where you find some of the cutest maternity clothes picks on the web each Monday

This week we’ve talking about the fourth trimester, that icky, sticky, achy, wonderful time when you’re recovering from childbirth, struggling with hormone changes, and adjusting to a new life in your world. Basically, you’re just a walking, talking pile of dynamite. Any little thing can set you off, and the last thing you need is a glimpse of yourself in the mirror, looking like you’re still pregnant.

Sigh.

So I’ve rounded up a few looks for you, styles that I’ve discovered won’t make you look like Heidi Klum, but it will make you look like you’ve lost most of the baby weight.

But first! Whatever you do – DO NOT SHOP IN THE JUNIORS SECTION! I don’t care if you bought all your clothes there before you had your baby. Do not enter. Don’t do it. If you do, you might just jump off the roof because you’re so discouraged that absolutely nothing fits. Juniors’ clothing is generally made for young chicks with no hips and lumps and bumps that motherhood creates.

1) The Chunky (But Streamlined) Sweater – Wrap this sucker around your belly and say bye-bye to the pooch!

2) The A-Line Anything – Shirts, skirts, dresses – it all works. This A-line top from Charlotte Russe is the perfect example. Look at all those ruffles. Plenty of camoflauge for the belly.

3) Bright colored loungewear – I bought tons of orange and hot pinks to wear around the house after I had my son. I found that I felt less like a slob and more like a stylish (although home-bound) mommy.

4) The Scarf (or any other distraction you can find, like a wonderful necklace or earrings).

 What did your fourth trimester wardrobe look like? Or were you one of the lucky ones who lost all the baby weight naturally and were able to slip into your regular jeans three weeks later? (If that’s you, just know that I hate you. That’s all.)

Somewhere between the shock of the first trimester and the plain ol’ crankiness of the last trimester, there’s a few days where you are actually happy to be pregnant (or was that just me?). You want something to make you feel special and pretty. And yes, you might be willing to drop a couple of dollars to do it.

Today we’re featuring some designs from the LaLaBaby Boutique.  They’re got some really cute T-shirts for moms to be – here are two of my faves:

1) All He Needs is Love, $39.95. Normally more than I suggest spending on a maternity shirt, but it’s just oh so true. All they need is love! 

2) Kick, $48. My kids better be some soccer players as much as they kicked me in the womb. From morning til night, my belly jiggled like Jell-O. My son started kicking around 14 weeks and made me intensely miserable until right before the C-section. I can totally relate to this shirt.

Christian Siriano, whose “fierce” fashions made him the winner of Project Runway’s season four, has announced that he will be taking the maternity world by storm, creating a line for hip mamas who don’t want to shelve their personal style for nine months. His line, Fierce for Moody Mamas, will debut in spring 2009. Check out this item in New York mag to see some of the sketches.