♥ Skip Hop Via Messenger Changing Bag ♥ Accessorize Cherry Blossom Weekender Bag ♥

I’m running out of cute outfit pics because I’ve just run out of cute outfits. He dropped significantly in the past week and things are really not fitting (or just not all the comfortable). Right now I’m wearing leggings for pants and a big grey hoodie–who wants to see photos of that? The honest truth is that pregnancy is not always pretty.

So while I face the sartorial challenge and try to patiently wait for my little boy to decide to be born, I hope you’ll forgive another lapse in posting. But rest assured that I’ll be taking up the challenge of being a cute and uber-thirfty mom soon!

@38WeeksΞI adore this top and am so glad it has fit throughout my maternity (although the last snap is a bit snug). I feel very Brady Bunch mom (or maybe Alice) in this top and love to wear it when I’m doing housewifey things. On this occasion, we didn’t have electricity from 9am-5pm so I listened to a battery powered radio (okay, an iPod) and worked on hand stitching pillow cases for the baby’s room. It’s probably super cheesey, but I enjoyed wearing a thrifted, vintage top on such a low-fi day.

@36 WeeksΞAlong with the Gap Trench, this dress from Old Navy Maternity was definitely one of the best investments I made in my maternity wear (and they were both on sale!) It is so easy to wear and despite being ridiculously bright pink, accessorizes with lots of different things. I only wish I had it in many different colours. I’m pretty sure it will last me well into my post maternity as the bump deflates. Here is the dress at 24 weeks when my bump was barely there. The secret to maternity longevity is generous stretch in the bump area (so good draping and jersey) and length. This dress is a bit longer than I might usually wear, but at 24 weeks it was below my knees and at 36 weeks the bump brings it above my knees.

This is in the Drawing Room of the Bellinter House. I just love the mixture of curious art, mid century antiques and an old manor house. Its such easy style.

@35WeeksΞ This is one of the most comfy outfits for my late maternity wear and I throw on this tunic all the time! Light cotton is great for the warm, rainy days of summer–and the plaid brings me back to my country roots. At first I had some misgivings about the tunic. I do wish it was either longer and had a straight hem, making it a dress…or was a bit shorter, making it a longer top that could be worn with shorts. But right now, anything that is remotely cute and covers the bump is good enough for me. With only a few weeks to go at my maximum width, it’s not time to start shopping. I think I might consider altering it for post-maternity because I love the colour combo (also the main colours in the little guy’s nursery)

@36WeeksΞTo celebrate the beginning of the end and to thank my hubby for all the amazing support he’s given me during this pregnancy, I arranged a super surprise weekend for him including a scavenger hunt, lunch at the Farmleigh Boat House (delicious!) and a weekend of swimming and picnics at our favourite hotel in Ireland–Bellinter House, Co. Meath (seriously, go there sometime!) This outfit was perfect for sweet scheming and wouldn’t give away where we were headed next. I’ve loved this precious white top from Mothercare and wear it all the time as the bump grows. The clean, white cotton feels so fresh and feminine in the dog days of summer and helps me feel like I’m glowing as a pregnant woman should.

There comes a time in every gal’s pregnancy when you start to feel a bit puffy and rings may not fit. My hands are only really swollen on humid days, but since this is Dublin in the summer–that’s almost every day. To save any tight-ringed drama, I’ve decided to start wearing my rings close to my heart. ♥

@31 WeeksΞHappy August Bank Holiday! Here’s hoping the weather is a little better than the June Bank Holiday. Despite the massive downpour, the hubby and I had a great time on a surprise trip to Dublin’s north coast. We were determined have fun–even in the rain. Foul weather essentials included my maternity trench (the best investment of this pregnancy) and a trusty umbrella. I’m not sure if I would go with the white leggings again, they were a last minute addition when I realised my legs were going to get soaked. After our walk, the leggings and trench came off and were replaced by sandals and a cropped cardigan.

I thought the dress was missing something up-top and couldn’t find any accessories that I liked, so I added a halter top under the dress to give the illusion that the dress was a halter and not strapless.

At the end of a wet day, nothing is nicer than sitting in a cozy chair in an old castle with a cup of tea and a biscuit or two!

@37WeeksΞFinally, maternity leave. If anyone thinks that maternity leave is a time to relax and chill out before baby, think again. You suddenly realize how much you have left to do…and how little time you have to do it. On my first day, I made the fantastic decision to reorganise and redecorate our home office. Boy was my husband pleased to come home to find the contents of the office in the baby room with plans, drawings and long lists of things to buy at B&Q. Several trips to the shops, a new drill and two weeks later the room was completed and looks great! Anyhow, this outfit is all about comfort and looking cute while cleaning.

These light denim trousers from M&P sit below the bump, which is much more comfortable to me now (any pressure taken off the area is a relief) but the do tend to fall down a bit. They might be slightly too big, but I wouldn’t admit to buying the wrong size, ever.

@34WeeksΞ As I’ve said before, maternity dressing is all about accessorizing–taking your limited wardrobe of stretchy, jersey (comfy!) pieces and making it different day to day with a necklace here and a cardigan there. On this occasion, I added a punch of melon to basic black for a bright outfit on a sunny day. Shoes, nails, cardi and elaborate necklace all bring a bit of delicious melon to my day.

♥ Grey striped dress: Old Navy Maternity ♥ Red cardigan: H&M ♥ Red flats: M&S ♥ Pocket watch pendant: Lulu*s ♥

@34WeeksΞFinally I’m busting out this cute little dress I picked up at Old Navy in February while visiting the US. I tried wearing at different stages, but I think it only looks cute now that I have a proper (and huge) bump to show off. There’s a stage you’ll hit where trying to disguise your bump just doesn’t make sense. Highlighting and accentuating the silly shape with the varying widths of the stripes in this dress show off my curves in all the right ways.

I added my favourite (and old!) bright red cardigan for a punch of colour and with the cute little quasi-deck shoes have managed to make another nautical look. I think this is the theme of the 3rd trimester. This really is the prefect dress for the 3rd trimester in the dog days of summer. It is light and loose and has an adjustable rope tie belt. Look for dresses that have a waist that can move up or down as you get closer to the end of pregnancy as your uterus becomes very high and hard around your bra line, then drops around 2 inches when the baby gets into position. As you may have noticed, my little guy is still riding high!

I’m thinking this dress could be a perfect coming home from the hospital dress. Can’t believe I’m thinking of that already!

As a gal that puts (probably) thought into her bags, the task of finding a changing bag for our soon-to-be boy has been a daunting one. This bag has to tick a few boxes for me. It has to be long lasting, have an optional shoulder strap for my dodgy shoulders, be uni-sex (so that I can get the hubby to carry it) and look relatively cute. I also really like organisation, so pockets and lots of ‘em would be great. Oh, and it must not be expensive. I’m still reeling from the price of our pram. So after much internet research here are some of my favourite bags…

Skip Hop Via Messenger. Ticks all the boxes and is only £59 on Amazon though it is normal retails for $/€79. It’s not really cute, but it is nicer looking than a lot of utility bags out there. Green is nice. There are 18 pockets in this bad boy and special clips for the pram, so function may just beat out function. 

The Stork Sak Jess Red Label in Natural. If I wasn’t concerned with getting a bag that was also dad-friendly, I’d snatch this up. It looks durable and practical and not at all a changing bag. There are loads of pockets inside to keep things under control and I could easily use it as after the baby is out of nappies. It is £85 on the Stork Sak site or a belt-tightening $158 on Amazon.

The Little Lifestyles Hepburn Shoulder Bag. Audrey or Katherine could have been proud to carry this lovely white bag, a steal at only £50 on Amazon. The doctor-style popup is very practical for on the go changing. But the hubby wouldn’t be too keen on carrying it and no shoulder strap, so it ticks very few boxes. Alas a gal can dream, right?

Danzo Retro Baby Bag. This bag is super cute and functional with customizable velcro labels for interior pockets and a ducky changing mat. It looks adorable and that’s all that matters, right? Wrong. At $285 on Amazon, there’s no way is this ever happening.