The Styling The Bump series encourages new moms-to-be to embrace their bump with styles that flatter the bump, without spending on maternity wear that they end up stashing away after pregnancy. By renting, we want to promote a more sustainable lifestyle that’s also financially sustainable!
Hello Naomi! Thank you for taking the time to have a chat with us, we are so happy and excited for you! You are now in your third trimester, how has your pregnancy experience been so far?
Thank you for this opportunity! Pregnancy has been relatively smooth – no nausea or excruciatingly painful body aches – and I’m really grateful for that, but the last few weeks have been quite an emotional rollercoaster.
What were your first emotions when you found out you were pregnant?
To be honest, this pregnancy was unplanned and I wasn’t excited about it, but I wasn’t disappointed either, because I knew that a baby would always come into our lives at some point. I think I was mostly anxious – I’d just started in a new job!
What was one piece of advice given to you that’s stuck with you on your journey to becoming a mother?
Not advice I was given by anyone specifically, but I think pregnancy is just as much about the mother as it is the baby; don’t just fuss over the baby — remember to love yourself too!
Could you share with us how your daily routine is like since becoming pregnant? What has changed since becoming pregnant?
Where do I begin… Before this, I never thought I’d need to put careful thought and planning into getting into and out of bed. It can get quite laborious, especially in the third trimester.
These days many people try out different things during pregnancy, like singing or talking to the baby. What are some pregnancy routines you abide by?
I haven’t really done much and I didn’t want to give myself unnecessary stress thinking about what would “benefit” the baby. But if by routine, you mean a regular activity, does shopping online for baby things count? Hee.
Some mothers are nervous, some are excited. What do you look forward to most about motherhood? Are you nervous or well-prepared?
You know, at 39 weeks, I still don’t feel like I’m particularly nervous or well-prepared. I think what I’m most looking forward to right now is getting the baby out! Then the real adventure begins.
A little bird told me that you and your husband are only finding out the gender of the baby at birth! What motivated both of you to save the gender reveal until the big day?
We’re having a baby! That’s all there is to it, really. Well, it was mostly me wanting to keep the gender a surprise; my husband very kindly acquiesced.
Were there moments when you felt tempted to find out? If so, what were they?
Oh, for sure! When I saw really lovely, but explicitly gendered baby clothes online.
How did you both work around planning for baby names?
We have two options that we discussed during the second trimester.
How did family and friends react to this unique decision? (I heard some families even put together a friendly betting pool on the baby’s gender!)
They’ve been quite cool about it and I think it keeps them excited because there’s something they don’t know about the baby until it’s born. Why give everything away at the beginning, right?
How are you and your husband planning to spend the last few months, before your baby is born?
We’ve been appreciating time alone – both as a couple and on our own – although having to stay home over the weekend during the Circuit Breaker has made things quite dreary sometimes. He’s helped me set up the nursery and of course, I’ve washed all the baby clothes and bedding three times like a maniac!
What are some of the challenges you face when dressing your bump?
I didn’t want to buy new clothes, but when I started showing in my second trimester, the biggest challenge was fitting into the dresses I already owned – even the loose/shapeless ones!
At which point of your pregnancy did you start flaunting the bump with Style Theory’s Infinite Wardrobe?
My second trimester. I remember wearing my first outfit from Ripe Maternity – it was also the first time I was offered a seat on the train, haha! I was pleased to still be able to wear non-maternity outfits of course, and that’s a good thing about Style Theory: I just needed to go one size up.
Renting your bump-friendly outfits instead of buying can be seen as a sustainable choice. If you plan to keep a sustainable lifestyle, how would you do it?
Renting from Style Theory is actually one of the main ways I keep a sustainable lifestyle. I don’t buy clothes like I used to anymore. I do my best when it comes to plastic straws and utensils, but I can be quite lazy sometimes…
What are some things you look out for when it comes to renting clothes?
A good fit, and because our weather can be quite unforgiving (it gets 120% unbearable during pregnancy), the material.
How have you incorporated bump-friendly and maternity clothes for work, weekend, events or travel?
I rented a number of versatile wrap dresses for work during my second trimester – they accommodated my growing bump and were easy to adjust throughout the day. On weekends and during my babymoon, I wore either loose-fit dresses with fun or floral prints. I would definitely have rented more if not for the Circuit Breaker!
What are your top 3 hits about Style Theory’s service?
- The seamless process to rent a box, from choosing the outfits, all the way to receiving and returning them.
- The wide variety of outfits to choose from, although I wish there were more maternity ones!
- The quality of the outfits. They’re dry-cleaned, and I get to swap outfits if the Style Theory team noticed any defects prior to sending it to me!
What would you want to see more of from Style Theory?
A wider maternity or bump-friendly selection. Pregnancy feels like forever, but it’s also just an average of six to seven months of a ballooning body, and it’s really not sustainable to buy new clothes just for that. Oh, and more Yumi Kim, please! I love their designs, but they’re always all rented when I want them.
Last but not least, do you have any tips or advice for fellow moms-to-be?
Remember to love yourself and do what makes you happy – baby can tell more than you know.
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