News from the White House: Baby White Week 24- 6 months!

Wow. I can't believe I start my 6th month this week! Of course it does make me feel better to be able to justify the size of my belly :)

Sophie got a lot of things this week! And mostly for cheap or free :)

My good friend Marisa had literally 3 rubbermaid tubs of baby girl clothes. Seems her sister-in-law thought that since she's preggo with her last, and it's a boy, that she'd pass them along for "someday". Well, that's a lot to store when you're not even trying to get pregnant! So I was happy to take some off her hands. And if she keeps them, I can go shopping again once Sophie gets into 12mo clothing. But for now, she got some really cute winter stuff. I hope she will get to wear some of it. With the seasons here and not knowing how big she'll be or how fast she'll grow, you just never know!

1/2 off Christmas at the thrift store! The sleeper on the left says "My First Christmas" on the pocket and bottoms of the feet. So cute! $1.50. Pajama set, $2.

Fur coat and fur trimmed outfit- so cute! Free!

Snowman onesie- $1.50, 4 headbands, $1, Mrs. Clause dress, free! Black onesie, 0.50

I also got 2 other tops and another Dr. Brown's bottle, all for $1.50!

Umbrella stroller, $5 and walker- free! Thanks Freecycle!

For mom, $2

And then I scored some other great maternity clothes while out thrifting with the hubs Wednesday. I got everything for $23!

In my exhaustive hunt for cheap maternity clothes- I've discovered I could possibly make quite a business out of re-selling maternity wear. I've had little luck finding much at thrift stores or yard sales, and not much on craigslist in my size. I don't know if it's because the fad is to just wear normal clothes with empire waists or just get your t-shirts a size larger or what. Or maybe everyone keeps theirs "in case" or gives them to friends. But I can tell you that a lot of the thrift stores here do not have a maternity section. I'm told there aren't many donations of maternity items and that's the reason. It's a real bummer.

Perhaps I need to visit the baby/toddler/kids consignment shops since I know sometimes they carry maternity too. But I'm such a bargain hunter I really want them at yard sale prices. If I'm gonna spend 10 or 15 bucks I might as well get something new at Ross or TJ Maxx.

I do think, that for me at least, maternity clothes make a huge difference in how I feel. I've bought a few regular clothes, just in larger sizes, and I certainly don't feel very attractive in those. To get any tops long enough to cover the belly, they end up being so big around that I feel like I'm wearing a tent. And I just don't want people thinking I'm just overweight. I want it to be obvious that I'm round in the middle for a reason, and it aint just cheeseburgers :) Maybe if I'd been a svelte lady to begin with, I could get away with just buying a size larger and sticking with regular clothes, but when you're already straddling the line of "plus size" pre-pregnancy, going bigger just seems to mean going tent.

My belly is getting so firm- I wonder how I'll be able to fit Sophie in when she gains another 7 pounds or more! The bump is already getting a tad cumbersome. I hope I'll be able to breathe by month 9! But overall I'm still feeling pretty well. I can see how the second trimester is usually the favorite. I'm big enough that it's apparent to most people that I'm pregnant, I can feel the baby move and so can others if they're patient. Yet I'm not so big I'm miserable. And I'm not still sick. In fact, I toughed it out through Zumba twice this week. Sophie's first Zumba class (I've been a real slackie at the gym). I had to make it lower impact than normal (jumping and hopping just doesn't feel good), but I was able to complete the class. I felt pretty proud of myself- pressing on when some non-pregos dropped out :) But let me tell you, I was tired afterward. It's all worth it though, because I know staying active will certainly help me achieve my natural birth goals.

So here's the 6 month bump: