The countdown is on for me now. My baby boy is due on 17 April so he could be arriving any day. I feel like a ticking time bomb! The hospital bag is packed, the nursery just needs a couple of finishing touches, and every trip to Sainsbury’s I’m stocking up on nappies. I’m wondering what kind of personality the little man is going to have and whether he’s going to have golden brown curls and grey-green eyes like his big sister. (How on earth did that happen?!).

Today I just wanted to talk you through some of the clothes that have seen me through the different stages of my pregnancy.

The Little Black Dress

If there is one thing any of you pregnant ladies need in your life, it’s this Bardot dress from Asos. I bought it when I was pregnant with Lyra and I was actually a teeny bit sad once I had given birth and couldn’t legitimately wear it any more! It’s made of the comfiest stretchy jersey material so you can wear it through all the trimesters and that isn’t something that I can say for a lot of maternity clothes. (Yes maternity jeans, I’m talking to you). And being black it is so practical and flattering.

It’s ace because you can dress it up or down. It looks just as good layered under a sweatshirt or longline cardie, with black tights and trainers, as it does with heels and a statement necklace. I’ve worn mine to the office, not one but two RMLtd meetings, a wedding, a comedy club, a posh afternoon tea, and the playground underneath my parka. Heck I even wore it on Christmas Day.

One thing that should probably put me off is the fact that Lyra calls it my ‘witches dress’, but nope, this makes me heart it, and her, all the more.

The Shoes

As a bit of a shopaholic, I’ve really missed being able to go clothes shopping. I’m pretty sure we won’t have any more kids after this one so I didn’t see the point in buying many more maternity fashion-y bits. However, I have treated myself a little bit when it comes to shoes. After all, shoes are something that I will need and wear even after the baby gets here, right?!

For the aforementioned wedding, I bought these Aldo heels. My feet didn’t hurt after the wedding, despite being three months pregnant and spending a large part of the day chasing Lyra around a cobbled courtyard in three inch heels! Amazing. (And if you don’t believe me, read the reviews). I love their simple but elegant style and the fact that they will go with everything.

Another Aldo purchase that I’ve been impressed with has been these leather loafers. Again, elegant and understated, but with a subtle sparkly pewter finish. And on my want list are these leopard print flats. Along with everything else from Hush.

The Leggings

The sections above may make it sound like I am all about the glitz and glamour. This is really not the case and I have pretty much lived in leggings for the majority of both pregnancies. (But how nice is it to have a piece of clothing that makes you feel confident and a little bit dressed up every once in a while? I’m telling you, you need the dress). My favourite maternity leggings have been from the H&M Mama range – they fit comfortably over your bump, wash really well and retain their shape, and stay nice and tight around the ankle.

The Maxi Dress

Another option that you can wear through all of the trimesters, hooray! And it’s also one of those outfits that you can sometimes get away with buying the non-maternity version. I’ve got a maxi dress which, when I’m not pregnant, is slightly too long for me, but it currently fits perfectly due to it raising up over my bump. When we went to Dubai one of my lovely friends let me borrow a load of her maternity holidaywear and I’m still wearing the maxi dresses – which are a bit like this jersey one and this high neck one – now I’m back home. They’re super comfy and look great under an unbuttoned shirt or denim jacket.

The Jeans

In the first two trimesters I was ALL about these Topshop Joni maternity jeans (apparently one pair of Jonis is sold every ten seconds). By seven months they were just too tight and maybe if I’d gone for the over-the-bump version they might have been more comfy. Both versions look great though, and Topshop seem to bring out new colours quite regularly. I’m also loving the look of these Jamie ripped jeans.

The Underwear and Swimwear

I have relied upon bump bands to give me just that little bit of extra support and now that I’m heavily pregnant I am even wearing them to bed. I don’t know if it’s all in my mind but at a fiver each you can’t really complain.

When I was pregnant with Lyra I bought a maternity tankini from Topshop which was just brilliant because I used it on holiday, and wore the top half in the birthing pool (it sounds ridiculous but I wanted to preserve at least a bit of my modesty!), and then continued to wear it after she was born, until I felt confident enough to wear a bikini again. This La Redoute one has caught my eye and there’s 40% off with the code BIG40.

I’m currently on the lookout for some nursing bras which are both pretty and practical. Why are these so hard to find? The best I’ve seen are these ones from Mothercare and Topshop but if anyone has any recommendations I will love you forever.

And on that note, we’ve got a shortlist of names but still no front runner so if you can think of an unusual-but-not-too-wacky boy’s name or you have a boy’s name that goes with Lyra then pretty please put it in the comments box below!

What were or are your go-to maternity fashion items? Seen or bought anything recently that the mamas-to-be need to know about?

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