Now, we all know I'm a girl who loves to shop. And I rarely pay full price. And I usually enjoy going to a store, grabbing an armful or two of clothes, and trying them on, figuring out which pants are the most flattering, which shirt will work best for work, and so on.
Maternity clothing shopping is not at all the same. Not even the same ballpark.
I'm not huge yet - but pants are tight, shirts are getting shorter, and I need options. First, I had to travel to the Palisades to find a decent selection of clothing all in one place, including Gap, which is a no-brainer for me. Once there, however, I only had enough time to hit the Gap and Destination Maternity.
The Gap Maternity section looked promising at first - secret back room of Baby Gap store, low lighting, beautiful layout - but the room was impossibly tiny, and the selection so minimal - made even more minimal at the fact that my size seems to be most popular and thus unavailable. And trying the stuff on? Ugh, it's like trying to determine which potato sack looks best. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm ready for the matwear just yet. That said, however, I did buy two pairs of pants and a cute-ish sweater.
Destination Maternity seemed to have two options - crazy expensive jeans (and only jeans) in the Pea in the Pod section, and then Wal-Mart-ish, picked over sale racks in the Mimi and Motherhood sections. I had heard great things about Motherhood, so maybe I had my hopes up, or maybe my patience was worn thin after the Gap experience, but I just didn't even see anything worth trying on. I got a black tee - I can always use one of those - and a Belly Band, so I can keep wearing my own pants a little longer.
At checkout, AFTER I've scanned my card and signed my life away, I am told that there is a TEN DAY return policy. TEN DAYS??? What the heck? It takes me more than 10 days to decide if I'm going to keep something... I usually try things on at home, with various outfits, make sure it works... TEN DAYS? Ugh.
But, there is redemption - my favorite pasttime, the Internet. I purchased half the Gap Maternity merchandise, to arrive here in a week, in multiple sizes, and to be returned at my leisure (in 90 days, mind you, but still, not ten!).
The books are: Nibble Nibble and Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown; Dooby Dooby Moo; Edwina the Dinosaur who Didn't Know She Was Extinct; and Wow! City. (The last one is an attempt to brainwash Baby D into believing the city is a wonderful utopia where Aunt Holly lives....)
First onesie. Aw. The other one is a zodiac Leo one.
