $25 off and I'd called the 800-number to ask if that discount applied in stores as well as online (I was told it did) and how long it was good for (I was told through the end of February).

So Matt and I went to the store, they had one pair in my size, I tried them on, I loved them. Just to make sure, I asked the saleswoman, "These are $25 off, right?" And what did she say? "That sale ended yesterday!" NO! Now I can't buy them for full price, on principle.

I'm going to write a letter to A Pea in the Pod, explain the situation and ask if they'll send me a $25 coupon, but I'm sure they won't. I wish I'd never even known about that short-lived sale. I also wish I'd emailed A Pea in the Pod about how long the sale was going on, rather than just calling -- now it's my word against theirs.

There are a zillion pairs of 7 maternity jeans on eBay, but I'm very hesitant to buy them without trying them on because so many of them have been altered. I don't buy 7s for the label, I buy them for the length -- so I don't want to shell out a lot of money for a pair of jeans that started out with a 34-inch inseam and are now down to 31. If I'm going to wear maternity jeans that aren't quite long enough, I can just get them at Target. Plus, if I buy them off of eBay and they don't work, I'm stuck with them -- I can't just return them to the store -- and I do NOT want to have to deal with reselling them.

Back to my expanding stomach, today was the first day at CrossFit that my stomach definitely hit the ground while I was doing pushups. It was weird -- it felt like there was a ball under me. I didn't like it. I'm also quitting ab workouts as of today because I'm afraid of building ab muscles around the bump.

Can you believe we're more than halfway through this pregnancy? Or only halfway through -- I can't decide which.

P.S. We still haven't decided on a middle name ...